Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack

Update Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack
People and first responders gather in front of a building targeted by an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2024
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Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack

Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack
  • Airstrike that targeted Ibrahim Aqil leaves 16 dead, 66 injured
  • A number of people went missing following the strike, and families were searching for their children and relatives

BEIRUT: Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
The target was Hezbollah’s operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, who served on the group’s top military body.
Aqil was killed alongside members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit as they were holding a meeting in a 10-story building in the area of Al-Jamous, sources said.
The strike killed 16 people and wounded 66 others.

A number of people went missing following the strike, and families were searching for their children and relatives.
Sources told Arab News that Aqil and his colleagues were holding the meeting in an underground room, and therefore rescue workers were not able to retrieve their bodies four hours after the explosion.
An eyewitness told Arab News: “The strike leveled the building, which was residential, and it is difficult to determine the number of victims inside.”
Israeli media reported that the target, Aqil, was a “prominent Hezbollah member who directs the fighting in southern Lebanon.”
The US State Department had previously offered a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to Aqil’s arrest, stating that he is a “member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council and accused of the 1983 bombings of the Marine barracks and the US Embassy.”
Black smoke was seen rising from the site as people fled in all directions.
Hezbollah ambulances arrived at the scene, and paramedics were seen pulling out the injured, including children and the elderly. Hezbollah members quickly cordoned off the area.
The Israeli army described its attack as a “precise operation,” targeting a senior Hezbollah official.
The targeted building is near the Al-Qaem Mosque, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, and the area is considered within the party’s security zone.
This operation is the third of its kind targeting Beirut’s southern suburb, following the assassination of Hezbollah military official Fuad Shukr a month ago, and prior to that, Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri in January.
The operation comes amid a military escalation between Hezbollah and the Israeli army following mass explosions that targeted communication devices used by Hezbollah members on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries.
On Friday, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets toward Israeli military sites, one of which hit Al-Ulayqa base for the first time, located north of Katzrin in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, approximately 20 km from the Lebanese border.
The escalation coincided with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s Thursday speech, in which he vowed retaliation against Israel for its crime.
He described the explosions that hit the party as “major Israeli aggression that will face a severe reckoning and just retribution.”
Nasrallah added: “The real news is in what you will see, not what you will hear, and we are keeping it within a tight circle.”
Hezbollah launched Katyusha rockets at the 210th Golan Division headquarters in Nafah, and targeted the “command headquarters of the Golan Division’s military gathering at Yarden barracks,” the “headquarters of rocketry and artillery battalion in Yoav barracks,” and the “newly established headquarters of the 91st Division at Ayelet HaShahar.”
Israeli media reported that “Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, with the last salvo consisting of 20 rockets aimed at the Meron airbase in Upper Galilee.”

In the last 24 hours, Hezbollah continued to shell the Metula site, targeting, according to its statement, “Israeli soldiers’ position with a guided missile.”
The Israeli side confirmed that rockets hit the site. Hezbollah also struck “the main air defense base of the Northern Command at the Birya barracks with volleys of Katyusha rockets.”
The Israeli army confirmed that “two soldiers were killed and nine others injured in Hezbollah’s attacks on the border with Lebanon.” The army’s statement added: “The remaining injuries were caused by drone explosions that targeted Western Galilee.”
Since Thursday night and well into Friday, the Israeli army bombarded the southern Lebanese border areas with dozens of artillery shells, airstrikes, and ground sweeps from its military positions.
Israel’s Channel 14 reported: “The Israeli army will increase its attacks on Lebanon, with the number reaching dozens daily, starting this evening. Lebanon, not Gaza, is now Israel’s primary battlefield.”
The Israeli shelling on the town of Beit Lif resulted in the death of Hezbollah member Youssef Mohammed Al-Sayyed. Another member, Ali Hassan Al-Zein, was also mourned by Hezbollah.
Heavy shelling targeted Aita Al-Shaab, the outskirts of Alma Al-Shaab, Mays Al-Jabal, Odaisseh, Kfarkila, Al-Taybeh and Kfarshouba. Wadi Zebqine and the western sector were also subject to Israeli artillery shelling.
Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Odaisseh, Al-Taybeh, Aitaroun, Yaroun, Hanin and Aita Al-Shaab in Bint Jbeil.
Shortly after Nasrallah’s speech, the Israeli army carried out around 70 raids in 20 minutes over forested mountain areas in Mahmoudieh, Aaichiyeh, Al-Rehan and the surroundings of the Barghaz River in the south.
These raids caused “mountains to evaporate,” according to witnesses.
The Israeli army claimed that “it is attacking Hezbollah targets to damage and destroy its terrorist capabilities and military infrastructure.”
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed that “air force fighter jets targeted hundreds of launch barrels set to immediately fire toward Israeli territory.”
Adraee stated that the Israeli army struck “over 100 rocket launchers and additional military infrastructures containing 1,000 launch barrels ready for immediate shooting.”
Adraee accused Hezbollah of “turning southern Lebanon into a war zone.”
He said: “For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields. The Israeli army is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes, and to achieve all the war goals.”
Israeli public broadcaster Kan announced that “Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, has approved battle plans for the northern front.”
In a separate statement, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant announced that “he has been deliberating the various possibilities of the evolution of the campaign against Hezbollah on the northern border.”
Gallant said: “This is a new phase in the war; it has significant opportunities, but also heavy risks.”
He noted that “Hezbollah is feeling chased, and the sequence of our military operations will continue.”
Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, told Sky News Arabia that “Washington believes that the war between Israel and Lebanon is not imminent.
“The best way to lessen tensions on the Lebanese and Gazan fronts is through diplomatic means.”


Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister

Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister
Updated 06 November 2024
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Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister

Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister

JERUSALEM: Thousands of Israelis protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of his defense minister, demanding the government do everything in its power to bring home hostages held in Gaza.
The demonstration erupted soon after Netanyahu’s office announced the sacking of Yoav Gallant on Tuesday following public differences over the war with Hamas.
The removal of Gallant — a hawk on the war Hezbollah in Lebanon who also pushed for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza — coincided with the presidential election in the United States, Israel’s top military backer.
Netanyahu and Gallant have frequently clashed over Israel’s retaliatory military offensive against Hamas following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
“Over the past few months... trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defense minister,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that foreign minister Israel Katz would take his place.
Shortly afterwards, thousands of people took to the streets of commercial hub Tel Aviv, chanting slogans against Netanyahu and demanding the return of 97 hostages held in Gaza.
Protesters blocked traffic and lit fires, with some wearing “Bring them home now!” T-shirts referring to the hostages.
They held up signs with slogans such as “We deserve better leaders” and “Leaving no one behind!,” and one protester wore handcuffs and a face mask with Netanyahu’s likeness.
The reshuffle’s timing comes at a critical juncture in the Gaza and Lebanon wars, with both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon massively weakened.
Jonathan Rynhold of the political studies department at Bar-Ilan University said Netanyahu was feeling “emboldened because he is improving in the polls.”
“He is also taking advantage of the fact that the US election is happening today... everyone’s focus is elsewhere,” he told AFP.
After his appointment, Katz vowed “victory over our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war,” including “the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon” and the return of hostages.
Gideon Saar, a minister without portfolio, was appointed to replace Katz as foreign minister.
After being fired, Gallant posted on X that Israel’s security would remain his life’s “mission.”
He called on the government to bring home the hostages in Gaza while they were “still alive” and insisted all Israelis of draft age must serve in the military — a key issue that he and Netanyahu had disagreed on.
The sacked minister had been a key advocate for ultra-Orthodox Jews to be called up, but Netanyahu wanted their exemption to continue, fearing their conscription could break up his far-right coalition government.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, 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 Gaza health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.
Hamas also seized 251 hostages in their attack, of whom Israel believes 63 people including two children are still alive in Gaza.
After Gallant’s dismissal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group urged Katz “to prioritize a hostage deal... to secure the immediate release of all hostages.”
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri welcomed the sacking of Gallant, who especially in the early months of the war was seen as a key architect of the fight against the militant group.
“Netanyahu dismissed Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, who was bragging that he would eliminate Hamas. Today, we say to them that Gallant is gone, but Hamas remains, and will remain, God willing,” Abu Zuhri said.


Aviv Bushinsky, a political commentator and former Netanyahu chief of staff, said Gallant’s dismissal was just “a matter of time.”
“I cannot recall an incident when Israel Katz was in opposition to Netanyahu,” he said.
“Besides, Netanyahu thinks he can run the show himself.”
Meanwhile, on the ground, the wars in Gaza and Lebanon showed no sign of abating.
Authorities in Lebanon reported raids across the country, and the toll from a strike on Tuesday in the town of Barja, south of Beirut, rose to 20.
Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed it had fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, and also targeted Israeli troops near the border inside Lebanon.
Tuesday’s fighting came more than a month into the Hezbollah-Israel war which has left at least 1,990 dead in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.
Palestinians in Gaza told AFP that whoever wins the US presidential election must end the conflict in the territory.
“We are hanging by a thread, and like every other people in the world, we are looking for someone who can stop the war,” said Ayman Al-Omreiti, 45, in Gaza City.


