GLOBAL TODAY

Category: NEWS

  • Senior Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli drone strike in S. Lebanon

    BEIRUT/JERUSALEM – A senior military commander of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, according to a Lebanese security source on Tuesday.

    The source told Xinhua that “an Israeli drone fired an air-to-ground missile at a civilian vehicle … in (the village of) Qa’qaiyat al-Jisr, killing one person and setting the car ablaze.”

    The body, transported by civil defense teams to a hospital in Nabatieh, was identified as a Hezbollah military commander named Hassan Kamal Halawi, the unnamed source said.

    However, Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center said in a statement that the dead person was “a civilian, according to initial reports.”

    Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed that it launched a drone strike last night in Nabatieh and killed Halawi, whom it identified as chief of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit in southern Lebanon.

    The military said in a statement that “Halawi, during the war, was responsible for numerous terror attacks against the State of Israel. He facilitated the movement of operatives and weapons into southern Lebanon,” claiming that “in recent months, Halawi continued to engage in terrorist activity against Israeli civilians.”

    XINHUA

  • Yemen’s Houthis claim new missile attack on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport

    ANKARA – The Yemeni Houthi group said Tuesday that it targeted Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel with two missiles as regional tension continues to spike over ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

    The group said two hypersonic ballistic missiles were launched at the airport, in the fifth such attack in the past few days.

    There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Houthi claim.

    The Houthi group also said its forces targeted “hostile” US warships in the Red Sea, without providing any further details.

    The Israeli army said Monday night that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen before entering Israeli airspace.

    Local media, however, said the missile was shot down inside Israeli airspace and reported falling shrapnel of the interceptor missile inside Israeli territory.

    The Houthi group has been attacking Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade for what it said was a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip.

    The group halted its attacks when a ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, but it threatened to resume the attacks when Israel blocked all humanitarian aid into Gaza on March 2.

    ANADOLU

  • Israel refuses to coordinate rescue mission for trapped paramedics in Gaza’s Rafah

    JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL – Israel continues to refuse to facilitate a rescue mission for nine Palestinian paramedics trapped in Rafah in southern Gaza, the Red Crescent Society said on Tuesday.

    “For the third consecutive day, the fate of nine Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew members remains unknown after they were besieged and targeted by Israeli occupation forces in Rafah,” the organization said in a statement.

    The medical team was targeted and besieged on Sunday during a rescue operation for injured people in Rafah.

    The medical group voiced its deep concern over the safety of its paramedics and held Israel fully responsible for their fate.

    The Israeli army has launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip since March 18, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

    Over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 113,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

    The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

    Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

    ANADOLU

  • Myanmar’s junta bombs medical clinic, killing 11

    ISTANBUL – Myanmar’s junta bombed a medical clinic in the Magway region over the weekend, killing at least 11 people, including a doctor and his family, the Myanmar Now daily newsletter reported Monday.

    The incident took place around 8.40 a.m. (0210GMT) on Saturday in Gangaw Township. The attack targeted Hnan Khar, a village located about 57.9 kilometers (36 miles) north of Gangaw.

    The clinic, located in the heart of the village, had just opened for the day, according to a source cited by Myanmar Now.

    “The entire home housing the clinic was obliterated in the explosion. There were body parts scattered all over the place. A neighboring house was also reduced to ashes,” said a man who witnessed the attack.

    The strike killed the clinic’s head doctor, his pregnant wife and child, a family of three, an elderly woman and her grandchild, and several members of the clinic’s staff.

    Myanmar’s military seized power in a 2021 coup, which has plunged the country into a fractious civil war.

    More than 3.5 million citizens are currently displaced, and half of the population lives in poverty.

    ANADOLU

  • Qatar condemns Israel’s policy of displacing Palestinians from Gaza

    WASHINGTON – Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Israel’s policies of displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and expanding settlements.

    “The State of Qatar condemns, in the strongest terms, the Israeli occupation’s announcement to establish an agency targeting the displacement of Palestinian brothers from the Gaza Strip, as well as its approval of the separation of 13 illegal settlement neighborhoods in the West Bank, paving the way for their legitimization as colonial settlements,” the ministry said in a statement.

    It added that any form of Palestinian displacement constitutes a “blatant violation” of international humanitarian law.

    The expansion of settlements represents a “blatant disregard for international legitimacy, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334,” it said, condemning all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.

    The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in areas of northern Gaza, in a move widely seen as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.

    The army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

    More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,400 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

    The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

    Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

    ANADOLU

  • US Muslim group urges media to condemn Israeli killing of journalists

    WASHINGTON – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged the US media Monday to condemn Israel’s latest killings and attacks on journalists in the Gaza Strip.

    “The lives of journalists who are Muslim, Palestinian or people of color should matter to media outlets just as much as journalists who are white, European or Christian,” CAIR said in a statement.

    It came after Hossam Shabat, a correspondent for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera Mubasher channel, was killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza and Mohammad Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today TV, was killed in another airstrike that struck his apartment in the southern city of Khan Younis.

    CAIR said they were targeted and killed “solely because they shed light on the atrocities of the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza.”

