Page 49 - Israel-palestine

Hezbollah, Israel battle on border as Lebanon's army watches from sidelines

Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines. It's not the first time the national army has found itself watching war at home from the discomfiting position of bystander. Lebanon's widely beloved army is one of the few institutions that bridge the country's sectarian and political divides. Several army commanders have become president, and the current commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, is widely regarded as one of the front-runners to step in when the deadlocked parliament fills a two-year vacuum and names a president. But with an aging arsenal and no air defenses, and battered by five years of economic crisis, the national army is ill-prepared to defend Lebanon against either aerial bombardment or a ground offensive by a well-equipped modern army like Israel's. The army is militarily overshadowed by Hezbollah. The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops,

US sees window for new push to break deadlock in Lebanon, ease conflict

With Israel's sabotage and military operations in Lebanon taking out many of Hezbollah's senior leaders, some in Washington and elsewhere believe there may be a window for a new push to break the political deadlock in Lebanon to try to ease escalating war. To that end, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone separately Friday with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabhi Berri about the need to resolve the situation, the State Department said. Earlier in the week, Blinken talked with his Saudi, Qatari and French counterparts about how a resolution particularly the election of a new Lebanese president might reduce tensions in the Middle East by getting Hezbollah to move its forces away from Israel's northern border to the line set out in a U.N. Security Council resolution ending the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. It's clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest, a strong interest, in the state asserting itself and taking ...

Best of BS Opinion: Pradhan future BJP chief, Indians on Palestine, more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Why is Indian public opinion so indifferent to Gazans and Palestinians?

We must avoid the temptation to see Indian indifference to Palestine as usual "enemy's (Muslim) enemy (Jew) is my friend". Reason is the changed reality of Islamic world & India's equation with it

Israel under lens for 'extermination' in destruction of Gaza health system

UN inquiry's statement also accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles and restricting permits for patients to leave besieged Gaza Strip

Toll rises to 22 in Israeli strikes in central Beirut, 27 in Gaza school

Israeli airstrikes hit central Beirut on Thursday evening, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens, Lebanon's health ministry said, leaving two neighbourhoods smoldering and further escalating Israel's bloody conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The strikes apparently targeted two residential buildings in separate neighbourhoods of western Beirut, according to an AP photographer at the scene, bringing down one multi-story building and wiping out the lower floors of another. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reported strikes on the Lebanese capital. Israeli airstrikes have been far more common in Beirut's tightly packed southern suburbs, where Hezbollah bases many of its operations. Thursday's strikes followed a year of tit-for-tat exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel that boiled over into all-out war in recent weeks, with Israel carrying out waves of heavy strikes across Lebanon and launching a ground invasion. Hezbollah has expanded its

Highlights: Fema authority orders confiscation of Rs 252 cr assets of Chinese-controlled loan app

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500 Hezbollah targets including HQs hidden in nature reserve destroyed

282nd Artillery Brigade provide covering fire for the forces maneuvering in Lebanese territory and in close cooperation with Air Force, dozens of Hezbollah infrastructure and launchers were destroyed

Here's what to know about Israel's ground invasion in southern Lebanon

Israel's ground invasion in Lebanon stretched into its second week as the Hezbollah militant group fired hundreds of rockets deep into Israel with no end in sight to the escalating conflict. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon - mostly in airstrikes - and over a million displaced since the fighting intensified in mid-September. At least 15 Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed since the ground operation began, and more than 60,000 people have been displaced from towns along the border for more than a year. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, attacked southern Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost every day since, coming close to a full-fledged war on several occasions but stepping back from the brink until this month. Here's what to know about the current ground incursion in southern Lebanon: What is the aim of Israeli military

Looming Israeli strike on Iran brings fresh test for US ceasefire attempts

While Israel, with US and UK help, knocked down almost all incoming missiles and drones in an attack in April, this time many of Iran's ballistic missiles hit close to their targets

Biden reassures Netanyahu of unwavering commitment to Israel's security

Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets in at least two waves, on October 1, 2024, marking the largest attack during the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict

Attack on Iran would be 'lethal', 'surprising': Israeli defence minister

Israel's defence minister warned on Wednesday that his country's retaliation for a recent Iranian missile attack will be lethal and surprising, while the Israeli military pushed ahead with a large-scale operation in northern Gaza and a ground offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah militants. On the diplomatic front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden held their first call in seven weeks, with a White House press secretary saying the call included discussions on Israel's deliberations over how it will respond to Iran's attack. It was direct, it was productive, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the 30-minute call. The Israeli operation in northern Gaza left dozens of people dead and threatened to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said. The continuing cycle of destruction and death in Gaza, unleashed by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, comes as Israel

News updates: Industrialist Ratan Tata dies at Mumbai hospital, says police official

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Large-scale Israeli offensive in northern Gaza kills, wounds dozens

A large-scale Israeli operation in northern Gaza has killed and wounded dozens of people and threatens to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said Wednesday. Heavy fighting is underway in Jabaliya, where Israeli forces carried out several major operations over the course of the war and then returned as militants regroup. The entire north, including Gaza City, has suffered heavy destruction and has been largely isolated by Israeli forces since late last year. The continuing cycle of destruction and death in Gaza, unleashed by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, offers a cautionary tale as Israel expands a week-old ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and considers a major retaliatory strike on Iran. Residents of Jabaliya, a refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation, say heavy airstrikes and evacuation warnings have driven hundreds of people from their homes. An airstrik

Explosions rock Beirut as Israel strikes Lebanon on Oct 7 anniv; updates

According to the Israeli military, airstrikes were carried out on several Hezbollah intelligence and weapons storage sites within the Lebanese capital

Gulf states must not allow use of airspace against Iran, says official

Any action by a Gulf country against Tehran, whether by airspace or military bases, will be regarded as an action taken by the entire group, and we will respond accordingly, Iranian official said

As Israel plots to strike Iran, its choices range from symbolic to severe

Israel has promised to retaliate for Iran's massive missile attack last week. How it does so involves great risk, and could have major repercussions for the archenemies, the Middle East and the world. Israel's options range from symbolic strikes on military targets to crippling attacks on Iran's vital oil industry or its secretive and heavily fortified nuclear programme. The intensity and timing of any retaliatory strike was expected to top the agenda of a planned meeting this week at the Pentagon between Israel's defence minister and his US counterpart. But late Tuesday, the Pentagon said the meeting was abruptly postponed. In a sign of possible disagreement over the right approach, President Joe Biden has already urged Israel not to hit Iran's nuclear programme and discouraged it from hitting the oil industry. The Associated Press spoke to two former Israeli prime ministers and other experts to explore Israel's options. There is broad consensus that Israel must strike back, but d

Israel has eliminated Hassan Nasrallah's 'successors', says Netanyahu

Netanyahu attributed Lebanon's downfall to 'a gang of tyrants and terrorists' and specifically highlighted Iran's assistance Hezbollah

Israel begins ground operations in southwest Lebanon despite Iran's warning

Israel has been weighing options to respond to Tehran's ballistic missile attack last week, carried out in response to Israel's military action in Lebanon

Airlines suspend flights in region as tensions in Middle East rise

Rise in concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region