A Lebanese security official said six rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel Tuesday evening. The officials said it was not immediately clear who fired the rockets from the area of the Lebanese southern village of Qlaileh. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. A statement from UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, also confirmed the rocket fire and urged “everyone to exercise restraint at this critical time.”
Here’s what is happening on Day 4 of the conflict as reported by the Associated Press:
6 Rockets were fired into N. Israel, Lebanese official says
Newslooks- BEIRUT (AP)
A Lebanese security official said six rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel Tuesday evening.
The officials said it was not immediately clear who fired the rockets from the area of the Lebanese southern village of Qlaileh. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. A statement from UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, also confirmed the rocket fire and urged “everyone to exercise restraint at this critical time.”
Officials from the Hezbollah militant group did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Spokespeople with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said they had no information on the rockets.
The firing of the rockets from southern Lebanon came a day after three Hezbollah fighters were killed along the border and an Israeli army officer as well.
X PROMISES ‘HIGHEST LEVEL’ RESPONSE ON POSTS ABOUT ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, says it is trying to take action on a flood of posts sharing graphic media, violent speech and hateful conduct about the latest war between Israel and Hamas.
X said it’s treating the crisis with its highest level of response.
But outside watchdog groups say misinformation about the war abounds on the platform that billionaire Elon Musk bought last year. Musk himself has recommended unreliable accounts posting about the war. And his job cuts since taking over Twitter last year have left fewer people responsible for taking action on posts that violate the platform’s policies.
RUSSIAN DEATH TOLL IN HAMAS ATTACKS RISES TO 4
MOSCOW — Russia’s embassy in Israel said the number of Russian citizens killed in the latest Israel-Palestinian war has risen to four.
The embassy’s spokesperson Marina Ryazanova told the Russian state news agency Tass that the victims had dual Israeli and Russian citizenship. She said six others remain missing.
Previously, two Russian citizens were believed to have been killed and four were missing, according to Anatoly Viktorov, Russian Ambassador to Israel.
EL-SISSI URGES A CEASE-FIRE IN LATEST WAR BETWEEN HAMAS AND ISRAEL
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt said Tuesday the ongoing escalation between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza “is very serious,” warning of repercussions on the region’s “security and stability.”
El-Sissi, whose government maintains ties with Israel and Hamas, said they have intensified their efforts to reach a cease-fire of the ongoing war, according to the state-run MENA news agency.
“We are communicating with all international and regional parties in order to reach an immediate cessation of violence and achieve de-escalation,” he was quoted as saying.
The Egyptian leader affirmed his country’s position on establishing a “just and comprehensive peace” based on the two-state solution.
RED CROSS OFFICIALS WORKING TO GAIN ACCESS TO PRISONERS, INCLUDING ISRAELI HOSTAGES
JERUSALEM — An official at the International Committee of the Red Cross says his organization has been in touch with both Hamas and Israeli officials about accessing prisoners, but so far have had no access to them.
Fabrizio Carboni, the regional director for the Near and Middle East for the ICRC, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that included the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas during their unprecedented incursion into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
“The level of violence is still very high but we’ve asked for access,” Carboni said from Geneva. “We ask also for the civilians who have been captured to have an opportunity to communicate with their family, to tell them that they are safe and well. We also ask that some people who have nothing to do in prison or shouldn’t be captured to be released”
UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CONDEMNS ALLEGED MASS KILLINGS IN ISRAEL
The United Nations human rights chief said Tuesday Israel’s announcement of a “complete siege” of Gaza would exacerbate the “already dire” humanitarian situation in the strip, as he condemned alleged mass killings and executions by Palestinian militants.
Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that such siege “risks seriously compounding the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the capacity of medical facilities to operate.”
Türk also said he was “deeply shocked and appalled by allegations of summary executions of civilians and, in some instances, horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups.”
“It is horrific and deeply distressing to see images of those captured by Palestinian armed groups being ill-treated, as well as reports of killings and the desecration of their bodies,” he said.
