Israel Intercepts Drones That Briefly Interrupted Airport Operations

People pass by a poster reading "Bring them home now" on a beach, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)
People pass by a poster reading "Bring them home now" on a beach, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Intercepts Drones That Briefly Interrupted Airport Operations

People pass by a poster reading "Bring them home now" on a beach, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)
People pass by a poster reading "Bring them home now" on a beach, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)

The Israeli military says it has intercepted five drones off the coast of Israel.

The incident on Monday caused a brief interruption of flights at Israel’s main airport lasting less than ten minutes, Israeli media reported.

The military said Israel’s air force has intercepted more than 30 drones over the past week.

Israel’s military has at times struggled to intercept drones, which are smaller, fly more erratically and are harder to track and intercept.

Last week, a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central Israel killed four soldiers and wounded 67 others, the deadliest strike by the armed group since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon three weeks ago.

In July, a drone launched from Yemen traveled some 270 kilometers (160 miles) from Israel’s southern tip, all the way to Tel Aviv, slamming into a downtown building and killing one person without it having been intercepted.

Overnight Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah-run bank branches Overnight strikes by Israel hit at least 15 branches of a Hezbollah-run financial institution in Lebanon.

The strikes targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches in the southern suburbs of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

Israel says the bank is used to fund attacks. But it is also where many ordinary Lebanese keep their savings.

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes. There were no reports of casualties.

One of the strikes in the Beirut suburbs was not far from the Lebanese General Security building. Another rocket landed on a road near Lebanon's only international airport.



South Korean Delegation to Brief NATO on North Korean Troops for Russia, Alliance Says

A man walks past a newspaper displayed on a street for the public in Seoul on October 21, 2024, with coverage on North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines and a photo (C) of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin toasting at a banquet in Pyongyang earlier this year. (AFP)
A man walks past a newspaper displayed on a street for the public in Seoul on October 21, 2024, with coverage on North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines and a photo (C) of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin toasting at a banquet in Pyongyang earlier this year. (AFP)
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South Korean Delegation to Brief NATO on North Korean Troops for Russia, Alliance Says

A man walks past a newspaper displayed on a street for the public in Seoul on October 21, 2024, with coverage on North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines and a photo (C) of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin toasting at a banquet in Pyongyang earlier this year. (AFP)
A man walks past a newspaper displayed on a street for the public in Seoul on October 21, 2024, with coverage on North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines and a photo (C) of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin toasting at a banquet in Pyongyang earlier this year. (AFP)

A high-level delegation from South Korea will brief the North Atlantic Council about North Korea's troop deployment to Russia on Monday, NATO said on Sunday, after the US expressed grave concern over the possible use of the troops against Ukraine.

"Ambassadors from NATO's Indo-Pacific partners – including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea – have been invited to attend," the military alliance added. The North Atlantic Council is NATO's main decision-making body.

Ukrainian military intelligence said on Thursday that about 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.

Speaking on the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia. But he said it was Moscow's business how to implement a treaty with Pyongyang that includes a mutual defense clause to aid each other against external aggression.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.