Israel Retaliates against Hezbollah after Rockets Fired from Lebanon

Smoke billows across the horizon along the hills in the Naqura area of southern Lebanon following Israeli bombardment from a position along the border in northern Israel on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
Smoke billows across the horizon along the hills in the Naqura area of southern Lebanon following Israeli bombardment from a position along the border in northern Israel on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
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Israel Retaliates against Hezbollah after Rockets Fired from Lebanon

Smoke billows across the horizon along the hills in the Naqura area of southern Lebanon following Israeli bombardment from a position along the border in northern Israel on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
Smoke billows across the horizon along the hills in the Naqura area of southern Lebanon following Israeli bombardment from a position along the border in northern Israel on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The Israeli army said on Sunday that its troops retaliated to a barrage of rocket strikes coming from Lebanon and hitting areas in the north of Israel.
In a statement on Telegram, the Israeli army said its warplanes raided a number of Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon, including infrastructure and military facilities, and several rocket launch pads, the Arab World News Agency reported.
On Saturday, Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah military position and several other areas in South Lebanon.
The statement added that several missiles were launched from the Lebanese side towards areas in North Israel and that its troops retaliated with heavy bombardment at the source of fire.
One of the Israeli soldiers was moderately injured as a result of the bombing that targeted the town of Al-Manara in northern Israel, it added.
Cross-border shelling escalated between the Israeli army on one hand and Hezbollah and armed Palestinian factions in Lebanon on the other following the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip on October 7.



Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The head of the Palestinian Authority denounced Israel and its offensive in the Gaza Strip in front of world leaders Thursday, appealing to other nations to stop what he called a “genocidal war” against a place and people he said had been totally destroyed.
Mahmoud Abbas used the rostrum of the UN General Assembly as he typically does — to criticize Israel. But this was the first time he did so since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Abbas strode to the podium to loud applause and a few unintelligible shouts. His first words were a sentence repeated three times: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”
He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And he said that his government should govern post-war Gaza as part of an independent Palestinian state, a vision that Israel’s hardline government rejects.
“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers and our grandfathers. It will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it would be the occupying usurpers," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
A nationwide series of campus protests against Israel's operations in Gaza swept the United States in the spring and largely originated at Columbia University, about 70 blocks north of the United Nations.
“The American people are marching in the streets in these demonstrations. We are appreciative of them," Abbas said.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry.

Abbas spent big chunks of his speech at the United Nations talking about the state of life in Gaza, and he painted a bleak picture.
"Entire family names have been written out of the civil record," he said. "Gaza is no longer fit for life. Most homes have been destroyed. The same applies for most buildings. ... Roads. Churches. Mosques. Water plants. Electric plants. Sanitation plants. Anyone who has gone to Gaza and known it before would not recognize it anymore.”
Among his demands, none of which are new: A full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — not “buffer zones.” Allowing Gaza's displaced Palestinians — an estimated 90% of the population — to return to their homes. And a central role for Abbas' government in any future Gaza.
“Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”