Israeli Official: Attack on Aleppo Airport a ‘Message to Assad’

A handout picture released by ImageSat International (ISI) on September 7, 2022, shows a satellite image depicting the damage at Aleppo airport in northern Syria following reported Israeli strikes on September 6, 2022. (Photo by ImageSat International (ISI) / AFP)
A handout picture released by ImageSat International (ISI) on September 7, 2022, shows a satellite image depicting the damage at Aleppo airport in northern Syria following reported Israeli strikes on September 6, 2022. (Photo by ImageSat International (ISI) / AFP)
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Israeli Official: Attack on Aleppo Airport a ‘Message to Assad’

A handout picture released by ImageSat International (ISI) on September 7, 2022, shows a satellite image depicting the damage at Aleppo airport in northern Syria following reported Israeli strikes on September 6, 2022. (Photo by ImageSat International (ISI) / AFP)
A handout picture released by ImageSat International (ISI) on September 7, 2022, shows a satellite image depicting the damage at Aleppo airport in northern Syria following reported Israeli strikes on September 6, 2022. (Photo by ImageSat International (ISI) / AFP)

Chairman of the Israeli Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Ram Ben-Barak said on Wednesday that airstrikes on Aleppo International Airport had been a signal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Israeli airstrikes have killed at least three people and damaged the airport in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The attack meant that certain planes would not be able to land, and that a message was relayed to Assad: If planes whose purpose is to encourage terrorism land, Syria’s transport capacity will be harmed," Ben-Barak told Ynet Radio Wednesday.

“The strategy of the State of Israel is to thwart the Iranian attempt to build around us armed militias well-equipped with precision weapons, in order to deter us from acting against Iran or acting against such and such terrorist elements in the region.”



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.