Netanyahu Says Recent Attacks on Israelis are Backed by Iran

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to right-wing opposition party members, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to right-wing opposition party members, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
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Netanyahu Says Recent Attacks on Israelis are Backed by Iran

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to right-wing opposition party members, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to right-wing opposition party members, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a series of recent deadly attacks against Israelis has been funded and encouraged by Iran.
"We are in the midst of a terror attack. This terror attack is encouraged, guided, funded by Iran and its satellite states," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.
He spoke in the occupied West Bank at a site where hours earlier an Israeli woman was shot dead by suspected Palestinian gunmen, Reuters said. Israel, he said, would employ measures to settle the score with the attackers and those who sent them, from near or far.



South Korea, China Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon as Tensions Rise

 South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
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South Korea, China Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon as Tensions Rise

 South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)

A South Korean military transport aircraft returned 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon on Saturday as Middle East tensions rise, the foreign ministry said.

A KC-330 aircraft left Beirut on Friday afternoon with the evacuees, who include Lebanese family members, and arrived at a military airfield on the south of Seoul, the ministry said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ordered military aircraft to be deployed to evacuate South Korean citizens from parts of the Middle East as conflict escalates between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as the armed group's backer, Iran.

South Korea's defense ministry said it flew a C130J transport plane as backup, which is capable of operating on shorter runways and under fire, as a precaution, and sent 39 military personnel, including mechanics and diplomats.

The government will take further actions to ensure the safety of its citizens, the foreign ministry said without elaborating.

South Korean diplomats stationed in Lebanon remained in the country, Yonhap news agency reported.

More than 200 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Lebanon, China's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"These people, who have been evacuated in two batches, include three Hong Kong residents and one Taiwan compatriot," the ministry said in a statement in response to a Reuters query on the situation.

"The Chinese Embassy in Lebanon remains firm in Lebanon and continues to assist Chinese citizens remaining there in taking security measures," it added.

On Wednesday, China's official Xinhua news agency said more than 200 Chinese citizens had been safely evacuated from Lebanon by the government.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said three Taiwanese in Lebanon were expected to return to the island this month and that two others had opted to stay for family reasons.

The ministry added that another Taiwanese decided late last month to take a boat out of the country arranged by China, and that the de facto Taiwan embassy in Jordan was aware of that process. It did not elaborate.