Hezbollah formally enters conflict, fires rockets at Mishmar military site near Haifa

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Hezbollah supporters gather holding Iranian flags and posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while chanting anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans following the announcement that the Iranian leader was killed in U.S.-Israeli attacks, in the Dahieh district south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on March 01, 2026. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for shelling an Israeli military site in the north of the occupied territories.

In a statement, the group said it had targeted the Mishmar HaCarmel site, south of the occupied city of Haifa, with a salvo of rockets and drones.

In response, Israeli forces carried out heavy air strikes on several locations in Beirut’s southern suburbs and villages in the Bekaa Valley.

The Israeli army issued evacuation orders for dozens of towns in southern and eastern Lebanon.

In a statement, it said residents of 53 villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa must leave their homes and move at least one kilometre away.

READ: Iranian state TV says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attacks

The developments came amid large-scale displacement from Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, with some schools opened to accommodate those fleeing.

Earlier, the Israeli army said it had intercepted one rocket fired from Lebanon, while other rockets landed without causing damage or casualties.

Israel’s Home Front Command confirmed that sirens sounded in the northern town of Margaliot over fears of a drone infiltration.

Israel’s public broadcaster reported that Hezbollah had launched rockets towards northern Israel for the first time since the ceasefire agreement in November 2024. There has been no official comment from Hezbollah on this specific claim.

The broadcaster quoted senior security officials as saying that rocket fire from Lebanon would be met with a strong response.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Haifa said the rocket fire from Lebanon was a development that required immediate action and a firm response.

READ: Iran’s Larijani declares no talks with US, accuses Trump of regional chaos

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says "Wish someone would lock him up".
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says “Wish someone would lock him up”.

Continue ReadingHezbollah formally enters conflict, fires rockets at Mishmar military site near Haifa

International campaign demands the resumption of ICRC’s visits to political detainees in Israeli jails

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Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Protest at ICRC building in Gaza in support of Palestinian political prisoners in 2024. Photo: AA

The Israeli occupation authorities have banned the international organization from visiting political detainees held in its prisons since October 7, 2023, which many say reflects Israel’s collective punishment policy.

press conference was held in front of the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Al-Bireh city, in the central occupied West Bank on Tuesday, February 10.

The event was organized as part of an international campaign to gather one million signatures demanding that the ICRC resume its visits to Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails.

A number of press conferences were held in parallel in nine other cities across the world, including Beirut, Gaza, Cairo, Rabat, Tunis, Brussels and Paris in coincidence with the one held in Al-Bireh.

It is worth mentioning that Israel has banned the international organization from visiting the prisoners since October 7, 2023.

The political detainees held by Israel have also been deprived of family visits, and their lawyers have rarely been able to meet them for 28 months, amid continuously deteriorating humanitarian conditions inside the prisons.

The brutal crackdown against the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement pre-dates the genocide in Gaza, but began in January 2023, by Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Read more: The Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement: the struggle behind bars

Israel has misused the presence of the ICRC in the occupied territories to whitewash its crimes, says Qadura Fares

During the conference, former head of the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Qadura Fares, highlighted the key role that the ICRC has played in safeguarding various humanitarian issues internationally and inside occupied Palestine, including the prisoners’ issue.

“We know that the ICRC operates in accordance with international conventions, and in a way that is consistent with its mission as an international humanitarian organization. We are not asking the ICRC to do anything beyond its capacity, but to exert pressure on Israel through the appropriate international legal channels,” Fares noted.

“Nobody can expect Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu or Smotrich as racist fascist leaders to reconsider their decisions and permit the visits to the prisoners again on their own,” the prominent Palestinian political leader added.

Fares emphasized that this goal will be reached only with pressure being exerted on the Israeli authorities in order to cancel the arbitrary measures against the prisoners.

He also affirmed that the ICRC is able to exert such pressure, but it opted to work “within the limits of the authorization given to it by the Israeli occupation government.”

Fares further pointed out that Israel is misusing the presence of the ICRC and other international organizations in the occupied territories to whitewash its image, by showing that these international bodies are allowed to operate there, while their jurisdiction is extremely restricted and confined by the unlawful Israeli regulations.

The prisoners’ issue is a concern of people of conscience worldwide

Meanwhile, director of the Center for the Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights (Hurryyat), Helmi Al-Araj, asserted that the fact that the campaign has been launched from many cities around the world, including European cities “provides a conclusive evidence that the segregation of the detainees in ghetto-like prisons led to an uprising by the people of conscience all over the globe to support them.”

“This once again proves that all the peoples who struggle for freedom worldwide consider the issue of the Palestinian prisoners, in particular, and the Palestinian cause, in general, their own cause,” Al-Araj maintained. 

For his part, Palestinian political activist, freedom fighter, and former prisoner in Israeli jails, Omar Assaf, indicated that Lebanese and Syrian nationals have also been held in Israeli prisons, while the majority of the prisoners detained by Israel are Palestinians.

Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Continue ReadingInternational campaign demands the resumption of ICRC’s visits to political detainees in Israeli jails

Israel carries out more airstrikes in Damascus and Beirut

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Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Aftermath of airstrike in Balbek. Photo: Al Akhbar

November marked an increase in Israeli airstrikes on different parts of Syria, foreshadowing a serious escalation in a third front in the region in addition to Gaza and Lebanon.

Israeli warplanes intensified their deadly attacks on different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus, and the Southern Suburb (Dahiyeh) in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Thursday, November 14.

The aerial attacks on Damascus targeted residential buildings in both Mazzeh and Qudsaya areas, leaving at least 15 people killed and 16 others injured, in addition to causing significant material damage to a number of buildings, according to a source in the Syrian military.

Thursday’s airstrikes on Damascus were preceded by a series of airstrikes that targeted different parts of Syria within the last couple of weeks. On Wednesday, November 13, Israeli fighter jets struck bridges on the Orontes River and roads in Al-Qusayr area in Homs countryside, near the Syrian Lebanese borders. The airstrikes inflicted great damage on the bridges and roads, which consequently became out of service, as per a report published by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA.

On Sunday, November 10, Israeli warplanes targeted a residential building in the Sayyidah Zaynab area of Damascus, killing seven civilians including women and children. Previous airstrikes were launched by Israeli fighter jets on November 4, targeting a number of sites south of Damascus, resulting in material damages.

Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks in a statement issued on Thursday. “The Israeli entity’s continuation of its attacks on Syria today comes only two days after the joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh issued a broad condemnation of its brutal and escalating aggression on Syrian territory, and its warning of the danger of this escalation that is ravaging the region and its regional and international repercussions,” the Ministry stated.

“Syria affirms that the usurping entity’s continued disregard for international laws and regulations, and its indifference to all international demands to stop its aggression and violations, comes as a result of the Security Council’s failure to take a firm and real stance to deter it from its crimes, which also included attacks on international peacekeeping forces in Lebanon,” the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, Israel carried out at least four rounds of air raids on different targets across Beirut’s Southern Suburb (Dahiyeh), including Al-Amrousiyeh area near Beirut’s International Airport. Moreover, the Israeli aggression continued to target different areas of South Lebanon and Beqaa. The attacks across Lebanon on Thursday left at least 11 people killed and several others wounded, according to media reports.

The escalation of Israeli aggression and its expansion on different fronts has been increasing despite the mounting regional and international calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation, which indicates Israel’s total disregard of international law and its obligations. Israel insists on committing blatant violations of territorial integrity of sovereign states, due to the impunity it enjoys, and being given the greenlight by the United States.

Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingIsrael carries out more airstrikes in Damascus and Beirut

‘Increasing Destruction’: Israel Continues Bombing Campaign Across Lebanon

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Original article by Common Dreams Staff republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Heavy black smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air raid that targeted an area in a Beirut suburb on October 5, 2024. (Photo: Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“Complete blocks are being destroyed one after another,” Al Jazeera reported.

Israeli forces continued attacks on the outskirts of Beirut and in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

There were 13 Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight and another five on Saturday, one of which may have been targeted at paramedics, according toAl Jazeera. The number of casualties is not yet clear.

“There is increasing destruction and it’s clear that complete blocks are being destroyed one after another,” Al Jazeera‘s Ali Hashem reported from Beirut.

“One strike hit near the airport, and we understand another missile hit near a paramedic team to prevent them from getting to the scene of the bigger strike,” he reported.

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for certain suburban areas south of Beirut on Friday night, indicating attacks would follow, The New York Times reported.

Israeli forces unleashed a “huge strike” on the same area earlier Friday in an attempt to kill Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor to recently assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the TimesAl Jazeera reported that “bunker buster” bombs were believed to be used in the Friday attack, as they were in Nasrallah’s killing. It’s not clear if Safieddine was killed, though media reports indicate that he likely was.

Israel’s military also continued attacks in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

“From northern Israel, I can see dark gray clouds of dust and smoke rising above two [Lebanese] villages as warplanes zoom overhead and the sound of artillery echoes through the area,” the Times‘ Natan Odenheimer reported Saturday.

An Israeli strike in northern Lebanon killed Hamas commander Saeed Ali on Saturday, the armed Palestinian group said. Hamas has a longstanding presence in Lebanon.

According to Al Jazeera, which cited Israeli media reports, the Israeli military is planning to expand its ground incursion into southern Lebanon, which began earlier this week, and to conduct “large-scale assaults” on Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. The media outlet didn’t provide details.

Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, principally targeting military facilities. Iran said the strikes were retaliation for Israeli assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. Most of the strikes were intercepted by Israeli and U.S. forces.

Observers are now watching closely to see how Israel responds, and what role the U.S.—Israel’s chief diplomatic ally and military supplier—might play. President Joe Biden said Friday that he’d advise Israel to consider “alternatives” to striking Iranian oilfields.

Original article by Common Dreams Staff republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Continue Reading‘Increasing Destruction’: Israel Continues Bombing Campaign Across Lebanon