Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it targeted Israeli positions in the Tel Aviv suburbs on Tuesday including an intelligence base, and launched rockets at a naval base in north Israel’s Haifa.

The attacks came after a tense night in Lebanon, with state media reporting heavy Israeli bombardment in and near south Beirut and authorities saying four people including a child were killed in strikes near the country’s biggest public hospital.

Hezbollah fighters launched a “salvo of rockets” targeting the “Glilot base of the 8200 military intelligence unit”, the resistance group said in a statement, after claiming similar attacks on the base in the Tel Aviv suburbs the night before.

Also Tuesday, the group said it fired rockets at another position in Tel Aviv’s suburbs, and launched a “salvo of rockets” targeting the “Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa”, a coastal city in northern Israel.

The Israeli military said in a statement that following sirens “in central Israel, approximately five projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon. The majority… were intercepted”.

It also said that following sirens “in the Upper Galilee area and northern Golan Heights, approximately 15 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon” with some intercepted and the rest falling in open areas.

It said it was not immediately aware of any casualties.

A Lebanese security official told AFP news agency that the country’s national airline had to switch landing strips late Monday after Israeli strikes near Beirut’s only international airport hit close to the main runway.

On September 23, Israel escalated its air campaign against targets in Lebanon and later sent in ground forces after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah, acting in support of Hamas resistance group fighting Israel in Gaza.

At least 2,467 people have been killed in a year of violence, according to Lebanese authorities, more than half of them since September 23, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

The sun sets over the Mediterranean, casting a golden hue over the Lebanese coastline: but this idyllic scene belies the turbulent reality unfolding just a few miles away. In the Lebanese capital of Beirut, the air is thick with sea salt and tension, as warplanes reverberate relentlessly over ancient streets.

This is not just another chapter in country’s long history of conflict. It is a harrowing narrative of survival and resilience in the face of a renewed onslaught. It began as a whisper—a distant hum of engines high above. But the stillness of the morning quickly gave way to chaos as the sky darkened with the shadows of Israeli warplanes.

In Saida or Sidon, the third-largest city of Lebanon, 40 km south of Beirut, the familiar buzz was a foreboding signal of what was to come. As the bombs began to fall, the city transformed. Streets, once filled with the morning rush of commuters and students, fell eerily silent, punctuated only by the deadly crack of airstrikes. 

I lay in bed on October 1, listening to the familiar rumble of warplanes overhead. But this time, the noise was louder—too loud. The airstrikes were closer, targeting the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp. The blasts rattled the windows, and my heart sank.

Within moments, Saida was engulfed in fear. Venturing out later, I witnessed the chaos: homes shattered, dust swirling, people huddling in despair. In the heart of Saida lies Ain el-Hilweh, a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp, which was an epicentre of despair that morning.

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I was there not as a journalist but as a resident, my family’s roots deeply entrenched in the fabric of this community. The first bomb landed close to the marketplace. In the place where laughter and chatter were once the soundtrack, now screams filled the air. Buildings, flimsy against the might of the missiles, crumbled. Dust and smoke rose, shrouding the camp in suffocating debris.

Over 71 people perished in Ain el-Delb on September 29—a massacre that left families devastated and streets empty.

When mountains cried

Away from the immediate border, even mountainous towns such as Arab Salim and Kfarhouna suffered. I travelled there from Saida, following the trail of displacement, as residents fled their sanctuaries. The mountains, resolute in their stoic beauty, echoed with explosions. Homes were scarred by shrapnel. At one crowded makeshift shelter, I met Layla, a little girl who had been looking forward to school and to seeing her friends and teachers after the summer break. Now, her eyes wide in fear, she said softly, “I just want to go back to school.” Her wish was a heartbreaking reflection of the shattered innocence of countless children. They have lost their toys, their sense of safety, and, in many cases, their families. These children are growing up amid the constant boom of bombs and the acrid smell of destruction.

Nearby, an elderly man named Khalil recounted the loss of his home in Ghazieh, his narrative punctuated by pauses heavy with grief. The shelter, a microcosm of the broader crisis, was overflowing with similar stories.

