Lebanon complains to UN over latest deadly Israeli strike on journalists
Lebanon said Monday it had submitted a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over an Israeli strike last week that killed three journalists in the country’s south.
The strike early Friday hit a complex in the Druze-majority town of Hasbaya in south Lebanon where more than a dozen journalists from Lebanese and Arab media outlets were sleeping.
Lebanon submitted “a complaint to the Security Council regarding the latest Israeli attacks that targeted journalists and media facilities in Hasbaya in south Lebanon, and the Ouzai area” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a statement from the foreign ministry said on social media platform X.
“The repeated Israeli targeting of media crews is a war crime” and Israel must be “held to account and punished”, the statement added.
Cameraman Ghassan Najjar and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda from pro-Iran, Beirut-based broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, and video journalist Wissam Qassem from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television, were killed in the strike on the complex in Hasbaya, relatively far from the Israel-Hezbollah war’s main flashpoints.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack was deliberate and both he and Information Minister Ziad Makary labelled it a war crime.
Lufthansa extends suspension of Tel Aviv flights to November 25
German airline group Lufthansa said Monday it was extending the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv to November 25 as Israel is at war in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The Lufthansa Group airlines Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS have decided to extend the suspension of its flights to Tel Aviv up to and including November 25, 2024,” it said in a statement. It also confirmed that Eurowings flights to Tel Aviv are suspended until November 30.
Israeli troops arrested around 100 Hamas militants in northern Gaza hospital, military says
Israeli soldiers arrested around 100 suspected Hamas militants during a raid in Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, the military said in a statement on Monday.
“The soldiers apprehended approximately 100 terrorists from the compound, including terrorists who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians. Inside the hospital, they found weapons, terror funds, and intelligence documents and in the surrounding area,” the military said.
Gaza health officials have denied any militant presence at the hospital.
Israel army urges evacuation in Lebanon’s Tyre city ahead of attack
The Israeli army on Monday told residents in parts of Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre to leave immediately, warning that it would attack Hezbollah targets there.
“Hezbollah’s activities force the (Israeli army) to act against it forcefully,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that included a map of targeted areas in the coastal city, urging residents to “head north”.
Iranian media says Israeli strikes killed civilian
Iranian media on Monday said a civilian was killed during the Israeli strikes over the weekend which targeted military sites, although authorities had not previously reported civilian deaths.
“The martyr Allahverdi Rahimpour, a civilian who was killed near Tehran during the recent attack by the Zionist regime, has been buried,” the local Fars news agency reported. Tasnim news agency also reported the death.
Kremlin says Russia is doing all it can to try to de-escalate Middle East tensions
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was doing everything it could to try to facilitate attempts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments when asked about the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Iran.
Peskov said Moscow was in touch with all sides of the conflict.
Iran foreign ministry vows to ‘respond firmly’ to Israeli strikes
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran would “respond firmly and effectively” to Israeli strikes on military sites over the weekend.
“We are using all available means to respond firmly and effectively to the aggression of the Zionist regime,” Baghaei told a regular news conference.
Lebanon says five dead in Israeli strike on southern city of Tyre
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on Monday in the centre of the southern city of Tyre killed at least five people and wounded 10 others, adding the toll was provisional.
An “Israeli enemy strike this morning on a building” in the centre of the coastal city “led to a provisional toll of five dead and 10 wounded”, a health ministry statement said, adding that “work is ongoing to remove the rubble”.
Iraq lodges UN complaint over Israel using its airspace to attack Iran
Iraq has condemned Israel’s use of its airspace to attack neighbouring Iran in a protest letter sent to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council, Baghdad said Monday.
A statement from government spokesman Bassim Alawadi said the letter condemns “the Zionist entity’s blatant violation of Iraq’s airspace and sovereignty by using Iraqi airspace to carry out an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran on October 26”.
Iran Guards chief warns Israel of ‘bitter consequences’ after attack
The top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has warned Israel it would face “bitter consequences” after its attack on Iranian military sites, local media said on Monday.
Guards chief Hossein Salami, quoted by Tasnim news agency, said Israel had “failed to achieve its ominous goals” with its air raids on Saturday, calling it a sign of “miscalculation and helplessness” and warning that “its bitter consequences will be unimaginable” for Israel as it battles Tehran-aligned militants in Gaza and Lebanon.
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting Monday following Israel’s retaliation on Iran
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at Iran’s request following Israel’s deadly missile strikes in retaliation for an October 1 attack by Tehran.
The Swiss presidency of the UNSC said Sunday that the meeting would take place following the request by Iran, supported by Algeria, China and Russia.
Welcome to our live blog, where we bring you the latest news on the war in the Middle East. To read about yesterday’s key developments, click here.
Leave a Comment