Hezbollah Announces 509 Operations against Israel Since War Began

A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)
A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)
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Hezbollah Announces 509 Operations against Israel Since War Began

A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)
A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)

Hezbollah conducted 509 operations against Israel in northern Palestine and southern Lebanon since the beginning of the war on Gaza until Dec. 14.

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continued, and the Israeli army said on Saturday that it targeted an area in southern Lebanon after three rockets were launched from Lebanese territory.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said via his "X" account that warplanes raided a series of Hezbollah targets, referring to several missiles launched from Lebanon towards Israel in recent hours.

Adraee indicated that the army responded with artillery shelling towards areas in Lebanon.

Al-Manar channel quoted Israeli media as saying that a bomb-laden drone was launched from Lebanon and hit an army gathering in Margaliot, causing two casualties. It also noted that Israeli military censorship banned publishing information about the security event.

Hezbollah mourned one of its fighters while announcing several military operations that targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers and military sites, in addition to two homes where soldiers were stationed.

In separate statements, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Ramim forest.

They also spotted a group of Israeli soldiers entering two houses in the al-Manara settlement. They targeted the two houses with appropriate weapons, directly hitting them and causing deaths and injuries.

A drone attacked a position of Israeli soldiers outside the Ramim barracks, the occupied Lebanese village of Honin, which led to confirmed casualties. ‏

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the operation, followed by another statement in which it said that the resistance fighters attacked the Israeli Metula site using guided munitions, adding that it was able to verify several casualties.

Earlier in the day, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a bunker where Israeli soldiers were entrenched in the occupied Birket Risha military site with a guided missile, resulting in confirmed casualties.

The National News Agency (NNA) reported that the operation was hours after Israel targeted the position in Birkat Risha on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Ramieh.

An Israeli raid targeted the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Wadi Hassan between Majdal Zun and al-Jebain, and attacks were recorded on a valley near Ramiya and Jabal Balat in the western sector.

It was also reported that an interceptor missile had exploded in the airspace of al-Dhahira.

The NNA reported that the Israeli army escalated its violent attacks at night until just before midnight, as military aircraft raided an area between Mansouri and Majdal Zoun and on the outskirts of Naqoura and Jabal al-Labouneh.

The drones fired a ground-air missile targeting the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. The artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of most of the towns in the western and central sectors adjacent to the Blue Line.

On Friday evening, CNN quoted US officials saying that Israelis attacked Lebanese Armed Forces positions more than 34 times since Oct. 7, including with small arms and artillery fire, drones, and helicopters.

The Biden administration has told Israel that the strikes against the Lebanese military are unacceptable, officials said.

According to a senior US official, Washington believes at least some of those strikes have been accidental, intended instead for Hezbollah.

But the intention of other strikes has been less clear, the official said, and more junior Israeli troops may not be exercising enough restraint.



Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.


Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.


Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.