All posts tagged "Conflict"

The Israeli military launched pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon on Sunday after detecting preparations for "large-scale" attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.The military also warned Israelis to expect incoming missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah, with the government declaring a 48-hour state of emergency.

Hezbollah issued a statement shortly after announcing large-scale drone and rocket launches targeting deep into Israeli territory in retaliation for the death of its military commander in an Israeli strike last month.

The United States responded by reaffirming its "ironclad commitment" to Israel's defence, and said it was "postured" to support its ally. The Middle East had been on edge for weeks after the group and its patron Iran vowed to respond to the Beirut strike, and to the assassination in Tehran of Hezbollah ally Hamas's political leader hours later.In a statement released shortly before 5:00 am (0200 GMT), the Israeli military said its jets were striking targets in Lebanon "that posed an imminent threat" to Israelis." ...

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Tuesday in Kyiv on an unannounced visit to assure Ukraine of continued American  support and the flow of much-needed weapons as Russia presses on with its new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Blinken arrived by overnight train from Poland and was due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his fourth visit to Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022,  according to an AFP journalist accompanying him. His trip comes just weeks after the US Congress finally approved a $61 billion f......

Cambridge (United States) (AFP) - Police carried out pre-dawn swoops Friday on students protesting the war in Gaza at two prestigious US universities, in the latest unrest on campuses across the country. And late Thursday, police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Calgary in western Canada using tear gas. The police action at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) near Boston in the northeast resulted in around 10 arrests, according to university president Sally Kornbluth, who said she had "no choice" but to dismantle the "high-risk flashpoint." At the University ......

Washington (AFP) - President Joe Biden said Wednesday he would stop US weapons supplies to Israel if it attacks Rafah in southern Gaza, his most direct warning to date over the prosecution of the war against Hamas. In an interview with CNN Biden deplored the fact that civilians had been killed by the dropping of US bombs on the Palestinian territory. His warning came after the US last week halted a shipment of huge American bombs to Israel as it appeared ready to proceed with a major attack on Rafah, which is packed with Palestinians displaced by the war. "If they go into Rafah, I'm not supply......

Washington (AFP) - The US military has completed construction of its Gaza aid pier, but weather conditions mean it is currently unsafe to move the two-part facility into place, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. The pier -- which the US military started building last month and which will cost at least $320 million -- is aimed at boosting deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which has been ravaged by seven months of Israeli operations against Hamas. "As of today, the construction of the two portions of the JLOTS -- the floating pier and the Trident pier -- are complete a......

New York (AFP) - Students who occupied a Columbia University building vowed Tuesday to fight back against efforts to evict them, as administrators struggled to contain pro-Palestinian protests that have launched dozens of campus demonstrations around the United States. The demonstrations -- the most sweeping and prolonged unrest to rock US college campuses since the Vietnam war protests of the 1960s and 70s -- have led to several hundred arrests of students and other activists. Many of them have vowed to maintain their actions despite suspensions and threats of expulsion. "We will remain here,......