Three Lebanese Civil Defense Members Killed by Israeli Strike, Hezbollah Retaliates

Smoke rises and a flare is deployed in the southern Lebanese Marjayoun plain after being hit by Israeli shelling on September 7, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises and a flare is deployed in the southern Lebanese Marjayoun plain after being hit by Israeli shelling on September 7, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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Three Lebanese Civil Defense Members Killed by Israeli Strike, Hezbollah Retaliates

Smoke rises and a flare is deployed in the southern Lebanese Marjayoun plain after being hit by Israeli shelling on September 7, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises and a flare is deployed in the southern Lebanese Marjayoun plain after being hit by Israeli shelling on September 7, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Three Lebanese paramedics were killed and two others wounded, one critically, in an Israeli attack while they were extinguishing fires in the southern town of Faroun, Lebanon's health ministry said on Saturday.

"Israeli forces targeted a team from the Lebanese Civil Defense as they responded to fires sparked by recent Israeli airstrikes," a ministry statement said, specifying that the strike hit a fire truck.

The ministry condemned the attack as a "blatant strike" on an official Lebanese state apparatus, marking the second such attack on an emergency team in less than 12 hours.

Hezbollah issued a statement late on Saturday, saying they launched a "squadron of missiles" in response to the attack, targeting the headquarters of Israel's 91st Division, which is responsible for its northern border, "hitting offices and soldiers with precision."

Israel's military said some 45 rockets were fired at northern Israel in several barrages, many targeting the Mount Meron area but falling in open areas. Several rockets fell in Shlomi and around the city of Safed. There were no injuries. The military later said its jets struck Hezbollah military infrastructure and a rocket launcher in the area of Qabrikha in southern Lebanon.



Report: Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Requests Asylum in Russia

Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)
Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)
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Report: Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Requests Asylum in Russia

Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)
Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)

Syria's ambassador to Moscow has requested asylum in Russia, state news agency TASS reported on Monday, citing a source.

The Russian news outlet provided no further details on the reported request by Bashar Jaafari, who was appointed ambassador to Russia in 2022 after 15 years as Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Reuters was not able to immediately contact Jaafari, 69. Syria's embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin granted asylum to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad when he fled to Moscow with his family after being toppled by a lightning opposition offensive at the end of last year.

Syria's foreign ministry last week recalled Jaafari to Damascus, state media reported, saying the move was part of a reorganization of the diplomatic corps after Assad's fall.

Jaafari had been one of the most well-known international representatives of the former regime. He had been vocal in his defense of the Syrian government during the country's 14-year civil war, including his denial it had carried out chemical weapons attacks.

Moscow has supported Damascus since the early days of the Cold War, recognizing its independence in 1944 as Syria sought to throw off French colonial rule.

Syria is also home to two important Russian military bases - the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous on the coast. Russia is seeking to retain control of these as it builds ties with the country's new leadership.