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CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
1 killed and 11 wounded in intense Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
A bulldozer clears rubble near a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town, south Lebanon, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) NABATIEH, Lebanon -- Israel's air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern city in Lebanon on Friday, in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted underground assets of the Hezbollah militant group. Shortly afterward, 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. 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 U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. 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. 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 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 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction amounting to US$11 billion. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers. 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. ------ By Ahmad Mantash Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israeli drone strike in Lebanese port city kills Hamas member
BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed one person early Wednesday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. Security officials at the scene told The Associated Press that the man killed in the port city of Sidon was a member of the Palestinian Hamas group. Over the past 19 months, Israel's military has targeted members of Hamas in Lebanon where the Palestinian group has a military presence. Rescue workers inspect a damaged car after an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up The group has also carried out rocket attacks from Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, and in recent weeks Lebanese authorities detained several men linked to Hamas on suspicion of firing rockets toward Israel. Lebanese authorities warned Hamas last week that it would face the 'harshest measures' if it carried out any attacks from Lebanon.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Turkey thwarted another attack with pagers in Lebanon last year, officials say
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's intelligence service thwarted a remote attack using pagers last year in Lebanon, days after similar attacks by Israel killed dozens and wounded thousands, including members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group, a Turkish daily and officials said Tuesday. Daily Sabah reported that 1,300 pagers and 710 chargers rigged with explosives were confiscated inside a cargo shipment at Istanbul Airport that was on its way to Beirut from Hong Kong. A Turkish security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, confirmed the report but would not provide further details. FILE - Lebanese soldiers and firefighters gather outside a mobile shop after what is believed to be the result of a walkie-talkie exploding inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File) In Beirut, Hezbollah's chief spokesman Youssef el-Zein told The Associated Press Tuesday that days after the Sept. 17 pagers attack in Lebanon and Syria, Hezbollah informed Turkish intelligence that a shipment of pagers was in Turkey and about to be sent to Lebanon. El-Zein said Turkish authorities confiscated the pagers and most likely destroyed them. He had no further details. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. Israel triggered the Sept. 17 attack when pagers all over Lebanon started beeping. The devices exploded even if a person carrying one failed to push buttons to read an incoming encrypted message. The next day, Israel activated walkie-talkies, some of which exploded at funerals for some of the people who were killed in the pager attacks. The attacks marked a major escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah war that started after Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Although the Lebanon attack struck many Hezbollah members, civilians were also killed or wounded. At least 37 people were killed, including two children, and some 3,000 were wounded in the two-day explosions. Daily Sabah said that acting on a tip that a shipment of pager devices would be in Istanbul to be delivered to Lebanon two days after the attacks, Turkish intelligence agents launched an operation. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up The newspaper said that authorities discovered a shipment that arrived in Istanbul from Hong Kong one day before the Lebanon explosions. The cargo had 61 boxes and was scheduled to depart from Istanbul to Beirut on Sept. 27 through Istanbul Airport. The cargo was described as a shipment of food choppers, Daily Sabah said. Inside, authorities found 1,300 Gold Apollo brand pagers and 710 desktop chargers. After the pagers attack, Israel expanded the war against Hezbollah with strikes that killed nearly 500 people on Sept. 23, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. On Sept. 27, Israeli airstrikes on a southern suburb of Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader and one of its founding members, in the biggest blow for the Iran-backed group. The war ended on Nov. 27, when a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect. ____ Mroue reported from Beirut.