He called on Palestinian militant groups to “immediately and unconditionally release all civilians who were captured and are still being held.”
PUTIN SAYS THE LATEST GAZA WAR IS A RESULT OF US POLICY FAILURES
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday described the latest Israel-Palestinian war as a result of failed U.S. foreign policy.
Speaking at the start of his talks with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani, Putin said in his first comment on the war that “many will agree with me that this is a vivid example of the failure of the U.S. policies in the Middle East.”
He added that the U.S. has “tried to monopolize the settlement, but, regrettably hasn’t bothered to search for compromises that would be acceptable to both parties and, just the opposite, sought to enforce their own view of how it should be done, exerting pressure on both parties.”
Putin said the U.S. has failed “to take vital interests of the Palestinian people into account,” ignoring U.N. General Assembly resolutions envisaging the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS’ STAFF CONCERNED ABOUT DWINDLING SUPPPLIES IN GAZA
CAIRO — The head of Doctors Without Borders for the Palestinian territories said he is concerned their team in Gaza will soon run out of medical supplies now that the enclave’s borders have closed.
Leo Cans told The Associated Press that he is particularly concerned about the supply of surgical equipment, bandages, antibiotics and fuel. The group, otherwise known as MSF, are currently operating from Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
“We are just running on the stock we have,” Cans said. The group had previously brought in all its supplies through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing.
In Gaza, MSF has 300 local staff and 23 international workers, he said.
GERMANY INVESTIGATING KIDNAPPING OF ITS CITIZENS IN ISRAEL
BERLIN — German prosecutors are investigating after German citizens were apparently kidnapped in the attack by Hamas on Israel.
The federal prosecutor’s office said in an emailed statement that the investigation of unknown members of Hamas on suspicion of hostage-taking, murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organization was opened on Tuesday.
The German Foreign Ministry has said it has to assume that an unspecified number of German-Israeli dual citizens were among those kidnapped by Hamas on Saturday.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that Germany is working closely with Israel to determine how many citizens were kidnapped and how they might be freed.
It is standard practice for German prosecutors to open an investigation when the country’s citizens are harmed abroad.
INDIA’S MODI REITERATES SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he had spoken with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone and thanked him for “providing an update on the ongoing situation.”
“People of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour,” Modi wrote on X, the social media platform, and said India strongly condemns terrorism in all forms.
During the Cold War, India didn’t have open relations with Israel and leaned heavily in favor of the Palestinians. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Ties between the two countries have grown under Modi, who became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel in 2017.
2 RUSSIAN CITIZENS WERE KILLED IN HAMAS ATTACKS IN ISRAEL
MOSCOW — Russia’s ambassador to Israel said that two Russian citizens have been killed in of the latest Israel-Palestinian war.
Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov didn’t name the victims, saying in remarks broadcast by Russia’s state Channel 1 that the embassy isn’t aware of the circumstances of their deaths and hasn’t contacted their families yet.
Viktorov said that four other Russian citizens remain missing. He said the embassy has no information confirming Hamas’ claim that several Russian citizens were among the hostages it has taken.
FRANCE HAS NO ‘FORMAL TRACE’ OF IRAN’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE ATTACKS, SAYS MACRON
HAMBURG, Germany — French President Emmanuel Macron says his country has no evidence that Iran was directly involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel but the militant group does appear to have had outside help and cooperation.
Iran has been a longtime supporter of Hamas other militant groups, and senior Iranian officials have openly praised Saturday’s incursion.
Asked what Iran’s role in the crisis was after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Hamburg on Tuesday, Macron said France has “no formal trace” that Iran was directly involved in the attacks.
“It seems that there was help for and cooperation with Hamas but I will stay cautious on this point as long we haven’t consolidated intelligence that is totally certain,” he added, but didn’t elaborate further.
Macron said: “We condemn with a lot of clarity all the countries that congratulated the horrors perpetrated by Hamas, which was the case with Iran.”
