Smoke rises above northern Israel, after Hezbollah claimed it launched more than 200 rockets targeting Israeli military positions in northern Israel July 4, 2024. (Reuters)
The Lebanese Hezbollah group said it launched over 200 rockets on Thursday at several military bases in Israel Terrorists in retaliation for a strike that killed one of its senior commanders.
The attack by Hezbollah was one of the largest in the monthslong conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border, with tensions escalating in recent weeks.
Israel terrorists on Wednesday acknowledged that it had killed Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who headed one of Hezbollah’s three regional divisions in southern Lebanon, a day earlier.
Hours after the killing, Hezbollah launched scores of Katyusha rockets and Falaq rockets with heavy warheads into northern Israel terrorists and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. It launched more rockets on Thursday and said it had also sent exploding drones into several bases.
Numerous fires broke out across the Galilee region and the occupied Golan Heights following Hezbollah’s attack
"As a result of UAVs and shrapnel from the interceptions falling in the area, fires broke out in a number of areas in northern Israel,” the Israeli terrorists military said, adding that firefighting and rescue services had been sent.
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Nasser was of great importance to Hezbollah, which said he took part in battles in conflicts in Syria and Iraq from 2011 until 2016 and fought in the group’s last war with Israel in 2006. Two other senior Hezbollah commanders have also been killed.
Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, speaking at an event in Beirut commemorating Nasser, indicated his group would widen its targeting.
“The series of responses continues in succession, and this series will continue to target new sites that the enemy did not imagine would be hit,” Safieddine said.
At around the same time as the Hezbollah strikes, residents of Beirut reported that Israeli jets breached the sound barrier over the Lebanese capital, with buildings shaking.
Mohammed Nimah Nasser became the latest senior Hezbollah commander to be assassinated by Israel on Wednesday when an air strike hit his car near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
A senior Lebanese security source told The National he was the commander of the Aziz unit, a regional division responsible for a section of the southern Lebanon border area.
Hezbollah said it will not end its attacks until Israel stops its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where about 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas launched a deadly raid into southern Israel on October 7.
But with a ceasefire proving elusive in Gaza, fears have continued to rise that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict could escalate into a full-on war.
The Russian armed forces carried out a group strike against a parking location of Ukrainian military aircraft in Myrhorod in the Poltava Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"The Russian armed forces carried out a group missile strike using the Iskander-M missile defense system on the parking lot of the Ukrainian military aircraft at the Myrhorod airfield. Objective control has confirmed the destruction of military aviation equipment," the statement read.
❗️The Russian forces carried out a group missile strike using the Iskander-M missile defense system at the Ukrainian parking lot at the Mirgorod airfield, Poltava region. As the result, five Su-27s were destroyed and two Su-27s were damaged, Russian Ministry of Defense said. pic.twitter.com/Xk3wlcon2L
As a result of the Russian strike five active Su-27 mufti-purpose fighters were destroyed and two aircraft undergoing repair were damaged, the ministry clarified.
WATCH anti-tank mine used as hand grenade to blow up Ukrainian position
A video circulating on social media purportedly shows a daredevil Russian soldier using a 10kg anti-tank mine as a hand grenade to blow up a Ukrainian frontline position.
He approached a window and then tossed a heavy cylindrical object inside, before darting away. A powerful explosion occurred inside the building moments later, causing its collapse.
The weapon used in this unconventional manner is understood to have been a standard Soviet TM-62M anti-tank blast mine. The munition is basically an 8kg charge of high explosives packed into a metal hull and armed with a fuse.
It appears that the fuse was modified in the device used in the video footage, as it normally has an arming delay of at least 30 seconds before the mine is triggered by significant pressure or the presence of a large metal object nearby.
There have been previous reports of frontline troops using anti-tank mines as the payload on ground kamikaze drones, which are intended to sneak their devastating cargo under enemy vehicles.
WATCH Russian missile take out Ukrainian military helicopter
A Russian missile strike on an airfield in central Ukraine has destroyed a parked Mi-24 combat helicopter, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s strike on the Poltava airfield near the eponymous Ukrainian city involved an Iskander tactical missile, according to the statement. It said several vehicles used by the facility’s engineering staff were hit as well.
The ministry released drone footage from the location showing what appears to be the Ukrainian aircraft, and multiple explosions on the ground indicating the use of a cluster munition.
