JIAT investigation clears coalition forces of aerial targeting in Yemen

JIAT investigation clears coalition forces of aerial targeting in Yemen
JIAT determined that coalition forces did not target the residential area in the Zabid directorate on Dec. 6, 2021, as alleged. (Supplied)
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Updated 24 January 2024
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JIAT investigation clears coalition forces of aerial targeting in Yemen

JIAT investigation clears coalition forces of aerial targeting in Yemen
  • Analyzing coalition air missions on Dec. 5, 6 and 7, 2021, JIAT found no evidence of operations in Zabid directorate
  • JIAT confirmed that Al-Nazir Health Unit, situated in a residential neighborhood in Al-Nazir city of Razih directorate, is on the coalition forces’ no-strike list

RIYADH: The Joint Incidents Assessment Team investigated the alleged aerial targeting of a residential area in Al-Abadiyah Al-Ulya, Zabid directorate, Hodeidah governorate, Yemen, on Dec. 6, 2021.

After examining various documents, including air tasking orders, mission schedules, and satellite images, JIAT concluded that the claimed location lacked specific coordinates.

Analyzing coalition air missions on Dec. 6, 2021, JIAT found no evidence of operations in the Zabid directorate. Similarly, missions on Dec. 5, 2021 and Dec. 7, 2021 showed no activity in the area.

Consequently, JIAT determined that coalition forces did not target the residential area in the Zabid directorate on Dec. 6, 2021, as alleged.

JIAT also addressed another allegation that coalition forces targeted the Al-Nazir Health Unit in Razih directorate, Saada governorate, on July 1, 2015.

After evaluating various sources, including a Doctors for Human Rights report from March 2020, which claimed that the health unit was destroyed and a civilian injured, JIAT conducted a thorough investigation.

This involved examining air tasking orders, mission schedules, post-mission reports, satellite images, open sources, the National Information Center’s website listing health centers, the coalition forces’ no-strike list, and international humanitarian law.

JIAT confirmed that Al-Nazir Health Unit, situated in a residential neighborhood in Al-Nazir city of Razih directorate, is on the coalition forces’ no-strike list. On July 1, 2015, the closest military target dealt with by coalition forces was 900 meters away from Al-Nazir Health Center, using a guided bomb that hit its target.

The post-mission report verified a direct hit on the military target. Satellite images and JIAT specialists’ analysis confirmed traces of aerial targeting on the military target.

Examining daily mission schedules for June 30, 2015 and July 2, 2015, JIAT found no coalition air missions conducted in Al-Nazir city on these dates. Therefore, JIAT concluded that the coalition forces did not target Al-Nazir Health Unit on July 1, 2015, as alleged.

JIAT specialists analyzed satellite images of Al-Nazir Health Center after the alleged date, revealing a building with annexes enclosed by a fence. No evidence of aerial targeting was detected, and open sources yielded no information on the center’s targeting.

JIAT also addressed an aerial targeting incident in Alaf, Sahar directorate, Saada governorate on Dec. 7, 2021, where three men were reported killed at 11 p.m.

After examining various documents, including air tasking orders, mission schedules, and satellite images, JIAT concluded that no specific coordinate for the claimed location was provided in the claim.

Analyzing coalition air missions on Dec. 7, 2021, JIAT found no evidence of operations in the Sahar directorate. Similarly, missions on Dec. 6, 2021 and Dec. 8, 2021 showed no activity in the area.

Consequently, JIAT determined that coalition forces did not target a residential area in the Sahar directorate on Dec. 7, 2021, as alleged.


UN says Gaza polio vaccination campaign complete

Updated 37 sec ago
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UN says Gaza polio vaccination campaign complete

UN says Gaza polio vaccination campaign complete
The second round of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip was completed Tuesday, with an overall 556,774 children under the age of 10 being vaccinated
An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 children are stuck in “inaccessible areas” in the north and “remain unvaccinated”

