Hezbollah strikes Israeli army intelligence base near Tel Aviv

Update Hezbollah strikes Israeli army intelligence base near Tel Aviv
Above, Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts incoming projectiles over Tel Aviv on Oct. 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 23 October 2024
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Hezbollah strikes Israeli army intelligence base near Tel Aviv

Hezbollah strikes Israeli army intelligence base near Tel Aviv
  • Israel’s air force shoot down two rockets from Lebanon that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv
  • Hezbollah fighters launched ‘a rocket salvo’ at ‘the Glilot base of the military intelligence unit... in the Tel Aviv suburbs’

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at an Israeli military intelligence base in the Tel Aviv suburbs Wednesday, following a night of strikes on the group’s south Beirut bastion.

Hezbollah fighters launched “a rocket salvo” at “the Glilot base of the military intelligence unit... in the Tel Aviv suburbs,” the group said in a statement, referring to a base targeted several times in recent days. It said the rocket fire was “in response to attacks and massacres committed by the Zionist enemy.”

Israel’s air force shot down two rockets from Lebanon that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the military said.

The downing of the rockets came shortly after Israeli forces intercepted two drones launched from the east targeting the Red Sea port city of Eilat, the military said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in either the drone or rocket attacks.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq group said it attacked Eilat with drones twice on Wednesday. The pro-Iranian militant group said it struck “vital” targets.


Jordanian government spokesperson says country remains firmly supportive of Palestine

Jordanian government spokesperson says country remains firmly supportive of Palestine
Updated 12 sec ago
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Jordanian government spokesperson says country remains firmly supportive of Palestine

Jordanian government spokesperson says country remains firmly supportive of Palestine
  • Mohammad Momani affirms that Jordan backs self-determination of Palestinians
  • Remarks made during seminar commemorating 105th anniversary of martyrdom of Kaid Al-Mefleh Obeidat

LONDON: Minister of Communication Mohammad Momani has said that Jordan’s commitment to “defending” Palestinian rights in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza “remains firm.”

Momani, who is also the spokesperson for the Jordanian government, said that the country supported the right of Palestinians to self-determination, and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

His remarks were made on Saturday during a seminar commemorating the 105th anniversary of the martyrdom of Kaid Al-Mefleh Obeidat. He is remembered as a national hero after being the first Jordanian to lose his life in resisting Zionist groups during the British mandate in Palestine in 1920.

Momani said: “Supporting the Palestinian cause should not come at the expense of Jordan’s national stability but should be expressed through unity behind the Hashemite leadership, the Arab army, and the security agencies.”

He added that “Obeidat’s martyrdom … highlights Jordan’s long-standing sacrifices for Arab unity and freedom,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

Momani said that Jordan’s support resulted from its religious, moral, and humanitarian obligations and that a Palestinian state was vital to Jordan’s national interests, according to Petra.

He said that King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein continued “to champion the Palestinian cause, maintaining Jordan as a bastion of steadfastness amid regional upheavals.”


Qatari emir, Turkish FM discuss Syria, Gaza in Doha

Qatari emir, Turkish FM discuss Syria, Gaza in Doha
Updated 28 min 42 sec ago
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Qatari emir, Turkish FM discuss Syria, Gaza in Doha

Qatari emir, Turkish FM discuss Syria, Gaza in Doha
  • Hakan Fidan meets Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at Lusail Palace

LONDON: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani received the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan at Lusail Palace in Doha on Sunday.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed significant regional and international developments, especially those concerning Gaza, the Palestinian territories, and Syria.

Sheikh Tamim and Fidan reviewed strategic relations between Doha and Ankara, as well as ways to strengthen and develop ties, the Qatar News Agency reported.


Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian Zanouta School in south Hebron

Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian Zanouta School in south Hebron
Updated 27 April 2025
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Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian Zanouta School in south Hebron

Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian Zanouta School in south Hebron
  • Zanouta is a small village east of Al-Dhahiriya, with nearly 150 people
  • Residents had just completed restoration work to prepare for pupils’ return when the attack occurred on Sunday

LONDON: Israeli settlers vandalized a Palestinian school near Hebron in the occupied West Bank after residents completed renovation for pupils’ return.

Fayez Al-Tal, the head of the Zanouta Village Council, said that the village school was destroyed by Israeli settlers who, early on Sunday, broke into the premises and “looted” the iron doors, wooden panels, and classroom dividers, according to Wafa news agency.

Zanouta is a small village east of Al-Dhahiriya, with nearly 150 people. Most of the 27 families there work as shepherds and some residents live in naturally formed caves. Israeli settlers have repeatedly demolished the village school, but the residents have rebuilt it each time.

Al-Tal said that residents and the local council had just completed restoration work to prepare for pupils’ return when the attack occurred on Sunday. He said that settlers “repeatedly attacked the village, destroyed homes, and forcibly displaced residents through violence and property destruction.”

In November 2023, Israeli settlers set fire to and destroyed the Zanouta Coeducational Primary School. Additionally, on Oct. 28, 2023, residents were forced to abandon their homes because of relentless Israeli attacks, which were overshadowed by the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

After being displaced for nine months, villagers received an Israeli court order in August 2024 to return to Zanouta. Israeli settler attacks, however, continue, Wafa reported.


Qatar PM sees some progress on Gaza truce

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani speaks during press conference.
Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani speaks during press conference.
Updated 27 April 2025
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Qatar PM sees some progress on Gaza truce

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani speaks during press conference.
  • “We need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war,” Sheikh Mohammed said
  • PM met with Barnea in the Qatari capital to discuss a potential hostage deal on Thursday, Israeli media said

DOHA: Gaza mediator Qatar said Sunday there was some progress in talks in Doha this week aimed at securing a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking at a news conference, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani reported “a bit of progress,” in response to questions about reports of a Thursday meeting in Doha between Israel’s Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea and the Qatari prime minister.
“We need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war. That’s, that’s basically, I think, the key point of the entire negotiations,” Sheikh Mohammed added.
Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, brokered a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza which came into effect on January 19 but which did not bring a complete end to the war.
The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18 after earlier halting the entry of aid.
Sheikh Mohammed met with Barnea in the Qatari capital to discuss a potential hostage deal on Thursday, according to Israeli media.
“The meeting that took place on Thursday is part of these efforts where we’re trying to find a breakthrough,” the Qatari prime minister said without further elaborating on the details of the meeting.
Hamas is open to an agreement to end the war in Gaza that would see all hostages released and secure a five-year truce, an official told AFP on Saturday as the group’s negotiators met in Cairo.
The Qatari PM said efforts were focused on the “best comprehensive deal possible that ends the war, brings the hostages out and not dividing (a deal) into other phases.”
Hamas has insisted that the negotiations should lead to a permanent end to the war.
According to the Palestinian group, it rejected an earlier Israeli offer that included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.


Four dead, 13 injured in Algeria landslide

Four dead, 13 injured in Algeria landslide
Updated 27 April 2025
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Four dead, 13 injured in Algeria landslide

Four dead, 13 injured in Algeria landslide
  • Four people have died and 13 others injured in a landslide in Algeria’s western coastal city of Oran, authorities said on Sunday

ALGIERS: Four people have died and 13 others injured in a landslide in Algeria’s western coastal city of Oran, authorities said on Sunday.
The landslide occurred late Saturday in the city’s Hai Essanouber district, the civil defense agency said.
It said the four “deceased were between five and 43 years old,” and that “13 other victims, aged between 12 and 75, suffered various injuries.”
Authorities did not comment on the reasons behind the landslide, which the interior ministry said “caused the collapse of five tin houses.”
With no one still missing from the landslide, the ministry said the death toll was “final.”