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Israeli Military Carries Out Drills Simulating Iranian Terrains

An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
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Israeli Military Carries Out Drills Simulating Iranian Terrains

An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz made a surprise visit to troops carrying out war exercises in northern Israel, which included a landing operation in a mountainous area similar to the topography of Iranian mountains.

Some 3,000 soldiers from the Golani Brigade, armored units, artillery, and reservist brigades participated in the drill.

"No matter what happens between Iran and the world powers — and we are certainly concerned about the fact that there is insufficient severity in dealing with Iranian violations — Israel will protect itself with its forces," Bennett said ahead of the resumption of the nuclear talks in Vienna.

“The world needs to act against Iran, and Israel is prepared to do what is needed on all of these fronts and the northern front in particular,” Gantz said after visiting the forces.

Later, Bennett's office issued a statement saying the Prime Minister assessed the situation with Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Aviv Kochavi.

US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley met with Israeli officials, including alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Malley aims to coordinate with Mideast allies before Washington resumes the indirect talks with Tehran to revive the nuclear deal in Vienna.

Sources close to Lapid said the FM told Malley that Iran has no intention of returning to the deal.

Lapid believes Tehran is simply trying to buy time through negotiations over its nuclear program until the issue of rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal is no longer relevant.

The sources confirmed that Lapid raised Israel's technical intelligence concerns about returning to the agreement and lifting sanctions.

An official from Bennett's office said Israeli officials fear that the different positions between the former and the current US administration will increase Iran's intransigence and perhaps manipulation until Tehran becomes a "nuclear threshold state."

Israeli leaders discussed with Malley the military option as a serious and essential alternative.

The former head of Israeli military intelligence research, Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser, said the US is sending messages that it is not interested in war and Israel is not behaving as if it wants war with Iran. He indicated Tehran might increase its provocations.

Kuperwasser believed Iran is a few weeks away from producing military-enriched uranium for the first explosive device and has started producing metallic uranium, which can be interpreted as having intentions to produce nuclear weapons.

Israel is not ready to act against Iran because it does not have US support or the operational capabilities, the official believes.

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Rescuers Dig for Survivors of Vanuatu Earthquake

A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
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Rescuers Dig for Survivors of Vanuatu Earthquake

A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force

Vanuatu's capital was without water on Wednesday, a day after reservoirs were destroyed by a violent magnitude 7.3 earthquake that wrought havoc on the South Pacific island nation, with the number of people killed and injured expected to rise.
The government's disaster management office said early Wednesday that 14 deaths were confirmed, but hours later said nine had been verified by the main hospital. The number was “expected to increase" as people remained trapped in fallen buildings, a spokesperson said. About 200 have been treated for injuries, The Associated Press reported.
Frantic rescue efforts that began at flattened buildings after the quake hit early Tuesday afternoon continued 30 hours later, with dozens working in dust and heat with little water to seek those yelling for help inside. A few more survivors were extracted from the rubble of downtown buildings in Port Vila, also the country's largest city, while others remained trapped and some were found dead.
A near-total telecommunications collapse meant people struggled to confirm their relatives' safety. Some providers began to reestablish phone service but connections were patchy.
Internet service had not been restored because the submarine cable supplying it was damaged, the operator said.
The earthquake hit at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of the capital of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people. A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake, but dozens of large aftershocks continued to rattle the country.
The Asia-Pacific head of the International Federation of Red Cross, Katie Greenwood, speaking to The Associated Press from Fiji, said it was not clear how many people were still missing or killed.
“We have anecdotal information coming from people at the search and rescue site that are fairly confident that unfortunately those numbers will rise,” she said.
The capital’s main medical facility, Vila Central Hospital, was badly damaged and patients were moved to a military camp. Clement Chipokolo, Vanuatu country director at the Christian relief agency World Vision, said health care services, already strained before the quake, were overwhelmed.
No water in Port Vila While power was out in swathes of Port Vila, the biggest fear among aid agencies was the lack of water. Two large reservoirs serving the capital were totally decimated, the National Disaster Management Office said.
Resident Milroy Cainton said people were joining large queues to buy water in stores, but could only purchase two or four bottles at a time. “People are not really concerned about electricity, they're just concerned about water,” he said.
UNICEF was recording a rise in diarrhea among children, a sign that they had begun to drink tainted water, said the chief of the Vanuatu office, Eric Durpaire. Officials told residents of areas where water had been restored to boil it.