Each person I spoke with, added a thread to the tapestry of this conflict—a strand of loss, hope, and enduring spirit. Organisations such as the Nashit Cultural and Social Association worked tirelessly to restore a semblance of childhood, with their volunteers running activities, games and creative sessions.

In the dusty corner of a makeshift shelter, an elderly man from Nabatieh said he had lost one son in a previous conflict, and now, in this latest round of violence, his second son was gone. Sitting with his wife—whom he tenderly called “the mother of the martyr”—he shared his story. “We fled the bombing, but what we’ve lost cannot be replaced,” he said. They left behind everything they knew—their home, their land, and now lived with the uncertainty of ever returning.

The shelters are packed with people like him: families who lost everything and have nowhere to go. When the bombs fell, they had fled, leaving behind not just homes but their histories and memories. For the elderly, the journey was particularly cruel. They could not move quickly, and the harsh conditions of the shelters took their toll.

Alaa, an accountant from Jbeil, recounted the horror of losing her cousins on the first day of the Israeli bombings. “I will never forget the sound of the explosion,” she said. Her uncle’s wife and daughter, and her cousin’s wife and children, all were gone in a single instant. Their house was flattened to rubble.

“They were shredded so badly that civil defence found only body parts,” she whispered, her voice heavy with anguish. Alaa spoke of the panic as her family fled, the roads choked with cars as the bombs fell all around them. “A shell fell on a car ahead of us,” she recalled. “It was burnt to a crisp. The whole family inside was killed.” They spent hours on the road, choking on the smell of burning flesh, away from their loved ones, fearing the worst.

Elio, a filmmaker from Dahiyeh, spoke of the empty streets and the fear that gripped his neighbourhood. “Most people have left their homes,” he said. “But my mom and dad are sick.” His cousin’s son was killed in a bombing near Baalbek, and the family was too afraid to attend the funeral. “People in Dahiyeh remember the destruction in 2006,” he said. “We know Israel isn’t just hitting Hezbollah; they are hitting everyone.”

For Elias, a winemaker in the Beqaa Valley, the war struck close to home, literally. “A missile struck next to my winery,” he told me. “The day of the bombing, I got a message saying anyone near Hezbollah sites should leave immediately. Thirty minutes later, a missile hit.” He moved his family to Byblos but returned to the Beqaa to protect his livelihood. “I want to work,” he said. “This is part of creating peace—refusing to surrender to war.”

The death of olive orchards

The economic consequences of this conflict are as devastating as the human toll. The southern villages of Lebanon, reliant on agriculture, are in ruins. Bombs have obliterated fields and olive orchards, carefully tended over decades, are reduced to ash.

One farmer from Yarin spoke of his heartbreak: “I waited all season to harvest my olives. Now everything is gone. I don’t know how we’ll survive the winter.” Farmers, labourers, and shop owners all face the same grim reality. Even if the fighting stops today, the economic damage will linger for years.

Lebanon’s political paralysis has only deepened the humanitarian crisis. The country has not had an effective government since 2009, with political infighting preventing any meaningful progress. The caretaker government lacks the power to address the economic collapse or the military escalation. Lebanese citizens live in uncertainty, abandoned by their leaders in their hour of greatest need. For those in the south, the situation is worse, caught as they are, between political dysfunction and relentless bombardment.

The three largest religious sects in Lebanon are awarded the highest government posts under a sectarian system that governs the country’s power structure. The Prime Minister must be a Sunni Muslim, the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shia Muslim, and the President must be a Maronite Christian. The powers of the President include approving legislation, choosing the Prime Minister with assistance from Parliament, and managing the military forces.

The Speaker of the Parliament oversees the sessions and organises the operations of the legislative body, while the Prime Minister leads the government and oversees the execution of policies. The lack of consensus among political groupings on a nominee is the cause of the current impasse in the Presidential selection process, which has brought Parliament to a standstill.

