Iran won’t start a war but will respond to bullies, says president
Sources said Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards were pulling senior officers out of Syria
Iranian advisers assist armed groups in both Iraq, where the US has around 2,500 troops, and Syria, where it has 900
Updated 02 February 2024
Reuters
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday that his country would not start a war but that it would “respond strongly” to anyone who tried to bully it.
Raisi’s comments came after days of speculation about how Washington might retaliate after three US soldiers were killed last Saturday in a strike on their base in Jordan by an Iranian-backed group.
CBS News, citing US officials, reported on Thursday that the United States had approved plans for multi-day strikes in Iraq and Syria against multiple targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities in those countries.
“We will not start any war, but if anyone wants to bully us they will receive a strong response,” Raisi said in a televised speech.
“Before, when they (the Americans) wanted to talk to us, they said the military option is on the table. Now they say they have no intention of a conflict with Iran,” Raisi said.
“The Islamic Republic’s military power in the region is not and never has been a threat to any country. Rather, it ensures security that the countries of the region can rely on and trust,” Raisi added.
The United States has assessed that the drone that killed three of its soldiers and also wounded more than 40 other people, was made by Iran, four US officials have told Reuters.
Sources said Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards were pulling senior officers out of Syria.
Iranian advisers assist armed groups in both Iraq, where the US has around 2,500 troops, and Syria, where it has 900.
Israeli military says it intercepted drone that approached Israel over Red Sea
Updated 09 October 2024
Reuters
CAIRO: The Israeli military said on Wednesday it intercepted a drone that approached Israel over the Red Sea but did not cross into Israeli territory, minutes after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it targeted Israel’s Eilat with drones.
Lebanon arrests two Syrians on suspicion of spying for Israel
Updated 09 October 2024
AFP
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said Wednesday it had arrested two Syrians on suspicion of having been recruited to work for Israel, as its military bombs Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Lebanese army intelligence arrested two Syrians “for photographing different places... and documenting the results of enemy air strikes,” an army statement on social network X said.
The arrests were “a result of surveillance and follow-up of Israeli spy networks and enemy agents,” it said in the statement.
The pair had also documented “search and rescue operations and the recovery of bodies” at Israeli strike sites and were “recruited through social media,” the statement said, adding that judicial authorities were investigating.
Israel has been pounding Lebanon for more than two weeks, saying it is targeting Hezbollah commanders and munitions, in raids that have killed more than 1,200 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Lebanon remains technically at war with Israel and forbids citizens from having any contact with Israel or traveling there.
Suspicions are running particularly high after Israel killed senior Hezbollah commanders in recent weeks, including the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Lebanese security services have arrested dozens over the years on suspicions of collaborating with Israel, with some receiving jail terms of up to 25 years.
Lebanon facing ‘catastrophic’ situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
Updated 09 October 2024
AFP
UNITED NATIONS: United Nations officials warned Wednesday that Lebanon was staring down a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis as the number of internally displaced people hit 600,000 and Israel presses its offensive against Hezbollah militants.
Hezbollah said its fighters were locked in clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, using rocket-propelled weapons to repel Israeli attempts to breach the border.
“Lebanon finds itself facing a conflict and a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, told a briefing.
She expressed “hope that Israel too will now be ready to add its support to the many calls and appeals that are out there” for de-escalation.
But as fighting raged, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down, warning Lebanon could face “a long war... like we see in Gaza.”
Israel has intensified air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon since September 23, leaving more than 1,190 people dead and forcing more than a million to flee, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza said that Lebanon was facing “one of the deadliest periods” in its recent history, reporting that 600,000 people are internally displaced — over 350,000 of whom are children.
“Even wars have rules,” he said.
Israel has refused to rule out strikes on Beirut’s civilian airport and its access roads, even as thousands of people continue to flee the country by air and road every day.
“We are not targeting civilians. But at the same time, if we will find Hezbollah activities or intention to launch rockets into Israel, we will do what any other country would do about it,” said Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
Israel’s ground forces crossed into Lebanon on September 30 in response to Hezbollah rocket and artillery attacks over the past year that have forced tens of thousands of Israelis out of their homes in border areas.
