Yemen's Houthi rebels claim responsibility for attack on ship in Red Sea
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Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Lebanon sentences six in killing of UN peacekeeper, main defendant gets death penalty
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's military court convicted six people accused of killing a U.N. peacekeeper, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Tuesday. Lebanese officials said the chief defendant was sentenced to death. 'UNIFIL welcomes the conclusion of the trial process and the Government of Lebanon's commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice,' it said in a statement. UNIFIL did not give further details, but three Lebanese judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the court had issued a death sentence in absentia Monday against Mohammad Ayyad, the main defendant in the case. The ruling Ayyad had been arrested in December 2022 in connection with the killing of Pvt. Seán Rooney, 24, an Irish peacekeeper. He was released on bail in November 2023 after his lawyer provided medical documents showing he had cancer. Monday's court ruling, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, handed down a fine of 100 million Lebanese pounds (about $1,117) to Ayyad in addition to the death sentence. Three others — Hussein Suleiman, Mustafa Suleiman and Ali Hakim — received only fines, while defendants Ali Khalifeh and Ali Suleiman were sentenced to one and three months in prison, respectively. A sixth defendant, Mohammad Mezher, was acquitted. Ayyad was not present for the session, with his attorney saying he was ill and hospitalized, while the other defendants appeared in court, the Lebanese officials said. The night of the attack On the fatal night, Rooney and several other Irish soldiers from UNIFIL were on their way from their base in southern Lebanon to the Beirut airport. Two U.N. vehicles apparently took a detour through the town of Al-Aqbiya, which is not part of the area under the peacekeepers' mandate, when a mob opened fire at them. Initial reports said angry residents confronted the peacekeepers, but the indictment concluded that the shooting was a targeted attack and alleged that the defendants were linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The Lebanese officials said the defendants who appeared in court Monday had testified that some of them were watching a sports match and noticed a vehicle passing suspiciously several times on a narrow residential street, leading a crowd to gather. They claimed that they were unaware the vehicle belonged to UNIFIL. Hezbollah officials did not respond to requests for comment. UNIFIL and Hezbollah UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel's 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country's south for the first time in decades. Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon frequently accuse the U.N. mission of collusion with Israel, while Israel has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah's military activities in southern Lebanon. The peacekeeping force's mandate is up for renewal in August for the first time since last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a U.S.-mediated ceasefire in November.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Israeli settler kills Palestinian activist who worked on Oscar-winning film
FacebookTweetLink A prominent Palestinian activist who had worked on an Oscar-winning documentary died on Monday after being shot by a Jewish settler in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to local journalists and officials. Odeh Hathalin, who was a consultant on 'No Other Land,' a film that documents Israeli settler and military attacks on the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, was shot in the village of Umm al-Khair, in that same community. Israeli police said its forces arrived at the scene and detained an Israeli civilian, who was later arrested for questioning. Police did not identify the man they arrested. The Israeli military claimed that 'terrorists hurled rocks toward Israeli civilians near Carmel,' an Israeli settlement near Umm al-Khair. Hathalin's shooting was first reported by Yuval Abraham, the Israeli investigative journalist who co-directed 'No Other Land.' Abraham said Hathalin was 'shot in the upper body' and was in critical condition. Later, the Palestinian health ministry said he had died of his injuries. Many settlers are armed, and violence in the West Bank has surged since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. Settlers have a strong influence on Israeli politics, and in the rare cases where they are arrested for violent attacks against Palestinians, they are often released without charge. Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are illegal under international law. Ofer Cassif, a left-wing member of Israel's parliament, has demanded that authorities launch an investigation into Hathalin's death. 'The incident occurred in broad daylight, in front of cameras, with no fear of legal consequences – testament to the paralysis of law enforcement and the complete sense of immunity enjoyed by violent settlers,' Cassif wrote in a letter to Israel's Attorney General. Basel Adra, a Palestinian journalist and a co-director of 'No Other Land,' shared testimony to his 'dear friend' Hathalin. 'He was standing in front of the community settler in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life. This is how Israel erases us – one life at a time,' Adra wrote in a post on Instagram. Last month, Hathalin was detained at San Francisco International Airport upon arrival and deported after immigration officials revoked his visa, local media reported. He had been invited to visit a California synagogue as part of an interfaith speaking tour. CNN reported in March that settlers had also targeted Hamdan Ballal, another co-director of 'No Other Land,' outside his home in the village of Susya, also in Masser Yatta. Ballal, who had recently returned from Los Angeles to accept an Oscar for the film, told CNN he thought the group of settlers would kill him. He was detained by Israeli soldiers, handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten. The film 'No Other Land,' which tracked the destruction of the Masser Yatta community between 2019 and 2023, won Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2024 Oscars. Its final scene shows Adra's cousin, Zakara al-Adra, being shot by an Israeli settler in October 2023. Previous reporting from CNN's Kara Fox, Kareem Khadder and Jeremy Diamond.
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Washington Post
Gangs and merchants sell food aid in Gaza, where Israel's offensive has shattered security
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Since Israel's offensive led to a security breakdown in Gaza that has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is being hoarded by gangs and merchants and sold at exorbitant prices. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of flour has run as high as $60 in recent days, a kilogram of lentils up to $35. That is beyond the means of most residents in the territory, which experts say is at risk of famine and where people are largely reliant on savings 21 months into the Israel-Hamas war.
