Foreign
Israel Launches Extensive Strikes In Lebanon In Retaliation Of Israeli Soldier Killed
At least four people were reportedly killed in Israeli extensive air strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah rocket fire killed a soldier in Israel.
A woman and two children were killed in the southern Lebanese town of Souaneh, state media and security sources said.
A man who Hezbollah identified as one of its fighters was killed in Aadchit.
Israel’s military said it hit Hezbollah infrastructure in response to a deadly rocket attack on its base in the northern Israeli town of Safed.
The Israeli Defence Force confirmed the attacks on their official X.com platform monitored by SOJ WORLDWIDE, it claimed,
“In response to ongoing rocket fire toward northern Israel, IDF fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah terrorist targets.
The targets included military compounds, operational control rooms, and terrorist infrastructure. Several targets belonged to Hezbollah’s elite by Radwan Forces.” – IDF said.
Hezbollah fighters have exchanged fire with Israeli forces almost every day along the border since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October.
The clashes have raised fears of a wider regional conflict.
On Wednesday morning, sirens sounded across Northern Israel as barrages of rockets were fired towards the border communities of Netua and Manara, and the town of Safed, which is 14 km (9 miles) south of the frontier.
One Israeli soldier was killed and seven others were wounded after their base in Safed was hit by rockets, Israeli media and emergency services said. The soldier who died was later identified as Staff-Sergeant Omer Sarah Benjo.
A video showed that another rocket landed near the gate of Safed’s hospital.
Hezbollah later claimed it had attacked an “enemy position” in Safed “in support of the people and resistance of Gaza which is being subjected to brutal Zionist aggression with a US green light”.
In the afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that fighter jets had “struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets” in Souaneh, Aadchit, Jabal al-Braij, Kfar Houneh and Kfar Dunin in response to the rocket fire.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said it would only cease fire “when the aggression stops and there is a ceasefire in Gaza”
“Among the targets struck were military compounds, operational control rooms, and terror infrastructure,” it said, adding that several targets belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, whose well-trained members are considered the group’s special forces.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said a strike on a home in Souaneh killed a Syrian woman, Rawaa al-Mohammed, and her two sons, Hassan Mohsen, 13, and Amir Mohsen, two.
Video from the town showed residents inspecting the rubble of at least one destroyed building and the burned-out wreckage of a car.
NNA also reported that one man was killed and 10 other people were injured in Aadchit. It named the dead man as Hassan Ali Najm, a Hezbollah fighter whose death the group confirmed in a statement on Telegram.
“As we have made clear time and time again, Israel is not interested in a war on two fronts. But if provoked, we will respond forcefully,” Israeli government spokesperson Ilana Stein told Reuters news agency.
“The current reality, where tens of thousands of Israelis are displaced [in the north] and cannot return to their homes, is unbearable. They must be able to return home and live in peace and security.”
The IDF’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, meanwhile told the heads of northern municipalities: “There are great achievements striking Hezbollah in Lebanon, but we continue to operate – this is not the time to stop.
“We are intensifying the strikes all the time, and Hezbollah are paying an increasingly heavy price.”
On Tuesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israeli leaders in a speech that launching a war against the group would result in a “million evacuees” from northern Israel.
“To those who threaten us with a widening of the war: if you widen, we will too,” he said, adding that “those who think the resistance might be afraid are very mistaken”.
He also vowed that Hezbollah would only cease fire “when the aggression stops and there is a ceasefire in Gaza”.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was extending a ceasefire with Iran to give more time for negotiations but would maintain a US naval blockade of the country’s ports.
Trump posted on social media that he would “extend the ceasefire” until Iran came up with a proposal to end the conflict. However, he “directed our military to continue the blockade.”
Trump’s ceasefire extension came hours before it was believed to be set to expire.
It also came as the White House said Vice President JD Vance would not be going to Pakistan for what had been expected to be a second round of peace talks.
“The trip to Pakistan will not be happening today. Any further updates on in-person meetings will be announced by the White House,” a White House official said in a statement.
The US president cast the breakdown in more talks as resulting from Iranian infighting, adding that Pakistan’s leaders had asked him to extend the truce.
“Based on the fact that the government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site.
But the blockade of ports on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place, Trump said, while the US military will “in all other respects, remain ready and able.”
The ceasefire, he said, will be extended “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
US federal prosecutors said Sunday an Iranian national was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Tehran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with “brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in an X post.
A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Mafi “is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016,” the prosecutor said.
Mafi was arrested Saturday and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The post was accompanied by images of a woman presumed to be Mafi surrounded by federal agents at the airport, a large drone on a tarmac, a woman’s ID image and bundles of cash.
The United Nations recently warned that Sudan is at risk of slipping into “full-scale famine and collapse,” as the war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enters its fourth year.
The UN Sudan chief, Denise Brown, told AFP Thursday that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and weapons from outside sources deserve part of the blame.
The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused specific states.
On one side, the Sudanese army has been backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and deployed Turkish and Iranian-made drones.
However, most of the blame has been pointed at the United Arab Emirates, which denies evidence that it has funnelled arms to the RSF, who have been accused of genocide.
AFP
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and abandon ambitions for a nuclear weapon, describing negotiations as being on the verge of a major breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday before departing for Las Vegas, Trump said: “We’re very close to making a deal with Iran. We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon… They’ve totally agreed to that. They’ve agreed to almost everything.”
He added that Iran had consented to return its enriched uranium, which he has repeatedly called “nuclear dust”, material believed to be buried deep underground following earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump stated. He also suggested that the next round of talks could take place over the weekend and expressed uncertainty about whether the current fragile ceasefire would need extension.
The comments come amid efforts to end six weeks of conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for oil exports.
However, Iran has not publicly confirmed Trump’s assertions. Multiple reports indicate that Tehran has previously pushed back against similar claims, describing them as exaggerated.
Recent direct talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 collapsed without agreement, with core disputes remaining over the future of uranium enrichment inside Iran and the removal of existing stockpiles.
The White House has been discussing a possible second round of negotiations in Pakistan, with officials expressing optimism.
A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, adding pressure on Tehran.
Analysts caution that any final deal would require strict verification mechanisms, especially given the deeply buried nature of the material in question.
For Nigeria and other oil-producing nations, progress toward de-escalation could help stabilise crude prices, which have spiked due to fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
A lasting agreement might also open the door for sanctions relief on Iran, potentially shifting global energy dynamics.
Trump has maintained that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a non-negotiable red line, while offering the prospect of broader regional stability in return for Iranian concessions.
No immediate reaction from Iranian officials was available as of press time. Further developments are expected in the coming days as diplomatic channels continue.
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