Israel-Lebanon latest: Death toll rises to 31 after top Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut airstrike
It comes as footage emerged showing Israeli soldiers throwing bodies of three dead Palestinians off a rooftop
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At least 31 people including a top Hezbollah commander have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s operations commander, was killed in the strike on a block of apartments in the city’s southern suburbs on Friday afternoon. Lebanon said 68 people were also injured in the attack.
It came after Hezbollah, which has been engaged in near daily skirmishes with Israel since the Gaza war began, fired 140-150 rockets into Israel earlier in the day.
Aqil was involved in Hezbollah’s bombing of the US embassy in Beirut which killed 63 people in April 1983, according to the US State Department.
Meanwhile, Hamas warned Israel would ‘pay a price’ and described the killing of Aqil as a “crime” and “folly”. The group is part of Iran’s so called axis of resistance.
The assassination followed a series of suspected Israeli attacks earlier in the week that blew up Hezbollah’s radio and pager devices, killing 37 people and wounding at least 3,000 others.
Top Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut airstrike, Israeli military says – fuelling fear of all-out war
The Lebanon explosions raise a question: Deep into the smartphone era, who is still using pagers?
Japan company denies making Hezbollah walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon
David Lammy considers plans to evacuate Britons from Lebanon as Israel conflict escalates
What is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group hit in ‘double tap’ pager attacks?
Netanyahu accuses UK of undermining Israel’s right to self-defence
Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the UK government of “undermining” Israel’s right to self-defence.
Israel’s prime minister criticised the new Labour administration for suspending around 30 arms exports to the country amid concerns they could be used in violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict.
Sir Keir Starmer has also dropped the previous Conservative government’s plan to challenge the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) application for an arrest warrant against Mr Netanyahu.
Read the full article here:
Netanyahu accuses UK of undermining Israel’s right to self-defence
The new Labour administration has taken decisions, including suspending some arms exports, which have caused diplomatic tensions with Israel
US no longer expects Israel-Hamas ceasefire before Biden leaves office
After nearly a year of conflict, senior US officials reportedly have lost hope that Israel and Hamas will reach a ceasefire deal before Joe Biden leaves office.
“No deal is imminent,” an unnamed official toldThe Wall Street Journal. “I’m not sure it ever gets done.”
“There’s no chance now of it happening,” another official, from an Arab country, added in the same report. “Everyone is in a wait-and-see mode until after the election. The outcome will determine what can happen in the next administration.”
Read the full article here:
US no longer expects Israel-Hamas ceasefire before Biden leaves office
Hostage and prisoner release terms reportedly a key sticking point
Are our smartphones and devices safe?
Pagers across Lebanon have exploded in what appears to be a highly advanced and unexpected deadly attack.
The particularly novel and surprising nature of the attack has led some to worry that it could represent a new front in warfare. And many have asked whether that might mean that all of our consumer devices could really be considered safe.
The simple answer is: yes, they are. There is nothing at all to indicate that the attacks suggest there is any danger to the smartphones and other technology that most people carry around every day.
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Are our smartphones safe? Experts speak out about dangers after pager explosions
Deadly attacks rely on specific nature of pagers and the way they are delivered, experts say
Did Middle East device attack violate international law? Advocates want an investigation
Human rights advocates are calling for an independent investigation into the deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon and Syria, suggesting the blasts may have violated international law if the devices were fashioned as booby traps.
The explosions that have been widely blamed on Israel killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, including many members of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement.
The United Nations human rights office and some advocacy groups have cried foul, arguing that the strikes were “indiscriminate” because it’s nearly impossible to know who was holding the devices, or where they were, when they went off. But some academics insist the explosions were precisely focused because the devices had been distributed to Hezbollah members.
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Did Middle East device attack violate international law? Advocates want an investigation
Human rights advocates are calling for an independent investigation into the deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon and Syria
Watch: Israel-Lebanon border as Hezbollah launches 140 rockets
The Hezbollah pager attacks prove that Israel has no strategy for peace
Paging devices used by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Syria exploded near-simultaneously on 17 September, leaving 12 dead and almost 3,000 injured. The following day later, walkie-talkies exploded all over Lebanon, killing 20 and injuring at least 400. Both attacks are widely assumed to be the work of Israel.
The scale of the attacks, as well as their theatrical nature, can be seen as a bid by Israel’s military and intelligence forces to repair their reputation, left in tatters following the 7 October Hamas attacks.
It could also represent an attempt by Israel to address the problem of its northern border. Visiting the area this week, I have seen the effects of the continual exchanges of rocket and missile attacks, which have led to 60,000 people being evacuated from Israeli towns. According to reports, Lebanese villages have also been evacuated as a result of the fighting.
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The Hezbollah pager attacks prove that Israel has no strategy for peace
With the first anniversary of 7 October approaching, Israel is no closer to a resolution of the Gaza conflict – and making terrorists’ electronic devices explode will not help, says Bronwen Maddox
Hamas mourn top Hezbollah commander
The Palestinian militant group Hamas have mourned Hezbollah’s top commander, Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital Beirut.
In a statement, they described it as a “crime” and “folly” that Israel will pay the price for.
UN urges states to use sway now over Israel, Hezbollah to avoid war
A top United Nations official has urged all countries with influence over Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “to leverage it now” to avoid an escalation of Middle East violence.
UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council after attacks in which Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands. The attacks were believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed or denied its involvement.
“We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” DiCarlo told the 15-member council. “I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now.”
What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
This week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
First came two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah — deadly attacks pinned on Israel that also maimed civilians around Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s leader vowed to retaliate, and on Friday the militant group launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel. Later in the day, Israel said it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s most elite unit with a strike in Beirut that left at least 14 dead.
Read the full article here:
What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
This week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah
UN’s Palestinian office condemns ‘disrespectful’ treatment of bodies
The UN’s human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory has condemned footage showing what appeared to be bodies of Palestinians pushed by Israeli troops from a rooftop during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
Posting to X, they said the videos appeared to show soldiers kicking or throwing the deceased for bulldozers to clear them away.
“Unnecessary or disrespectful treatment of human remains is not consistent with the protection of the basic human dignity of the dead and could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of the deceased men’s families,” they said.
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