‘We rely on our neighbours’

And yet, there is a glimmer of hope. Amid the rubble and despair, I saw people helping each other, sharing what little they had. In one shelters Mohammad Issa, a young man from Ghazieh—took it upon himself to provide free haircuts to displaced people. “They need someone to help ease their burden,” he told me. It was a small act, but it made a difference. It was a reminder that even in the darkest times, there are some who refuse to give up on their humanity.

Lara, an editor in Beirut, spoke of the mutual aid initiatives that had sprung up across the country. “Soup kitchens are popping up,” she said. “People are distributing mattresses, food, and water. They are collecting money for diapers and milk.”

In a country where the state has often failed its people, the community has stepped in. “There’s a viral video of a Christian man with a big cross on his shirt offering free labour and parts to people whose cars broke down,” she said. “People in Lebanon are accustomed to doing this kind of work because we have never really had a strong state. We rely on our neighbours.”

This spirit of solidarity is what keeps Lebanon going. It is what allows people like Mohammad Issa to offer free haircuts and farmers like Elias to continue working their fields. It is what allows children like Layla to still dream of returning to school, even as the world around them crumbles. Despite everything—the destruction, the fear, the loss—the people of southern Lebanon have shown incredible resilience.

They have lived through wars before, and they know what it means to rebuild. “We’ve rebuilt our homes before, and we will do it again,” said Fatima, a young photographer from Houmine al Fauqa. “Our blood has become one with the soil of the south. We stand together, no matter what.”

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As I left Saida that day, the city was eerily quiet. Streets that once bustled with life were empty, shops closed, and the air heavy with tension. Every face I saw was etched with fear of what had happened and of what was still to come. And yet, in the shelters, I also saw determination. Families who had lost everything still held on to the hope that they would one day return home.

Lebanon finds itself caught in a cycle of conflict and instability. Each attack exacerbates the suffering of its people and adds another layer to the political and economic crises.

The international community sends aid, but it is never enough. What Lebanon needs is a real commitment to peace: a chance for its people to live without the constant fear of war. As the bombs fall and the world watches, the question remains: when will the violence end? When will the people of the south finally have the chance to live in peace?

The international community needs to work towards a lasting solution, one that addresses the root causes of the conflict and provides the people of Lebanon with stability. They wait for peace because they deserve nothing less.

Rawan Sayyed is a journalist who works as a content creator and news writer. She has also completed several documentary filmmaking projects.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon says Israeli tanks have forced entry at one of its positions, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN to evacuate its troops from the area.

The incident is the latest in a series of violations and attacks by Israeli forces on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in recent days and comes as Israel expands its bombardment and ground attacks on Lebanon.

UNIFIL said in a statement on Sunday that two Israeli tanks “destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position”.

Soon after the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres (328 feet) away, releasing smoke that blew across the base and sickened UN personnel, causing 15 to require treatment despite wearing gas masks, UNIFIL said. It did not say who fired the shells or what sort of toxic substance it suspected.

It also accused Israel’s military of halting a logistics convoy. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the statement.

“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Resolution 1701,” the United Nations force said. “UNIFIL’s mandate provides for its freedom of movement in its area of operations, and any restriction on this is a violation of Resolution 1701. We have requested an explanation from the [Israeli army] for these shocking violations.”

The incident occurred hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN to evacuate the peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon.

Attacks on UN peacekeepers

Five peacekeepers have so far been wounded in a series of attacks that have hit peacekeeping positions and personnel in recent days, with most of the attacks blamed by UNIFIL on Israeli forces.

On Thursday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the UN Security Council that “the safety and security of peacekeepers is now increasingly in jeopardy”. He said they remained in position but operational activities had virtually come to a halt since September 23 and peacekeepers were confined to base. Three hundred had also been temporarily relocated to bigger bases.

The United States and European countries have demanded that Israeli forces stop firing at the peacekeepers. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely, positively” telling Israel to stop.

On Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, typically one of Israel’s most vocal supporters among Western European leaders, also reiterated to Netanyahu the “unacceptability of UNIFIL being attacked by Israeli armed forces”, according to an Italian government statement.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday held a telephone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in which they expressed their “deep commitment and support for the people of Palestine and Lebanon”.

A post on X by the Foreign Office said the two diplomats discussed the situation in the two conflict-ridden countries subject to an Israeli military offensive.

The Saudi Press Agency said both also reviewed relations between the two countries and discussed regional and international developments

Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians since it began a year ago and has laid waste to the enclave.

The offensive began after a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, on southern Israeli communities in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Meanwhile, Israel’s latest fight with Hezbollah started when the group fired missiles at Israeli positions immediately after the Oct 7 attack. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire ever since.

As months of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas went nowhere, Israel in September began ramping up its bombardment of Hezbollah and landed painful blows on the group, including remotely detonating Hezbollah pagers and radios, wounding thousands of the group’s members.

After Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s death, US President Joe Biden called again for a ceasefire along the Israel-Lebanon border.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched its ground invasion anyway.

Its expanded operation has displaced more than 1.2 million people, according to Lebanon’s government, which says more than 2,100 people have been killed and 10,000 wounded in over a year of fighting. The toll includes scores of women and children.

Separately, a statement from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued today said the seventh meeting of the Pakistan-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Bilateral Defence Industrial Forum was held in Riyadh on Thursday.

Pakistan’s tri-services delegation was led by Chief of General Staff (CGS), Lieutenant General Muhammad Avais Dastgir, whereas, Assistant Defence Minister Talal Bin Abdullah Al Otaibi led the Saudi Arabian side.

During the meeting, the CGS affirmed Pakistan’s continuing support towards the capacity building of the Royal Saudi Defence Forces.

The Saudi dignitary acknowledged Pakistan’s achievements and sacrifices in the war against terrorism and its valuable contributions towards regional peace and stability.

The forum’s participants discussed challenges to global and regional security and their implications for the Defence Forces.

They noted that rapid advancements in modern technologies necessitated further enhancing defence industrial cooperation in critical capabilities between the two allied countries.

In this context, the ISPR said that the progress of ongoing areas of collaboration was reviewed while new areas of collaboration were also agreed upon.

The Israeli army on Saturday threatened to target ambulances in southern Lebanon, claiming they are being used by Hezbollah to “transport fighters and weapons”.

The warning came on a day when a fifth staffer of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was wounded in yet another strike, after Israel admitted that its forces fired at a ‘threat’ near a UN peacekeeping position and that a “hit” was responsible for wounding two Blue Helmets.

The incidents of shooting at UN peacekeepers in past few days have sparked a fierce diplomatic backlash.

The Israeli military on Saturday threatened the people of Lebanon not to return to their homes. “For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice. Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk,” the military warned.

The UNIFIL said that gunfire hit a peacekeeper, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon, near its headquarters in Naqura.

After the latest warning by the Israeli forces, Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UNIFIL, said UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon would not move from the border area despite five of their members being wounded and damage to facilities.

He said an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah in past weeks risked turning into “a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone”, and that the only solution was “diplomatic”.

The Israeli army earlier announced very “limited” incursions into Lebanon.

Tenenti said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions “up to five kilometres (three miles) from the Blue Line” separating both countries, but the peacekeepers refused. “There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the UNSC,” he said.

Michael Higgins, the president of Ireland which has troops in the mission, had earlier said Israel was “demanding that the entire UNIFIL operating under UN mandates walk away,” which he called “outrageous”.

UNIFIL is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006. Its role was bolstered by UNSC Resolution 1701, which stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon. At a summit on Friday, southern European leaders said the “attacks” on UNIFIL violated Resolution 1701 and must end.

Israel had not asked UNIFIL to evacuate its headquarters in the town of Naqura, further north. But in recent days, the mission said, its forces have “repeatedly” come under fire in Naqura as well as in other positions.

Since Sept 23, Israel has killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, and displaced more than a million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel’s crimes denounced

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visited the site of the deadliest Israeli strike on central Beirut in recent weeks, an AFP photographer said.