How Israel’s war on Hezbollah risks creating a lost generation in Lebanon
War and mass displacement have brought the nation’s education system, already crippled by economic crisis, to the brink of collapse
Schools across Lebanon have been repurposed to house families displaced by Israeli airstrikes, depriving children of an education
Updated 09 October 2024
Razia Desai
DUBAI: Thousands of children across Lebanon, many of whom were due to start the new school year, have seen their education abruptly disrupted by the sudden escalation in hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
With schools closing, teachers fleeing, and students facing mounting trauma, Lebanon’s educational system is on the verge of collapse.
“This has added to existing challenges caused by the pandemic, political instability, economic downturns, including earlier teacher strikes, and continuous conflict,” Erin Wall, an education technical adviser at Save the Children Lebanon, told Arab News.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire along the Lebanese border since Oct. 8 last year. However, this suddenly escalated in September with an unprecedented attack on the militia’s communications network, followed by a wave of strikes on its leaders and weapons caches.
Lebanon was rocked last month when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members suddenly exploded simultaneously. The devices, reportedly booby-trapped by Israel, exploded in public areas, killing scores and injuring thousands, including children.
Following the pager incident, Lebanon’s Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced the closure of schools and higher education institutions, impacting some 1.5 million young people across the country.
In the days that followed, Israel escalated its airstrikes against Hezbollah targets, with the stated aim of pushing the militia away from the Israel-Lebanon border, making it safe for the 60,000 Israelis displaced from the north to return home.
Israeli strikes, which have now extended beyond southern Lebanon to the capital Beirut and other regions, have forced some 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes — an estimated 35 percent of them children.
School buildings in the north of the country have been repurposed to provide emergency shelter to families escaping the bombardment in the south and other areas that are considered Hezbollah strongholds.
The long-term effects of the violence and disruption are likely to run deep. Children like 14-year-old Ali Al-Akbar, who returned to school not for an education but to find a place of refuge, are missing out on much-needed stability.
“I miss my friends and teachers,” Al-Akbar told AFP news agency from a classroom-turned-shelter in Beirut’s southern suburbs, echoing the sentiment of thousands of displaced students across the country.
War damage and the mass displacement of students and teachers have left education in Lebanon in a state of limbo.
“Damage to some school infrastructure and resources has diminished educational quality,” Mira, an elementary teacher from Beirut, told Arab News. “Displacement forces children to adapt to new curricula and environments, adding to their stress.”
Online learning, while utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, has proven difficult to implement in the face of daily bombings and unreliable internet access.
Furthermore, the trauma of conflict, compounded by the loss of community and routine, makes it nearly impossible for children to concentrate on their studies.
“The psychological impact on students, who lose access to safe, child-friendly spaces and routine support services, contributes to stress and anxiety,” said Wall of Save the Children.
“This scenario exacerbates the risk of social isolation and disconnection, significantly affecting their overall well-being and development.”
The disruption to education could also have lasting consequences for Lebanon’s recovery. A World Bank report last year estimated the economy could lose $3 million in the long term due to educational disruptions.
Even more concerning is the impact on students who may never return to school or will forget what they have already learned.
Jennifer Moorehead, Lebanon country director at Save the Children, told AFP: “It will be generations before Lebanon will recover from this learning loss.”
"Over a million, 200k people on the road, so 20% of the population basically on the move. 420k of those are children. It's a very impressive and also very scary moment to be a kid." Jennifer Moorehead, Country Director, @SaveChildrenLEB on humanitarian situation in #Lebanonpic.twitter.com/AhgffanQQQ
— Save the Children Global Media (@Save_GlobalNews) October 3, 2024
The country’s fragile economy is unlikely to withstand such an extensive setback, with an entire generation of children at risk of being left behind.
Children displaced by the conflict are also at risk of long-term trauma.
Wall emphasized how the cognitive abilities of children are being affected, with many exhibiting signs of constant anxiety and fear. “This is detrimental to their ability to focus, which negatively affects their acquisition of foundational skills such as math or reading,” she said.
