BRUSSELS: The European Commission announced on Thursday an extra $33.1 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, which has been hit by clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"I am extremely concerned by the constant escalation of tensions in the Middle East. All parties must do their outmost to protect the lives of innocent civilians," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
This comes in addition to the 10 million euros already announced on Sept. 29 and brings total EU humanitarian assistance to the country to over 104 million euros this year.
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EU announces extra 30 mln euros humanitarian aid for Lebanon
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EU announces extra 30 mln euros humanitarian aid for Lebanon
- This comes in addition to the 10 million euros already announced on Sept. 29
‘Massive’ blast in south Iran port: state TV
- State media reported a “massive explosion” at Shahid Rajaee
- Footage on state TV showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the port area
TEHRAN: Several containers exploded Saturday at a key Iranian port, authorities said, causing a major blast and fire, and leaving several people injured.
State media reported a “massive explosion” at Shahid Rajaee, the country’s largest commercial port located in Hormozgan province on Iran’s southern coast.
“The explosion occurred in a part of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are extinguishing the fire,” state TV quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh, a regional port official, as saying.
Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is the most advanced container port in Iran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
It is located 23 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas, the Hormozgan provincial capital, and north of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.
Footage on state TV showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the port area where many containers are located.
“Four rapid response teams were dispatched to the scene after the explosion,” Head of the Hormozgan Red Crescent Society, Mokhtar Salahshour, told state TV.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of the province’s crisis management authority, told state TV that “the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area.”
“We are currently evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical centers,” he added, without specifying the number of casualties.
Iran-US nuclear talks ‘may be extended’: Iranian state media
- A third round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “may be extended,” Iranian state media reported Saturday, as negotiators were meeting in Oman
MUSCAT: A third round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “may be extended,” Iranian state media reported Saturday, as negotiators were meeting in Oman.
“Given that the negotiations have entered technical and expert-level discussions and the examination of details, it can be anticipated that it may be extended if necessary,” the official IRNA news agency said.
Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
- The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza
Israel’s military said Saturday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, whose Houthi militants have launched attacks throughout the Gaza war, as well as a drone approaching “from the east.”
“Following the sirens that sounded recently in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted” before “crossing into Israeli territory,” a military statement said.
In a later statement, it said a drone “that was on its way to Israeli territory from the east was intercepted” by the air force.
Yemen, large parts of which are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis, is located to Israel’s southeast.
Other countries to Israel’s east include Iraq, where Tehran-aligned militants have claimed a number of attacks targeting Israel since the Gaza war began.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The militants have also targeted ships they accuse of having ties to Israel as they travel on the Red Sea — a vital waterway for global trade.
They had temporarily paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Israel’s army radio, the missile intercepted overnight was the 22nd fired by the Houthis since they had resumed their attacks as Israel renewed its Gaza offensive on March 18.
Since March 15, Israel’s key ally the United States has stepped up its attacks on the Houthis, targeting militants positions in Yemen with near-daily air strikes.
Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 17
- Witnesses reported an estimated 20 victims trapped beneath the rubble.
GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 17 people across the territory, while more trapped under the rubble after a family home was hit.
Israel resumed its military campaign in the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce that had largely halted the fighting.
“Israeli air strikes in several areas killed 17 people since dawn,” civil defense official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP.
A strike on the house of Al-Khour family in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood killed 10 people, Mughayyir said, with witnesses reporting an estimated 20 victims trapped beneath the rubble.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, had earlier said that about 30 people were missing under the rubble.
Umm Walid Al-Khour, who survived the attack, said that “everyone was sleeping with their children” when the strike hit.
“The house collapsed on top of us,” she told AFP.
“Those who survived cried for help but nobody came... Most of the deceased were children.”
AFP footage showed rescuers searching under the rubble as a wounded man was pulled out from the debris.
Elsewhere in the city, three people were killed in Israeli shelling of a house in the Al-Shati refugee camp, Mughayyir said.
More strikes across the Gaza Strip killed four others.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
According to figures released Friday by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, the renewed Israeli campaign since last month had killed at least 2,062 Palestinians, taking the overall war death toll in the territory to 51,439 people since the war began.
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel says the renewed military campaign aims to force Hamas to free the remaining captives.
Missile launched from Yemen into Israel intercepted, Israeli army says
CAIRO: The Israeli army said in the early hours of Saturday that a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.
Sirens sounded in a number of areas in Israel following the launch, the Israeli army added in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who have been launching attacks against Israel as well as ships they perceive as affiliated to Israel, in what they say is to support the Palestinians in Gaza against the Israeli offensive on the enclave.
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