Israel unleashes huge strikes on Beirut – with Hezbollah leader the target

Published

2 months ago

September 28, 2024

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Israel has unleashed a series of huge strikes on Beirut, with its military saying it struck the central headquarters of the militant group Hezbollah.

The attack shook windows across the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke billowing into the air.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target of the strike and a senior Israeli official said it was too early to say whether the attack was successful.

“I think it’s too early to say, but, you know, it’s a question of time. Sometimes they hide the fact when we succeed,”
the official said when asked if the Israeli strike on Friday had killed Nasrallah.

Asked how long it might take to determine the fate of Nasrallah, the senior Israeli official said: “Certainly if he’s
alive, you’ll know it very immediately. If he’s dead, it may take some time.”

A source close to Hezbollah told Reuters Nasrallah is still alive, and Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe.

Israel-Hezbollah latest: Explosions in Beirut as Israel ‘targets head of Hezbollah’ in huge airstrike

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least two were killed and 76 wounded in the strikes. It said the figures were preliminary.

The Israeli military claimed it had carried out a “precise strike” on Hezbollah’s headquarters which it said were “embedded under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut”.

It was the strongest strike carried out by Israel in Beirut during its nearly year-long conflict with Hezbollah, which began when the Iran-backed group began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas attacked from Gaza on 7 October.

Israel has struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahieh, four times over the last week – killing at least three senior Hezbollah commanders.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the central command centre was embedded deep within civilian areas.

Four buildings in Dahieh were reduced to rubble, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported.

Confusion around Nasrallah’s condition – and it could force Iran into a decision

There is still confusion around the fate of Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah.

After suspiciously rapid statements that he was “safe” there has not been an update for some hours. If he is alive, I would expect him to appear on TV as soon as possible to reassure his supporters and in a message of defiance.

Israeli sources say he was the target of the attacks but are yet to indicate whether they were successful. The blast site is so large, it will take time for rescue workers to find the dead. The civilian death toll is likely to rise considerably.

This is a pivotal moment. If Nasrallah has been killed it will be the biggest success for Israel so far. They tried to find and kill him in 2006, but failed. Leaders can be easily replaced and often with someone more dangerous than before, as witnessed by the killing of the former Hezbollah leader Abbas Al-Musawi in 1992. He was succeeded by Nasrallah.

Even if Nasrallah is dead, Hezbollah isn’t.

The immediate assumption is that the group would respond with barrages of missiles into Israel, probably targeting Tel Aviv.

So far tonight, there have been around 30 missiles fired. We witnessed interceptions in Haifa and one rocket hit a house in Safed. Much more could come.

But Hezbollah will again be in disarray. Their command structure has been severely degraded. It will probably take time to co-ordinate a response and it will probably be with Iranian guidance.

Iran must also make a choice now. Tehran has not seen eye to eye with Nasrallah in recent weeks, but the loss of such an important ally will be a huge blow to the Supreme Leader, if it turns out that he has been killed.

Having resisted the opportunity to get involved, Iran might decide the time has come to take the gloves off and deploy the thousands of missiles they have provided Hezbollah with.

Alternatively, after such a difficult 10 days, they might decide this round of fighting needs to end and pull back with Hezbollah still in some shape to rebuild and fight another day.

Iran’s embassy in Beirut described the strikes as a “dangerous, game-changing escalation”, calling them a “crime” that merits “appropriate punishment”.

The strikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up Israel’s attacks on Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely,” he said.

“Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say enough is enough.”

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has dramatically escalated this week, with Israeli airstrikes killing more than 700 people in Lebanon, raising fears of an all-out war between the two sides.

Tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes on both sides of the border.

World

Arrest warrants issued for Israeli PM Netanyahu and former defence secretary Gallant and senior Hamas commander over alleged war crimes

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

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Arrest warrants issued for Israeli PM Netanyahu and former defence secretary Gallant and senior Hamas commander over alleged war crimes

Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence secretary Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas commander by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The warrants against the senior Israeli figures are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.

Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Al Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks. It is unclear if he is still alive, following an airstrike that Israel claimed killed him earlier this year.

Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas”.

Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.

The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.

The new UK Labour government said in the summer it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.

Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.

These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

Netanyahu previously spoke of his “disgust” at the suggestion the ICC would seek an arrest warrant for him.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.

“The court has minimised how Hamas fights – deliberately from within civilian infrastructure and cruelly using Palestinian civilians as human shields, tragically leading to many casualties,” the board said.

“Democratic governments, and people around the world, should consider how they would have responded to an October 7th perpetrated against their country, involving mass murder, rape, and hostage-taking.

“We should all be focused on defeating the Hamas terrorists, liberating the hostages, ensuring that civilians in Gaza receive all necessary aid and working towards a sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians to prevent these horrible conflicts in the future.

“The decision of the ICC is counter-productive in all these respects.”

This will never leave Netanyahu

Three arrest warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) but the two most significant are those against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

The court in their statement said that they have reasonable grounds to believe that those two men, have been carrying out the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Ever since the arrest warrants were first sought there have been a lot of legal challenges. But the court has rejected all that and has now issued these arrest warrants.

So what does it mean? Well, practically, it would mean that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant couldn’t travel to any state that is a signatory of the ICC – about 120 countries around the world, including the UK and many European countries.

Were Netanyahu to travel to any of those countries, he should be arrested by the police forces of those countries. And it’ll be very interesting to see what Sir Keir Starmer’s reaction is to this.

But the US, Israel’s closest ally, is not a signatory of the ICC. I think Netanyahu will have support on the other side of the Atlantic.

Also, these ICC arrest warrants don’t always get carried out. We saw President Vladimir Putin, who had an arrest warrant issued for him after the invasion of Ukraine, travel to Mongolia a couple of months ago and nothing was done about that.

But in terms of the reputations of Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, in terms of that legacy, they are now wanted suspects, wanted to be put on trial for war crimes. And it is a label that will never leave them.

Warrant for Hamas leader

The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.

Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”

In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.

The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.

World

UK refuses to say if it would arrest Netanyahu after ICC warrant

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

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UK refuses to say if it would arrest Netanyahu after ICC warrant

The home secretary has refused to say if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he landed on British soil after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence secretary Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.

But Yvette Cooper said the ICC, which the UK is a member of, is independent and while the government respects that, it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment” on the processes involved.

She told Sky News: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.

“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”

However, Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.

“Not really a question of should, we are required to because we are members of the ICC.”

The government said after winning July’s election it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.

An ICC arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks in Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel claims Al Masri was killed earlier this year but the ICC said that has not been confirmed, so it was issuing the arrest warrant.

Netanyahu’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.

Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”

Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary and he would guarantee the arrest warrant would “not be observed”.

However, both France and Italy signalled they would arrest Netanyahu if he came to their countries.

The ICC originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and on Thursday announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.

In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.

These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

It is the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.

World

Another teenager dies after methanol poisonings in Laos – bringing total killed to six

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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Another teenager dies after methanol poisonings in Laos - bringing total killed to six

A second Australian teenager has died after being poisoned with methanol in Laos, bringing the number of people killed to six.

Holly Bowles, 19, has died, according to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong, who said: “All Australians will be heartbroken by the tragic passing of Holly Bowles. I offer my deepest sympathies to her family and friends.”

Bianca Jones, who according to Australian authorities was Ms Bowles’s best friend, died earlier this week after both 19-year-olds fell ill on 13 November while staying in southeast Asian country.

They are two of six people who are believed to have died after drinking methanol-laced vodka in the tourist hotspot.

The death of British woman Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was announced on Thursday. She fell ill after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.

Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen also died as a result of the mass poisoning.

Methanol, which is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to alcohol, but can cause severe poisoning or death.

The manager and owner of the hostel where the two Australians, both from Melbourne, were staying, has been detained, according to an officer at Vang Vieng’s Tourism Police office who refused to give his name.

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