Magnitude 5.9 quake hits northwest Turkey, 50 injured
Ankara (AP): A magnitude-5.9 earthquake hit a town in northwestern Turkey early on Wednesday, causing damage to some buildings and widespread panic. Around 50 people were injured, mostly while trying to flee homes.
The earthquake was centered in the town of Golkaya, in Duzce province, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Istanbul, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said.
It struck at 4:08 am (0108 GMT) and was felt in Istanbul, in the capital Ankara and other parts of the region. Dozens of aftershocks were reported, including one with a magnitude of 4.3.
The quake woke people from their sleep and many rushed out of buildings in panic in the province that experienced a deadly earthquake 23 years ago.
At least 50 people were treated in hospitals for injuries in Duzce and nearby regions, mostly sustained during the panic, including from jumping from balconies or windows.
One of them was in serious condition, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told private NTV television.
Power was cut in the region as a safety measure, the minister said.
The quake demolished the exterior cladding and parts of the roof of a courthouse in Duzce, HaberTurk television reported. Among other damage, a two-story shop collapsed on a narrow street, it said.
In Golkaya, people gathered in a main square, some wrapped in blankets distributed by the emergency management agency, television footage showed.
Duzce Gov. Cevdet Atay said schools in the region were being closed as a precaution.
Around 800 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit Duzce on November 12, 1999.
In August of that year, 17,000 people were killed by another powerful temblor that devastated nearby Kocaeli province and other parts of northwest Turkey.
Officials said around 80 per cent of the buildings in the area were rebuilt or fortified following the 1999 earthquakes, which helped minimize damage.
Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.
Another #Earthquake in #Turkey and neighbours. Praying to everyone’s safety. What is happening 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/3mDJlN6XoR
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