‘Bulldozer’ Katz, long-time ally of Israel’s Netanyahu

‘Bulldozer’ Katz, long-time ally of Israel’s Netanyahu
Updated 06 November 2024
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‘Bulldozer’ Katz, long-time ally of Israel’s Netanyahu

‘Bulldozer’ Katz, long-time ally of Israel’s Netanyahu
  • Katz, 69, labelled by Israeli media as a “bulldozer” for his direct and sometimes abrasive style, is considered both close and loyal to Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: Israel’s new Defense Minister Israel Katz, known for his abrasive style, is a long-time ally and loyalist of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a dramatic announcement late on Tuesday, Netanyahu sacked defense minister Yoav Gallant over what he said was a breakdown in trust during the Gaza war against Hamas.
“Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defense minister,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
The statement added that he had appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to take Gallant’s place.
Katz, 69, labelled by Israeli media as a “bulldozer” for his direct and sometimes abrasive style, is considered both close and loyal to Netanyahu.
After his appointment, Katz vowed to defeat Israel’s enemies and achieve the country’s war goals.
“We will work together to lead the defense establishment to victory over our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all hostages as the most important moral mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the containment of Iranian aggression, and the safe return of the residents of the north and south to their homes,” he said in a statement.
A member of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, in which he was previously president of the party’s convention, Katz has held multiple cabinet roles going back to 2003.
As foreign minister, Katz drew international attention for his pointed attacks on world leaders and international organizations that had expressed opposition to Israeli military actions, particularly in Gaza.
He spearheaded a diplomatic battle against the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and last month Israel’s parliament banned the agency from working in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem.
On Monday, Katz instructed his ministry to formally notify the United Nations that Israel was canceling its agreements with UNRWA.
Last month Katz triggered outrage when he declared UN chief Antonio Guterres “persona non grata in Israel” and wrote in a post on X that he would ban him from entering the country.
Before serving as foreign minister, Katz’s most notable role was as minister of transport.
He spent a decade in the post from 2009-2019, but had also held the energy and finance portfolios in various Netanyahu cabinets.
Aviv Bushinsky, a political commentator and Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, told AFP that Katz was likely to be more in tune with the prime minister than his predecessor Gallant.
“I cannot recall an incident when Israel Katz was in opposition to Netanyahu with anything,” Bushinsky said.
“It is true he does not have any military experience, but he was a very good transport minister and has sat in the cabinet for many years,” he added.
“Besides, Netanyahu thinks he can run the show himself — and he has managed to run the show even though Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, two generals, quit the government.”
Born in the coastal city of Ashkelon, Katz has been a prominent player in Israeli politics since becoming a member of parliament, the Knesset, in 1998.
Today he is among the highest-ranking ministers in the Likud party.
Married with two children, Katz is a resident of Moshav Kfar Ahim in southern Israel.


Gideon Saar, Netanyahu rival turned Israel’s new wartime foreign minister

Gideon Saar, Netanyahu rival turned Israel’s new wartime foreign minister
Updated 06 November 2024
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Gideon Saar, Netanyahu rival turned Israel’s new wartime foreign minister

Gideon Saar, Netanyahu rival turned Israel’s new wartime foreign minister
  • Saar was appointed foreign minister to replace Israel Katz, who took over the defense portfolio on Tuesday after Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant over an erosion of trust during the Gaza war

