War Heats up as Hezbollah Trade Attacks With Israel

Hezbollah announced, Sunday morning, it  bombed an Israeli military industries complex in northern Haifa with dozens of rockets in an initial response to the pager and wireless explosions.

A party statement indicated it bombed “the military industries complexes of the Rafael Company, which specializes in electronic means and equipment, and is located in the Zevulun area north of Haifa, with dozens of Fadi 1, Fadi 2, and Katyusha rockets.”

Hezbollah rockets

Hezbollah had earlier announced at dawn, Sunday, it targeted the Ramat David base and airport for the second time with dozens of rockets.

In a statement it stated it “announces, for the second time in two hours, it targeted the Ramat David base and airport with dozens of Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 rockets, in response to the repeated Israeli attacks that targeted various Lebanese regions and led to the deaths of many civilian martyrs.”

In contrast, the Israeli army announced in the past hours, Hezbollah launched about 115 “air threats” towards northern Israel, adding firefighting teams were working to extinguish the fires that broke out as a result.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that about 120 rockets were fired from Lebanon on Saturday night.

The Israeli Channel 13 reported Hezbollah focused on security and economic sites and facilities, and there was damage, especially in the Haifa and Kiryot areas, for the first time since August 2006.

Israel Today reported the army estimates that Hezbollah will continue to fire rockets in the coming days without expanding the scope of the targeting.

Injuries and fires

The Israeli Ambulance Service, Magen David Adom reported four people were injured by shrapnel from rockets fired by Hezbollah at the city of Haifa.

Meanwhile, three Israelis were injured near the city of Kiryot, and a number of people were injured as a result of several rockets falling in the occupied southern Golan Heights, according to the Israeli Walla website.

The Maariv newspaper quoted the Israeli ambulance as saying that there was one injury in the Lower Galilee as a result of Hezbollah rockets, while it reported that there were no injuries as a result of the shelling of the areas of Yokneam, Afula, and the Ramat David base.

On the other hand, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that some residents of the Kiryat Tiv’on settlement said that the shelters they tried to hide in were closed.

Israel Hayom reported firefighting teams were working to put out a fire that broke out near Migdal HaEmek, most likely caused by interceptor missile fragments. The Marj Bin Amer Regional Council also said that a missile fell and caused a fire in the area between Kfar Rauch and Yokneam.

Lebanon bombing

On the other hand, Channel 12 reported that Israeli warplanes have launched raids on sites in the Majdal Zun area in Lebanon.

The Israeli army said that the strikes will continue and increase in intensity against Hezbollah.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that Israeli raids targeted the vicinity of the town of Yatar and the area of ​​the Nabaa al-Tasa stream in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli raids also targeted the towns of Aitaroun, Taybeh, Zebqin, the town of Khiam, and the vicinity of the town of Zrarieh in southern Lebanon.

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Israel Bombs Kill 990 Medics in Gaza Slaughter

More than 990 Palestinian medics were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since 7 October, 2023, Palestinian Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan said Saturday.

Abu Ramadan said more than 300 health care workers were arrested, and hospitals destroyed and/or rendered inoperable in Israeli strikes.

He adde the incessant Israeli bombardment forced 130 ambulances out of service.

Five Health Ministry personnel were killed early Saturday in an attack on the agency’s storage facilities in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The Minister described the bombing of health care personnel and facilities as part of “a broader pattern of violence by the occupation.”

He urged the international community and health organizations “to exert pressure on the occupation authorities to immediately stop the aggression, open border crossings for medical supplies, and allow critically ill patients and wounded individuals to seek treatment,” according to the Anadolu Turkish news agency.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last October despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 41,400 victims, mostly women and children, have since been killed and more than 95,700 injured, according to local health authorities

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

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Israeli Raid on Al Jazeera

Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, criticized Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera’s Ramallah office, linking it to the network’s vital coverage of the war in Gaza and repression in the West Bank.

He noted that Al Jazeera has been a key source of information on Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, echoed Roth’s sentiments by reposting his message, adding, “No witnesses allowed.”

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Israel Shuts Al Jazeera Office in Ramallah

With heavy guns, Israeli soldiers barged into Al Jazeera office in Ramallah and ordered it shut down. The raid was in the early hours of the morning, Sunday.

Troops raided the office with one soldier reading read out an order to Al Jazeera Bureau Chief Waleed Al Omari.

The soldier said: “This is an order from the court to close the Al Jazeera office for a period of 45 days and I ask you to take all your belongings and cameras and leave this office now.”

Al Omari then asked to see the order and read it out on TV live amidst a force of Israeli soldiers. It stated this is: “…an order concerning the closure of the office of the Al Jazeera Channel for a period of 45 days, and this is a military order issued by the leader of the central region of the Israel army.”

Al Omari added: “It orders us to leave now and immediately this headquarter and take our personal belongings including the cameras…”

The action of the closure by the Israel army soon become trending on the social media with a tweet from the Quds News Network stating “Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the center of Ramallah after closing Al Jazeera office and confiscating its live footage equipment.

Full report was made of the closure on Al Jazeera English with Al Omari saying the Israeli military’s closure order accused the network of “incitement to and support of terrorism”.

The report added: Al Jazeera’s Jivara Budeiri said Israeli forces fired tear gas in the vicinity of the Al Jazeera bureau and the Manara Roundabout in the heart of the occupied West Bank city. She added that Israeli soldiers confiscated their cameras. Budeiri said she feared the military may try to destroy Al Jazeera’s archives, which are stored in the office.

Israel always wanted to shutdown Al Jazeera particularly after its coverage of the war on Gaza following 7 October, 2023. Last  May the Benjamin Netanyahu government made a decision to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel and shutdown its office in East Jerusalem.

This was a decision that was condemned by the Al Jazeera management but to no avail.

The recent decision on Al Jazeera Ramallah office is being called as a “deafening scandal” by the Government Media Office in Gaza and has called in all international organizations to condemn the latest move.

Ever since the Gaza slaughter Israel has killed 173 journalists mainly in the enclave to prevent reporting on the Israeli army’s atrocities that resulted in the killing of 41,400 people, mostly women and children and injury of 95,700 people.

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