BEIRUT: Three paramedics affiliated with Hezbollah were killed in an Israeli strike on south Lebanon Monday, the group said, amid escalating cross-border hostilities in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement have been exchanging near-daily fire since the day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October, raising fears all-out conflict could spread across the region.
The Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee said three volunteers died “due to a direct Zionist attack on an emergency center” in south Lebanon’s Adaysseh.
The deaths came hours after Israeli medics said a missile strike on northern Israel killed a foreign worker and wounded seven others.
Lebanon’s health ministry condemned the Israeli raid “in the strongest terms” and called attacks on medical personnel “unacceptable,” in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency.
Hezbollah on Monday claimed several attacks on Israeli military positions, while local media reported Israeli attacks on a number of locations in south Lebanon.
The Israeli military said “numerous launches were identified crossing from Lebanon,” adding that it “struck the sources of the launches,” while “fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah military compounds in southern Lebanon.”
Last month, two Islamic Health Committee paramedics and a Hezbollah fighter were killed in an Israeli strike on one of the organization’s centers in south Lebanon’s Blida, the group and a security source said at the time.
The Israeli army said it had struck a Hezbollah “military compound” in the village.
And in January, the Iran-backed militant group said an Israeli strike killed two Islamic Health Committee medics in the town of Hanin.
The Israeli army said it had struck Hezbollah targets, as well as “a number of areas in Lebanese territory.”
The fighting has killed at least 299 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 49 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed.
Hezbollah says 3 affiliated paramedics killed in Israel strike
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Hezbollah says 3 affiliated paramedics killed in Israel strike
- Hezbollah on Monday claimed several attacks on Israeli military positions, while local media reported Israeli attacks on a number of locations in south Lebanon
UAE, Egypt sign MoU in ‘significant milestone’ for Arab space cooperation
- Agreement covers joint projects and knowledge exchange in areas such as satellite technology, earth observation and space research
- Signing coincided with the African Space Agency’s headquarters opening in Cairo
DUBAI: The UAE and Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost collaboration in peaceful space activities, marking what Emirati officials described as a “significant milestone” in Arab space cooperation, state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 11th meeting of the Arab Space Cooperation Group and the “NewSpace Africa” conference in Cairo, with the UAE delegation led by Salem Butti Al-Qubaisi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency.
“The MoU represents a significant milestone in Arab space cooperation and reflects the UAE’s strategic vision, which sees space as a gateway to sustainable development, knowledge exchange and innovative solutions to shared challenges,” Al-Qubaisi said.
He highlighted that partnering with Egypt reinforced the UAE’s commitment to investing in people, localizing scientific expertise and developing a competitive, innovation-driven knowledge economy. He said that these goals aligned with broader regional ambitions for prosperity and stability.
The MoU establishes a long-term framework for cooperation in civil space programs, including the exchange of expertise, research and technology, and the implementation of joint projects supporting both countries’ sustainable development goals.
Planned areas of collaboration include communications technologies, satellite navigation and timing, Earth observation, remote sensing, space situational awareness, remote asset management and R&D in emerging and advanced technologies.
The UAE delegation also attended the opening ceremony of the African Space Agency’s new headquarters at Egyptian Space City, an event that drew senior officials, ministers and space-sector leaders from across Africa.
At least 12 killed overnight by Israeli strikes in Gaza
- The pre-dawn strikes hit three houses in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp
- Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month
At least 12 people including children were killed overnight in Gaza by Israeli strikes, hospital workers said Wednesday.
The pre-dawn strikes hit three houses in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, according to staff at the Al-Aqsa hospital, which received the bodies. Among the dead were three children, including two brothers whose bodies arrived in pieces, according to the hospital’s morgue.
Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory’s 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March in what it says is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages.
The strikes come after more than two dozen people were killed earlier this week in Gaza City and Beit Lahiya.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
UAE arrests cell smuggling weapons to Sudanese army
- UAE Attorney-General says security forces arrested a cell involved in unauthorized trafficking of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces
DUBAI: UAE security services thwarted an attempt to illegally transfer weapons and military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces, Emirates News Agency reported.
“The country’s security services foiled an attempt to illegally smuggle weapons and military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces,” read a statement on WAM.
UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi said authorities prevented the illegal transfer of “a quantity of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces following the arrest of members of a cell involved in unauthorized mediation, brokering and illicit trafficking of military equipment, without obtaining the necessary licenses.”
The statement said the defendants were arrested during an inspection of ammunition in a private aircraft at one of the country’s airports.
Authorities seized about 5 million rounds of 7.62x54mmR ammunition found on the plane.
Al-Shamsi said the investigation revealed the involvement of some Sudanese military leaders, including former intelligence chief Salah Gosh who is a political figure close to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Several Sudanese businessmen were also implicated.
US official tells UN top court ‘serious concerns’ over UNRWA impartiality
THE HAGUE: A US official on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice there were “serious concerns” about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
ICJ judges are holding a week of hearings to help them formulate an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations toward UN agencies delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
“There are serious concerns about UNRWA’s impartiality, including information that Hamas has used UNRWA facilities and that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7th terrorist attack against Israel,” said Josh Simmons from the US State Department legal team.
Syrian state media says 11 dead in new clashes near Damascus
- Clashes erupted overnight between security forces and “outlaw groups” near Damascus
DAMASCUS: Syria state media said Wednesday that 11 people had been killed in clashes that erupted overnight between security forces and “outlaw groups” near Damascus.
“The number of dead after outlaw groups targeted civilians and security forces” in the Sahnaya area “has risen to 11 dead and a number of wounded,” state news agency SANA said, citing a health ministry statement, without elaborating on the identity of those killed.
