Latest news with #Hezbollah
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Israel confirms fresh strikes on Lebanon
Israel has launched fresh strikes on Lebanon, saying it has bombed a site used by Hezbollah. The IDF confirmed the attack on social media, claiming the Iran-backed group was attempting to rebuild an underground project previously destroyed by Israel. Lebanon's President is accusing Israel of violating the country's sovereignty and a US-backed ceasefire. The ceasefire was brokered in November after a year of conflict between the two sides.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Carries Out Intense Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, 1 Dead
Israel's air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern Lebanon city on Friday in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted Hezbollah underground assets. The airstrikes came in two waves on the mountains overlooking Nabatiyeh and bunker buster bombs were used, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. There was no immediate information about casualties. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Friday's strikes were more intense than usual. The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defense array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use. The Israeli army said it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area. There was no comment from Hezbollah. An Israeli drone also targeted on Friday an apartment in a two-story building in Nabatiyeh. Lebanon's health ministry said a woman was killed and 11 other people were wounded in the strike. "The Israeli enemy strike on an apartment in Nabatiyeh led to a preliminary toll of one woman killed and 11 people wounded," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.
9 News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- 9 News
One killed and 11 wounded in intense Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Israel's air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern city in Lebanon on Friday (local time), in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted underground assets of the Hezbollah militant group. Shortly afterwards, an apartment building in the nearby city of Nabatieh was struck, killing one woman, wounding 11 and knocking out the building's top floor, according to Lebanon's state news agency. The state-run National News Agency reported that the woman killed lived in Germany and had come back to Lebanon less than a month earlier to visit family. People gather next to a car that was damaged in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town, south Lebanon. (AP) It wasn't immediately clear if she was a German citizen. The woman's apartment was hit by an Israeli drone strike, according to the report. The Israeli army, in a statement posted on X, denied targeting a civilian building. The statement said the building was hit by a Hezbollah rocket that had been stored at another location that was targeted by an airstrike and "launched, and exploded as a result." It blamed Hezbollah for storing weapons near residential areas. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Lebanese army soldiers inspect a destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town. (AP) Friday's strikes were more intense than usual. "We are steadfast no matter how much you bomb us with your fighter jets and drones," Hassan Ghandour, a Shiite cleric from Nabatieh, told The Associated Press at the scene of the building. Lebanon's president and prime minister condemned the Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, saying they violated the ceasefire deal. The airstrikes on the mountains overlooking Nabatieh came in two waves, and bunker busters were used, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said that four people were slightly wounded in the airstrikes outside the city. A bulldozer clears rubble near a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town. (AP) The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defence array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use. The Israeli army said that it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Hezbollah suffered significant losses on the battlefield during the war, which left more than 4000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction amounting to $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers. A man checks his destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town. (AP) As part of the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon and isn't allowed to have an armed presence south of the Litani River. Friday's airstrikes were north of the river. CONTACT US
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Israel suggests it could strike Iran again to counter new threats
Katz, speaking to Israel's Channel 12, said the Israeli military was still finalizing what he called an 'enforcement policy' with Iran. 'We have the determination to implement it: preserving aerial superiority, preventing the advancement of nuclear projects, and preventing the advancement of threatening long-range missiles,' he said. Advertisement Such a wide-ranging Israeli interpretation of threats from Iran could imperil the truce, which ended a 12-day war that the United States briefly joined when its warplanes bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. The war did significant damage to Iranian nuclear sites and air defenses, and Iran may seek to rebuild its strategic infrastructure. Katz's comments may have been directed at his local audience, particularly the hawkish government's base of supporters. But the remarks could also lay the groundwork for a confrontation with Washington. It is unclear whether Trump would push back against the policy that Katz outlined. Israel may also choose to wait and see the results of any future diplomacy between Tehran and Washington. Trump was outraged when the ceasefire got off to a shaky start, and both sides appeared to violate the truce with rocket fire in the early hours. Advertisement He directed his strongest criticisms at Israel, even at one point posting messages on social media when he was concerned it might strike Iran again. He warned it would be a 'MAJOR VIOLATION' if Israel were to bomb Iran and demanded that the country 'BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!' Katz told Channel 12 that Israel does not need US approval to attack Iran in the future. 