50 children among hundreds of Lebanese killed in 2 days of Israeli strikes

A man reacts at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon September 24, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 25 September 2024
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50 children among hundreds of Lebanese killed in 2 days of Israeli strikes

  • Human remains seen on vehicles parked in front of building targeted on Tuesday
  • The sources identified the commander who was killed as Ibrahim Qubaisi

BEIRUT: The Israeli military resumed its attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, targeting a building in the Ghobeiry area a day after hundreds of airstrikes across various regions in Lebanon killed over 550 people, including 50 children.
Tuesday’s operation, which was intended to eliminate Abu Jawad Haraka, the commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah’s missile unit, resulted in the deaths of two people and a further 11, including Iraqis, sustaining injuries, along with the destruction of part of a six-story residential building.
Israeli army radio announced that the airstrike was carried out by F-35 aircraft.
Images circulated from the site of the attack showed human remains on the vehicles parked in front of the targeted building, along with the significant destruction of property.
Further Israeli assaults targeted paramedics associated with the Islamic Health Organization, linked to Hezbollah in the Nabatieh area, as well as the Sajjad food supply establishment, which is also connected to Hezbollah, in Sarein in the Bekaa region.
Following a day of deadly strikes on southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that the Israeli military would “accelerate the offensive operation today,” and added that “we should not give Hezbollah a rest.”
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad reported that hundreds of Israeli airstrikes across various regions of the country on Monday resulted in 558 fatalities, including 50 children.
It marked the most intense airstrikes against Lebanon since Hezbollah initiated operations on the southern front about a year ago.
A UNICEF official spoke of “children missing under rubble.”
The intensity in the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated last week following explosions that targeted pagers and wireless devices used by Hezbollah members and civilian employees.
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 39 people and injuries to 2,931 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israeli airstrikes impacted residential areas in the southern regions up to Mount Hermon, as well as the western Bekaa and a significant portion of the villages and towns in central and eastern Bekaa.
The attacks also affected an area adjacent to the archaeological site in Baalbek.
Displaced people who managed to reach Beirut spread out along the roads with their belongings and at the front of mosques, while the Ministry of Education opened public schools to accommodate them.
The Masnaa Border Crossing witnessed severe traffic congestion due to the significant movement of displaced people from Lebanon to Syria, including both Lebanese citizens and Syrian workers.
Heavy traffic jams meanwhile continued on roads in south Beirut.
People remained trapped in their cars without food or water due to the chaos in organizing the flow of tens of thousands of cars, especially between Ghazieh and Sidon, and Sidon and Beirut.
Displaced people expressed concerns about the “absence of state institutions in resolving this tragedy.”
They also lamented the “lack of organizational support from Hezbollah during such critical times, leaving people to face their fate alone.”
The health minister told a press conference that “the number of hospitals that received casualties on Monday reached 54,” noting that “four paramedics lost their lives.”
He mentioned “a significant number of remains that the security forces are working to identify.”
As the Israeli strikes on the neighborhoods of southern Beirut have intensified, an increasing number of people have decided to evacuate their homes, in contrast to the situation in 2006 when Hezbollah instructed residents to leave the area within hours of the onset of Israeli aggression.
Numerous neighborhoods have appeared deserted, with shops, restaurants, and gas stations closed, resulting in an almost complete lack of activity.
Meanwhile, both Arab and foreign airlines have suspended all flights to Beirut until further notice.
Minister of Education Abbas Halabi announced the death of Suzi Kojok, director of Kawthariyet El Seyad Intermediate Public School; Layali Ayach, a teacher at the Ansar Public High School, who was killed along with her husband and their two children; and Zeinab and Fatimah Hreibi, teachers at the Shoukin Public School.
Halabi said the victims had died “following the aggressive Israeli shelling that targeted their houses or killed them while they were carrying out their work at school.”
The state-owned Electricite du Liban announced the death of Farah Kojok, an engineer at the Zahrani thermal power plant who died along with her husband, children, father, mother and sister in an Israeli raid that targeted their home.
The Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen announced the death of journalist Hadi Al-Sayed, who was killed in an Israeli raid that targeted his house in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military again dropped leaflets over southern Lebanon, calling on people to avoid Hezbollah members, following voice messages telling residents to evacuate their houses.
The leaflets said that “whoever stays near Hezbollah members or weapons is putting their life at risk.”
In a series of strikes targeting Israeli outposts, Hezbollah retaliated while affirming that its firepower had not been affected by Israeli attacks.
The group announced that it had “bombarded the Eliakim military camp of the Israeli Northern Command, south of Haifa, with a barrage of Fadi-2 rockets.”
Hezbollah’s operations targeted “the Megiddo Military Airport, west of Afula, with a barrage of Fadi-1 missiles in the first round, and a barrage of Fadi-2 missiles in the second and third rounds.”
It also bombed “the explosive materials factory in the Zikhron area, 60 km from the border, with a barrage of Fadi-2 rockets.”
Hezbollah also targeted “the Amos base — the main logistical support and transportation hub for the northern region — with a salvo of Fadi-1 rockets, as well as the Ramat David base and airport with a salvo of Fadi-2 missiles.”
The group also targeted “the logistical warehouses of the 146th Division at the Naftali base with a rocket salvo, in addition to the Samson base and the Rosh Pina settlement with a rocket salvo.”
According to the Israeli side, Hezbollah’s strikes also reached Safad, while Israel called on “residents in Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings to stay near fortified areas.”
On the diplomatic front, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French presidential envoy, met in Beirut several Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati; Nabih Berri, parliamentary speaker; Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces; Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party; and Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement.
Le Drian said that “France stands by Lebanon in all circumstances,” and added he hoped that “diplomatic calls would lead to a resolution that halts the cycle of violence.”


