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.”



Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
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Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri set a Jan. 9 date for lawmakers to elect the country's president, the state news agency (NNA) reported on Thursday.
Lebanon has not had a president or a fully empowered cabinet since October 2022 due to a power struggle.

Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon had prompted a renewed bid by some leading Lebanese politicians to fill the two-year-long presidential vacuum.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, allowing people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

Berri has said that, once there's a ceasefire, he supported the election of a president who doesn't represent "a challenge" to anyone.

The presidency is decided by a vote in Lebanon's 128-seat parliament. No single political alliance has enough seats to impose its choice, meaning an understanding among rival blocs is needed to secure the election of a candidate.