Israeli airstrikes, artillery reach deep into Bekaa Valley as tensions soar

People gather around a destroyed building targeted by Israeli air strikes on the village of Nabi Sheet in the Baablbek district in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on April 14, 2024, as tensions in the region soared after Iran directly attacked Israel. (AFP)
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Updated 14 April 2024
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Israeli airstrikes, artillery reach deep into Bekaa Valley as tensions soar

  • Hezbollah modifies its tactics in south Lebanon amidst the backdrop of Iranian attack on Israel

BEIRUT: Israeli forces on Sunday struck a Hezbollah site in Lebanon’s east near the Syrian border as tensions soared following Iran’s direct attack on Israel.

Shelling heavily targeted Lebanese border villages and the Bekaa Valley on Saturday night, as the Israeli military carried out raids on Khiam, Kfarkila, and Odaisseh.

Artillery shelling also targeted Houla, Wadi Saluki, the vicinity of Deir Mimas, and areas along the Litani River.

The raid on Khiam resulted in the death of one person, and many civilians were injured in other villages.

BACKGROUND

Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since the Palestinian group attacked southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

A missile exploded near a Lebanese Army intelligence office in the Jdeidet Marjayoun village.

The missile caused significant material damage to the facility and nearby houses, but miraculously, nobody was injured.

On Sunday morning, Israeli warplanes targeted the park in Jabal Safi adjacent to Jbaa and the outskirts of a village in Iqlim Al-Tuffah.

A sonic boom caused by missile fire damaged several houses, shops, and schools in Jbaa, while Israeli planes also targeted areas deep inside central Bekaa, specifically a three-floor building between the Saraain and Nabi Chit villages. Additionally, military aircraft were seen flying over Baalbek and its surroundings.

The Israeli military said that it struck “an important weapon manufacturing site for Hezbollah in Nabi Chit.”

Hezbollah’s own attacks were limited to Israeli military outposts repeatedly targeted since the outbreak of hostilities, including the air and missile defense headquarters at the Kaylaa outpost in the Golan Heights, which Hezbollah targeted with dozens of Katyusha missiles.

Following the Iranian attack on Israel overnight, Hezbollah’s supporters rallied in Beirut’s southern suburbs, holding the party’s banner and chanting slogans in support of Tehran.

News that the majority of the Iranian drones and missiles were intercepted before reaching Israeli airspace, however, prompted criticism of the attack online.

Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport closed for six hours after news of the impending attack broke on Saturday evening.

Lebanese people flocked to gas stations to fill their tanks in case escalating tensions affected supplies in the coming days.

The representative of the country’s fuel distributors, Fadi Abu Shaqra, said that “fuel is secured, and the quantities are sufficient for (the next several) days.”

He said gasoline and diesel were available, and there was no need for the public to worry about shortages.

Caretaker Public Works and Transportation Minister Ali Hamia said the airport will gradually return to work as normal.

“Closing the airport was a precautionary measure. It took into account the safety and security of people arriving and departing,” Hamia said.

“At 7 a.m., we suspended the closure decision. The airspace was opened, and work will gradually return to its normal course.”

Middle East Airlines said it had rescheduled a number of flights and announced the successful departure of flights to London and Dubai.

 

 


New US sanctions draw sharp reaction from Iran

Updated 4 sec ago
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New US sanctions draw sharp reaction from Iran

  • Iran held fresh nuclear talks on Monday with Britain, France and Germany following renewed engagement in November
TEHRAN: Iran on Wednesday condemned a new round of US sanctions as a “clear sign of hostility” after Washington blacklisted more than 30 people and vessels linked to its oil trade.
Washington announced the measures on Monday, targeting the head of the national oil company and others accused of brokering oil sales.
It was the second wave of sanctions in less than a month since US President Donald Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy on Tehran.
The sanctions were a “clear sign of the hostility of American policymakers toward the welfare, development, and happiness of the great people of Iran,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
In a statement, he called the measures a “wrongful, unjustified, illegitimate act that violates the human rights of the Iranian people,” and held Washington responsible.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has called for dialogue with Iran, saying he wants it to be a “great and successful country.”
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the possibility of direct negotiations with Washington on his country’s nuclear program under “pressure, threat or sanctions.”
During Trump’s first term, which ended in 2021, Washington withdrew from the landmark 2015 deal that imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
After the Trump administration reimposed sanctions in 2018, Tehran gradually rolled back its nuclear commitments.
Iran held fresh nuclear talks on Monday with Britain, France and Germany following renewed engagement in November.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tuesday that another round of talks with the Europeans was expected within three weeks.