Sudan files AU complaint against Chad over arms: minister

Updated 4 sec ago
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Sudan files AU complaint against Chad over arms: minister

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s army-backed government on Tuesday accused neighboring Chad of supplying arms to rebel militias, likely referring to the paramilitary forces it is battling.
The northeast African country has been engulfed by war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the regular army, led by de facto ruler Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Justice minister Muawiya Osman said Burhan’s administration had lodged the complaint against Chad at the African Union.
Speaking to reporters, including AFP, Osman said the government demanded compensation and accused Chad of “supplying arms to rebel militias” and causing “harm to Sudanese citizens.”
“We will present evidence to the relevant authorities,” he added from Port Sudan, where Burhan relocated after fighting spread to the capital, Khartoum.
Chad last month denied accusations that it was “amplifying the war in Sudan” by arming the RSF.
“We do not support any of the factions that are fighting on Sudanese territory — we are in favor of peace,” foreign minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said at the time.
The United Nations has been using the Adre border crossing between the two countries to deliver humanitarian aid.
Sudan had initially agreed to keep the crossing open for three months, a period set to expire on November 15. Authorities in Khartoum have yet to decide whether to extend the arrangement.
The Sudanese war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million, including 3.1 million who are now sheltering beyond the country’s borders.

Explosion at Turkish oil refinery injures 12

Updated 17 min 22 sec ago
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Explosion at Turkish oil refinery injures 12

  • The 12 employees sustained slight injuries and were taken to a hospital for examinations

ANKARA: An explosion at an oil refinery in northwestern Turkiye on Tuesday left at least 12 employees slightly injured, the company said. A fire at the facility was quickly brought under control.
The Turkish Petroleum Refineries company, TUPRAS, said a fire broke out at its facilities in Izmit, in Kocaeli province, during maintenance work on a compressor. The company’s emergency teams responded immediately to the incident, it said in a statement.
The 12 employees sustained slight injuries and were taken to a hospital for examinations, the company said.
The company said the unit where the incident occurred “was deactivated in a controlled manner” and that other operations at the refinery were “continuing as normal.”
Earlier, Tahir Buyukakin, the mayor for Kocaeli told private NTV television that the blast occurred during a drill. The fire was quickly brought under control by the company’s own crews and no request for help was made, he said.
Video footage from the site showed smoke rising from the refinery, which is one of Turkiye’s largest. Izmit is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Istanbul.
The Borsa Istanbul stock exchange temporarily halted trading of TUPRAS shares, until the company provides a detailed explanation of the incident.


Israeli strikes hit south of Beirut and Lebanon’s Bekaa region

Updated 30 min 33 sec ago
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Israeli strikes hit south of Beirut and Lebanon’s Bekaa region

BEIRUT: At least one Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in a beach town south of Beirut on Tuesday, Lebanese state media said, as other deadly strikes hit scattered locations across the country and armed group Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel.
The attack on the beach town of Jiyyeh left a massive smoke column billowing out of an apartment building. It was not immediately clear if the strike was an assassination attempt, and no evacuation warning was given before it was carried out.
The Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been exchanging fire for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war, but hostilities have escalated over the last six weeks. More than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them since late September, according to health authorities.
Israeli strikes on Tuesday also killed five people near the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, including two killed in a strike on a car, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Lebanon’s state news agency said on Tuesday that it estimated Israeli air strikes and widespread detonation of homes had destroyed more than 40,000 housing units in the country’s border region.


Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

Updated 05 November 2024
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Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

  • Militants from the Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid in Sistan-Baluchistan province on October 26
  • Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces

TEHRAN: Iran’s military has killed eight militants in an operation in the restive southeast since a deadly attack last month on a police station, state media reported Tuesday.
Militants from the Pakistan-based Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid on October 26 in Sistan-Baluchistan province — one of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent months.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces.
It has long been a flashpoint for cross-border attacks by separatists and extremists, opposed to the authorities in Iran.
Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Shafahi said “a total of eight terrorists have been killed” since the beginning of operations in the province, according to the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday.
“Fourteen other terrorists have been arrested,” including key figures involved in the attack, he said, adding security forces seized weapons and ammunition.
Shortly after the attack in Taftan county, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, a report on the Tasnim news agency said four militants had been killed and four others arrested.
Late on Monday, IRNA quoted Guards ground forces commander Mohammad Pakpour as saying the attackers “were not Iranian,” though he did not specify their nationalities.
In early October, at least six people including police officers were killed in two separate attacks in the province.
Jaish Al-Adl said on Telegram they had carried out the attacks.
Formed in 2012 by Baluch separatists, the group is proscribed as a “terrorist organization” by both Iran and the United States.
 
 


Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

Updated 05 November 2024
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Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

  • The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing

GENEVA: More than 100 patients including children suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases will be evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday in a rare transfer out of the war-ravaged enclave, a World Health Organization official said.
“These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.
The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel before flying to the United Arab Emirates, he added, and then a portion will travel to Romania.