Meanwhile, at schools that have been turned into makeshift shelters, little space remains for the continuation of education. In these overcrowded conditions, the chances of returning to regular schooling are slim.
“No mother wants her child to miss out on school, but this year I’d rather he stayed by my side as nowhere in Lebanon is safe anymore,” Batoul Arouni, a mother staying in a repurposed school in Beirut, told AFP.
Her sentiment is shared by many parents who fear for their children’s safety amid the violence.
In the face of these overwhelming challenges, international aid has begun to trickle in. The UN children’s fund, UNICEF, has been providing educational and psychosocial support to displaced children in shelters.
Regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan, have also pledged millions of dollars in relief.
While the aid provided thus far has primarily focused on food, shelter, and medical care, these necessities offer a glimmer of hope for Lebanon’s children.
By stabilizing the humanitarian situation, aid organizations say they are creating an environment where children can eventually return to learning and begin to heal from the trauma.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Education has also partnered with private institutions to allow displaced children to attend nearby schools. However, the success of this initiative will depend heavily on whether schools can remain open in the face of continued violence.
INNUMBERS
• 400k Children displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to the UN.
• 40% Proportion of public schools serving as shelters, according to education officials.
• 127 Children killed since the onset of hostilities — more than 100 in the last two weeks.
The current crisis has exposed the deep vulnerabilities in Lebanon’s education system, which has been plagued by instability for years.
The pandemic, teacher strikes, and economic hardship had already pushed many schools to the brink of collapse. The conflict with Israel has only exacerbated these issues.
Lebanon’s public schools are set to reopen in early November after the Ministry of Education pushed back the start of the new term. But uncertainty looms over whether they will be able to function effectively.
Indeed, according to Lebanon’s Education Minister Halabi, around 600 schools, or 40 percent of public institutions, have been repurposed as shelters.
“The education plan we have put in place needs more time for implementation,” Halabi said in a statement, adding that public schools will reopen based on their location and capacity to host students.
The UN estimates that more than 400,000 children have been displaced by the conflict to date. With no formal schooling available in shelters, children and teachers will be enrolled in nearby schools, but it is unclear how many will be able to return.
However, the loss of education is not just a temporary inconvenience — it could have catastrophic long-term consequences for a country already mired in crisis.
Without immediate and sustained international support, an entire generation of Lebanese children risks being lost to conflict, trauma, and missed opportunities.
For many families, though, education is no longer a priority, as survival takes center stage.
At least four Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on West Bank
Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas said that ‘the four martyrs are ordinary citizens who were among the people and were killed among the people in cold blood’
Daghlas said that that one man was from Balata camp, while the remaining three were from the Askar camp in the West Bank
Updated 09 October 2024
AFP
NABLUS, Palestinian Territories: Israeli police killed at least four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday, Palestinian health authorities and Israeli security forces said.
The Palestinian health ministry reported in a statement Wednesday that “four martyrs shot by the occupation in Nablus have been transferred to Rafidia Government Hospital.”
It later said the men were aged between 31 and 43 years old.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also reported the deaths of four people, but Israeli security forces said five were killed Wednesday.
Officers from an elite police unit “killed five wanted terrorists in Nablus,” the Israeli police, army and Shin Bet domestic security service said in a joint statement.
The statement added that among those killed was the head of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade in the Balata refugee camp adjacent to the city.
It said that during a joint operation involving army and police force, coordinated by Shin Bet, police killed five armed men “who presented a danger for our forces.”
“The eliminated terrorists were involved in the planning and exporting of terrorist activity against civilians and army forces,” the statement added.
Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas however told AFP that “the four martyrs are ordinary citizens who were among the people and were killed among the people in cold blood.”
He called the killing “a cowardly and deliberate assassination.”
He added that one man was from Balata camp, while the remaining three were from the Askar camp in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Violence has soared in the West Bank since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel in October last year.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 705 Palestinians in the West Bank since, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Israeli officials say at least 24 Israelis, civilians or members of the security forces, have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinian militants or in Israeli military operations over the same period in the West Bank.