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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Behind the scenes: How Israeli intel uncovered Hezbollah's drone network
A glimpse into the hunt for Hezbollah's Unit 127, which during the war managed to attack deep inside Israeli territory. An intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel N., head of "Lebanon affairs" in the Israeli Air Force's intelligence division, has been tracking Hezbollah's Unit 127 for over two years, the same unit the IDF attacked on Thursday in Beirut's southern suburb, Dahiyeh. This unit is responsible for importing, manufacturing, and deploying various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Lebanon into Israel. During the war, the terrorists succeeded in striking locations within Israel and killing civilians and soldiers, most notably in the Golani base attack, which claimed soldiers' lives. At the height of the northern conflict, Lt. Col. N. led efforts to uncover the secrets of this small Hezbollah unit, significantly disrupting its leadership, key figures, and infrastructure. About six weeks ago, he used intelligence gathered with his team to strike targets in Lebanon. On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force launched a major attack in the heart of Dahiyeh targeting Unit 127's drone infrastructure. What has happened in recent months with Hezbollah's Unit 127? 'Hezbollah took a significant beating over the course of the war and is now attempting to regroup by all means. They identified the threat posed by UAVs and invested heavily in them with Iranian support. We detected the plans and their desire to increase production. We are trying to surround Hezbollah with a tightening ring—not only militarily, but also economically, particularly regarding their weapons access and mass production efforts,' the Israeli intelligence source said. Why did you attack last night? Lt. Col. N. responded: 'There was compelling evidence of [the location of] sites involved in UAV manufacturing. The operation was complicated because it took place in a civilian area—Hezbollah operates beneath the civilian population in Dahiyeh. They believed civilians would shield them, preventing us from attacking. But thanks to our intelligence, we ensured extensive evacuations; no munitions were deployed before we confirmed that no civilians were present. We made a genuine effort to preserve human life while carrying out our strikes.' What did you target? 'We hit seven targets: five in Beirut and two in southern Lebanon,' Lt. Col. N. confirmed. How is Hezbollah operating differently from the peak of the war? 'I believe they're trying to evade Israeli detection now. But there's no magic solution for them. To build and deploy UAVs, they must go through several stages that we can detect and counter. They assumed civilians would protect them, but we must constantly innovate against this cruel enemy,' the intelligence source stated. What will the future hold? 'This is an ongoing contest. Our goal is always to remain one step ahead. These strikes are the best form of defense - preventing the enemy from obtaining sufficient capabilities in numbers or quality to pose a real threat,' Lt. Col. N. said. What was Lebanon's reaction to last night's strikes in Dahiyeh, the heart of Hezbollah country? 'So far, it's quiet. Northern Israeli residents did not feel that the attack happened. We hope this calm continues. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that Israeli civilians can travel in the north today is itself an important achievement,' Lt. Col. N. concluded. No official Lebanese response has been issued yet.
Vox
15-04-2025
- Health
- Vox
We're on the verge of a universal allergy cure
covers health for Vox, guiding readers through the emerging opportunities and challenges in improving our health. He has reported on health policy for more than 10 years, writing for Governing magazine, Talking Points Memo, and STAT before joining Vox in 2017. If you're bothered by allergies every spring, you may pop a Benadryl or Claritin most mornings to make the days tolerable. Two-thirds of Americans report spring allergies, and about 4 in 10 say they take an allergy medication several times a week. But those medicines, while valuable, don't exactly fix the problem. One 2001 study in the United Kingdom found 60 percent of people who took some kind of over-the-counter medication for allergies reported they were not satisfied with how it managed their symptoms. Nasal sprays are not exactly enjoyable or easy to operate. Allergy medicines have to be taken every day if you deal with serious hay fever, and they can produce, ironically, tiredness for some people during this season of renewal. A missed dose can lead to a day of hacking and sneezing. Oh, and the more you take them, the less likely they are to work. A century ago, antihistamines were a revolution in allergy treatment. But now, we're on the cusp of another. Omalizumab, sold as Xolair, is an asthma medication that was approved more than 20 years ago, but it has proven successful in treating seasonal allergies in recent preliminary trials. So successful, in fact, that now some doctors in the US are prescribing it for certain patients during hay fever season. It is an injection, rather than a pill or a spray, that's given a couple of weeks before pollen and grass levels start to rise. One obvious benefit is you get a single shot and enjoy your spring. But even better, omalizumab can forestall allergic reactions at the source. That means an injection could stop all allergic reactions — not only seasonal allergies but food allergies (such as peanuts) and insect allergies for a prolonged period of time. This class of treatment — monoclonal antibodies, special artificial proteins that carry instructions to the body's immune system — have the potential to be a genuine all-in-one allergy wonder drug. Related The freaky part of allergy season that no one warned you about 'The biggest advantage of antibody-based therapeutics is that they offer the potential to target the underlying pathways driving allergic reactions in general,' said Sayantani Sindher, a clinical associate professor at Stanford University's Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research. 