Israel launches several attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs
It said in a statement: 'Following Hezbollah's extensive use of UAV's as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the state of Israel, the terrorist organization is operating to increase production of UAV's for the next war.' In November 2023, Hezbollah, which maintains control over much of Lebanon, signed a ceasefire agreement with Israel following 13 months of conflict that began after the paramilitary group attacked the nation on October 8, a day after Hamas ' deadly attack.
Israel claimed that the purported UAV factories on the Beirut sites 'constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.' It added: 'The IDF will operate against every threat posed to the state of Israel and its civilians, and will prevent all attempts of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to reestablish itself.' Smoke was tonight seen rising from the sites highlighted by the IDF, as civilians desperately tried to leave the area following a warning from the military.
The IDF has so far not provided proof of the existence of the factories, only sharing their locations and a computer-generated image of two men apparently making drones in a basement. But the warning of an imminent attack was real, with IDF spokespeople warning civilians in the area to leave immediately. Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said: 'You are located near facilities belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah. For your safety and the safety of your families, you must evacuate these buildings immediately and stay at least 300 meters away.'
Footage shared online from the Dahieh neighbourhood showed scores of people in cars desperately trying to leave the area, sounding their horns in panic. According to Israeli media, Unit 127 works with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to produce and use drones for intelligence gathering and military attacks. It was reportedly responsible for a drone strike on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea last October.
Netanyahu and his family were not at the house at the time. Unit 127 operates a range of drones produced by Iran, including the Ziad 107 'kamikaze' drone with GPS-guided capabilities. They also use Shadaa 101 and Mohajer drones. Israel's strike on a dense civilian centre risks the killing of more innocent people, which it has already come under fire for in Gaza. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 37 people on Thursday alone.
The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected the term 'war' to describe the conflict in the devastated Palestinian territory, accusing Israel instead of carrying out 'premeditated genocide'. Gaza civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that '37 people have been martyred in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip', reporting attacks up and down the length of the territory.
Calls have mounted for a negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but indirect talks between the parties have failed to yield a breakthrough since the collapse of the last brief truce in March. 'What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children,' said Brazil's Lula, who has previously used the legal term to describe the conflict. 'It's no longer possible to accept,' he added.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
West will have to defeat ENTIRE Axis of Evil if they want to end Putin's reign of terror, warns top US ex-general
WESTERN nations must change their attitude to Russia and crush the war machine fuelling Vladimir Putin's aggression, an ex-army commander warns. Rogue states such as Iran supply the tyrant with missiles and drones to unleash hell on Ukraine - propping up Russia 's "not so great" army, US General Ben Hodges told The Sun. 6 6 6 Now retired, he told The Sun: "If you want to defeat somebody, you have to knock out whatever it is that keeps the other side in the fight." He warned that if the West fails to take the threat from bloodthirsty Vlad more seriously, Europe will be dealing with war "forever". Russia has continued to rain down misery on Ukraine for more than three years - raising questions over how Moscow hasn't depleted its ammunition stocks. It comes as Putin is hammering Ukraine with almost 1,000 kamikaze drones a missiles each day - overwhelming defence systems. Dozens of innocents are being injured or killed as apartment buildings are mercilessly bombed and civilians terrorised. Putin ordered his troops over the border in February 2022 and the US military estimated that, without help, Moscow would have run out of firepower by that December. North Korea is widely believed to have supplied Russia with missiles and shells, while Iran has bolstered Putin's stockpile with drones and rockets. China - Moscow 's biggest and richest ally - is suspected of equipping Vlad with "dual-use" components, which are used to make weapons. Hodges, who was in charge of American forces in Europe, has urged the West to go after ??????????? He also believes Putin focuses on civilian areas instead of military targets because "the great Russian army and the great Russian air force and the great Russian navy are not so great". Bloodthirsty Putin hits Ukraine with almost 1,000 missiles a DAY as he faces his biggest dilemma yet "I mean they have demonstrated after 11 years they cannot defeat Ukraine," Hodges added. "The only thing they can do is murder innocent people. So that's what they're doing. "Hundreds of drones and missiles and rockets every week, which they get from Iran, North Korea and China, because they can't even produce all that they need anymore. "So I think we know from history that going after the population almost never works. "It didn't work in the Second World War, it didn't work for us against the Vietnamese, it didn't work for us against the Taliban." Putin arrogantly assumed he could sweep in and seize Kyiv in a matter of days after ordering his troops over the border into Ukraine. But more than three years on, the red-faced despot has suffered huge losses on the battlefield. 