Connect with us

World

Israel says Hezbollah crossed ‘red line’, strikes deep inside Lebanon

Published

on

Israel says Hezbollah crossed ‘red line’, strikes deep inside Lebanon

Israel says Hezbollah has crossed ‘red line’, blaming the Lebanese group for Saturday’s deadly attack; Hezbollah denies the accusations.

The Israeli military says it carried out a series of strikes across Lebanon after blaming Hezbollah for Saturday’s deadly attack in the occupied Golan Heights, as its foreign ministry said the Lebanese group had crossed a “red line”, raising fears of regional escalation.

The Israeli military said on Sunday its jets bombed weapons depots and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, in Shabriha and Burj el-Shemali near the southern city of Tyre, and the villages of Kafr Lila or Kfar Kila, Rab el-Thalathine, Khiam and Tayr Harfa.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack on a football ground that killed 12 people.

“Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, rather it is a terrorist organisation deliberately shooting at civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.

Advertisement

Hezbollah has “categorically denied” responsibility for the attack. There have been unconfirmed claims that a failed Israeli interceptor missile may have caused the incident.

Iran, Hezbollah’s regional ally, warned Israel against any “new adventure concerning Lebanon” using the Majdal Shams incident as an “excuse”.

“After 10 months of mass killing in the Gaza Strip and mass murder of Palestinian children and women, the apartheid Israeli regime is trying to distract public opinion and global attention from its wide-ranging crimes in Palestine using a fabricated scenario,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement on Sunday, adding that Israel will be responsible for any moves that will further destabilise the region.

‘Tipping point’

Reporting from Beirut in Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the latest Israeli attacks were a message to Hezbollah, not the response it has promised.

Advertisement

“What we witnessed overnight was really normal activity, something that we have seen in the past 10 months since Hezbollah opened up a front in southern Lebanon to help the people of Gaza,” she said.

According to Khodr, the Israeli response and whether it would hit military or civilian targets could signal a “tipping point” that will determine the trajectory of the border conflict that started on October 8.

The Israeli security cabinet is expected to have a meeting later on Sunday to decide on a response to the rocket attack in Majdal Shams.

Israeli commanders meet Druze leaders

In a video message from the site of the attack on Sunday morning, Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi reiterated the claim that an Iranian-made Falaq rocket – which has been employed by Hezbollah since the start of border fighting last October – carrying 53kg (116 pounds) warhead hit the football field.

“This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever fires such a rocket into an urban area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” he said.

Advertisement

Halevi added that the Israeli military is “increasing our readiness for the next stage of fighting in the north” as it keeps attacking the Gaza Strip to deadly effect.

He and other commanders met Druze leaders and community members in the area.

The United Nations, the United States and the European Union condemned the attack. The UN and the EU urged all parties to exercise “restraint” to prevent an all-out war, with the 27-member bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell calling for an “independent international investigation”.

More than 350 people, including 100 civilians have been killed in repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war on Gaza, according to the UN. Israeli officials say more than 30 people, including 10 civilians, have been killed in attacks originating from Lebanon.

Advertisement

World

Iranians Bury Slain Leader Amid Renewed Fighting

Published

on

Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.

Continue Reading

World

Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights

Published

on

Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.

Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.

MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A ‘DEVASTATING LOSS,’ COMPANY SAYS

Advertisement

Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)

First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.

The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.

“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”

Advertisement

EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE

The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.

While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.

Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).

After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.

Advertisement

FORMER NFL QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III DESCRIBES HARROWING ENGINE FIRE ON UNITED FLIGHT

FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)

Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.

“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.

FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Advertisement

Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

World

Moldova president nominates pro-European businessman Tofan for PM

Published

on

Moldova president nominates pro-European businessman Tofan for PM

Published on Updated

Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.

ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT

In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.

Advertisement

He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.

The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.

Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.

Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.

He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.

Advertisement

The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.

He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.

Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.

He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.

The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.

Advertisement

Additional sources • AFP

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending