By The Independent (World News) | Created at 2024-10-01 03:35:20 | Updated at 2024-10-01 17:28:23
14 hours ago
Israel says a ‘limited, localised and targeted’ ground operation has started in Lebanon
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Israel’s military says it has begun a “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon, with its troops conducting raids on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure along the border.
Ground forces were being supported by the air force and artillery carrying out “precise strikes”, said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in a statement.
Local residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and sound of helicopters and drones overhead.Israel described its offensive as “limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence” against Hezbollah targets that posed “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel”.
The ground invasion of Lebanon represents a significant escalation of the conflict in a Middle East that threatens to suck in the US and Iran.An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing.
His fate was unknown.
In Syria, three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the capital Damascus, Syrian state media said on Tuesday citing a military source.
Israel targets Palestinian Fatah movement's Lebanese commander, Palestinian officials say
An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, according to two Palestinian security officials.
His fate was unknown.
The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources said. It marked the first strike on the camp, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian camp, since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago.
Namita Singh1 October 2024 04:34
Israel says ground raids are 'limited, localised and targeted'
Israel’s widely expected ground invasion of Lebanon appeared to be getting underway early on Tuesday as its military said troops had begun “limited” raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area.
The military said in a statement that it had begun “limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon villages close to the border that posed “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel”.
It said the air force and artillery were supporting the ground forces with “precise strikes”.
Local residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and the sound of helicopters and drones overhead. Flares were repeatedly launched over the Lebanese border town of Rmeish, lighting up the night sky.
On Monday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant had told local council heads in northern Israel that the next phase of the war along Lebanon’s southern border would begin soon, and would support the aim of bringing home Israelis who have fled Hezbollah rockets during nearly a year of border warfare.
The ground invasion represents an escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran-backed militants, sparked by an assault on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas on 7 October 2023, that now threatens to suck in the US and Iran.
Namita Singh1 October 2024 04:06
Austin spoke with Israel's Gallant, Pentagon says
US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant on Monday, the Department of Defence said.
“They agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel’s northern communities,” the department said in a statement.
Mr Austin reaffirmed that a diplomatic resolution is required to ensure that civilians can return safely to their homes on both sides of the border, according to the department.
Namita Singh1 October 2024 04:00
WATCH: Hezbollah's deputy leader vows to fight on after Nasrallah's death
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 04:00
Top Hamas commander killed in Lebanon was UNRWA employee placed on administrative leave
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said that the top Hamas commander killed in Lebanon Monday was one of its employees but had no function as he was placed on administrative leave since March.
Fatah Sharif’s connection to Hamas appeared set to ratchet up pressure on UNRWA, already facing a $80 million funding shortfall this year. Critics have repeatedly blasted the agency, saying it wasn’t doing enough to root out Hamas militants from its ranks.
The U.N.’s internal watchdog has been investigating UNRWA since Israel in January accused 12 of its staffers of being involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which armed militants killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others. The allegations led more than a dozen donor countries to suspend their funding, causing an initial cash crunch of about $450 million dollars. Since then, all donor countries except for the United States have decided to resume funding the agency.
READ MORE:
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 03:26
Syrian news anchor killed in Israeli airstrike, Syrian media reports
A well known Syrian televsion anchor, Safaa Ahmed, and two other individuals were killed overnight after an Israeli airstrike on Damascus, according to Syrian news organization SANA.
Syria defense ministry said the IDF launched an attack using drones and planes around 2am local time.
“The General Authority for Radio and Television announces the death of the anchor Safaa Ahmed as a martyr following the treacherous Israeli aggression on the capital, Damascus,” SANA reported.
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 02:54
EDITORIAL: Iran does not want war with Israel – but what of Benjamin Netanyahu?
From the editorial:
The Iranian regime has been in trouble for many months, and at risk of revolt enacted by a people exhausted by the ayatollah’s aggression as well as their country’s isolation and international sanctions. Plainly, they do not want war with Israel – but what of Mr Netanyahu?
Suddenly energised by bold military initiatives, Israel seems to possess an unlimited appetite for audacious operations. It has already launched some further pre-emptive air assaults on the notorious Houthi rebels in Yemen (another of Iran’s cadet forces).
Few would bet against it, given the momentum that has powered Israel forward in recent days – and Israel’s unprecedented defiance, even towards its most important partner, the United States.
READ MORE:
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 02:20
Watch: Beirut city centre in ruins after first Israeli strike in 18 years
Watch live from Beirut on Monday, 30 September, as an apartment building lies in ruins following an Israeli strike in the city centre for the first time since 2006.
This feed shows a residential building that was hit by an airstrike in the Kola district.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, the attack brings the death toll from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon to more than 1,000 people and the number of those injured to more than 6,000 over the last two weeks.
READ MORE:
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 02:00
Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon begins with ‘targeted’ raids on Hezbollah targets
Israel’s widely-expected ground incursion inside Lebanon appeared to be underway with its military saying troops had carried out ‘targeted’ raids across the border while backed by airstrikes and artillery.
In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, Israel Defense Force (IDF) said it was striking Hezbollah targets in areas close to its country’s northern border.
The announcement came shortly after Israeli media reported that the country’s cabinet had approved the next stage of the military operation targeting the militant group.
READ MORE:
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 01:31
‘Operation Northern Arrows’ begins in southern Lebanon
The IDF’s push into Lebanon — which it is calling “Operation Northern Arrows” — is reportedly targeting individuals in villages close to the border that it claims posed an “immediate threat” to communities in northern Israel.
Residents in Aita al-Shaab, a village close to Lebanon’s southern border, told Reuters that they experienced heavy shelling and that they could hear drones and helicopters overhead.
Graig Graziosi1 October 2024 00:56
