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

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.