6 6 6 More than 10,000 tanks, 22,000 armoured vehicles, 26,000 artillery systems, and over 700 aircraft have been destroyed, officials estimate. And the casualty numbers are far grimmer. Western officials have revealed that the Russians have sustained more than 900,000 casualties, with 250,000 dead, since Putin unleashed his illegal war. Despite this, the megalomaniac has pushed forward - continuing to throw wave after wave of troops into the meatgrinder. Putin has found his stocks of weapons backfilled by his allies - such as receiving drones from Iran. And meanwhile, Kim has sent tens of thousands of troops to Russia to serve alongside Vlad's men. A small number of Chinese troops have also allegedly been found serving in Ukraine. But Beijing has strongly denied accusations from Ukraine that they supplying Putin with weapons. Russia now is planning to try and unleash 1,000 drones per day on Ukraine as the war marches on - much to the fury of the US. Hodges warned Western nations must instead focus on eliminating the threat from Axis of Evil countries - ultimately diminishing Putin's capabilities. The former military chief said it could see Europe grappling with endless bloodshed if not. He said: "Europe should be more serious and try to crush them, crush that regime, use all of our economic tools and also help Ukraine be successful to defeat Russia. "The only way Russia ever changes is after defeat. And if they're not defeated, then after Putin will be another Putin. "So we're going to be dealing with this forever unless we get serious about defending everything that we say is important. "And we should quit being so scared of what the Russians might do. The Russians should be worrying what the hell we're going to do." Axis of Evil 'supplying Russia with weapons' Iran Iran last year transferred close-range ballistic missiles to Russia in a move condemned by the UK's government and allies. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "Iran supplying Russia with ballistic missiles to fuel its illegal invasion of Ukraine is a significant and dangerous escalation." Initial claims of Iranian weapons being sent to Russia emerged in late 2022. US military intelligence at the time indicated Tehran was preparing to supply Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar rockets to Moscow. Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited Iran in September 2023 - and reviewed Tehran's missile arsenal during the trip. North Korea Kim Jong-un vowed to "support" Putin's "sacred fight" to defend Russia's security interests when the North Korean tyrant visited Moscow in 2023 He vowed the two countries would "be together in the fight against imperialism". North Korea has been accused of supplying missiles and shells to Moscow. In April, Volodymyr Zelensky said a missile that killed 12 people in Kyiv had been manufactured in North Korea. The US has imposed sanctions on several entities accused of being linked to arms deals between the two states. Pyongyang has previously denied having any "arms dealings" with Russia. China China has been accused of supplying crucial materials and equipment to at least 20 Russian military factories. Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Kyiv's foreign intelligence service, said in April: "There is information that China supplies tooling machines, special chemical products, gunpowder, and components specifically to defence manufacturing industries. "We have confirmed data on 20 Russian factories." Nato leaders jointly accused Beijing of being a "critical enabler" of Russia by providing "massive support to its defence industry". They claimed China sends "dual-use" components to Moscow such as computer chips that can be used to make weapons. Beijing has denied supplying Russia. Hodges predicts Putin, 72, will stay at the helm of the Kremlin for at least another decade - only taking into account his health. But at some point, the oligarchs around him - who lost enormous fortunes through war sanctions - could snap and force him out, Hodges said. He said: "From a health standpoint, Putin's around for another ten years. "Usually dictators don't have a retirement plan because there are so many people that want to kill them. So that's why they stay in power until the very end. "So I think we should assume he's going to be there, if it's just health, for at least another ten years. "But if enough people finally got mad about how he was ruining Russia's economic standing, that would be different." Putin 'plotting attack on Europe' by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) VLADIMIR Putin could be plotting to exploit the crisis in the Middle East to launch an attack on Europe, a Ukrainian government insider has warned. The cunning tyrant may even attempt to mimic Ukraine 's elaborate Spiderweb operation that blitzed strategic targets inside Russia. A Ukrainian source told The Sun: "The West should be prepared that the Spiderweb operation may be reconfigured and deployed by Russia as a hybrid attack on any Nato Eastern flank nation. "That would be the major Article 5 test that the Alliance has not experienced yet." Humiliated Putin was left reeling after Ukraine's spectacular raid that - after 18 months of planning - inflicted billions of pounds worth of damage, leaving his bomber fleet in tatters. Daring agents smuggled drones and explosives deep inside the sprawling country before unleashing a coordinated assault on June 1. More than 100 drones were hidden in trucks across Russia before being deployed to five air bases - thousands of kilometres from the Ukrainian border. At least 41 of Putin's prized aircraft were wrecked in the attack - including Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 bombers and A-50 spy planes. Delivering such a decisive blow has left Ukraine's enemy scrambling. But a Ukrainian government insider has warned it would also have left Putin's cronies eager to learn from the clandestine operation - and look to mimic it. The source said it could spell disaster if Vlad uses it as a blueprint to launch an attack on a European country.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