JERUSALEM: The UN said Wednesday its Gaza child polio vaccination drive was complete, with more than half a million children vaccinated despite the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Palestinian territory.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF launched a second round of vaccinations in northern Gaza on Saturday after Israeli bombing halted an earlier attempt to do so.
“The second round of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip was completed yesterday (Tuesday), with an overall 556,774 children under the age of 10 being vaccinated with a second dose,” said a joint statement.
It “is a remarkable achievement given the extremely difficult circumstances the campaign was executed under.”
Israel’s military has pounded northern Gaza for weeks in a major offensive it says is aimed at stopping Hamas militants from regrouping.
An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 children are stuck in “inaccessible areas” in the north and “remain unvaccinated and vulnerable to the poliovirus,” the UN organizations said.
The vaccination campaign had been a “success,” according to a statement Wednesday from COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that manages civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories.
The drive began on September 1 with a successful first round, after the besieged territory confirmed its first polio case in 25 years.
Typically spread through sewage and contaminated water, poliovirus is highly infectious.
It can cause deformities and paralysis and is potentially fatal, mainly affecting children aged under five.
The vaccination campaign was managed primarily by UN agencies including the WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA — the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
Last month Israel’s parliament adopted a law banning UNRWA’s activities on Israeli territory.
The aid agency remains “the largest primary health care provider in the Gaza Strip,” according to Louise Wateridge, UNRWA’s senior emergency officer.
The WHO said Saturday four children were among six people wounded in a strike on a polio vaccination center in northern Gaza.
It was unclear who carried out the attack.
The UN agencies on Wednesday again called for a ceasefire.
“Humanitarian pauses... must be systematically applied beyond the polio emergency response efforts to other health and humanitarian interventions to respond to dire needs,” they said.

The UN said Wednesday its Gaza child polio vaccination drive was complete, with more than half a million children vaccinated despite the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Palestinian territory. (Reuters/File)

Hezbollah says attacked Israel naval base with drones, missiles

Hezbollah says attacked Israel naval base with drones, missiles
Updated 06 November 2024
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Hezbollah says attacked Israel naval base with drones, missiles

Hezbollah says attacked Israel naval base with drones, missiles
  • Hezbollah fighters “targeted the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa,” the group said

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it targeted a naval base near the Israeli city of Haifa with drones and missiles Wednesday, the fourth attack on the base in as many weeks.
Hezbollah fighters “targeted the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa with a salvo of high-quality missiles and a squadron of attack drones,” the group said in a statement.


Israel’s Netanyahu calls Trump, discusses Iran threat

Israel’s Netanyahu calls Trump, discusses Iran threat
Updated 06 November 2024
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Israel’s Netanyahu calls Trump, discusses Iran threat

Israel’s Netanyahu calls Trump, discusses Iran threat
  • Trump and Netanyahu agreed to work together for Israel’s security

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Donald Trump on Wednesday after his stunning US election victory and discussed the “Iranian threat” to Israel’s security, his office said.
“The conversation was warm and cordial. The prime minister congratulated Trump on his election victory, and the two agreed to work together for Israel’s security. The two also discussed the Iranian threat,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.


Lebanon files complaint against Israel at UN labor body over deadly pager explosions, minister says

Lebanon files complaint against Israel at UN labor body over deadly pager explosions, minister says
Updated 06 November 2024
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Lebanon files complaint against Israel at UN labor body over deadly pager explosions, minister says

Lebanon files complaint against Israel at UN labor body over deadly pager explosions, minister says
  • Lebanese Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram said he traveled to Geneva to formally file the complaint against Israel at the International Labor Organization
  • Bayram said the casualty count was even higher than first reported

GENEVA: A Lebanese government minister said Wednesday his country was filing a complaint against Israel at the UN’s labor organization over the string of deadly attacks involving exploding pagers, saying workers were among those killed and injured.
The explosions in mid-September were widely blamed on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. The blasts killed at least 37 people, including two children, wounded more than 3,000 and deeply unsettled even Lebanese who have no Hezbollah affiliation.
Lebanese Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram said he traveled to Geneva to formally file the complaint against Israel at the International Labor Organization, a sprawling UN agency that brings together governments, businesses and workers.
Bayram said the casualty count was even higher than first reported, saying “more than 4,000 civilians fell — between martyrs and injured and maimed — in a few minutes by this attack.”
“This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” the minister told reporters at the UN compound in Geneva.
“It’s a very dangerous precedent, if not condemned,” he said. “We are in a situation where ordinary objects — objects used in daily life — become dangerous and lethal.”
Speaking in Arabic, Bayram insisted that ILO conventions guarantee the safety and security of workers, who “were in their workplace and had their pagers or walkies-talkies exploding all of a sudden,” according to an interpreter.
“I do not know where the outcome (of the complaint) will go, but at least we raised our voices to say and warn against this dangerous approach that strikes at human relations and leads to more conflicts,” he added.
An ILO spokeswoman said she was not immediately aware of the complaint or what redress might be possible through it.