A source close to Hezbollah said that the air raid in the densely populated Basta area, which killed at least 22 people, had targeted the Iran-backed Leba­nese group’s security chief Wafiq Safa.

Speaking to the press, accompanied by two Hezbollah lawmakers, Ghalibaf denounced what he called Israel’s “crimes”. “International organisations and the UN Security Council have the capability (to stop Israel) but they are unfortunately keeping silent,” he said.

Earlier, Ghalibaf met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who told him his government’s priority was “to work towards a ceasefire”.

World Food Programme has voiced concern over Lebanon’s ability to feed itself, saying thousands of hectares of farmland across the country’s south has been destroyed or abandoned due to Israeli attacks.

“Agriculture-wise, food production-wise, (there is) extraordinary concern for Lebanon’s ability to continue to feed itself,” Matthew Hollingworth, WFP country director in Lebanon, told a Geneva press briefing, adding that harvests will not occur and that produce is rotting in fields.

At the same briefing, World Health Organization official Ian Clarke in Beirut warned that there was a much higher risk of disease outbreaks among Lebanon’s displaced population.

“We are facing a situation where there is a much higher risk of disease outbreaks, such as acute watery diarrhoea, hepatitis A, and a number of vaccine preventable diseases,” Clarke said.

Israeli warplanes have carried out a series of air strikes in several areas across Lebanon, including Beirut’s southern suburb.

According to Lebanon’s official National News Agency, the warplanes targeted the Tahouitet al Ghadir area near Beirut’s airport and the Burj al Barajneh area, both in Beirut’s southern suburb areas.

Earlier, the news agency reported Israeli air strikes in several areas and towns around Tyre city in southern Lebanon.

It added that at dawn, the Israeli warplanes struck several villages in the Baalbek district in eastern Lebanon, including the Younine village and Nabi Chit town.

Tens of thousands of people have rallied around the world, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon as Israel’s genocide against Palestinians completes a year.

Protesters gathered in dozens of cities on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel, as Israeli forces continue their operations in Gaza and Lebanon, raising fears of a wider regional war.

In New Zealand, pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who gathered on Monday outside Auckland’s TVNZ public television demanding a ceasefire, clashed with followers of a far-right fundamentalist Christian group, Destiny Church.

According to The New Zealand Herald, 35 police officers were at the scene to separate the rival groups. One protester was pepper-sprayed as police attempted to break the commotion that spilled over onto the road near TVNZ, according to the report.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand will continue to call for a ceasefire, restraint and de-escalation, “not for retaliation and reprisal”.

“There is simply no military action that will reduce regional tensions and conflict,” Luxon said, calling for a “two-state solution” to end the conflict.

In Australia, crowds gathered outside the country’s largest mosque in Lakemba, a suburb of Sydney, before an afternoon rally.

Participants were seen waving Palestinian flags and standing on the footpath and the street which was blocked off for the event, according to The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

People in Pakistani cities also held rallies and demonstrations to express solidarity with Palestinians on the first anniversary of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Different political and religious groups organised a string of events in the commercial capital, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha, Hyderabad, and other cities.

Thousands of citizens, including students, women and children, came out of their homes, offices and schools to participate in the demonstrations.

A memorial event was also held in the Indian capital, New Delhi, as dozens of participants sang songs and raised slogans against the war in Gaza.

Other vigils, ceremonies and protests are planned later on Monday after a weekend of similar events across the world.

In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, more than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the US Embassy on Sunday, demanding that Washington stop sending weapons to Israel.

In Morocco, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Rabat, waving Palestinian flags and calling to break off diplomatic ties with Israel, which the kingdom normalised in 2020.

Thousands also marched in support of Gaza and Lebanon in cities across Turkey, including Istanbul and Ankara.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Lebanon, warning of the risk of an “even larger war”.

Thousands also marched through New York’s Times Square on Saturday, some carrying pictures of people killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. In Washington, DC, a man set himself on fire as more than 1,000 people demonstrated outside the White House, demanding an end to US military aid to Israel.