Israelis mass for funeral of Bibas hostages killed in Gaza

Updated 55 min 24 sec ago
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Israelis mass for funeral of Bibas hostages killed in Gaza

RISHON LE’ZION: Thousands of mourners, carrying flags and orange balloons, gathered Wednesday for the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in Gaza captivity.
The bodies of Shiri Bibas and her children — Kfir and Ariel — were returned to Israel last week by Hamas as part of the ongoing ceasefire that has halted the more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza.
Israel’s national anthem was played as the black vehicle convoy passed through the crowd of mourners in the central city of Rishon LeZion, where the remains of the three hostages had been prepared for burial.
Thousands of people lined the route to kibbutz Nir Oz, where the Bibas family lived before their abduction by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023, and where their burial was set to take place later.
“I think if I stop to think about it for more than a split second, I feel so sickened, so sickened,” said Simi Polonasky, 38, who traveled from Miami to support hostage families.
“It’s not a regular situation: if you’re not feeling numb, you’re feeling so shattered and broken that it almost feels hard to continue,” she told AFP, starting to weep as she spoke.
Dozens of people lit candles at the roadside.
“We’re here to give a hug and receive a hug, to be strengthened and to give as much strength as possible,” said Mottel Gestetner, 41, who traveled from Australia.
Shiri Bibas and her two children were taken from their kibbutz by Palestinian militants during their unprecedented attack on Israel.
Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was also abducted but was released alive earlier this month in a hostage-prisoner exchange with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“From the window (of the car) today, I see a broken country. We won’t be able to get up or to heal until the last of the hostages is back home. Thank you everyone,” his sister Ofri Bibas said on her Facebook page.
The remains of the three Bibas family members were among the first to be returned under the truce deal.
The handover sparked anger in Israel when the remains of Shiri Bibas were not initially returned, prompting Hamas to admit a possible “mix-up of bodies” and finally hand over hers.
Yarden Bibas and his sister-in-law said in a statement last week that while the funeral would “only be for members of the family and close friends,” they wanted to let “whoever wishes to pay their respects and be a part of this moment to do so.”
Crowds of people were expected to line up along the route from Risho LeZion to Nir Oz as the funeral procession heads to the kibbutz.
Hamas has long insisted that an Israeli air strike killed Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas early in the war, but an Israeli autopsy said there was no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing.
Since their abduction Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel who was then aged four, and Kfir, then only nine months, had become symbols of Israel’s hostage ordeal.


Eight sentenced to death for 2013 murder of Tunisia opposition leader

Updated 26 February 2025
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Eight sentenced to death for 2013 murder of Tunisia opposition leader

  • Brahmi, a nationalist left-wing leader of the People’s Movement and member of Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly, was an outspoken critic of the Islamist-inspired government dominated by Ennahdha at the time

TUNIS: A Tunisian court sentenced eight defendants to death on Tuesday over the 2013 assassination of leftist opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, according to local reports.
Charges included “attempting to change the state’s nature” and “inciting armed conflict,” local media reported.
Three of the defendants also received additional death sentences for “deliberate participation in premeditated murder,” according to the reports.
A ninth, who is on the run, was sentenced to five years in prison for “failing to report terrorist crimes to the authorities,” said the reports.
Tunisia still hands down death sentences, particularly in “terrorism” cases, even though a de facto moratorium in effect since 1991 means they are effectively commuted to life terms.
The verdict marked the first set of rulings in the case of Brahmi’s assassination, which took place outside his home on July 25, 2013, amid Tunisia’s turbulent post-revolution political landscape.
Demonstrators took to the streets across the country, as Brahmi’s distinctive round face and thick mustache became symbols of protest against jihadist violence.
Brahmi, a nationalist left-wing leader of the People’s Movement and member of Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly, was an outspoken critic of the Islamist-inspired government dominated by Ennahdha at the time.
His assassination further shocked the nation as it came less than six months after the killing of another prominent leftist figure, Chokri Belaid, who was also gunned down outside his home.

