Israel strikes on Beirut cause panic on the streets as Lebanese army spreads across the country

Israel strikes on Beirut cause panic on the streets as Lebanese army spreads across the country
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, on September 28, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 28 September 2024
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Israel strikes on Beirut cause panic on the streets as Lebanese army spreads across the country

Israel strikes on Beirut cause panic on the streets as Lebanese army spreads across the country
  • Israeli army spokesperson claims “precise strikes” hit Hezbollah’s central headquarters
  • At least two have been killed while hospitals in the area received more than 50 wounded

BEIRUT/DUBAI/LONDON: A series of Israeli airstrikes rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, erasing a residential block in the Haret Hreik neighborhood and reverberating across the Lebanese capital, rattling windows and sending a thick plume of dark smoke into the sky.

The Israeli army’s spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed the “precise strikes” hit the central headquarters of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, believed to be located beneath residential buildings, the AP news agency reported.

The blasts caused nationwide panic and plunged the surrounding area into chaos. Paramedics from Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Authority rushed to the scene alongside relatives of the buildings’ residents.

Others in the southern suburbs rushed into their cars and fled towards Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad confirmed that “some of the targeted buildings were inhabited.”

At least two people have been killed, and hospitals in the area received more than 50 wounded from nearby buildings, including three in critical condition. Rescue teams urgently appealed for blood donations.

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency said six tall buildings in Haret Hreik have been reduced to rubble in the biggest blast to hit the capital in the past year.

Targeting Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was suspected to be in a bunker underneath the buildings, the Israeli military used F-35 aircraft and dropped 2,000 tons of explosives on the area, according to Israeli media.

Mohanad Hage Ali, the deputy director for research at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, told Arab News that “Israel has moved from the precision killings phase into dynamite or blast fishing; the end justifies the means.”

“They can kill hundreds to reach a target,” he continued. “This is why it is more likely a high-value target was there (in the targeted block) – this is why they (the Israeli military) took the decision.”

Israeli broadcaster Kan 11 initially reported an on-screen headline saying Nasrallah was “harmed,” but quickly followed with Israeli assessments indicating he is dead.

However, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that a security source confirmed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and the group’s executive council head, Hashim Safi Al-Din, were unharmed.

Iran’s embassy in Beirut described the Israeli strike as a “serious escalation that changes the rules of the game,” threatening that there will be repercussions.

“The Israeli regime once again commits a bloody massacre, targeting heavily populated residential neighborhoods while spewing false justifications to try and cover up its brutal crimes,” the embassy wrote on the social platform X.

“There is no doubt that this reprehensible crime and reckless behavior represent a serious escalation that changes the rules of the game, and that its perpetrator will be punished appropriately.”  

Analysts believe the strike on Haret Hreik reflects Israel’s dismissal of traditional wartime norms, marking the start of a new phase in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

“Such a strike signals a disregard for the limitations typically observed in warfare, including proportionality and ethical considerations as it is a civil populated area as Tel Aviv a city with military basis,” Rafe Jabari, a researcher on the political sociology of Arab states, told Arab News.

 “The scale of the destruction implies that the Israeli government is not constrained by these principles of International Law,” he added.

Jabari also believes “the strategy being employed suggests that Israel believes that war is the solution to end further conflict.”

 

He explained that “airstrikes are the strategic weapons used by Israel before the invasion of the Lebanese territories as happened in the Gaza Strip.

“The Israeli army is using destruction and terrors to eliminate any opposition to its occupation and colonization policy.”

“However, this approach is wrong,” Jabari continued. “Rather than achieving lasting peace, the continuation of such military actions is likely to provoke further instability and insecurity across the region.”

“Instead of bringing about an end to hostilities, this escalation will fuel the conditions for more wars and destruction in the future including this one.”

Likewise, Beirut-based political analyst Nader Ezzedine said: “By targeting Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, regardless of the outcome, Israel has chosen to break all established conflict rules and red lines that had been observed in its previous wars with Hezbollah.”

