Burning oil tanker in Red Sea unsafe to tow, EU naval mission says

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Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burns in the Red Sea following a series of attacks by the Houthis on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo)
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Updated 03 September 2024
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Burning oil tanker in Red Sea unsafe to tow, EU naval mission says

  • EUNAVFOR Aspides said that tugboats from private companies that arrived at the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea discovered that to move the ship from its current position is not viable
  • Greek-flagged Sounion, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, has been abandoned and engulfed in flames in the Red Sea since late last month

AL-MUKALLA: A burning oil tanker in the Red Sea loaded with almost a million barrels of oil cannot be moved to another position to be saved, the EU naval operation in the Red Sea said on Tuesday, dashing hopes of avoiding a tragedy in the important maritime channel.

The EU mission, known as EUNAVFOR Aspides, said that tugboats from private companies that arrived at the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea discovered that to move the ship from its current position is not viable and that rescuers are evaluating other on-site solutions. 

“The private companies responsible for the salvage operation have concluded that the conditions were not met to conduct the towing operation and that it was not safe to proceed. Alternative solutions are now being explored by the private companies,” the EU mission said on X.

The Greek-flagged Sounion, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, has been abandoned and engulfed in flames in the Red Sea since late last month, when the Houthis attacked it first with light arms fire, projectiles, and a drone boat, then boarded it and planted explosives that sparked fires on various parts of the ship.

The Houthi assault on the oil tanker has provoked worldwide condemnation, as well as warnings of a significant danger to Red Sea trade and marine life.

Wim Zwijnenburg of the Humanitarian Disarmament Project at the Dutch peace organization PAX told Arab News on Tuesday that the EU mission’s remark suggests that moving the tanker to another location is impossible and that rescuers may consider salvaging it at its current location, which will probably mean extinguishing the fires first.

“It means they can’t start with the rescue operations. The ship is probably not stable enough to tow it away and be salvaged at another location. So they are probably looking for on-site solutions, putting out the fire perhaps?” he said.

Earlier, the EU mission said on X that its warships had given protection to the tugboats that arrived at the scene of the burning ship, warning of an ecological disaster in the Red Sea if the ship was not salvaged.

“Since September 1st, 2024, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES assets have been engaged in protecting the tugs involved in the MV SOUNION salvage operation, aiming to facilitate the prevention of an unprecedented environmental disaster in the region.”

The post came as a Yemeni government official in the southern city of Aden, Yemen’s temporary capital, told Arab News on Tuesday that two tugboats from a port in Djibouti arrived at the Sounion’s location and started assessing the ship to determine how to rescue it.  

The US Central Command, which condemned the Houthis for assaulting two oil tankers in the Red Sea on Monday, also warned of an ecological catastrophe in the Red Sea from the burning ship.

“Currently, salvage efforts are underway in the southern Red Sea for the disabled MV Delta Sounion, which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster,” CENTCOM said on Tuesday morning.

CENTCOM said that its troops had destroyed two missile systems aimed at international ships in a Houthi-controlled part of Yemen.

On Monday, local media and people reported loud explosions and thick smoke billowing from the Al-Hamza military base in the Houthi-controlled Ibb governorate, reportedly attacked by the US military.  


Lebanon rocket fire kills two in Israel: first responders

Updated 11 min 37 sec ago
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Lebanon rocket fire kills two in Israel: first responders

  • Emergency medic Dor Vakinin said a rocket hit a warehouse and that emergency teams arrived on the scene “quickly“
  • “There was a lot of destruction and an active fire,” he said

JERUSALEM: Rocket fire from Lebanon on Tuesday killed two men in their 40s in northern Israel, close to the town of Nahariya, first responders said.
Emergency medic Dor Vakinin said a rocket hit a warehouse and that emergency teams arrived on the scene “quickly.”
“There was a lot of destruction and an active fire,” he said. “We performed medical examinations on two men who were lying unconscious and suffering from severe injuries to their bodies. Unfortunately their injuries were too severe and after the examinations, we had to determine the death of both of them.”
The Israeli military said a barrage of 10 rockets was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, some of which were intercepted, while “others fell in the area.”
It said sirens had sounded in central Israel, including in Tel Aviv and at Ben Gurion airport. Three projectiles that crossed from Lebanon were intercepted, it said.
Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it had fired missiles at an Israeli air base south of Tel Aviv.
The rocket fire came as Israel again pounded Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and south Lebanon, the military said.
Israeli and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since Hamas militants from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Fighting has escalated since Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hezbollah in September.


