Hezbollah’s leader stops short of declaring all-out war against Israel, for now

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2023

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The powerful head of the Lebanese military group Hezbollah stopped short of announcing all-out war against Israel – but issued a volley of threats against Israel and the US in his first speech since the 7 October atrocities.

Fervent Hezbollah supporters in Beirut shouted slogans, waved Palestinian flags and professed adulation for their leader Hassan Nasrallah as they watched him broadcasting from a secret location, with his image projected on a giant screen erected in the centre of Beirut.

The disgust and anger over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is at fever pitch in Lebanon, and there was much hype over just what the Hezbollah chief was going to say.

Follow live: IDF strikes ambulance in Gaza

Although a divisive figure, Nasrallah is viewed as a hero among his followers and his voice carries much weight in the region.

Thousands gathered to see whether the country – already battered by economic difficulties and political instability – was going to be plunged into a violent regional war too.

Instead, the Hezbollah leader issued some strong warnings, declaring that Lebanon is already involved in the war.

“Some claim Hezbollah is about to join the fray. I tell you: We have been engaged in this battle since October 8,” he told the crowd.

“Some would like Hezbollah to engage in an all-out war, but I can tell you: what is happening now along the Israeli-Lebanese border is significant, and it is not the end.”

He went on to threaten the US and urged them to rein in Israel from inflicting more civilian casualties in Gaza.

“You, the Americans, can stop the aggression against Gaza because it is your aggression,” he said. “Whoever wants to prevent a regional war, and I am talking to the Americans, must quickly halt the aggression on Gaza.”

As he was speaking, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warning Israel’s “enemies in the north” not to escalate the war – telling them: “You cannot imagine how much this is going to cost you.”

So many among Nasrallah’s supporters are willing and seemingly ready for war.

One young woman we spoke to said: “I can’t lie and say I’m not worried … I am worried about a war happening and people dying.

“But if this war is going to free Palestine from Israel and make Israel fade away, then yes – I want a war to happen and put us at peace finally.”

Nasrallah has been significantly silent since last month’s Hamas attacks, which Israeli authorities say killed more than 1,400 people – with over 230 kidnapped and taken back to Gaza.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are supported and funded by Iran, but Nasrallah told the crowd the Hamas attacks were unknown to both Hezbollah and Iran.

Even in the countdown to his speech, Hezbollah fired a volley of strikes into Israel including using explosive drones.

But he appeared to step back from the abyss by not firing the starting gun to wholescale more extensive Hezbollah involvement – for now.

That is likely to be viewed with huge relief among those who are worried about the conflict igniting a much more widespread regional war.

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Amsterdam: Police break up pro-Palestinian protest after ‘antisemitic’ violence following football game

Published

8 hours ago

November 10, 2024

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Amsterdam: Police break up pro-Palestinian protest after 'antisemitic' violence following football game

More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters have been taken away by police during a banned demonstration in Amsterdam following “antisemitic” violence in the wake of a football game.

Hundreds of people had defied an order banning protests and gathered in the city’s Dam Square on Sunday, chanting “Amsterdam says no to genocide” and “free Palestine”.

A three-day ban on demonstrations was brought in on Friday, following violence that erupted on Thursday after a Europa League game between Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv and local side Ajax.

The ban was later extended for four more days until next Thursday.

Explained: What we know about violence in Amsterdam

The aftermath of the football game was marred by violence that the mayor of the Dutch city and the country’s prime minister described as antisemitic.

At a hearing challenging the protest ban, a senior police officer said it was still needed as people thought to be Jewish were targeted on Saturday night, with some being ordered out of taxis and others asked to produce their passports.

A local court ratified the ban and the people who were rounded up were put on buses and dropped off on the outskirts of the city, police spokesperson Ramona van den Ochtend said, without confirming how many had been detained.

One protester was taken to an ambulance bleeding.

After the initial violence, five people were treated in hospital and more than 60 were held by police.

The attacks followed a Palestinian flag being torn down in the Dutch city, and another being set on fire, before Maccabi Tel Aviv fans shouted anti-Arab chants as they were escorted to the game.

The initial attacks on Israeli fans were carried out by what Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described as “hit-and-run squads”.

Prosecutors said that four suspects remained detained, including two minors, and 40 people have been fined.

A night that ‘defied description’

Tensions began to build the day before the match when some of the 3,000 visiting Maccabi supporters had minor altercations with locals, including taxi drivers and Ajax supporters, police said.

According to officers, on Wednesday a Palestinian flag was set on fire in Dam Square, and another was pulled down from a nearby building as a taxi was also vandalised.

On game day, the Maccabi supporters chanted anti-Arab slogans including “Let the IDF win, and f*** the Arabs,” as they were escorted by police to the stadium.

A planned pro-Palestinian demonstration on Thursday was moved away from the ground to Anton de Komplein square, in an attempt to prevent any clashes, but after the game on Thursday night violence spread in the city.

Attacks broke out and police rounded up and escorted some Maccabi fans back to their hotels.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof described the violence as “antisemitic” and said it “defied description”.

A video which was circulated on social media showed a man being chased through the street with the caption “watch and enjoy six Zionists chased away. Free Palestine”.

A statement by Amsterdam police and prosecutors said Thursday evening “was very turbulent, with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters”.

They added: “There is no excuse for the antisemitic behaviour exhibited last night [Thursday] by rioters who actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them.”

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Mackenzie Michalski: Irish man allegedly admits killing US nurse at Budapest flat and dumping body near lake, say police

Published

11 hours ago

November 10, 2024

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Mackenzie Michalski: Irish man allegedly admits killing US nurse at Budapest flat and dumping body near lake, say police

An Irish man is suspected of killing a 31-year-old US nurse during an “intimate encounter” at his Budapest flat before dumping her body in woodland, according to police.

Hungarian police said Mackenzie Michalski, from Portland in the US state of Oregon, was killed after meeting the 37-year-old man at a nightclub while she was on holiday in the city.

Officers identified the suspect by the initials LTM and said he cleaned up his rented apartment in the Hungarian capital and put Ms Michalski’s body in a wardrobe and then into a suitcase.

He allegedly rented a car and drove 90 miles (150km) to Lake Balaton, where he is said to have disposed of the body in a wooded area near the village of Szigliget.

Police video showed the suspect guiding them to where he left the body.

Officers said he also searched online for how to dispose of a body, and about the competence of Budapest police. Police said he also conducted online searches about procedures in missing person cases, whether pigs eat dead bodies, and if there are wild boars around Lake Balaton.

He was arrested on 7 November but claimed the killing was an accident, police said.

Ms Michalski had been reported missing two days before, and the suspect was identified after CCTV showed the pair together at a nightclub, where police said they danced and left for his flat.

Crime scene photos show a rolling suitcase, items of clothing and a handbag next to a credit card with Ms Michalski’s name on it.

The victim’s family flew to Hungary to help find her, but on the way found out she had been killed.

“There was no reason for this to happen,” her father Bill Michalski said at a candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday night.

“I’m still trying to wrap my arms around what happened… I don’t know that I ever will.”

Wearing a cap she had given him, Mr Michalski said his daughter had been to Budapest before and called it her “happy place”.

“The history… she just loved it and she was just so relaxed here,” he said.

A Facebook group set up last week to find Ms Michalski said she was known as “Kenzie” and worked as a nurse.

It said she would “forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman”.

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Tributes paid to ‘brave’ Briton, 22, killed while fighting in Ukraine

Published

11 hours ago

November 10, 2024

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Tributes paid to 'brave' Briton, 22, killed while fighting in Ukraine

Tributes have been paid to a “brave” 22-year-old British man who was killed while fighting in Ukraine.

Callum Tindal-Draper, from Gunnislake, Cornwall, died while serving with the foreign volunteer platoon in the country’s struggle against Russia.

It is believed he was defending an observation point when he was killed on 5 November.

Callum’s mother Caroline Tindal said in a post on Facebook that “he fought till he could no longer hold them off any more”.

“His platoon are calling him a ‘hero’ and ‘as brave as they come’,” she said.

“22 is a young age. But you lived and died following your heart, soul and morals.

“May you rest in peace and help watch over those who have passed.”

Mr Tindal-Draper was a former student of Duchy College, in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall.

In a tribute on Facebook, the college’s Military and Protective Services Academy said he was a “model student” with a “strong moral compass”.

“He was a passionate, articulate and bright student, who was keen to learn,” the post said.

“He was very proud of his family history in the services,” the post added.

“He was well-liked and respected by his peers, and was not one to shy away from causes he believed in and was instrumental in collecting the three minibus loads of humanitarian equipment for civilians that the learners gathered when the war in Ukraine initially kicked off.”

The post said Mr Tindal-Draper worked for the NHS after finishing the course.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are aware that a British national has reportedly died in Ukraine and stand ready to assist the family in the UK.”