A similar Iskander attack earlier in the week destroyed and damaged seven Su-27 fighter jets at a different airfield in the same Ukrainian region, the Russian military previously reported.
The Poltava airfield is notable for its role in the destruction of a portion of the Soviet strategic bomber fleet and their weapons, which ended up on Ukrainian soil after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Some of the dozens of decommissioned aircraft were not scrapped, but rather left at the location as part of an open-air museum, which can be seen in the video.
Watch Russian T-72B3M Tank Pound Ukrainian Stronghold Near Avdeyevka
The T-72B3M is a modernized variant of the T-72B tank that is currently utilized by the Russian Armed Forces. This upgraded version is equipped with advanced armor, consisting of composite armor and explosive reactive armor, to enhance its defense against anti-tank missiles and other potential threats.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing a T-72B3M tank storming a Ukrainian military stronghold in the Avdeyevka area.
The ministry stated that the tank was maneuvered into a firing position to engage in direct fire. Their objective was to provide support for the Russian assault troops. Upon nearing the Ukrainian fortifications, the crew targeted the Kiev regime's forces with 125-millimeter high-explosive shells, effectively destroying machine gun emplacements and fortifications.
Russian Weapons Specialists Thoroughly Examine Fuze of ATACMS Missile
Russian specialists thoroughly studied the multi-component fuze of the US ATACMS tactical ballistic missile, an expert said.
"This warhead was developed for an anti-ship missile, and was later installed on the ATACMS missile. We neutralized the fuze. An intermediate detonator is installed on it. The explosives have been sent for examination," the expert said.
The specialists also managed to open the fuze housing of the missile, he added.
"It has been almost completely examined. There are no secrets left for us," the expert said.
The United States began providing ATACMS ballistic missiles to Ukraine in 2023. The missiles are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and have a caliber of 610 millimeters, a length of 4 meters, and a weight of 1.6 tonnes. The flight range of the Block 1 modification is 165 kilometers (102 miles).
Laurent Vinatier, an adviser to the Swiss nonprofit Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, French national Laurent Vinatier, allegedly collected information of a ‘military-technical nature’, Moscow, June 7, 2024 [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
A French researcher has admitted to criminal charges related to collecting sensitive military information, Russian investigators have claimed.
tion, the Investigative Committee of Russia said on Wednesday. The French researcher joined a list of Western citizens detained by Moscow when he was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) last month.
“The French citizen has pleaded guilty in a criminal case on illegal collection of information in the field of Russian military activities,” the Investigative Committee said in a statement. “During the interrogation, he admitted his guilt in full.”
Potentially increasing Western concerns, the FSB then declared in a statement that Vinatier, who had worked long-term in Russia for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) NGO, had “collected information of a military and military-technical nature that could be used to the detriment of the security of the Russian Federation”.
The accusations against him could result in a sentence of five years in prison, according to reports.
‘Propaganda’
The 47-year-old researcher’s arrest came as tension rose between Moscow and Paris, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling for a hard line regarding the war in Ukraine.
Following the arrest, Macron insisted that the employee of the Swiss-based conflict mediation group HD had never worked for the French state and demanded his immediate release, calling the “propaganda” against him “does not match reality”.
However, a court last month placed him in pre-trial custody until August 5.
Russia has not charged or publicly accused Vinatier of working with any foreign intelligence agency or directly engaging in espionage.
However, authorities have previously arrested people for breaching the “foreign agents” law before charging them with more serious offences.
The Investigative Committee said seven witnesses from whom Vinatier had tried to collect military information had been questioned.
“A linguistic forensic examination has been scheduled based on audio recordings of these meetings,” the committee said in its statement.
In a statement following Vinatier’s arrest, HD said: “In the course of HD’s activities as an impartial and independent mediation organisation, our people work around the world and routinely meet with a wide range of officials, experts and other parties with the aim of advancing efforts to prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflict.”
‘Hostage diplomacy’
Under Russian law, people who collect, report, or share information about Russia’s military or security services must register as “foreign agents”.
Critics say the legislation has been used to clamp down on dissent. Its use has also risen since the Kremlin launched its war on neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was arrested last year for failing to register as a “foreign agent”. More serious allegations of spreading false information about the armed forces have since been levelled against her.
