JERUSALEM: Two people were wounded in a stabbing attack in an Israeli mall on Wednesday, Israeli police said.
Police called it a suspected terror attack and said the attacker was killed. The mall is in Karmiel, northern Israel.
Israeli medics said they were treating two men in their 20s, one in a very serious condition and the other fully conscience.
Video footage from the scene that was shared on social media and seen by Reuters showed two men lying motionless on the floor of the mall while people tried to give them urgent medical care.
At least one of the men receiving care was wearing a green uniform, the video showed. A third man, not in uniform, was lying motionless a short distance away. No one was administering care to him.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Israel is conducting a military offensive in Gaza in retaliation for the deadly Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year.
Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, already on the rise before the war in Gaza, has escalated further, with stepped-up Israeli military raids, settler violence and Palestinian street attacks.
In January, a Palestinian ramming attack in central Israel killed one woman and injured 12 others.
Two people wounded in attack in Israeli mall, police say
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Two people wounded in attack in Israeli mall, police say
Gaza death toll could exceed 186,000, Lancet study finds
- Figure would represent almost 8 percent of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million
LONDON: The death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza could exceed 186,000, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet.
The figure would represent almost 8 percent of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million, the study found.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its military assault on the strip in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
However, the Lancet study warned that the true number of deaths could likely be much higher due to the extensive destruction of health facilities, food distribution networks and other vital infrastructure.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has also faced significant funding cuts, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
According to UN data, as of February this year, more than 10,000 bodies were believed to be buried under rubble, with 35 percent of Gaza’s buildings having been destroyed.
“In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths,” it said.
Using a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths for every direct death, the study said “it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable.”
The Lancet study also addressed claims of data fabrication by Gaza’s Health Ministry, stating that Israeli intelligence, the UN and World Health Organization all find such accusations “implausible.”
It said: “Documenting the true scale is crucial for ensuring historical accountability and acknowledging the full cost of the war. It is also a legal requirement.”
Iran president-elect reiterates support for Hezbollah
- “The support of the resistance is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pezeshkian says
TEHRAN: Iran’s president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday reaffirmed the Islamic republic’s support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and condemned Israel’s actions against Palestinians.
The statement, issued to Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah on the IRNA official news agency, was one of the first foreign policy comments from Pezeshkian since his victory in Friday’s presidential election runoff.
Tehran provides financial and military support to Hezbollah, which was created at the initiative of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards after arch-foe Israel overran Beirut in 1982 during Lebanon’s civil war.
In a reference to Hezbollah and allied groups, Pezeshkian said: “The support of the resistance is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
He said he was confident the “resistance movement” would stop its arch-foe Israel’s “warmongering and criminal policies” in Gaza, where Israel has for nine months been at war with Hezbollah’s Palestinian ally, Hamas.
Since the war in Gaza began, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire over Lebanon’s border, triggering global alarm about the potential for all-out war as fighting escalates.
Earlier Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Tehran “will not hesitate to support the Lebanese nation” and Israel “must be aware of the consequences of any adventurous action in the region, especially toward Lebanon.”
Reformist Pezeshkian defeated ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator, in the election which was brought forward after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
After the vote, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the election result was a “clear message of demand for change and opposition” from the Iranian people.
On Saturday Nasrallah congratulated Pezeshkian on his election victory and emphasized Tehran’s role as a “strong” supporter of regional “resistance” groups.
The Shiite Muslim movement is a key part of the Axis of Resistance — an alliance of pro-Iran armed movements that oppose Israel and the United States.
The alliance also includes Yemen’s Houthi rebels and fighters in Iraq, as well as Hamas.
Syrians in Turkiye fear for future after Erdogan plans talks with Assad
- The number of Syrian arrivals has worried Turks, who wonder if they will ever return home, prompting Erdogan to promise talks and an eventual “honorable” voluntary return for most
ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sudden plan to invite his estranged Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad for talks has raised fears among Syrians in Turkiye of being sent back, a week after a spate of anti-migrant violence already left them shaken.
Ankara severed ties with Damascus in 2011 after Syria’s civil war began and Turkish forces backed anti-Assad forces in the north. However, in the last two weeks, Erdogan has stressed the need for reconciliation with Turkiye’s neighbor.
On Sunday, he was quoted as saying he would invite Assad “any time” to work on returning to past relations with Syria, which has been severed by the war that drew in the US, Russia, Turkiye, and several armed groups.
“There are fears that Erdogan will make a deal with Assad and send the Syrians back” to Damascus-held parts of the country, said Samir Al-Abdullah, of the nonprofit Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies in Istanbul.
“There are also those who fear they will be stripped of their Turkish citizenship,” he said of some of Turkiye’s more than 3 million Syrian war migrants.
Turkiye hosts more refugees than any other nation.
The number of Syrian arrivals has worried Turks, who wonder if they will ever return home, prompting Erdogan to promise talks and an eventual “honorable” voluntary return for most.
Ahmad, 19, a Syrian student in Istanbul’s Eyupsultan district, said his family is considering selling their properties in Turkiye due to the anti-immigrant unrest.
“They are scared even though they have Turkish citizenship,” he said, declining to give a surname for security reasons.
In Istanbul’s densely populated Sultanbeyli district, which houses many Syrian refugees, residents said attackers broke the windows of a Syrian-owned barber shop and chanted anti-immigrant slogans. A Syrian mother said her son, 8, now “wants to stay indoors because he believes people might do us harm.”
Erdogan said public order is a red line for the country.
Syria has said any normalization in ties can only come after Turkiye agrees to pull out thousands of troops from the rebel-held areas — a precondition Ankara has called unacceptable, citing security concerns over Syrian Kurdish fighters.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a UK-based advocacy group, said on Friday Syria is not safe for the return of millions of refugees from Turkiye.