Marches were also reported over the weekend in several European cities.

लेबनान में इजरायली हमलों के बीच ईरान के सर्वोच्च नेता अयातुल्ला अली खामेनेई शुक्रवार को अलग अंदाज में नजर आए. उन्होंने अपने बगल में राइफल रखकर एक बड़ी जनसभा को संबोधित किया. लगभग पांच वर्षों बाद उन्होंने अपना पहला शुक्रवार की नमाज का उपदेश दिया. उनका भाषण ईरान द्वारा इजरायल पर किए गए नवीनतम मिसाइल हमले के बाद आया, जिसे उन्होंने इजरायली अपराधों के लिए “वैध दंड” बताया. 

खामनेई ने तेहरान की ग्रैंड मस्जिद से आयतुल्ला खामनेई ने एक तरफ अरब देशों के मुस्लिमों को जुड़ने की अपील की तो फिलीस्तीन और लेबनान पर जिस तरह से इजरायल अटैक कर रहा है, उसके इजरायल को खुली धमकी दी. उन्होंने कहा कि ईरान इनके साथ पूरी ताकत से खड़ा होगा. अपने संबोधन में, खामेनेई ने इस बात पर जोर दिया कि इज़रायल के खिलाफ ईरान का प्रतिरोध कम नहीं होगा, यहां तक कि उसके नेताओं की लक्षित हत्याओं के बावजूद भी. उन्होंने घोषणा की यदि जरूरी हुआ, तो ईरान कब्जे वाले फिलिस्तीन पर फिर से हमला करेगा. इसी के साथ उन्होंने क्षेत्र में निरंतर कठोर रुख का संकेत दिया.

खामेनेई अपने राजनीतिक जीवन में कई हत्या के प्रयासों से बचे हैं. विशेष रूप से 1979 से इस्लामी क्रांति के बाद के अशांत वर्षों के दौरान उन पर कई हमले किए गए. लेकिन वह हर हमले को मात देकर आज ईरान के सर्वोच्च नेता के पद पर बैठे हैं. हाल ही में लेबनान पर हुए हमलों में नसरल्लाह की मौत के बाद ईरान ने खामेनेई को सुरक्षित जगह शिफ्ट कर दिया गया. ईरान को आशंका थी कि इजरायल खामेनेई पर भी हमला कर सकता है. 

खामेनेई ने कब-कब मौत को दी मात-

15 मार्च 1985: शुक्रवार की नमाज के दौरान आत्मघाती बम विस्फोट 

15 मार्च 1985 में तेहरान में एक आत्मघाती हमलावर ने शुक्रवार की नमाज के दौरान प्रार्थना सभा को निशाना बनाया. इस दौरान खामेनेई धर्मोपदेश दे रहे थे. हालांकि विस्फोट के बावजूद खामेनेई घायल नहीं हुए और विद्रोह के एक महत्वपूर्ण प्रदर्शन में उन्होंने अपना भाषण जारी रखा. यह हमला ईरानी राजनीति में उथल-पुथल भरे दौर के दौरान विपक्षी समूहों से जुड़ा था.

देखें, 1985 के हमले का सरकारी फुटेज (क्रेडिट: KHAMENEI.IR) –

यह विशेष हमला इसलिए महत्वपूर्ण था क्योंकि यह ईरान-इराक युद्ध के दौरान हुआ था. यह ऐसा समय था जब ईरान भारी आंतरिक और बाहरी दबाव में था. मुजाहिदीन-ए-खल्क (MEK) सहित विभिन्न समूह शासन को अस्थिर करने के लिए इस तरह के हिंसक प्रयासों को संगठित करने के लिए जाने जाते थे.

27 जून 1981: तेहरान में इस्लामिक रिपब्लिक पापर्टी मुख्यालय पर बम विस्फोट 

दूसरा हमला 27 जून 1981 में तेहरान में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण हत्या का प्रयास तब हुआ जब वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों की एक बैठक के दौरान इस्लामिक रिपब्लिक पार्टी के मुख्यालय में बम विस्फोट हुआ था. इस हमले की साजिश मुजाहिदीन-ए-खल्क (MEK) ने रची थी, जो एक शासन-विरोधी समूह है.