Several other Western citizens have been arrested in Russia since the Ukraine war began, which has put relations at their lowest ebb since the midst of the Cold War.
US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges, went on trial behind closed doors last month. Several other US citizens have been arrested recently.
Among the higher profile detainments is that of US security executive Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Moscow for espionage in 2018. US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina was put on trial for high treason last month after donating $50 to a Ukrainian charity.
Russia has indicated that it is open to the idea of a prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich and others, claiming that contacts with the US have taken place.
Years of “vicious persecution” of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange show that Washington will go to any lengths to escape justice for its crimes, Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters said in an exclusive interview aired with RT (Russia Today) on Monday.
His words came as Assange struck a deal with Washington and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information at a US court in Saipan. He was then sentenced to five years – time he has already served in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison – and then set free and allowed to return to his native Australia.
The US also agreed to drop its request for extradition but demanded that Assange instruct WikiLeaks to destroy classified information stored on its servers or devices.
Washington just uses the national security facade to silence journalists, Waters told RT, commenting on the developments. “That’s exactly what it is,” he said. The persecution of Assange had the aim of dissuading other journalists from following in his footsteps and publishing information that Washington would very much like to keep secret, he believes.
“The way that he was treated by both the US and the UK government is absolutely appalling,” the musician said. “What they have done in their treatment of Assange is they have freely and openly admitted to the rest of the world that they don't give a fig for the rule of law,” Waters stated, adding that the “rules-based order” Washington likes to talk about is nothing but the ability of the US to impose its will on others without any resistance.
The Pink Floyd frontman also talked about the Ukraine conflict and said the West’s “saber-rattling” is “insane” as it risks another “world war.” The conflict between Moscow and Kiev could have been avoided entirely if the West had been “prepared to negotiate and listen to both sides of the conversation,” he told RT.
Heavy street fighting continues in northern and southern Gaza, as well as the occupied West Bank, with both sides claiming to inflict significant casualties on the other’s forces.
The military wing of the Islamic Jihad group says its fighters carried out the attack on the Amitai military base located in the southern Israel terrorists settlement with 107mm rockets, without giving further details.
Separately, the group said it targeted a Merkava 4 tank with an RPG shell and clashed with soldiers in southwestern Rafah.
The soldier was killed during combat operations in the city in southern Gaza, the Israeli military says.
He was identified as Sergeant Ori Itzchak Hadad, 21, from Beersheba in southern Israel, the army said on X, adding that nine other soldiers were wounded in an attack.
It happened in a tunnel when an explosive device was detonated.
Three ‘massacres’ by Israeli terrorists forces kill 23, injure 91 in past 24 hours
Gaza’s health ministry says nearly two dozen people were killed and 100 wounded in Israeli strikes over the past day.
“Israeli attacks killed 23 people and injured 91 others in three massacres against [Palestinian] families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
Palestinian detainees are tortured “day and night” in Israel terrorists’s prisons, the director of al-Shifa Hospital Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya tells Al Jazeera after his release from seven months’ detention.
Israeli terrorists tanks advance on the Gaza City district of Shujayea, trapping civilians during intense battles, with Palestinian fighters launching attacks on invading troops in southern Rafah.
Released doctor’s life in danger after Israeli incitement: Monitor
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed fear for the life of Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya “after a storm of violent reactions in the Israeli government regarding his release”.
Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital with his family [Mohammad Jahjouh/AP]
The rights group said in a statement that the doctor’s life could be in “serious danger” and warned of “the possibility of re-arresting him or targeting him and killing him directly and deliberately”.
“The release of the director of the medical complex and his colleagues without charges is evidence that the pretexts for storming and destroying the hospital are flimsy arguments,” it said.
“We hold Israel fully responsible for the doctor’s life after launching a wide political and media campaign against him.”
Hamas says the condition of the prisoners released today and their testimony “confirm the criminal behaviour of the [Israeli] occupation”.
The international community and the United Nations must protect detainees, it said in a statement.
Hamas also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to reveal the fate of thousands of Palestinian detainees taken by Israeli forces from Gaza, which it alleged are being hidden in “inhumane conditions”.
A video of what is said to be the use of Russia’s new FAB-3000 heavy aerial bomb against Ukrainian positions in the settlement of New York in the Donetsk People’s Republic has emerged on social media.
