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.



Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday she was not concerned about talks between former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reiterated her positions on the conflict in the Middle East.

Democratic presidential candidate Harris faces Republican Trump in a tight race for the Nov. 5 US elections.

"No," Harris said when asked if talks between Trump and Netanyahu could undermine what the current US government is trying to achieve.

Trump and Netanyahu have spoken on a few occasions in recent weeks. They had close ties when Trump was president as the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which delighted Israelis and infuriated Palestinians.

"I do believe that it is critically important that we as the United States of America be an active participant in encouraging one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the 'day after' (in Gaza)," Harris told reporters on Sunday.

President Joe Biden has supported Israel during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Palestinian group Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Harris and Trump have pledged to maintain US support for its ally.

In the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, about 1,200 were killed and nearly 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed around 43,000, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has displaced nearly everyone in Gaza, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Israel's separate campaign in Lebanon has killed over 2,500 and displaced over a million. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who have been engaged in cross-border fire with Israel for the past year.