हालांकि इसमें भी खामेनेई की मौत नहीं हुई, लेकिन वे गंभीर रूप से घायल हो गए थे. विस्फोट के कारण उनका दाहिना हाथ हमेशा के लिए लकवाग्रस्त हो गया. इस हमले में ईरान के मुख्य न्यायाधीश और क्रांति के प्रमुख व्यक्तियों में से एक अयातुल्ला मोहम्मद बेहेश्टी सहित कई वरिष्ठ नेता मारे गए थे.

यह हमला नवगठित इस्लामी गणराज्य को अस्थिर करने के लिए विपक्षी समूहों द्वारा चलाए जा रहे एक बड़े अभियान का हिस्सा था. गंभीर चोटों के बावजूद खामेनेई के जीवित रहने से उनकी राजनीतिक स्थिति मजबूत हुई और उन्हें शासन के भीतर अधिक प्रमुखता प्राप्त करने में मदद मिली.

देखें, 1981 में खामेनेई की हत्या के प्रयास का वीडियो (क्रेडिट: KHAMENEI.IR)-

फरवरी 2022: तेहरान में आवास के पास ड्रोन से हत्या का कथित प्रयास

कुछ रिपोर्टों के अनुसार, 2022 की शुरुआत में खामेनेई पर तेहरान में उनके आवास के पास ही कथित तौर पर ड्रोन से हत्या का प्रयास किया गया था. इस घटना के बारे में जानकारी कम है और ईरानी अधिकारियों द्वारा इसकी व्यापक रूप से पुष्टि नहीं की गई है. हालांकि, इसने क्षेत्र में बढ़ते तनाव के बीच ईरानी नेतृत्व के लिए बढ़ते बाहरी खतरों के बारे में चर्चाएं छेड़ दीं. चाहे सच हो या झूठ, इन रिपोर्टों ने संकेत दिया कि सर्वोच्च नेता विभिन्न घरेलू और विदेशी विरोधियों के लिए एक हाई-प्रोफाइल टारगेट बने हुए हैं.

कई अन्य अपुष्ट हत्या के प्रयास 

उक्त हमलों के अलावा खामेनेई पर हत्या के प्रयासों की कई अन्य रिपोर्टें भी आई हैं. विशेष रूप से क्रांति के बाद के वर्षों के दौरान जब MEK और अन्य असंतुष्टों जैसे शासन-विरोधी समूहों ने सक्रिय रूप से सरकारी नेताओं को निशाना बनाया. हालांकि, इनमें से कई प्रयासों को विफल कर दिया गया और इनकी जानकारी अभी भी कहीं उपलब्ध नहीं है. ईरानी सरकार अपने नेताओं के लिए खतरों के बारे में अधिकांश जानकारी को नियंत्रित करती है.

हमलों के बाद बढ़ा दी गई खामेनेई की सुरक्षा

इस्लामी गणराज्य के शुरुआती वर्षों में मुजाहिदीन-ए-खल्क (MEK), कुर्द अलगाववादियों और अन्य शासन-विरोधी गुटों जैसे विपक्षी समूहों ने खामेनेई जैसे प्रमुख व्यक्तियों को सक्रिय रूप से निशाना बनाया. 1989 में जब खामेनेई ईरान के सर्वोच्च नेता बने तो उनके खिलाफ हत्या के प्रयास और धमकियां जारी रहीं. बढ़ते भू-राजनीतिक तनाव ने उन्हें न केवल आंतरिक गुटों के लिए बल्कि ईरान की नीतियों के प्रति शत्रुतापूर्ण बाहरी अभिनेताओं के लिए भी निशाना बनाया.

