7 People Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attacks on Israel

Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
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7 People Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attacks on Israel

Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Five people were killed, including four foreign workers and one Israeli farmer, in a Hezbollah attack on Israel's northern town of Metula on Thursday.

The Metula regional council reported the attack.

Israel’s rescue service said projectiles fired from Lebanon killed two more people in northern Israel.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s main emergency medical organization, said its medics confirmed the deaths of a 30-year-old man and 60-year-old woman in a suburb of the northern city of Haifa. They also treated two other people who suffered mild injuries and were hospitalized.

The Israeli military said that roughly 25 rockets crossed into Israel from Lebanon as part of the volley that struck an olive grove where people had gathered for the harvest. 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israel since Oct. 8, 2023, when it opened fire in solidarity with Hamas a day after its cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip.

All-out war erupted last month, when Israel carried out large waves of airstrikes and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground invasion at the start of October.

Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to government estimates. Lebanon’s Heath Ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 12,900 wounded since Oct. 8, 2023.



Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)

Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries wanting to do so, Syria's new trade minister said.

In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil al-Hasan said Syria's new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a "catastrophe" if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.

Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.

The sanctions were imposed during Assad's rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.

Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the opposition factions triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.

The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.

The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria's people and its new rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.

Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.

Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.