International

The death toll from Israel’s attacks in Lebanon exceeds 2,000

More than 2,000 people have died and more than 9,500 have been injured by the attacks that Israel has launched against different parts of Lebanon in almost a year, although the vast majority of the victims have occurred in about two weeks after the start of the massive campaign of Israeli bombings.

According to a report by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers published on Friday, the number of victims increased after Israel launched a total of 153 attacks against different parts of Lebanon, mainly in the south, east and southern suburbs of Beirut known as the Dahye.

Israel intensifies its bombings against Beirut

In the early hours of Friday, Israel bombed several targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the intensity of the attacks caused the collapse of several buildings.

One of those targets, according to the Hebrew press, has been the candidate for leader of the Shiite group Hezbulá, Hashem Safi al Din.

The newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’ assured that the Israeli aviation intended to end the life of the clergyman, probable successor to the top leader of Hezbullah, Hassan Nasrala, who died a week ago in another Israeli bombing in Beirut.

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Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper ‘Haaretz’, specified that among the targets of this morning’s attacks was again a bunker in Hizbulá used by senior officials.

According to the state media, the Israeli aviation used vacuum and anti-bunker bombs during the campaign, and also reached other points on the outskirts of Beirut outside the Dahye.

Several collapsed buildings

The strong wave of bombings, which resounded throughout the capital, caused the collapse of a police station, a supermarket and other buildings on the outskirts of the capital’s Dahye, an important stronghold of Hezbulah, reported the National News Agency of Lebanon (ANN).

Israel and Hezbullah have been facing each other since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, but violence increased to an unprecedented level about ten days ago, when Israeli forces began a massive bombing campaign that has devastated towns and entire towns.

In this context, for a week, the Dahye has been the target of intense waves of air strikes almost daily.

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Two Israeli soldiers die in a drone attack

On the other side of the border, two Israeli soldiers died this Friday in northern Israel by the attack of a drone “launched from the east,” a statement that the Israeli Army usually uses when referring to projectiles fired by pro-Iranian militias from Iraq.

The deceased are Sergeant Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer and Corporal Tal Dror, both 19 years old, according to the armed forces in a statement this afternoon.

Israel orders the evacuation of 36 villages in southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, in the south, the Israeli Army ordered this Friday the immediate evacuation of 36 villages, under the premise that “Hizbulah’s activities force the armed forces to act” and anticipating a new wave of attacks against them.

“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and head north of the Awali River, save your lives,” Israeli Army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement.

The Awali River, towards which the armed forces directed the Lebanese population, is located almost 50 kilometers from the Tyre region, where most of the villages called to evacuate are concentrated.

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Adraee warned that “anyone who is close to members, facilities and combat means of Hezbulá puts their life in danger,” as well as that any home that has served the objectives of the Shiite group will be a target of the Israeli fire.

“Be eare, you are forbidden to head south. Any direction to the south can expose you to dangers,” he added.

In addition, the Israeli Army detected the launch of about 100 rockets from Lebanese territory throughout the morning that it attributed to the Shiite group Hezbulá.

A bombing cuts the road that connects Beirut with Damascus

Since the beginning of hostilities, Israel’s attacks have killed almost 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million to leave their homes, mainly in the south and east of the Mediterranean country.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that 235,000 Syrians and Lebanese have arrived in Syria in less than two weeks from Lebanon by land in their flight from Israeli bombings.

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This Friday, an Israeli bombing hit an area near the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, cutting on the Lebanese side the road that connects Beirut with Damascus through which tens of thousands of people are fleeing to Syrian territory.

“The enemy’s fighter jets attacked the Masnaa area, which caused the international road to be cut,” reported the Lebanese National News Agency (ANN).

The Israeli Army confirmed this morning the bombing against “infrastructure sites adjacent to the Masnaa border crossing between Syria and Lebanon.”

For its part, local television Al Manar, belonging to the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá, broadcast a video of the attacked point in which large gaps and significant destruction can be seen on the target road of the bombings.

The representative of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, assured EFE that the attack near the crossing is “unacceptable” and a “real shame.”

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Syria is the only land supply route for Lebanon, which also has only one operating airfield throughout the country, the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, in whose vicinity several missiles have already fallen in recent days.

Iranian Foreign Minister travels to Beirut

In the midst of Israeli bombing, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reaffirmed his support for Lebanon on Friday during a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who also informed that Tehran will start a diplomatic campaign with this objective.

“Iran will launch a diplomatic campaign to support Lebanon and request a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,” said the head of Iranian diplomacy during the meeting, according to a statement issued by the Lebanese Government.

Araqchi arrived in Beirut in the midst of an intense campaign of Israeli bombing against the bastions of its great Lebanese ally, the Shiite group Hezbula, and one week after the death of its leader, Hassan Nasrala, in an unprecedented bombing of the capital’s suburbs.

The head of Iranian diplomacy is also scheduled to meet this Friday with the president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, another key ally of Hezbulah, although it is unknown if he will be able to meet directly with representatives of the armed movement.

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International

Iran issues threat to Trump as conflict escalates over Strait of Hormuz

The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, threatened U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, warning him to “beware of being eliminated.”

The Republican president had warned on Monday that he would strike Iran “very hard” if the Islamic Republic blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed since the war began eleven days ago.

“Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Others more powerful than you tried to destroy the Iranian nation and failed. Beware that you are not eliminated,” Larijani wrote on X.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards — the ideological military force of the Islamic Republic — also said their forces would move to block oil exports from the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military offensive against Iran is far from over.

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“Our aspiration is that the Iranian people free themselves from the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, that depends on them. But there is no doubt that with the measures taken so far we are breaking their bones, and we are not finished yet,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

International

Driver detained after suspicious vehicle incident near the White House

The driver was detained and no injuries were reported after an incident that occurred before dawn in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, said in a statement that it was “investigating a suspicious vehicle.” The driver of the car was taken into custody and is currently being questioned.

Washington remains under heightened security measures amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel against Iran.

Police closed several major streets around the White House. However, by about 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 GMT), government employees and staff from nearby institutions were allowed to pass through the area with proper identification, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Dozens of emergency vehicles with flashing lights responded to the location, while tourists and residents waited for authorities to reopen the streets.

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International

Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.

Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.

Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.

“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.

The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.

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According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.

“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.