Hezbollah says tens of thousands of fighters ready to battle Israel

Hezbollah says tens of thousands of fighters ready to battle Israel
Updated 06 November 2024
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Hezbollah says tens of thousands of fighters ready to battle Israel

Hezbollah says tens of thousands of fighters ready to battle Israel
  • The Iran-backed group’s leader also warned that nowhere in Israel would be “off-limits” to attacks
  • “What will stop this... war is the battlefield” he said, citing fighting in south Lebanon and Hezbollah attacks on Israel

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said Wednesday that tens of thousands of its militants were ready to fight Israel, adding that the US election result would have no bearing on the war in Lebanon.
The Iran-backed group’s leader also warned that nowhere in Israel would be “off-limits” to attacks, as the Israeli military said about 120 projectiles had been fired across the border on Wednesday.
The Israeli military struck Hezbollah’s main bastion of south Beirut after issuing an evacuation warning.
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since late September, when the Israeli military widened the focus of its war in Gaza to securing its northern border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah began launching low-intensity cross-border attacks on Israel last year, in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack.
Efforts to end the war in Gaza that was sparked by the Hamas attack have yet to bear fruit, and the war in Lebanon has killed nearly 2,000 people, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.
“We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants” ready to fight, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech marking 40 days since his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a strike.
The address was aired after Donald Trump’s victory in the US election was announced, but had been recorded earlier.
He said the result in the race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris would have no impact on any possible ceasefire deal for Lebanon.
“We don’t base our expectations for a halt of the aggression on political developments,” he said.
“Whether Harris wins or Trump wins, it means nothing to us.
“What will stop this... war is the battlefield” he said, citing fighting in south Lebanon and Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hezbollah said it targeted a military base near Israel’s main airport close to commercial hub Tel Aviv, an attack that Israel’s Airports Authority said did not disrupt operations.
Earlier Wednesday, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported Israeli air strikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon and the southern city of Nabatiyeh.
An AFP correspondent in the eastern city of Baalbek reported intense strikes in and around the city.
The speech was Qassem’s second since he was named Hezbollah secretary-general last week.
Israel is “betting on prolonging the war so it becomes a war of attrition... We are ready,” he said.
He also called for Lebanese sovereignty to be safeguarded in any truce talks.
Qassem demanded explanations from the Lebanese army after Israeli naval commandos seized a man from north Lebanon on Saturday who they said was a senior Hezbollah operative.
He said the operation was “a great offense to Lebanon” and a “violation” of its sovereignty.
On Tuesday, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP that Israeli commandos used a speedboat equipped with advanced devices capable of jamming UN peacekeepers’ radars for the operation, according to a preliminary probe.
The UN Maritime Task Force has helped the Lebanese military to monitor territorial waters and prevent the entry of arms or related material by sea since 2006, according to the mission’s website.
In Gaza, where the 13-month war has had a devastating impact, people were desperate for a solution and voiced hope Trump might be able to offer one.
Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry the United Nations considers reliable.
“We were displaced, killed... there’s nothing left for us, we want peace,” said Mamdouh Al-Jadba, who was displaced to Gaza City from Jabalia.
“I hope Trump finds a solution, we need someone strong like Trump to end the war and save us, enough, God, this is enough,” the 60-year-old told AFP.
Umm Ahmed Harb, from the Al-Shaaf area east of Gaza City, was also counting on Trump to “stand by our side” and end the territory’s suffering.
“God willing the war will end, not for our sake but for the sake of our young children who are innocent,” she told AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his part feted Trump’s return as “history’s greatest comeback.”
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
The United States is Israel’s top ally and military backer, and the election came at a critical time for the Middle East.
While maintaining the steady flow of aid to Israel, US President Joe Biden’s administration had for months piled pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a truce.
Analysts say Netanyahu had been hoping for a Trump return, given their longstanding personal friendship as well as the former president’s hawkishness on Israel’s arch-foe Iran.