इन प्रयासों के बाद से खामेनेई के आसपास सुरक्षा को काफी कड़ा कर दिया गया है. सर्वोच्च नेता के रूप में वह अब ईरान में सबसे अधिक संरक्षित व्यक्तियों में से एक हैं, जिनके पास सुरक्षा की कई परतें हैं, जिनमें इस्लामिक रिवोल्यूशनरी गार्ड कॉर्प्स (IRGC) जैसे कुलीन सैन्य बल शामिल हैं, जिन्हें उनकी सुरक्षा का काम सौंपा गया है.

At least six people were killed and seven injured in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Beirut overnight, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Thursday, as governments around the world scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the country. The airstrike hit near the capital’s residential Bashoura district.

Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the attack, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, which are prohibited by international law for use near civilian populations. Human rights groups have in the past accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on towns and villages in conflict-hit southern Lebanon.

NOTE: This article includes images of wounded children that may disturb some readers. 

CBS News’ Haley Ott reported that, shortly before the strike, Lebanese health officials said 46 people had been killed and 85 injured by Israeli strikes in the country over the last 24 hours.

Israel started launching ground incursions into southern Lebanon this week, ramping up its fight against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah while continuing its devastating war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

Israel’s air and ground operations in Gaza killed more than 50 people near the city of Khan Younis on Wednesday, including children, according to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. 

The war in the densely packed Palestinian territory has killed more than 41,500 people since it was sparked almost a year ago by Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack. 

The fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in Lebanon — a much larger, better armed group than Hamas — was described by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday as intense, as it confirmed eight soldiers had died in the operations.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict in Middle East.

Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. said his country had launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday as a deterrent to further Israeli violence. His Israeli counterpart called the barrage an “unprecedented act of aggression.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to retaliate against Iran, while an Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel did so.

President Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. and its other partners were in discussions with Netanyahu’s government about Israel’s pending response to the Iranian attack, which Mr. Biden has stressed should be “in proportion” to Iran’s missile salvo, which was largely thwarted by the U.S. ally’s advanced missile defense systems. 

Mr. Biden said he would not support an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the missile attack, but that the U.S. and its global allies supported Israel’s right to respond.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this week that Iran’s attack was “totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it,” but that “Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack.”

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the southern Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which saw terrorists kill 1,200 Israelis and take 251 more as hostages into Gaza, according to the Israeli government. The fighting has increased dramatically over the last two weeks, since Israel was accused of blowing up thousands of Hezbollah members’ communications devices and assassinating the group’s senior leader in a targeted strike in Beirut.

Japan on Thursday dispatched two Self Defense Force planes to prepare for a possible airlift of Japanese citizens from Lebanon. And the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday her government had booked 500 seats on commercial aircraft for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families to leave Lebanon on Saturday.    

At least eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in the regime’s ground aggression in Lebanon, Israeli media says, a day after the regime launched a cross-border ground incursion into southern parts of the Arab country.

Since the onset of Israel’s ground aggression into Lebanon on Tuesday, at least 14 Israeli soldiers have been killed during clashes with Hezbollah fighters with many reported injuries among the invaders, Sky News Arabia, citing unnamed Israeli sources.

Furthermore, Israeli Army Radio said that a commando unit faced Hezbollah fighters in a building in a southern Lebanese village, prompting medical rescue teams to respond for the regime’s injured soldiers.

A statement by the Israeli army said on Wednesday that an Israeli soldier had so far been killed “during combat in Lebanon.”

In a follow-up statement, however, the Israeli army admitted that the death toll among its forces had risen to eight.

The occupying regime has for long had a policy of not disclosing the true number of soldiers killed in combat and providing significantly lower death toll figures.

Separately on Wednesday, Hezbollah said in a statement that while “an Israeli enemy force was trying to encircle the town of Yaroun from the direction of the forest,” Hezbollah fighters managed to either kill or wound all members of the invaders through detonating “a special explosive device.”

There has been a major escalation in Israel’s barbarism in Lebanon that saw the regime assassinating Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on southern Beirut on September 27.

The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since early October 2023 has passed the 1,700 mark with nearly 8,770 injured, according to Lebanese government data. In response, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets and drones towards Israeli targets.