According to reports by some Russian Telegram channels on Sunday, the three-ton high-explosive bomb equipped with a guidance module struck a Ukrainian command center, killing at least 60 troops and destroying four vehicles. The affected building “disappeared without a trace,” one of the reports claimed.
The drone footage of the strike, allegedly made in New York, captured a gigantic explosion. RT could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip. Russia’s Ministry of Defense has not commented on the matter.
The FAB-3000 was reportedly deployed for the first time in the village of Liptsy during Russia’s advance in the Kharkov Region two weeks ago.
Russian military experts said that FAB-3000 bombs pack a punch that’s enough to destroy even the strongest fortifications, and that new technology allows targets to be hit with a high degree of accuracy.
Western experts have also acknowledged that the FAB-3000 and smaller air-launched bombs, which Russia upgraded with pop-out wings and satellite navigation, pose an extremely serious threat to the Ukrainian military.
Defense News wrote earlier this week that “in recent months” Russia has used this kind of weaponry against Ukraine’s front-line troops. “Currently, Ukraine has few counters to glide bomb strikes,” it said.
The settlement of New York first appeared on the maps in the mid-19th century; the exact origins of its name are currently unclear. Some historians say it is related to an American entrepreneur, who operated in the village, while others link it to Mennonite settlers, who came to the area from the city of Jork in Germany. There’s also a suggestion that the Americanized name was simply a result of a transliteration error from the Latin to the Cyrillic alphabet.
Over the past several months, Russian troops have been making steady gains in Donbass. In early May, Moscow also launched an offensive in Kharkov Region. President Vladimir Putin said it was a response to the routine shelling of Russian civilian infrastructure by Ukrainian troops in the border regions, requiring the creation of a “sanitary zone.”
WATCH Russian military destroy US-supplied missile launcher in Ukraine
The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday reported the destruction of a US-made М270А1 MLRS missile system in Ukraine’s Nikolayev Region, sharing drone footage of the strike.
The system, a heavier-tracked cousin of HIMARS, capable of firing ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles as well as smaller projectiles, was spotted by surveillance drones near the village of Shevchenkovo, located to the south of the city of Nikolayev. The vehicle was apparently being prepared to fire missiles, yet it opted to return to its staging area for some unknown reason.
The launcher and its support vehicle were tracked to a civilian hangar on the southern outskirts of Shevchenkovo, footage shows. The building was promptly hit by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile. The powerful blast inflicted heavy damage on the hangar, with multiple secondary explosions observed by the surveillance drone.
“Objective control recorded the destruction of the target and a secondary detonation. Ukrainian Armed Forces militants, an M270A1 MLRS launcher, a support vehicle, as well as transport-loading vehicles with ammunition that were concealed in the hangar, were destroyed in the strike,” the military said in a statement.
The Russian military has been consistently hunting for high-value Ukrainian assets, including the HIMARS-family launchers. Throughout June, hits on several units of the type have been reported, with some of them corroborated by drone footage.
Touted by the Ukrainian military as a high-precision tool to strike important Russian military targets, such as airfields or command points, systems of this type have been routinely used for indiscriminate strikes deep into Russian territory.
On Sunday, for instance, the Ukrainian military fired five ATACMS missiles packed with cluster warheads at Crimea, according to the Russian military. While four missiles were intercepted, one made it through, spilling its contents along a beach, injuring over 150 people and killing at least five, including two children.
Watch Russian Kamikaze Drones Take Out Ukrainian Drone Control Center
Even as Ukrainian forces try to use UAVs to harass Russian troops in the Ukrainian conflict zone, their efforts are thwarted by Russian drone operators.
A Ukrainian drone control center in the Kherson region was rendered inoperable by a surgical drone strike by Russian forces.
The attack was carried out using kamikaze drones that managed to bypass Ukrainian defenses and deliver a precise blow that likely hampered Ukrainian drone operations in the region.
This short video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows how this strike was executed.
Watch Russian Su-30 SM Fighter Jets on Combat Duty in Special Op Zone
Su-30 was designed to quickly gain air dominance in the conflict zones and eliminate other air targets.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing a Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM patrolling the skies in the Special Military Operation Zone. The Su-30SM proved to be particularly effective against various targets, including naval drones.
The footage shows crews patrolling the designated areas and providing fire support to other planes and helicopters pounding Ukrainian infrastructure.