The Afghan schoolgirls forced to return to repression by Iran
A 17 year-old contemplates suicide. A 15 year-old is forced intochild marriage. A nine year-old cries outside her school, knowing she'll never set foot inside again. This is the reality for tens of thousands of Afghan girls in Iran who are now being deported to a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where their right to education has been systematically destroyed. Iran's interior ministry said it will offer online education to Afghan schoolgirls who the Islamic Regime are forcing to leave the country with their families by the end of this month. Nader Yarahmadi, the head of the ministry's immigration office, said Iran can only enrol students with ID numbers and residency documents in its school – something that some Afghans refugees do not have. But families facing deportation told The Telegraph the government's promise of online education is a baseless claim to justify their deportation. The measures are part of a broader crackdown by Iran that uses spying accusations as a pretext for mass arrests and deportations following its recent conflict with Israel. Since early June, nearly 450,000 Afghan refugees, many who arrived after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, have been deported and 5,000 children separated from their parents, according to UN agencies. Afghans in Iran have long been blamed for the economic problems, but the crackdown has become much harsher since the recent conflict with Israel. During its 12-day war, daily deportations jumped from 2,000 to over 30,000 as Iranian authorities turned public anger toward the vulnerable minority. Some 50 kilometres north of Tehran, in Karaj, nine-year-old Nafas and her family have already received a deportation order. They've packed their belongings and are set to leave for Afghanistan next week. The family fled to Iran after the fall of Kabul, as her father's job with the Western-backed government put them at risk under the Taliban. Farhad, Nafas's father, said: 'She and her sister used to memorise poems, record themselves reciting them, and send the videos to their teacher. 'But now they're both depressed. They hardly eat and cry themselves to sleep every night.' Nafas was set to start third grade (the equivalent to the UK's Year Four) this September, and her 12-year-old sister Neda was entering fifth grade. They had been looking forward to a school trip with their teacher and classmates later this month. 'They went to their school the other day to say goodbye to their teachers. It was heartbreaking. I couldn't bear to watch and had to walk away,' said Farhad. 'This is not what human dignity should look like. I no longer worry about my own safety in Afghanistan, I worry about what will happen to my children.' He said the girls are now on school holidays, but Nafas still walks to school and stands outside, tears in her eyes. 'She doesn't want to leave her friends, and neither does her sister,' her father said. 'They're so innocent. I feel deeply guilty that I can't give them even the most basic right: education and a chance at happiness. A nine and 12-year-old shouldn't be crying over school. They should be learning, not longing to learn.' Schoolgirls returning to Afghanistan are increasingly facing child marriage, driven by traditional rural beliefs and financial hardship. Afsaneh, 15, was forced to return to Afghanistan two months ago. Now, her family is arranging her marriage. Firouz, her brother, said Afsaneh had been doing well in school and wanted to continue her studies. Now, their father wants to marry her off to a man in his 20s. 'I've tried to stop him,' he said. 'But I have no say in the matter... Now she cries all the time.' Their father insists that in their village, if a girl is not married by her age, 'people start talking badly about her'. The girls in Iran are trapped in limbo and are struggling with the prospect of leaving their education and friends behind. Mahnaz, 17, not her real name, has considered suicide rather than face deportation. 'I've thought about killing myself,' she said. 'Dying. It's better than going to Afghanistan and falling into the Taliban's hands and with no school.' Mahnaz was born and raised in Iran and had legal documents, like her mother's family. But her life fell apart eight years ago when her father's severe drug addiction broke up the family. 'My father became severely addicted and it was very difficult,' she said. 'He beat all of us. He beat my mum. He beat me. He intentionally burned my hand when he was using drugs. The mark is still there.' Mahnaz's father attempted suicide and her mother later filed for divorce after years of abuse. But without the male head of household, their residency documents expired and became invalid. In Iran, if the father of a refugee family loses his documents, the whole family risks losing theirs. Mahnaz's father disappeared and with him, their legal status. 'When they expired, me and my mum were left alone,' Mahnaz said. 