Syria is directly involved in terrorism and will not be granted immunity by Israel, the deputy defense minister said yesterday, but stopped short of claiming formal responsibility for the killing of a Hamas leader in Damascus.
Israeli security sources have acknowledged Israel was responsible for the killing of Izz Eldine Subhi Sheik Khalil in a car bombing on Sunday. Hamas and Syria blamed Israel for the attack, and the group vowed to take revenge.
Security at Israeli diplomatic missions abroad is being increased in response to the Hamas threats, Israeli government officials said.
Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said the issue was not who killed Khalil, but rather Syria's deep involvement in terrorism.
"Syria is responsible for directing terrorism against us and therefore it is not immune from our operations to prevent terrorism," Boim told Israel Radio.
"This is a central thing that needs to be said ... anyone who hurts Israel, anyone who takes part in terrorism that leads to murder and death ... of Israelis, he'll pay for it, and it doesn't matter if he operates in Israel or abroad," he added.
Boim described Syria as a "central intersection" of terrorism and Syrian President Bashar Assad as the "traffic officer" directing the operations and harboring the groups.
Hamas' threats, Boim said, should not be taken lightly, "but we have to very aware and not take our eyes off the special place Syria holds in the chain of terrorism, regionally and globally."
Meanwhile, Israeli troops hunting militants raided a West Bank hospital on yesterday, and Palestinian witnesses reported exchanges of fire in the area.
In the Gaza Strip, three Palestinians were killed by army fire, including two militants and a civilian who stood at the gate of the school when he was hit.
In the West Bank raid, dozens of Israeli armored vehicle entered the town of Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp by the same name before dawn yesterday. Witnesses said soldiers took over several buildings, including a school and a government office, and exchanged fire with gunmen.
Three Palestinians were wounded, hospital officials said.
After dawn, troops entered the private al-Arazi Hospital, the army said, confirming Palestinian witness reports. Yehiyeh Alan, who lives near the hospital, said he saw a firefight outside the hospital.
In other operations, the army imposed curfews on two refugee camps adjacent to the West Bank city of Nablus and sealed off all exits, witnesses said.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers fired machine guns toward the Khan Younis refugee camp, Palestinian security officials said. A 55-year-old civilian was killed as he stood at the gate of a local school, the officials said.
Also in Gaza, killed two armed Palestinians near the Jebaliya refugee camp, the army said. The militants, who were carrying explosives, were crawling in a no-go zone near the border fence with Israel when soldiers opened fire, the army said.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
RSS