'This means antibody-based therapies will simultaneously impact all of the patient's allergens.' Large clinical trials are underway in China and Japan, which could lead to omalizumab's approval in those countries for seasonal allergies. The next generation of monoclonal antibody allergy treatments is already in the works. How monoclonal antibodies could stop allergy season before it starts In the United States, the use of monoclonal antibodies started with doctors studying and prescribing preexisting treatments 'off-label' — meaning these are drugs that were actually developed for something else. Asthma and seasonal allergies often occur in tandem, which made omalizumab an obvious candidate for a new approach to allergy treatment. The drug had also separately proven effective in treating food allergies, adding to evidence that it had the right properties to stop seasonal allergies at the source. The treatment has demonstrated significantly better outcomes than antihistamines in small randomized trials, requiring only one dose two weeks before pollen and grass season. A 2022 study reported that patients who received a 300 mg injection of Xolair experienced fewer symptoms and fewer days that required a daily antihistamine or other medication; the patients also reported a better quality of life during the allergy season. Their symptoms were particularly improved during the worst pollen days when compared to the people who only took a daily medication. When pollen and other allergens emerge every year and enter your body through your eyes, ears, or nose while you're enjoying the crisp spring air, your body's immune system overreacts. Immunoglobulin, proteins that are supposed to identify and attack parasites or a virus, instead go after the otherwise harmless allergen. When the immunoglobulin attacks the allergen, your body releases histamine, a chemical critical to inflammation (which, again, is really important when you are actually exposed to a dangerous parasite or virus). That inflammation then creates all that mucus and sneezing. Monoclonal antibodies stop that process before it begins. They deliver artificial proteins that carry instructions to your immune system to block the receptors that create allergic reactions and prevent the overresponse that releases histamine in the first place. Artificially altered antibodies have been around for decades, with different iterations being developed to respond to new health threats. Monoclonal antibodies were developed for Covid-19 during the pandemic and recently provided the platform for an RSV vaccine. Dupilumab (another monoclonal antibody treatment used for skin rashes, asthma, and a lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe called COPD) targets a different receptor but has likewise shown promising results in studies so far. In a large 2018 study, asthma patients who suffer from seasonal allergies received a 300 mg injection every two weeks and showed significant improvements in their nasal blockage. A 2022 study found fewer allergy symptoms among both people with allergic asthma and people without. Monoclonal antibody injections superficially resemble allergy vaccines, which have been investigated more aggressively in recent years. Those shots as well as oral tablets that work in the same way function differently: They expose people to small amounts of the actual allergen, giving their bodies a chance to develop natural immunity to it. They can unlock more durable resistance to specific allergies — but they can only treat one allergy at a time. You may also need to go to the doctor once a week for a month or longer during the initial treatment course. Some companies are trying to make them easier to use. Going forward, the conventional kind of allergy vaccine could still have a place, particularly for patients who are at particularly high risk of developing asthma, by strengthening immune systems for the longer term; monoclonal antibodies, by contrast, do not actually modify the immune system in the same way, so they would need to be taken again periodically. But Sindher emphasized the potential to treat all allergies at once as an obvious advantage for monoclonal antibodies over immunotherapies. 'Pollen allergy and food allergy are frequently found together,' she said. 'Omalizumab has the potential to treat both.' With monoclonal antibody shots, patients also report fewer side effects. There is a subset of people for whom antihistamines don't work, including those who have built up a tolerance to those drugs after frequent usage. These new monoclonal antibodies may help them where those old treatments are now failing. Specially tailored allergy-specific products are now in the works, ushering in this new era of allergy treatment. In early April, the final stage of one clinical trial found the following results after four weeks: Patients who had still reported symptoms after taking the standard-of-care treatment and then received a monoclonal antibody injection were much more likely to report mild or no nasal symptoms (62 percent) than people who were taking the placebo (39 percent). They scored significantly better on oral symptoms and other measures of efficacy without serious side effects. The drug in the clinical trial, Stapokibart, was recently approved for seasonal allergy treatment in China, and its developer, Keymed, has premised its business on developing and gaining approval for treatments in that country and then bringing them to the US. Monoclonal antibodies will continue to make inroads as more products come to the market. A new era for allergy treatment Monoclonal antibodies, by offering months of allergy relief in just one injection, could elide one of the biggest challenges in all pharmaceutical treatments: making sure people take medicines like they are supposed to. What to ask your doctor Omalizumab is a promising new treatment for seasonal allergies, but the FDA has not specifically approved it for seasonal allergy care yet. So far, doctors have been prescribing this 'off label' — meaning it has proven safe to use for a different purpose, but the science on its effectiveness for allergies is preliminary. A prescription is ultimately at your doctor's discretion, but if you suffer from severe allergies, it could be a fit for you. Here are some things to consider asking your physician if you're interested in this kind of treatment: Are there other existing treatments they would advise trying first? Do I have another condition for which Xolair is intended to treat? What steps should we take for my health plan to cover the cost? With antihistamines and nasal sprays, you must regularly buy them yourself and repeatedly remember to take them correctly to stave off allergy symptoms. That 2001 study in the UK found that many people who suffered seasonal allergy symptoms nonetheless did a poor job of taking medication as they should: Among the 54 percent of people who were experiencing poor allergy symptoms, 70 percent didn't use the conventional allergy medicines according to the clinical guidelines. But for allergy sufferers to make the jump from something like Claritin to an annual allergy shot that works even better, health insurance coverage will be critical: The list price on omalizumab is $1,500 a pop. This would be a new cost to health plans because patients often bear their own over-the-counter antihistamine med costs. Off-label coverage of any drug, including omalizumab for seasonal allergies, can be fickle. Some popular plans, such as United Healthcare, are not currently covering the drug for that use at this time because they consider it unproven. As more research comes in and more products come on the market, the insurers' value proposition may change. The FDA recently approved a generic version of omalizumab, which should help reduce prices for that injection. As they do, they could offer more value for the patients for whom conventional therapies aren't working. Seasonal allergies can significantly diminish a person's quality of life — during what should be one of the most enjoyable times on the calendar — and they come around every year.