'We wanted to go to school. To study. Go to a clinic. Go to a hospital. But they wanted documents. We were stuck.' Eventually, they received new census forms, allowing Mahnaz to enroll in high school and her younger brother to continue their education. But with the census, the Islamic Republic can easily find the refugees whose legal status remains uncertain and deport them. Those fully documented by the UN for decades cannot be easily sent back. 'They gave census holders exit forms,' she said. 'We have about 20 days to see what happens to our situation.' The deadline is the end of July for the schoolgirls to leave the country, according to Iranian media. After that, families like Mahnaz face deportation to a country where the Taliban has banned girls from attending school beyond primary grades and barred women from most jobs. At the Afghanistan border, aid workers witness the daily reality of forced returns. Faraidoon Osmani, who works for the Mercy Corps humanitarian NGO at the Herat border crossing, said between 24,000 to 30,000 people arrive daily from Iran. 'The situation is very bad,' Mr Osmani said. 'The people who come, almost all of them, were forcibly expelled.' Families are being torn apart in the deportation process. 'You will see a lot of children unaccompanied at the border,' Mr Osmani said. 'Half the family stayed in Iran, half the family came to the border. Some children who are under 18 years old were also expelled.' Mr Osmani also believes that Iran's promise of online tuition is unrealistic for most returnees. 'The majority of our people live in villages and remote areas,' he said. 'Many people don't have mobile phones, let alone having the internet.' Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban has severely limited women's rights in Afghanistan. Women now face rules that control nearly every part of their lives; from being forced to cover their faces and banned from driving, to not being allowed to talk to men or choose how they dress. In the small town outside Tehran, Mahnaz works from 9 am until 11 pm, constantly checking on their legal status while trying to support her family. She dreams of university, of helping others, of a future that seems increasingly impossible. 'I really want to continue my studies and go to university,' she said. 'I want to reach somewhere so that I can help others.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
More than 70 protesters across UK arrested for allegedly holding signs supporting Palestine Action
More than 70 people have been arrested across the UK in several demonstrations where references to Palestine Action were allegedly made, a week after the group was banned as a terrorist organisation. Protesters gathered for the second week in a row in central London after police reiterated that showing support for the group was a criminal offence, resulting in the Metropolitan police making 42 arrests. On Saturday, shortly after 1pm, two small groups of protesters demonstrated in Parliament Square, sitting at the steps of the statues of both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The action was organised by the campaign group Defend Our Juries, which said more demonstrations were due to take place elsewhere in London and in Manchester, Cardiff and Derry. Defend Our Juries said on X: 'Over 300 police officers have been seen to carry away dozens of people from the foot of statues of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi for alleged 'terrorism offences'. Those arrested are accused of holding signs in support of Palestine Action.' In Manchester, 16 people holding signs referencing Palestine Action at the foot of the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter's Square were arrested. A Greater Manchester police spokesperson said: 'At around 2.30pm this afternoon, we responded to a protest taking place in St Peter's Square – 16 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000. The group peacefully dissipated at around 3.25pm.' In Cardiff, 13 people who sat outside the BBC Cymru Wales headquarters holding signs that appeared to express support for the group were arrested. A police spokesperson said: 'South Wales police supports the right for people to make their voices heard through protest providing it is done lawfully. We can confirm that 13 people were arrested earlier today during a protest which took place in the vicinity of Central Square, Cardiff.' 'They were arrested on suspicion of committing offences under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.' Defend Our Juries said officers in Manchester pushed 'through crowds of onlookers to arrest sign-holders, including three vicars and many pensioners'. In London, Met officers formed a cordon around those demonstrating, who wrote messages appearing to support Palestine Action with black markers on pieces of cardboard, and silently held the signs aloft. Officers could be seen searching the bags of protesters and taking their ID cards. Some demonstrators could be seen lying on top of each other while police held their handmade signs. The protesters were then led away from the statues by officers into waiting police vans parked around the square. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, announced plans to ban Palestine Action late last month, days after activists from the group allegedly broke into RAF Brize Norton and defaced two military aircraft with spray paint. MPs voted in favour of proscribing the group on 2 July. The House of Lords backed the move without a vote the following day. UN experts, civil liberties groups, cultural figures and hundreds of lawyers have condemned the ban as draconian and said it sets a dangerous precedent by conflating protest with terrorism. The ban means Palestine Action has become the first direct action protest group to be banned under the Terrorism Act, placing it in the same category as Islamic State, al-Qaida and the far-right group National Action.
