Israeli Hostilities
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Germany has stopped approving war weapons exports to Israel
Germany has put a hold on new exports of weapons of war to Israel while it deals with legal challenges, according to a Reuters analysis of data and a source close to the Economy Ministry.
Last year, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($363.5m), including military equipment and war weapons, a 10-fold increase from 2022, according to data from the Economy Ministry, which approves export licences.
However, approvals have dropped this year, with only 14.5m euros’ worth granted from January to August 21, according to data provided by the Economy Ministry in response to a parliamentary question.
Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without Palestinian state: crown prince
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said the kingdom will not recognise Israel without a Palestinian state and strongly condemned the “crimes of the Israeli occupation” against the Palestinian people, Reuters reports.
“The kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the crown prince said.
He made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman.
The council swore an oath of office before he addressed it.
West should be ashamed after Israel's attack on Lebanon
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Western backers of Israel should feel “shame” after paging devices belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah exploded in a deadly attack on Tuesday, which the group blamed on Israel, Al Jazeera reports.
“Western countries and the Americans … fully support the crimes, killings and indiscriminate assassinations of the Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said in a statement, referring to Israel.
Egypt will not accept changes to pre-Oct 7 Gaza border: foreign minister
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Egypt will not accept any changes to pre- October 7 rules for security on its border with Gaza and the operation of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side, Reuters reports.
Palestinian man tortured by Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank
Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian man in the village of Khallet al-Dabaa in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reports citing Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Muhammad Dababseh was assaulted as Israeli soldiers stood nearby, the incident causing him injuries, the agency said.
Dababseh was later transferred to hospital for medical treatment, Wafa reported.
Israeli army attacks Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israeli warplanes carried out overnight raids on several targets of the Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army said, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, the Israeli army said it attacked a building in the Majdal Selm area, claiming that several Hezbollah members were inside.
The statement added that the Israeli fighter jets hit more buildings of Hezbollah in the towns of Odaisseh, Markaba, Blida, Maroun al-Ras, and Chihine.
It added that the Israeli artillery struck several areas across southern Lebanon, without providing further details.
Pager attack a recipe for disaster in the Middle East: Russia
“We regard what happened as yet another act of hybrid warfare against Lebanon, which has harmed thousands of innocent people,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
“It appears that the organisers of this high-tech attack deliberately sought to foment a large-scale armed confrontation in order to provoke a major war in the Middle East.”
Earlier, the ministry had stated that an investigation was required into the incident.
Why Hezbollah switched to pagers?
In February, Hezbollah decided to switch to pagers, abandoning mobile phones fearing they could be tracked by the Israeli army.
The group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, ordered his followers to adopt pagers as their primary source of communication.
Pagers are small, portable communication devices that were in use before mobile phones became widespread.
They are more difficult to track than normal phones, making them a popular choice for groups like Hezbollah, where both mobility and security are paramount.
Russia demands pager explosion investigation
The mass detonation of pagers in Lebanon requires investigation and international attention to the topic, Maria Zakharova, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a post on Telegram.
Iranian embassy rejects report on Amani's injuries
The New York Times has reported that Amani lost an eye and suffered severe injuries in pager explosions.
Following the report, Iran’s embassy in Lebanon issued a statement rejecting the content.
“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon informs our dear compatriots and the media that the treatment process of Mr. Amani, the esteemed ambassador, is progressing well and that the rumors about Mr. Amani’s physical condition and vision are false,” the diplomatic mission said in a post on X.
Lebanon explosions: Taiwan's tech industry embroiled in Middle East conflict
Taiwan's critical tech industry has been inadvertently drawn into Middle East politics after it was revealed that thousands of exploding pagers used to target members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group were manufactured with the branding of a Taiwanese company.
The company, Gold Apollo, has denied manufacturing the AR-924 model pagers that exploded in large numbers in Lebanon, claiming they were produced by a European company called BAC through a licensing agreement.
UN General Assembly to vote on call for end to Israeli occupation
UNITED NATIONS (United States) (AFP) – UN member states were set to vote Wednesday on a push by the Palestinians to formally demand an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months.
The non-binding text, which Israel says will fuel violence if adopted, is based on an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice calling Israel's occupation since 1967 "unlawful."
Gaza enclave hit by deadly Israeli strikes, dozens feared dead
An Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp has resulted in the deaths of at least eight Palestinians, with more than 80 feared dead as they remain trapped under the rubble.
On Tuesday, at least 22 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the enclave, medics said.
Lebanon explosions erupt hours after Israel broadens Gaza war aims
Israel's cabinet has expanded its goals for the war on Gaza to include returning residents displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks in northern Israel to their homes.
The simultaneous pager explosions across Lebanon, which occurred less than 24 hours after the cabinet decision, have raised concerns.
Israel has declined to comment on the detonations.
Hezbollah blames Israel for deadly Lebanon explosions
At least 200 of the people who have sustained injuries in the pager explosions across Lebanon are in critical condition.
Hezbollah has alleged that Israel is “fully responsible” for the explosions, which killed at least nine people and wounded 2,750 others, including a young girl.
Mossad planted explosives in Taiwan-made pagers, Lebanese security
BEIRUT (Web Desk) Israel’s Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside 5000 Taiwan-made pagers ordered by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday’s detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters.
The details shed light on an unprecedented Hezbollah security breach that saw thousands of pagers detonate across Lebanon, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others, including the group’s fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now a war goal as officials warn of a wider operation
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the country’s north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal, as it considers a wider military operation in Lebanon that could ignite an all-out conflict.
Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to take heavier military action to halt the near-daily attacks, which began shortly after the outbreak of the nearly yearlong Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israel has regularly launched airstrikes on Lebanon in response and has targeted and killed senior Hezbollah commanders.
Eight killed, 2,750 injured in Lebanon pager explosions
BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed and more than 2,700 others including Hezbollah fighters, medics and Iran's envoy to Beirut were wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, security sources told Reuters.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the "biggest security breach" the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