'We are saying unequivocally, once the Iranians violate, we will strike.' He said Israel's policy would be similar to what it has done in the aftermath of its war against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. The United States brokered a truce to end that war as well after Israel killed most of the group's leadership. Since then, Israel has bombed targets in Lebanon frequently, even though Hezbollah has refrained from attacks on Israeli territory. Israel has justified some of those strikes by saying that they were aimed at preventing Hezbollah's efforts to rearm. Katz told another network, Channel 13, that Israel's policy on Iran would be 'like in Lebanon — just times 100.' Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that 'Iran is not Lebanon,' in an interview with state television Friday. 'We do not accept any ceasefire or halt in operations that implies an agreed-upon arrangement,' he said, adding that he had 'serious doubts' about Israel's commitment to the deal. He pointed to Israel's frequent airstrikes in Lebanon and Netanyahu's decision to break a ceasefire with Hamas in March to restart military operations in the Gaza Strip. 'They declare a truce, but assume that the other side is weak, then proceed to violate it themselves and attempt to prevent any response,' he said. Advertisement Iran still has ballistic missiles and launchers, despite the damage it has sustained from Israeli and US strikes. It could still inflict blows that Israel would likely need to take into account should it choose to strike again. Araghchi vowed that Iran would 'decisively respond to any breach by the Zionist regime.' This article originally appeared in
Ya Libnan
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Israel strikes Lebanon in one of biggest attacks since November ceasefire
One person died and 21 others were injured, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. Israel said it was targeting an underground Hezbollah site. By Rachel Chason , Suzan Haidamous , Mohamad El Chamaa and Lior Soroka BEIRUT — Israel pounded southern Lebanon with a series of airstrikes Friday in what analysts and officials on the ground said were some of the most significant strikes since Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November. Video showed massive plumes of gray smoke rising above a hilltop, and Lebanon's official National News Agency reported an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in Nabatieh. The Washington Post was unable to immediately verify who or what struck the residential building in Nabatieh; neither the Israel Defense Forces nor Lebanon's government responded to requests for comment. Lebanon's Health Ministry said one person was killed and 21 were injured during the strikes. The National News Agency reported there were more than 20 hits in under 15 minutes. The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli air force fighter jets targeted a 'significant underground project' used by Hezbollah in the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon. The site was 'completely taken out of use' following the strikes, the IDF said. Beaufort Ridge is about five miles from Nabatieh. In a separate Arabic-language statement , spokesman Avichay Adraee said the IDF did not target a civilian building. Instead, he said, a rocket, stored by Hezbollah inside the building, 'was launched and hit the civilian building' as a result of Israel's strike. Adraee accused Hezbollah of endangering civilians by not giving up its arsenal to the Lebanese government, saying he expected the Lebanese military to confiscateHezbollah's weapons. Lebanon's government, which has pledged to implement the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, condemned the attacks, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam saying they represented 'a blatant violation of national sovereignty … and pose a threat to the stability we are keen to preserve.' Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel 'continues to flout regional and international resolutions' and called on the international community to intervene. The Trump administration argues a ceasefire between Israel and Iran could help secure peace on Israel's other fronts , including Gaza, as well as lead to normalization agreements with some of Israel's Arab neighbors. But in southern Lebanon, even since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire seven months ago, Israeli strikes have remained a near-daily occurrence, analysts say. In its Friday statement, Israel said Hezbollah had been making 'rehabilitation attempts' in southern Lebanon; the November ceasefire deal required Lebanese forces to ensure that all Hezbollah infrastructure is removed from the area. Between Nov. 27 — the day after the deal was announced — and June 9, 172 Lebanese deaths and 409 injuries have been reported as a result of Israeli attacks, said Hussein Chaabane, a Beirut-based investigative journalist with Legal Agenda who has been tracking the strikes. Chaabane's toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Despite a mid-February deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw, the IDF has remained in five strategic positions in southern Lebanon close to the border. And entire areas in the south have become 'unofficial buffer zones,' where residents who dare to travel face sniper fire and drone strikes by the IDF, Chaabane said. He said the strikes on Friday were significant — and caused fear in the surrounding community — because of the size of the explosions. 'What is happening is more than just the ceasefire being violated,' Chaabane said. 'It is the transformation of the south of Lebanon. … It has become a de facto security strip.' The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Chaabane's report. Hassan Wazni, the director of Nabih Berri Governmental Hospital, said the strikes were so strong that they shook the ground, reminding him of the period of heavy strikes last year David Wood, a Lebanon analyst with the International Crisis Group, said that while some people in other parts of the country feel the war has ended, 'that has never been the case in southern Lebanon.' 'There is a feeling that the ceasefire doesn't protect them, that Israel is doing whatever it pleases in a military sense, and that the United States — which is the chair of the monitoring committee — is allowing them to do so,' he said. He referred to a committee including representatives from Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and the United Nations that is charged with monitoring violations of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Wood added that the longer the strikes continue and civilians are killed, the more frustration in southern Lebanon could grow, including with the new government for failing to protect its residents. 'The longer this goes on and the state can't protect them,' he warned, 'the more likely people are to turn to Hezbollah and groups like it that could emerge.' WASHINGTON POST