He told Arab News that “whether the outcome of this strike results in Nasrallah’s death or his survival, it will have significant ramifications for the conflict.”

“Hezbollah initially tried to adhere to certain rules in the hopes that an agreement can be reached to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon,” he added. “However, after this strike, I no longer believe this war will have any rules or limits.”

However, Ezzeddine believes that while the strike may have dealt a significant blow to Hezbollah and undermined its fighters’ morale, “it will not end the war but will likely intensify the fighting even further.”

“This strike will not end the conflict if Israel aimed to do so by killing Nasrallah,” he said. “Instead, it will certainly cause a huge escalation.”

He also expects this strike to be followed by an Israeli ground invasion, while Hezbollah may escalate its attacks against Israel.

Middle East expert Jabari noted that “we are witnessing an open war worse than the one in 2006. The Israeli army and government are choosing weapons as a means of negotiation instead of political and diplomatic endeavors.”

On Wednesday, Sep. 25, Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi told troops that its airstrikes in Lebanon aimed to destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure to pave the way for a possible ground incursion, CNN reported.

These comments came after the Israeli army intercepted a missile that Hezbollah said it had shot at the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

A day earlier, an Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Qubaisi, who reportedly led the group’s missile and rocket force.

Reports of Friday’s strikes came less than an hour after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address at the UN General Assembly, in which he vowed to continue his military operation in Lebanon despite a US ceasefire proposal demanding a 21-day pause in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon, which it says aims to eliminate Hezbollah, has killed within a few days 720 Lebanese people, many of them women and children, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Since October 8, after Israel launched its onslaught on Palestine’s Gaza Strip, Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging cross-border fire. But in the last week, Israel dramatically intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon, claiming the goal is to end Hezbollah’s 11 months of attacks on its territory.


Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source

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Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source

Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source
“Our forces are close to reaching the center of Khartoum... and expelling the Dagalo militia,” a source in the army said
“Our armored forces are advancing from multiple axes“

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s military advanced on central Khartoum “from multiple axes” on Thursday, an army source told AFP, with troops nearing the paramilitary-controlled Republican Palace.
The army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, has in recent weeks mounted a fierce offensive to reclaim full control of the capital.
“Our forces are close to reaching the center of Khartoum... and expelling the Dagalo militia,” a source in the army told AFP, referring to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
“Our armored forces are advancing from multiple axes,” he added, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
On Wednesday, the army said it had “cleared out” the neighborhoods of Al-Remila and the Industrial Area in central Khartoum — only three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the RSF-held Republican Palace.
But eyewitnesses on Thursday said army troops had to make their way through RSF snipers posted on high-rises in what used to be Khartoum’s business and government district.
The RSF did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
Further south, witnesses reported clashes between the army and the RSF around Soba Bridge — a key southeastern entry point to the capital.
In recent weeks, the army has surged through the capital, breaking a nearly two-year siege by the RSF on its headquarters and pushing the paramilitary to the edges of Khartoum North, also known as Bahri.
The army’s advance on the capital is its biggest victory in a year, since it regained Omdurman across the Nile River which, together with Khartoum North and the city center, makes up greater Khartoum.
Since it erupted, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.


Sudan’s military advanced on central Khartoum “from multiple axes” on Thursday, an army source told AFP, with troops nearing the paramilitary-controlled Republican Palace. (Reuters/File)

Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy

Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy
Updated 06 February 2025
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Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy

Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy

Stockholm: Syrians were among those killed in Sweden’s worst mass shooting that left 10 people dead at an adult education center, the Syrian embassy said.
The embassy expressed “its condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, among them Syrians,” in a post on its Facebook page late on Wednesday.


Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan

Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan
Updated 46 min 15 sec ago
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Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan

Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan
  • “Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz said
  • Hamas official Basem Naim accused Katz of trying to cover up “for a state that has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the war on Gaza“

Israel’s defense minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump’s proposal for the war-ravaged territory.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
He said he welcomed Trump’s “bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world.”
He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel’s 15-month military campaign against Hamas.
Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza’s population be “permanently” resettled elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory.
US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis dating back to the establishment of the state.
Trump’s plan was roundly rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community. Rights groups said it would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law.


Tunisia president fires finance minister

Tunisia president fires finance minister
Updated 06 February 2025
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Tunisia president fires finance minister

Tunisia president fires finance minister
  • Tunisia has over the past two years suffered sporadic shortages of basic items such as milk, sugar and flour

TUNIS: Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has sacked his finance minister and appointed a magistrate to the role.
Michket Slama Khaldi will take on the country’s finance portfolio, the presidency announced on Facebook overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, alongside images of her taking the oath of office.
The presidency gave no further details, nor did it mention outgoing minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia.
The new finance minister had headed a national commission tasked with recovering embezzled public funds.
Tunisia has over the past two years suffered sporadic shortages of basic items such as milk, sugar and flour.
Recently, there has also been a scarcity of domestic gas cylinders, which are widely used for cooking and heating.


Two years after quake disaster, Turkiye’s painful recovery continues

Two years after quake disaster, Turkiye’s painful recovery continues
Updated 06 February 2025
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Two years after quake disaster, Turkiye’s painful recovery continues

Two years after quake disaster, Turkiye’s painful recovery continues
  • The disaster reduced entire towns to rubble, including homes, hospitals, and historical landmarks, with Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman hardest hit.

ANKARA: Two years after the deadliest and most destructive earthquake in modern Turkish history, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, with many still living in temporary housing, as rebuilding efforts lag behind initial targets.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6, 2023, and its aftershocks rattled 11 Turkish provinces and parts of northern Syria, killing more than 55,000 people and injuring more than 107,000.
The disaster reduced entire towns to rubble, including homes, hospitals, and historical landmarks, with Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman hardest hit.
The government has pledged to build 650,000 homes, with President Tayyip Erdogan promising in the weeks after the tremor that 319,000 would be delivered within a year.
“We are fortunate to have delivered 201,431 independent units to their rightful owners less than two years after the earthquake,” Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting on Monday.
Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said $75 billion had been spent on rebuilding across the quake region.
The critical phases of reconstruction have been completed, he said, adding that housing and business projects were progressing rapidly.
Many residents, however, remain in makeshift conditions, while others have left their home provinces entirely, disrupting communities and livelihoods.
Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition CHP, said only 30 percent of the pledged reconstruction had been completed. The housing completion rate in Hatay, one of the worst-hit provinces, was only 18 percent, he said.
“Only three out of ten who believed in Erdogan now have homes, while the other seven are still in containers or seeking refuge in the homes of relatives,” Ozel said on Tuesday.
“How can they look into the eyes of those they forced to live in containers for two years and say, ‘We have kept all our promises, thank God’?“
Lingering hardships
International and local aid groups say a full recovery remains far off, with thousands of Turks still facing barriers to returning home.
The Hatay Earthquake Victims’ Association said in a report that more than 400,000 people remain in container-home cities, facing poor sanitation, inadequate health care, and an uncertain future.
It also raised concerns about asbestos exposure from unregulated demolitions and land seizures under emergency decrees.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that millions of people in Turkiye and Syria were still struggling to rebuild their lives. It called the pace of reconstruction “far too slow” for such a disaster.
Delays in reconstruction hurt long-term stability and risk depopulation of the region, some aid groups say.
In Hatay, in southernmost Turkiye, empty streets, shuttered businesses, and demolition work still define the city, which was once a bustling mixture of cultures and religions, and a draw for tourism.
Ankara says its response to the earthquake has been effective and on track.
Kurum, the government minister, said 423,000 homes and workplaces will be handed over to survivors by the end of 2025, adding that Turkiye had allocated 584 billion Turkish lira ($19 billion) for recovery efforts.