International
Israel says that the attack of one of its tanks on the UNFIL tower is “being studied”
The Israeli Army assured tonight that the attack of one of its tanks on a watchtower of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNFINUL), which the organization denounced this afternoon, “is being examined.”
Without confirming or denying the attack, the Israeli armed forces said in a statement that they were “carrying out operational activity” against Hezbula, but that “the sites and forces of the FINUL are not an objective.”
“Any irregular incident will be thoroughly examined,” they claimed, although so far the rest of the Israeli attacks that have affected the UNIFIL and have left at least five injured have not had repercussions on the Hebrew Army.
This afternoon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFINUL) accused the armed forces of opening “direct and apparently deliberate fire” against one of its positions near Kafer Kela, where an Israeli Merkava tank fired at an observation tower and destroyed two surveillance cameras.
In a brief statement, FINUL explained that peacekeeping forces observed this morning, in a position close to Kafer Kela, “a Merkava tank of the FDI (Israeli Defense Forces) shooting at its watchtower,” in an attack in which “two cameras were destroyed and the tower was damaged.”
“Once again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire against a position of the UNFILL,” added the note in which the UN mission reminded the Israeli Army and all the actors involved in the conflict “their obligation to guarantee the safety of UN personnel and property and to respect at all times the inviolability of their facilities.”
The attacks
Also on Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that “it is the terrorist organization Hezbulla that uses UNIFIL personnel as ‘human shields’, deliberately attacking Army soldiers from locations near the positions of the FINUL to create friction” in a statement on the social network X.
In the text, the minister insisted that the Hebrew State “has no intention of harming” the blue helmets.
Three days ago, the UN mission already reported that two Israeli tanks entered their position in southern Lebanon, from which they left 45 minutes after UNFIL protested through the liaison mechanism.
Subsequently, he reported several shots 100 meters north of the base that emitted smoke that caused skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions in at least 15 troops of the mission.
The UN mission denounced the day before, on Saturday, that one of its soldiers was wounded “by gunshots” at its headquarters in Naqoura (south), bringing to five the number of blue helmets injured in incidents in three days, attributed to Israel.
UNFIL is located in Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbulah.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction