Israelis stage heavy airstrikes in Lebanon and Hezbollah launches drone attack on Israel
Jerusalem (AP): Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah group, threatening to trigger a broader regionwide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza.
The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel's assassination of a top commander late last month.
Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel's Ben-Gurion international airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.
Soon afterwards, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut's southern suburbs last month.
Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”
The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel's war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a cease-fire.
Last week, Israel's defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.
Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday: ”In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”
“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians," he added, without providing details. ”??We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm's way immediately for their own safety,” he added.
Lebanese media reported strikes in the country's south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.
Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for news of the flight cancellations. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. But until Sunday, both sides have been careful to avoid a broader conflagration.
Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally, Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles. In recent months the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu's Security Cabinet was set to meet later Sunday morning.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