UN force says Israeli work on so-called Alpha Line with Syria saw ‘severe violations’ of ceasefire

Updated 12 November 2024
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UN force says Israeli work on so-called Alpha Line with Syria saw ‘severe violations’ of ceasefire

  • The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other UN peacekeepers have come under fire
  • “Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added
The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other UN peacekeepers have come under fire
“Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added

DUBAI: United Nations peacekeepers warned Tuesday that the Israeli military has committed “severe violations” of a ceasefire deal with Syria as its military continues a major construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
The comments from the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which has patrolled the area since 1974, come after an Associated Press report Monday that published satellite imagery showing the extent of the works along the frontier.
The work, which UNDOF said began in July, follows the completion by the Israeli military of new roadways and what appears to be a buffer zone along the Gaza Strip’s frontier with Israel. The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other UN peacekeepers have come under fire.
While such violence hasn’t broken out along the Alpha Line, UNDOF warned Tuesday the work risked further inflaming tensions in the region.
“Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Syrian officials have declined to comment on the construction, though UNDOF described Syrian officials as having “strongly protested” the work.
As Israel conducted the construction work, which UNDOF described as “extensive engineering groundwork activities,” it has protected earth-moving equipment with armored vehicles and main battle tanks, the peacekeepers said. Troops and earth-moving equipment have crossed the Alpha Line into the demilitarized zone in Syria, known to UNDOF as the “area of separation.”
“Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AOS,” the peacekeepers said in a statement, using an acronym for the area. “There have been several violations by (Israel) in the form of their presence in the AoS because of these activities.”
UNDOF has repeatedly protested the work, which it described as violating the ceasefire deal over the months of construction so far.
“Based on the engagement, (Israel) has indicated that the current earthworks are being carried out for defensive purpose to prevent unauthorized crossing and violations by civilians,” the peacekeepers added.
Israel sent a 71-page letter in June to the UN outlining what it described as “Syrian violations of the Alpha Line and armed presence in the area of separation (that) occur daily.” The letter cited numerous Israeli-alleged violations by Syrian civilians crossing the line.
Syria has constantly accused Israel of launching attacks against it from territory it occupies in the Golan Heights. Israel has frequently struck Syria over the years, particularly after the start of the Mideast wars following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. The UN Secretary Council voted to create UNDOF to patrol a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized zone and maintain the peace there after the 1973 Mideast war. A second demarcation, known as the Bravo Line, marks the limit of where the Syrian military can operate.
UNDOF has around 1,100 troops, mostly from Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Uruguay, who patrol the area.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 — a move criticized by a UN resolution declaring Israel’s action as “null and void and without international legal effect.” The territory, some 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) in size, is a strategic high ground that overlooks both Israel and Syria.
Around 50,000 Jewish settlers and Arabs who are mostly members of the Druze sect of Shiite Islam live there.
In 2019, President Donald Trump unilaterally announced that the United States would “fully recognize” Israel’s control of the territory, a decision that has been unchanged by the Biden administration. However, it’s the only other country to do so, as the rest of the world views it as occupied Syrian territory.

Lebanon says five killed in Israel strike on southern village

Updated 43 min 17 sec ago
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Lebanon says five killed in Israel strike on southern village

  • Israeli warplanes hit a house between Baalshamieh and Dhour Al-Abadiyah
  • “The Israeli enemy strike on Tefahta killed five people,” the ministry said

A Lebanese security official said an Israeli strike hit a villa east of Beirut on Tuesday, with state media confirming the rare attack outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.
The security official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the “Israeli strike caused an unspecified number of casualties.”
The National News Agency later said Israeli warplanes hit a house between Baalshamieh and Dhour Al-Abadiyah
At least five people were killed and two were injured in the strike, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Later Tuesday, the ministry added that five people were killed in another Israeli strike on a village about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Israeli border, which state-run media said targeted a house.
“The Israeli enemy strike on Tefahta killed five people,” the ministry said in a statement, with the official National News Agency reporting that “enemy aircraft launched a strike a short while ago on the town of Tefahta, targeting an inhabited house.”


Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

Updated 12 November 2024
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Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

DUBAI: Iran is building a “defensive tunnel” in the capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, following strikes by Israel on targets in the country.
The tunnel, located near the city center, will link a station on the Tehran metro to the Imam Khomeini hospital, thus allowing direct underground access to the medical facility.
“For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive applications is being built in Tehran,” the head of transport for Tehran City Council told Tasnim.
Last month, Israel carried out its first officially-recognized strikes in Iran, hitting missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in the country’s west, as a response to Iran’s Oct.1 attack on Israeli territory.


Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

Updated 12 November 2024
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Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

  • Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds

BEIRUT: Israel launched at least 10 air strikes on south Beirut Tuesday morning, Lebanese state media said, shortly after Israel’s army urged residents of several neighborhoods to evacuate the Hezbollah bastion.
“Israeli warplanes launched a very violent tenth strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the official National News Agency reported.
AFPTV footage showed grey smoke covering the area, with big plumes rising after each strike.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli army told residents of four south Beirut neighborhoods to leave immediately, warning it would strike Hezbollah targets there.
“You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, against which the Israel Defense Forces will act in the near future,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
The post included a map showing the buildings it would target in the Lebanese capital’s south.
Witnesses told AFP they heard gunfire in the area ahead of the strikes — warning shots by residents for people to leave following the evacuation call.
NNA also reported Israeli strikes across Lebanon’s south that destroyed a building in the main southern city of Nabatiyeh and also targeted the eastern city of Hermel.
Last month, Israeli strikes razed Nabatiyeh’s historic marketplace, with another wave of attacks also hitting its municipality building and killing several including the mayor.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon’s east and south and in southern Beirut. A week later, it sent in ground troops.
It came after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire, launched by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
More than 3,240 people have been killed in Lebanon since the clashes began last year, according to the health ministry, the majority of them since late September.