New Israeli Strikes Hit Beirut Suburbs as Hezbollah Claims Blasts in Israel's Haifa

An Israeli rescue force member inspects the site where a projectile fell,amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Haifa, northern Israel October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli rescue force member inspects the site where a projectile fell,amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Haifa, northern Israel October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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New Israeli Strikes Hit Beirut Suburbs as Hezbollah Claims Blasts in Israel's Haifa

An Israeli rescue force member inspects the site where a projectile fell,amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Haifa, northern Israel October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli rescue force member inspects the site where a projectile fell,amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in Haifa, northern Israel October 7, 2024. (Reuters)

A new round of airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs late Sunday as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon. Palestinian officials said a strike on a mosque in Gaza killed at least 19 people.
Rocket sirens and blasts were heard in Haifa in northern Israel late Sunday, and Hezbollah claimed the attack, The Associated Press said.
Israel’s military said at least five projectiles were identified coming from Lebanon and “fallen projectiles” were found in the area. The military showed what appeared to be rubble along a street.

In Lebanon, the Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed at least 10 firefighters on Monday.
It says more people are buried under the rubble and that the death toll may rise. It says the firefighters were in a municipality building in the town of Baraachit that was hit as they prepared to embark on a rescue mission.

A year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began. Israel also has vowed to strike Iran after a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.



Jordan’s FM Slams Israel for Pushing Middle East to ‘Abyss of Regional War’

A handout photo released by the Lebanese Government Press office shows Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meeting with Jordan's Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi (L) in Beirut on October 7, 2024. (Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
A handout photo released by the Lebanese Government Press office shows Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meeting with Jordan's Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi (L) in Beirut on October 7, 2024. (Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
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Jordan’s FM Slams Israel for Pushing Middle East to ‘Abyss of Regional War’

A handout photo released by the Lebanese Government Press office shows Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meeting with Jordan's Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi (L) in Beirut on October 7, 2024. (Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
A handout photo released by the Lebanese Government Press office shows Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meeting with Jordan's Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi (L) in Beirut on October 7, 2024. (Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)

Jordan’s top diplomat on Monday slammed Israel’s war with the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, saying it is pushing the Middle East into the “abyss of full-scale regional war.”

“We are facing a disaster and a dangerous escalation that threatens the region,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. “Israel bears responsibility of this aggression, the escalation in the region, and any new escalation that the region faces.”

He spoke in a news conference following a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut.

Safadi said that Jordan backs the Lebanese government’s initiative to elect a new president and commitment to implement the UN Security Council resolution that ended Israel’s last war with Hezbollah in 2006, and that would keep southern Lebanon exclusively under the control of the Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers.

He added that Jordan, like Lebanon, backed an initiative by the United States and France for a three-week ceasefire in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, as the region braces for an Israeli retaliation for Iran's missile attack, Safadi said Jordan rejects either country using its airspace in their tit-for-tat hostilities.

“We will not be a battlefield for anyone,” he said. “We made this message clear to Iran and to Israel as well.”