Last week, Erdogan — who had somewhat hardened his stance on migrants ahead of presidential elections last year — has said that 670,000 people have returned to settlements in northern Syria, and another 1 million people are expected to return.
Israeli drones breach rules of engagement pursuing Hezbollah
- UN coordinator discusses de-escalation on the Blue Line in Tel Aviv
- Iranian Foreign Ministry: ‘Israel will bear the consequences of any attack on Lebanon’
BEIRUT: An Israeli military drone targeted a car in Tyre and a motorcycle in Qlaileh in southern Lebanon on Monday, killing a Hezbollah member and severely injuring another.
Hezbollah announced the death of the victim, identified as Mustafa Hassan Salman, born in 1991, from Qlaileh.
The Israeli military also hit a goat farm in Jabal Tourah in Jezzine, killing over 500 goats.
The reason for the expansion of hostilities, which violate the rules of engagement, remains unclear.
After targeting a Hezbollah operative in Deir Qanoun En Nahr three weeks ago, the Israeli military targeted Maaroub in southern Lebanon and Chaat in Baalbek–Hermel on Saturday and Sunday.
As well as expanding the scope of its operations, Israel is also penetrating deeper into Lebanon.
One political observer worried that “Israel, which probably doesn’t want to expand the war, might want to continue its assassinations and targeting of Hezbollah members in any Lebanese region, even if the war in the southern front came to an end.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday: “We want to bring Hezbollah to reach an agreement that allows residents to return to their homes.”
Sunday was one of the most challenging days on the southern front, as Hezbollah carried out an operation in the Israeli Golan Heights in response to the assassination of Hezbollah member Maytham Mustafa Al-Attar in Chaat, Baalbek.
Israeli Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Monday that the military “carried out Sunday night raids on Hezbollah’s targets in Lebanon, including a military site in Jabal Tourah, a Hezbollah weapons depot in Qabrikha, a military building in Tallouseh and facilities in Houla and Aita Al-Shaab.”
He added that the army carried out artillery shelling to remove threats in several areas in southern Lebanon.
A family in Marjayoun miraculously escaped death after a missile hit their home but did not explode.
Another rocket fell in Qabrikha, but did not explode either.
In response to the assassination of Al-Attar, Hezbollah launched a drone attack on Mount Hermon in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights where Israel has a key surveillance center.
It said this was its first such bombing since it began trading fire with Israel on Oct. 8.
The attack hit intelligence equipment and technical systems, causing a major fire, Hezbollah said.
Israel has key surveillance, espionage, and air defense installations on Mount Hermon where it overlooks the Syrian capital Damascus and monitors the rest of the country.
Hezbollah also launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Nimra base, marking the first attack in nine months of confrontations in the northern region near Tiberias.
Hezbollah targeted the newly established headquarters of the 91st Division in the Ayelet Barracks with dozens of Katyusha rockets, as well as military sites in Liman, Bayad Blida, Birkat Risha, Al-Raheb, and Al-Baghdadi.
Several American citizens and an Israeli settler were injured.
The Israeli military retaliated by conducting airstrikes on the town of Maaroub for the first time, targeting and destroying a concrete water storage tank.
Maaroub, in the Tyre district, is considered a stronghold for Hezbollah, as the hometown of former minister and co-founder Mohammed Fneish.
An Israeli warplane also struck a house in the town of Naqoura.
The Israeli military shelled the town of Bustane with phosphorus bombs, causing fires in agricultural fields and olive groves.
As part of diplomatic efforts, UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has been conducting talks in Israel since Sunday after intensive discussions with Lebanese leaders and concerned parties to explore ways of de-escalation across the Blue Line.
Her office said in a statement that “her visit to Israel comes ahead of planned UN Security Council consultations on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006 later this month.”
She said that discussions with Israeli officials focus on the importance of restoring peace and creating an opportunity for a diplomatic solution that allowed displaced civilians from both sides to return home. Additionally, they will address the outstanding provisions under Resolution 1701.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry warned on Monday that any “attack on Lebanon will create grounds for increased tension in the region and threatens its security and peace.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “defending Lebanon is a fundamental principle for us, and there is no doubt that we will support Lebanon against any Israeli aggression.”
It added: “Israel will bear the consequences of any attack on Lebanon, and the international community must assume its responsibilities.”
UAE ship carrying 5,340 tonnes of aid heads to Gaza
- Vessel left the Port of Fujairah with 4,750 tonnes of food and 590 tonnes of shelter materials
DUBAI: An Emirati ship carrying 5,340 tonnes of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza set sail on Monday, heading for the Egyptian city of Al-Arish, the UAE state news agency reported.
The aid mission is part of the UAE's “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3,” which is aimed at supporting the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war against Hamas in the enclave.
The vessel left the Port of Fujairah with 4,750 tonnes of food and 590 tonnes of shelter materials. The cargo has been provided by the Emirates Red Crescent, the Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, and the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.
In a broader effort to assist Gaza, the UAE has initiated several projects, including the establishment of two field hospitals — one in Gaza and another as a floating hospital off the coast of Al-Arish.
Additionally, five bakeries have been established, and flour has been supplied to eight existing bakeries in Gaza. Six desalination plants have also been established, producing 1.2 million gallons of water per day to benfit more than 600,000 people.
Recently, the UAE launched the “Birds of Goodness,” operation that involves airdropping humanitarian aid to isolated areas in the northern Gaza Strip that are inaccessible by land. To date this operation has delivered 3,382 tonnes of relief and humanitarian supplies.