New York Times
14-02-2025
- New York Times
What We Know About the Munich Car Attack
On Thursday morning, a 24-year-old Afghan refugee drove into a union demonstration in central Munich, injuring nearly 40 people. The police say they are investigating whether the driver, who confessed to a deliberate attack, acted alone. The attack happened just 10 days before federal elections that have been focused on migration, and the crash could loom large in the campaign's final days. What happened during the attack? At around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, officers in a police cruiser at the tail end of a union march in central Munich noticed a two-door Mini Cooper coming up from behind. The car sped up to pass the cruiser and plowed into the back of the marchers. Witnesses said they heard the Mini rev up as it drove into the crowd. The police fired a single shot as they went to arrest the driver. Ambulances and a helicopter arrived at the scene. Police set up a temporary post in a nearby restaurant, where they asked witnesses to come forward, and set up an online portal for uploading any video or pictures of the attack. Officers also used dogs to search the car. By evening the damaged car was lifted onto a flatbed tow truck and impounded. Who were the victims? On Friday, the police said that 36 people had been injured, including several children. A 12-year old girl, who was severely inquired, was still in intensive care. The car plowed into a crowd of union members and supporters and their families. Verdi, one of the biggest unions in Germany, had called a one-day strike for some public sector workers, including those employed in day care, garbage collection and city administration. The roughly 1,500 marchers were being accompanied by police officers as they walked down a public street. What do we know about the suspect? The man came to Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2016, according to the authorities. During his application for asylum, he said that his father had been murdered in Afghanistan and that the killers were looking for him. The authorities did not believe his testimony at the time and did not give him official asylum status. In a standard bureaucratic turn, the city of Munich gave the man a temporary residence permit in 2021, which allowed him access to education opportunities and to work. The man, whom the authorities have named as Farhad N., in keeping with strict privacy guidelines, attended school and eventually started working in retail security for two private firms. Unlike other suspects in similar seemingly random attacks, Mr. N. appeared to be largely integrated into German society and was not known to the authorities for violence or crimes. He held a job and rented an apartment in Munich. He was a bodybuilder and had a relatively large following on Instagram and TikTok, where he presented himself as a fitness model, Munich's public attorney's office said on Friday. The office was investigating him on the suspicion of 36 counts of both attempted homicide and of causing dangerous bodily harm. After the driver confessed to the attack, the authorities said they believed he had religious motives and an 'Islamist orientation.' Investigators said they found a message on his cellphone in which he had said goodbye to a loved one, saying 'I might not be around tomorrow.' However, investigators, still combing through his digital devices, said they had not found a connection with the Islamic State or other terrorist organizations. Why is this attack rattling Germany? This is at least the fifth major random attack by a Middle Eastern or Afghan migrant in the last nine months. In late May, an Afghan migrant killed a police officer and wounded several participants in a far-right demonstration in Mannheim. In August, a Syrian refugee killed three and injured eight in a stabbing spree in Solingen. In December, a man from Saudi Arabia used an S.U.V. to kill six people and injure 300 by driving into a Christmas market in Magdeburg. Last month, an Afghan refugee with an apparent mental illness used a kitchen knife to kill a toddler and a man who had rushed in to help in a city park in a small town in Bavaria. These attacks have helped increase the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, known as the AfD, which has made limiting migration one of its key planks. Last month, Friedrich Merz, who leads the conservative Christian Democrats and is expected to be Germany's next chancellor, broke a taboo by voting in Parliament with the AfD on migration measures. While he was criticized by hundred thousands of protesters who took to the streets soon after, his vote showed how much the issue of limiting immigration has become mainstream, even though the number of those seeking asylum has been dropping. The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Thursday that the attacker should be punished and sent back to Afghanistan.
