Israeli Strike on Beirut Kills Hezbollah Media Relations Chief

Residents gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a building in central Beirut's Ras el-Nabaa neighborhood, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Fadi Tawil)
Residents gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a building in central Beirut's Ras el-Nabaa neighborhood, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Fadi Tawil)
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Israeli Strike on Beirut Kills Hezbollah Media Relations Chief

Residents gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a building in central Beirut's Ras el-Nabaa neighborhood, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Fadi Tawil)
Residents gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a building in central Beirut's Ras el-Nabaa neighborhood, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Fadi Tawil)

An Israeli strike on a densely populated district of Beirut on Sunday killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters.

The strike hit Ras el-Nabaa, a neighborhood where many people displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs had been seeking refuge.

The security sources said it struck a building where the offices of the Baath Party are located, and the head of the party in Lebanon, Ali Hijazi, told a local TV station that Afif was in the building.
The Lebanese health ministry said the strike killed one and injured three.

Afif was a long-time media adviser to Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sept. 27.
He managed Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station for several years before taking over the group's media office.
Afif hosted several press conferences for journalists amid the rubble in Beirut's southern suburbs. In his most recent comments to reporters on Nov. 11, he said Israeli troops had been unable to hold any territory in Lebanon, and that Hezbollah had enough weapons and supplies to fight a long war. 

Later on Sunday, another strike in central Beirut hit a computer shop, killing two people and wounding 13, the health ministry said.

Israeli media claimed that the attack in Mar Elias street targeted a Hezbollah official.

 

 

 

 



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

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 Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

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)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.