JERUSALEM: A self-styled political rebel and once a rival of the prime minister, Gideon Saar was named Israel’s new foreign minister on Tuesday.
Just five years ago Saar openly challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the leadership of Israel’s right-wing Likud party.
The former journalist and lawyer then left Likud in 2020, saying it had been corrupted under Netanyahu’s leadership, to form the hawkish, right-wing New Hope party.
Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last year, Saar joined the emergency war cabinet, before leaving the administration.
In September, he joined Netanyahu’s government as minister without a portfolio.
“As a long-time member of the government and cabinet, Gideon Saar brings substantial experience and sound judgment in security and policy matters, making him a valuable addition to our leadership team,” Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement issued by his office.
“The addition of Saar and his party will strengthen the coalition and stabilize the government, which is crucial at all times, particularly in times of war.”
Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza since the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 43,391 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry, figures considered reliable by the UN.
Saar was appointed foreign minister to replace Israel Katz, who took over the defense portfolio on Tuesday after Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant over an erosion of trust during the Gaza war.
Gallant had for months clashed with Netanyahu over his approach to talks on a possible hostage release deal and on the future of Gaza.
Israeli media earlier this year quoted Gallant as privately telling a parliamentary committee that a hostage release deal “is stalling... in part because of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s office accused Gallant of adopting an “anti-Israel narrative.”
Saar entered politics in 1999 as government secretary, before being elected to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in 2003.
He rose through the ranks to become interior minister and education minister in previous Netanyahu governments.
In 2021 he joined the government of former prime minister Naftali Bennett as justice minister with the title of deputy prime minister.
His political star had, however, dimmed in recent years.
Though he participated in the emergency government formed in the wake of the October 7 attack, he joined the opposition in March after failing to get a seat in the war cabinet.
He is considered more right-wing than Netanyahu, but lacks his charisma.
He has spoken out in favor of the all-out annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
His ideology is “that of the Likud” but he believes that the party has “abandoned its values under Netanyahu,” deputy Sharren Haskel, a close friend of Saar’s, told AFP.
With a father who grew up in Argentina and a mother with roots in Uzbekistan, Saar calls himself a practicing Jew while affirming that “every Israeli citizen must be able to live freely according to his conscience and way of life.”
He is married to high-profile Israeli journalist Geula Even, with whom he has two children.
A daughter from his first marriage, Alona Saar, is a popular actress.


Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan sign strategic partnership on Erdogan visit

Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan sign strategic partnership on Erdogan visit
Updated 06 November 2024
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Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan sign strategic partnership on Erdogan visit

Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan sign strategic partnership on Erdogan visit
  • Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov said in a statement: “We have taken an important decision to raise the level of strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Turkiye to that of a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’“

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Turkiye and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday agreed to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” boosting defense ties, during an official visit to the Central Asian state by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ankara is strengthening its presence across the region, as it seeks to compete with the likes of Russia and China for influence.
Erdogan regularly visits Central Asia and will on Wednesday take part in a summit of the Organization of Turkic States, a Turkish-led initiative to promote its culture and ties across several former Soviet republics.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov said in a statement: “We have taken an important decision to raise the level of strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Turkiye to that of a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership.’“
The two sides signed 19 agreements in areas including energy, defense and the fight against terrorism.
Japarov hailed “Kyrgyz-Turkish cooperation in the field of defense and the potential for further development.”
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkiye has stepped up military cooperation with Central Asian states, a challenge to Moscow’s historic supremacy in the region.
Turkiye was the third-biggest investor in Kyrgyzstan in the first half of 2024, behind Russia and China.
But it lags in terms of trade, accounting for 3.8 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s imports and exports, against 34.2 percent for China and 19.5 percent for Russia.
 

 


Turkiye sacks 3 pro-Kurdish mayors for ‘terror ties’

Turkiye sacks 3 pro-Kurdish mayors for ‘terror ties’
Updated 06 November 2024
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Turkiye sacks 3 pro-Kurdish mayors for ‘terror ties’

Turkiye sacks 3 pro-Kurdish mayors for ‘terror ties’

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Monday sacked three mayors in the Kurdish-majority southeast on alleged “terrorism” charges, despite Ankara’s apparent desire to seek a rapprochement with the Kurdish community.

In a sweep, the mayors of the cities of Mardin and Batman as well as the Halfeti district in Sanliurfa province were all removed and replaced with government-appointed trustees, the Interior Ministry said.

All three belong to DEM, the main pro-Kurdish party, and were elected in March’s local elections, when opposition candidates won in numerous towns and cities, including Istanbul.

Among those removed were Ahmet Turk, Mardin’s 82-year- old mayor, along with Batman mayor Gulistan Sonuk and Mehmet Karayilan in Halfeti.

The ministry outlined a string of allegations against them, frommembershipinanarmed group to disseminating propaganda for the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as PKK.

Since 1984, the PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state in which more than 40,000 people have died. It is blacklisted as a “terror” group by Turkiye and its Western allies.

Kurds make up around 20 percent of Turkiye’s overall population.

DEM swiftly denounced the moveas“amajorattackonthe Kurdish people’s right to vote and be elected.”