BEIRUT: Hezbollah urged Lebanese to discard Israeli leaflets dropped over the country’s east on Tuesday, warning against scanning barcodes that it said could compromise personal data.
“The Zionist enemy is dropping leaflets with barcodes in the Bekaa region and may drop them elsewhere,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.
“Please do not open or circulate the barcode. You must destroy it immediately,” the statement said, warning the code could “take all your information.”
Later Tuesday, a Lebanese security source said an Israeli strike hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold, with the Israeli army also saying it had carried out a strike, a day after hitting the same area.
Hezbollah and its arch-foe had been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire for nearly a year over the Gaza war.
Since then, Israel has repeatedly broadcast warnings on loudspeakers to residents of southern Lebanon, asking them to evacuate.
On Monday Israel launched devastating strikes across Lebanon’s south and east, killing more than 550 according to Lebanese figures — the deadliest in one day since Hezbollah and Israel last went to war in 2006.
Lebanese official media said on Monday that people were receiving Israeli phone warnings telling them to evacuate, and Information Minister Ziad Makary’s office told AFP it had received one of the messages.
The calls caused panic among Lebanese after devastating week of coordinated communications devices explosions that killed 39 people and wounded thousands on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
Those were followed by a deadly strike on Friday on south Beirut, with leading Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil among the dead.
Hezbollah warns Lebanese over dropped Israeli leaflets
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Hezbollah warns Lebanese over dropped Israeli leaflets
- “Please do not open or circulate the barcode. You must destroy it immediately,” the statement said, warning the code could “take all your information”
Zindani govt begins reshaping security leadership
- US backing for the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council’s efforts
ADEN: Yemen’s government under Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani has begun implementing a series of decisions to restructure the leadership of the security services, in a move seen as a significant step toward reorganizing state institutions in the temporary capital, Aden.
It comes amid renewed US support for the Presidential Leadership Council’s efforts to bolster stability, combat terrorism and safeguard international maritime routes.
The chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, issued two presidential decrees appointing Brig. Gen. Abdulsalam Qaid Abdulqawi Al-Jamali as commander of the Special Security Forces and Brig. Gen. Abdulsalam Abdulrab Ahmed Al-Omari as head of the Civil Defense Authority, with both officers promoted to the rank of major general.
The decisions are part of a broader Yemeni effort to rebuild the leadership structure of security institutions, while strengthening the state’s capacity to enforce security and stability in liberated areas amid the country’s multiple security challenges.
Alongside the presidential decrees, Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan issued a series of leadership changes within Aden’s security services, including the reassignment of several security officials, as part of a plan aimed at improving operational efficiency and strengthening coordination among units.
The decisions included reassigning Brig. Gen. Jalal Al-Rubaie from his post as commander of the National Security Forces to lead the Special Security Forces in Aden, as well as appointing Brig. Gen. Mohammed Abdo Al-Subeihi as deputy director general of Aden Police and assistant for security affairs.
The appointments also included Brig. Gen. Jalal Fadl Al-Qutaibi as assistant director general of Aden Police for human resources and financial affairs; Brig. Gen. Mohammed Khaled Haidara Al-Turki as assistant director general for operations; Brig. Gen. Hassan Mohsen Saleh Al-Omari as director of the Criminal Investigation Department, with Col. Fouad Mohammed Ali appointed as his deputy; and Lt. Col. Mayas Haidara Al-Jaadani as director of the Anti-Narcotics Department.
The Yemeni Ministry of Interior said the measures are intended to reorganize field operations, raise security readiness levels, accelerate response time to threats and improve institutional discipline within security agencies. It believes the changes will help consolidate stability in the temporary capital of Aden and improve security and service performance in the city.
Yemeni-American Partnership
The government’s steps coincided with a meeting between Al-Alimi and US Ambassador to Yemen Steven H. Fagin, during which they reviewed the latest developments at the local level.
The two sides also discussed the US and international support required to strengthen Yemen’s capacity to confront security and terrorist threats, protect vital facilities and secure international shipping lanes, noting that this is an issue of regional and global priority amid escalating tensions
According to an official media source, Al-Alimi reiterated his appreciation of the Yemeni-American partnership and praised Washington’s role in supporting the implementation of resolutions to prohibit the smuggling of Iranian arms to the Houthi militia, drying up their funding sources and curbing destabilizing operations.
Al-Alimi highlighted the importance of reinforcing joint deterrence against regional threats, including the need to strictly enforce international sanctions and to pursue financing, smuggling and arms networks, in support of the government’s efforts to extend state control across all Yemeni territory.
He added that the security of the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait is a global concern that requires broad international coordination.
Al-Alimi said that the Yemeni government is exerting efforts to normalize economic and service conditions, and to implement plans designed to integrate forces and unify security and military decision-making processes. He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported these efforts, as it has played a pivotal role in advancing stability and rebuilding state institutions.