    A total of 208 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, local authorities said Monday.

    The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

    More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,200 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

    The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

    Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

    ANADOLU

  • Ukrainian artillery attack on Luhansk region kills 6 people, including Russian journalists

    MOSCOW – Six people, including three journalists, were killed in a Ukrainian artillery strike on its eastern Luhansk region, Russian authorities said Monday.

    A correspondent for the daily newspaper Izvestia, Alexander Fedorchak, and two employees of the Zvezda TV channel — cameraman Andrey Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli — were killed in the strike, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.

    The committee added that it opened a criminal case following the incident.

    A 14-year-old teenager and a correspondent for the Russian state news agency TASS, Mikhail Skuratov, were also injured, receiving shrapnel wounds.

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova strongly condemned Ukraine’s actions, pledging to seek a reaction from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes international collaboration through education, science and culture, aiming to build peace and sustainable development, to increase respect for justice, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

    Commenting on the incident in a separate statement, the UN Secretary-General’s office said the UN opposes the killing of journalists and wants such incidents to be thoroughly investigated.

    ANADOLU

  • EU reaffirms support for Denmark amid US delegation’s visit to Greenland

    Greenland, the world’s largest island.

    ISTANBUL – European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper on Monday reaffirmed the EU’s support for Denmark in response to an upcoming visit to Greenland by a high-level US delegation.

    Speaking at a daily press briefing in Brussels, Hipper addressed both the visit and US President Donald Trump’s statements on the potential “annexation” of the autonomous Danish territory.

    “The EU stands fully in support of the Kingdom of Denmark. We will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity and will not waver in defending them, particularly when the integrity of an EU member state is questioned,” she said.

    When asked whether the EU had been silent on support for Greenland, Hipper said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s position was “crystal clear.”

    “We have repeatedly voiced our support from the highest levels,” she said.

    Hipper also confirmed the EU has no plans to send a high-level delegation in response to the US visit.

    The US delegation – including Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha Vance, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz – is scheduled to visit Greenland later this week.

    Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute B. Egede described the visit as “very aggressive American pressure” in an interview with the Sermitsiaq newspaper on Sunday.

    Since returning to office in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, citing its strategic importance for US and global security.

    Greenland, the world’s largest island, has been an autonomous territory of Denmark since 1979. Situated between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, it is rich in minerals and strategically located in the Arctic.

    Both Denmark and Greenland have rejected any proposal to sell the territory. A survey conducted in January found that 85% of Greenland’s population opposes joining the US.

    Recently, Greenland’s Prime Minister-elect Jens-Frederik Nielsen urged European countries to stand with the territory, asserting that it is not for sale.

    “Stand with us and make clear that Greenland is not and will never be for sale. Greenland is run by the Greenlandic people and that will never change,” Nielsen told Anadolu.

    ANADOLU, 24.3.2025

  • Austria condemns Israel’s move to expand illegal settlements in West Bank

    ATHENS – Austria on Monday condemned Israel’s latest move to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

    “Austria condemns Israel’s designation of 13 outposts as new settlements in the West Bank, further undermining the prospects for a two-state solution,” Austria’s Foreign Ministry posted on X.

    “We urge Israel to reverse this decision and end its illegal settlement policy, which violates international law,” it added.

    On Sunday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to separate 13 settlement outposts from neighboring communities in the occupied West Bank and legalize them.

    Palestinian reports estimate that by the end of 2024, approximately 770,000 illegal Israeli settlers were living in 180 settlements and 256 outposts across the occupied territory.

    The United Nations considers all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories illegal under international law and warns that continued expansion threatens efforts for a two-state solution.

    ANADOLU, 24.3.2025

  • Israeli army admits firing on Red Cross building in southern Gaza Strip

    Israeli airstrikes destroy buildings at Gaza Strip

    JERUSALEM – The Israeli army acknowledged on Monday evening that its forces had fired on a building belonging to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

    In a statement, the military explained that its forces operating in Rafah fired on the building earlier in the day “after identifying suspects and sensing a threat to the force.”

    No injuries were reported, though the building sustained minor damage, it added.

    “After examination, it turned out that the identification was incorrect and the building belonged to the Red Cross,” the army admitted, adding that the incident will be investigated.

    The attack came just days after Israeli forces striking a UN building, killing one employee and injuring five others.

    Over the course of Israel’s offensive on Gaza since October 2023, aid workers from various groups have been hit numerous times.

    While in this latest strike the army claimed its troops were unaware of the building’s affiliation, the International Committee of the Red Cross countered on X that its Rafah office sustained damage from an “explosive projectile despite being clearly marked and notified to all parties.”

    No staff were harmed, the group said, but the attack “has a direct impact on the ICRC’s ability to operate.”

    The Red Cross “strongly decried” the strike, stressing that international humanitarian law “affords special protection to humanitarian relief and medical personnel, medical facilities, and objects used for humanitarian relief operations.”

    “They must be respected and protected in all circumstances to ensure the continuity of care,” it added.

    The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

    More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 113,200 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

    The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

    Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

    ANADOLU, 24.3.2025