BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli military carried out at least five airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, after Israel’s defence minister ruled out any ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel’s goals had been met.

Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Smoke rose over Beirut as blasts shook the capital around mid-morning. The explosions followed an Israeli military warning posted on social media identifying 12 sites in the southern suburbs and saying it would take action against them soon. It warned residents they were located near Hezbollah facilities.

Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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There were no immediate reports of casualties from the latest strikes. Residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing the area in September.

In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in parts of the north, sending residents running for shelter, and the military said a number of “suspicious aerial targets” were launched from Lebanon. There were no reports of injuries.

Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict at the Lebanese-Israeli border had been rumbling on for a year before Israel went on the offensive in September, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah over the last seven weeks, killing many of its top leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, flattening parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, and causing vast destruction in border villages in south Lebanon.

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the northern Lebanese town of Ain Yaaqoub, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
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Meeting with Israel’s general staff for the first time, Israel’s newly appointed Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieves its goals.

“Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel’s right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meet the goals of the war in Lebanon – disarming Hezbollah and its withdrawal beyond the Litani River and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes.”

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar had said earlier on Monday there had been “a certain progress” in ceasefire talks, whilst adding the war against Hezbollah was not yet over.

Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
© Thomson Reuters

The main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement, he said.

Hezbollah has said it is ready for a long war against Israel and has kept up rocket fire.

SOUTH OF THE LITANI

The Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire based on the full implementation of a U.N. Resolution that ended a war between the group and Israel in 2006.

Lebanese Red Cross members look for remains of bodies at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the northern Lebanese town of Ain Yaaqoub, Lebanon November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
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The resolution calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of all weapons other than those of the Lebanese state. Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of violating the resolution.

Israel’s offensive has driven more than 1 million people from their homes in Lebanon in the last seven weeks. Since hostilities erupted a year ago, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 3,243 people and injured 14,134, the Lebanese health ministry said. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah attacks have killed roughly 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon over the last year.

The Adamawa state police command have apprehended a 19-year-old Aliyu Yaro for allegedly killing his 3-day old baby boy. The suspect Aliyu who hails from Kwacham, ward in Mubi North local Government, was accused by Safiya his girl friend of m#rdering the victim 3 days after she gave birth to him.

The suspect during interrogations confessed to the heinous crime and took the police where the remain was b¥ried and exhumed.

He narrated that, he had impregnated the mother of the deceased who happens to be his girlfriend (now the complainant), and after delivery, she kept calling him to come and carry the baby.

He said that he went to the house of his girlfriend in the night after calling him and carried the infant and left with him after he had sent the mother on errand to fetch water for him.

He further narrated that he single handedly carried the corpse around 9:00pm and buried it at Girpata area in Mubi.

The state Commissioner of Police, Morris Dankombo, expressed worry and had ordered that the matter be transferred to CID for discreet investigation and diligent prosecutions.

Nigerian skit creator and actress, Kemi Ikuseedun, widely recognized as Mummy Wa, has shared her ordeal with sexual harassment within the film industry. She disclosed her experiences during a recent appearance on the ‘WithChude podcast’ hosted by Chude Jideonwo.

Mummy Wa rose to prominence in 2023 after featuring in skits alongside Mr. Macaroni.

In her account, the actress revealed that she faced unwelcome sexual propositions from filmmakers while trying to build her career.

“Behind the scenes, a lot of people are asking for things. They are requesting for a whole lot of things that I cannot do.

“Where do I want to start from? Me that I’m already coming from a place where they tell me ‘this thing will not work’. How many people do I want to sleep with?

“To be honest, you might actually sleep with somebody in the industry and you will still not blow with the role they will give you. I saw a lot of men. But guess what? Even the slim ones that don’t have anything, they are still asking for things from them.

“No woman is free. No woman is immune. But I can’t do it.”

Photo source: Instagram