Brahmi had been elected in Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the 2011 revolution that toppled ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and later swept through the Arab World.
He was shot 14 times by two assailants in front of his wife and children.
His family had long accused Ennahdha of being behind the murder, but the then ruling party denied the allegations.
It had also pushed back against accusations of excessive leniency, blacklisting the formerly legal Salafist movement Ansar Al-Charia as a terrorist organization.
Terrorists affiliated with the Daesh claimed responsibility for both the Brahmi and Belaid assassinations.
The aftermath of the 2011 revolution saw a surge in Islamist radicalism in Tunisia with thousands of jihadist volunteers leaving to fight in Syria, Iraq and neighboring Libya.
Tunisia faced heightened security threats, with armed groups operating from the Chaambi Mountains near the Algerian border, primarily targeting security forces and the military.
In 2015, jihadist attacks in Sousse and the capital Tunis killed dozens of tourists and police, although authorities say they have since made significant progress against the extremists.
In recent years, Tunisian authorities claim significant progress in combating jihadist violence, but the country remains under a state of emergency.
In 2022, President Kais Saied — who has framed the murders of Brahmi and Belaid as national issues and often called them “martyrs” — dismissed dozens of judges after alleging they had obstructed investigations.
The high-profile killings, and the mass protests they drew, ultimately forced Ennahdha to relinquish power to a technocratic government following the adoption of a new constitution.
The crisis had nearly derailed Tunisia’s fragile democratic transition.
But political dialogue led by four civil society organizations, including the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), helped restore stability and earned the nation of 12 million the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize.
 

 


Why UAE climate scientists have their heads in the clouds

Updated 26 February 2025
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Why UAE climate scientists have their heads in the clouds

  • $1.5 million three-year project will deploy artificial intelligence to increase annual rainfall

DUBAI: Artificial intelligence and “the cloud” seem to be everywhere these days — now scientists in the UAE are putting them together in an attempt to increase the country’s minuscule 100mm annual rainfall.

A three-year project funded with $1.5 million from the UAE’s rain enhancement program will feed satellite, radar and weather data into an algorithm that predicts where seedable clouds will form in the next six hours. It promises to improve on the current method of cloud-seeding flights directed by human experts studying satellite images.
Cloud seeding, using planes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds, can increase rainfall by up to 15 percent — but it works only with certain types of puffy, cumulus clouds, and can even suppress rainfall if not done properly.
“You’ve got to do it in the right place at the right time. That’s why we use artificial intelligence,” said Luca Delle Monache, a climate scientist at the University of California San Diego.


Hamas to turn over bodies of four Israeli hostages in exchange for release of hundreds of prisoners

Hamas fighters stand in formation ahead Israeli hostages release in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP)
Updated 51 min 43 sec ago
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Hamas to turn over bodies of four Israeli hostages in exchange for release of hundreds of prisoners

  • The deadlock had threatened to collapse the ceasefire when the current six-week first phase of the deal expires this weekend

JERUSALEM: Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire.
Israel has delayed the release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas.
The militant group has said the delay is a “serious violation” of their ceasefire and that talks on a second phase are not possible until the Palestinians are freed.
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would hand over the bodies of four Israelis the next day.
In exchange, Israel would release the Palestinian prisoners, as well as an unspecified number of women and minors detained since the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the conflict.
An Israeli official confirmed that the bodies of four hostages were expected to be turned over but provided no further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Israel and Hamas had already said on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to return the bodies of the hostages, but no date had been announced.
Hamas has released hostages, and the bodies of four dead hostages, in large public ceremonies during which the Israelis were paraded and forced to wave to large crowds.
Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have said the ceremonies were humiliating to the hostages, and Israel last weekend delayed the scheduled prisoner release in protest.
The deadlock over the exchange had threatened to collapse the ceasefire when the current six-week first phase of the deal expires this weekend.
The latest agreement would complete both sides’ obligations of the first phase of the ceasefire — during which Hamas is returning 33 hostages, including eight bodies — in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
It also could clear the way for an expected visit this week by the White House’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region.
Witkoff has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining hostages held by Hamas are to be released and an end to the war is to be negotiated. The Phase 2 talks were supposed to begin weeks ago, but never did.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of heavy fighting that erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 people hostage.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system. The Hamas-run Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but it says that over half of the dead have been women and children.