Israeli strike kills Hezbollah commander in Lebanon

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Damage to an apartment building that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes is shown in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Mohammed Raad, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, speaks during a commemoration on the 40-day anniversary of Hezbollah top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut, on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 10 September 2024
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Israeli strike kills Hezbollah commander in Lebanon

  • Mohammad Qassem Al-Shaer, “a field commander” in the group’s elite Radwan Force, “was targeted in an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the Bekaa” Valley
  • 10 civilians wounded in Israeli raids across south Lebanon, Western Bekaa

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on Tuesday in eastern Lebanon killed a Hezbollah commander, with the group retaliating by firing rockets at Israeli army targets.

Mohammed Qassem Al-Shaer, 47, was targeted as he rode a motorcycle on the Saghbine road in Western Bekaa.

A civilian car passed at the time of the drone strike, leading to one death and two injuries from the attack, according to the Ministry of Health.

Al-Chaer, aged 47, was from Sohmor, Western Bekaa.

Israeli raids also targeted cities and villages that until now had fallen outside the conflict zone, with southern Lebanon facing intense attacks since the morning.

A military drone targeted one of five floors of a building in Nabatieh with more than four missiles, injuring eight civilians, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The identity of the injured and those targeted is still unknown.

An Israeli military drone later raided an area between Jouaiyya, Wadi Jilou and Mahrouna, targeting it with three missiles and igniting a massive fire.

A drone also targeted the center of Houla’s square.

An Israeli missile struck Khiam in the morning — but failed to detonate — following an Israeli raid at midnight on Monday.

The Israeli army is targeting border villages daily, usually at night, destroying roads and empty residential neighborhoods.

A security source told Arab News that Israel “seeks to form a fire belt in the border region to slow down Hezbollah’s combat movement.”

The source added: “Israel’s hostilities reached 15 km deep into Lebanese territory, targeting villages like Srifa, Froun, Ghandouriyeh and Wadi Al-Houjeir, and focusing its attacks on forest areas and valleys.”

Israel also targeted Lebanese Civil Defense fire brigades, as well as fire services associated with Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement.

The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, said that the party opened a support front in Lebanon “in solidarity with Gaza and its people as a preemptive measure to protect Lebanon from Israeli aggression on its land, its sovereignty and its people.”

He added: “The sacrifices and losses we have endured in this regard are far less than the costs we would have faced if the enemy had achieved its goals in Gaza.”

Raad said that Israel had “reached a point where it can penetrate Gaza and destroy it, but it cannot achieve its objectives, establish its presence, or set up the alternative situation it seeks.”

Israel is “aimlessly circling and deteriorating internally at the security, economic, financial and displacement levels,” Raad said.

He highlighted the “burden of exceptional expenses” on Israel’s economy and the “ugly image that has rendered it a pariah entity worldwide.”

Raad said that Israel was now “operating in lost time, perhaps extending to the US elections and their scheduled date.

“This is why we see it moving from northern Gaza to the south, then turning to the West Bank to ignite a fruitless battle, and then threatening to expand northward toward southern Lebanon,” he added.

“However, it cannot meet its commitment to returning all northern residents to their homes.”

At about 2 a.m., Israeli raids hit the town of Aita Al-Shaab in the central sector, causing material damage to property and infrastructure, particularly to electricity and water networks.

The Israeli army also launched flares at night over border villages adjacent to the Blue Line.

Reconnaissance and drone flights continued throughout the night until morning over the towns of Naqoura, Yarine, Jebbayn, Dhayra, Aita Al-Shaab, Beit Lif and Rmeish.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah’s military media also released a video showing footage of its fighters targeting settlements and army bases in northern Israel.

 


Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast

Updated 10 sec ago
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Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast

  • The 87-year-old had previously declared Monday a global day for prayer and fasting for peace, following similar initiatives for other conflicts in recent years

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Monday slammed the “shameful inability” of world powers to end the conflict in the Middle East, on the first anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
“A year ago, the fuse of hatred was lit; it did not sputter, but exploded in a spiral of violence, in the shameful inability of the international community and the most powerful countries to silence the weapons and put an end to the tragedy of war,” he said in an open letter to Catholics in the Middle East.
“Blood is still being shed, as are tears. Anger is growing, along with the desire for revenge, while it seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired: dialogue and peace.”
The 87-year-old had previously declared Monday a global day for prayer and fasting for peace, following similar initiatives for other conflicts in recent years.
In his letter, the leader of the world’s almost 1.4 billion Catholics offered solidarity with followers in the region — “a small, defenseless flock” — on what he called “this sad day.”
But the pope also addressed “the men and women of every confession and religion who in the Middle East are suffering from the insanity of war: I am close to you, I am with you.”
“I am with you, who have no voice, for despite all the talk of plans and strategies, there is little concern for those who suffer the devastation of war, which the powerful impose on others; yet they will be subject to the inflexible judgment of God,” he added.


Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

Updated 5 min 48 sec ago
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Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

  • The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said

CAIRO: Fighting between the Sudanese military and its rival paramilitary in Sudan ‘s North Darfur killed at least 13 children and injured four others, UNICEF said.
The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said in a statement on Sunday.
The Sudanese army on Friday launched airstrikes that targeted a market in the town of Al Kuma, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, the local Daily Sudan Post reported.
The airstrikes, which also hit the city of Mellit, killed at least 45 people and injured dozens of others, according to the Sudan Tribune news portal and the Central Observatory for Human Rights.
Hamrat Al-Sheikh in North Kordofan was also struck, according to Mohammed H. Al-Ta’ishi, a former member of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who said Saturday that the strikes targeted areas that “haven’t seen any form of confrontation since the war began.”
War between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread across the country. Darfur has seen particularly intense fighting.
“These attacks on children are unacceptable. Children have no role to play in wars or civil conflict, but children are the ones who are suffering the most as the conflict in Sudan grinds on,” said Sheldon Yett, a UNICEF representative to Sudan.
“Children should be safe everywhere, in their homes, neighborhoods, and on the streets,” Yett added.
The UN estimated that 20,000 people have been killed and thousands injured since the conflict began. The war has also displaced over 10 million people, including 2.4 million who fled to neighboring countries and other nations.


Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity

Updated 45 min 21 sec ago
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Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity

  • Jordan FM Ayman Safadi stressed his country’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression

BEIRUT: Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Beirut on board a Jordanian aid plane, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The aircraft was the seventh aid plane dispatched to Lebanon since the onset of the war, carrying 13 tonnes of food, relief items and medical supplies, according to the Jordanian foreign minister.
As part of his “solidarity visit,” Safadi met with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and stressed Jordan’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression.
He reiterated his country’s commitment to achieving ceasefire and providing Jordan with the necessary aid to overcome the repercussions of the intense Israeli bombing.
Safadi is scheduled to meet Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Joseph Aoun during his visit.


Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

Updated 07 October 2024
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Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

  • The Israeli army deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Monday vowed to keep up the fight against Israeli “aggression,” on the anniversary of its militant group ally Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese have paid a “heavy price” for the Iran-backed group’s decision to open a “support front” for Gaza on October 8, but “we are confident... in the ability of our resistance to oppose the Israeli aggression,” it said in a statement, calling Israel a “cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli troops in a south Lebanon border village on Monday, as the Israeli army said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon.
Hezbollah fighters “bombed... a gathering of Israeli forces in the Maroun Al-Ras park with a rocket salvo,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement, after announcing separately it had targeted several areas of northern Israel and military positions across the border.

The Israeli army on Monday said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon — making it the third troop grouping at division strength to be used in the ground fight against Hezbollah.
“The soldiers of the 91st Division began localized and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon,” said a statement from the army.

 


“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

Updated 07 October 2024
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“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

DUBAI: Hamas’ former leader Khaled Mashaal said what is happening in Gaza is a “holocaust” in a speech he delivered on Monday morning. 

Mashaal said the Oct. 7. attacks happened because all political horizons were closed and has achieved "strategic results" since. 

He thanked Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran for supporting Hamas and called on Arab countries to provide financial support to Gaza.

Mashaal said Israel opened the war front in Lebanon after failing to achieve its goals in Gaza and claimed that Israel is conspiring against Jordan and Egypt.

A year after Oct. 7, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel since the war in Gaza began.

“Israel is defeated although it has achieved accomplishments against Iran and Hezbollah,” added Mashaal.

Mashaal concluded by asking the people of Gaza not to despair and promised them victory soon.

Over the past year in Gaza, more than 40,000 people, including over 10,000 children, have been killed by Israel’s forces, exacting indiscriminate and disproportionate vengeance for the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Advisor to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Al-Habash said Mashaal's statements are "empty slogans that achieve nothing".

Al-Habash said "real victory is protecting our people" and added that Hamas should have moved towards unity with the Palestinian authority. 

Globally, people have hit the streets to protest against Israel’s deadly military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.

Demonstrators expressed outrage against the Israeli aggression, demanding an end to the war in Gaza, describing the situation as “genocide,” and calling upon the global community to act.

Protests have taken place from the Middle East to Europe, the US, India, Pakistan and Far East Asia.