Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel
A series of military exchanges across the border between Israel and Lebanon escalated Friday when Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets, prompting retaliatory strikes in Lebanese territory, according to the Israeli military.
There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side. But the number of rockets marked an increase from a pair of launches Wednesday that triggered Israel’s first acknowledged air attacks in southern Lebanon in years early Thursday. The escalation, which largely targeted a disputed border strip known as Shebaa Farms, added to concerns that the exchanges, limited so far, risked spilling into open conflict.
Hezbollah, the Iranianbacked Shiite militant group and political party that controls southern Lebanon, immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s assault. Previous rocket attacks in recent weeks were widely blamed on unidentified Palestinian groups.
The Israeli military said 19 rockets were fired toward Israel, with three falling short in Lebanon. Of the rest, 10 were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system and six landed in open countryside near the towns of Ein Qiniyye and Neve Ativ, the military said.
Within the hour, the Israeli military said it was “striking the launch sources in Lebanon.” United Nations monitors confirmed Israeli artillery fire over the border.
The United Nations, which maintains a monitoring force along the border, called on all sides to implement an immediate ceasefire.
10 people stabbed on train in Tokyo
Ten people were stabbed on a train in Tokyo by a man with a knife Friday night, according to the Tokyo Fire Department.
The department responded to a call at 8:38 p.m. and found victims with blood stains when they arrived at the scene. All victims were conscious, and one person walked away on their own, the department said. No deaths have been reported.
According to state media NHK, the suspect walked to a nearby convenience store and turned himself in, saying to the clerk, “I am the suspect of the crime that’s playing in the news right now. I’m tired of running.”
NHK reported the suspect appears to be in his 30s, and the store clerk said he had blood stains on a part of his body.
The incident occurred on an Odakyu Line train, between Seijogakuen-mae station and Soshigaya-Okura station in Setagaya Ward, Reuters reported.
Violent crime is rare in Japan, but there have been a spate of violent knife attacks by assailants unknown to the victims.
South Africa’s jailed ex-leader hospitalized
South African former President Jacob Zuma has been admitted to the hospital for medical observation, the Ministry of Correctional Services said.
“A routine observation prompted that Mr. Zuma be taken in for in-hospitalization,” the ministry said in a statement, without providing further details.
Zuma, 79, was jailed for 15 months in July after being convicted of contempt of court for defying an order to testify at a corruption inquiry. His imprisonment triggered protests that morphed into riots and looting in which at least 354 people died.
Zuma is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 11 on charges of soliciting bribes from arms dealers in the 1990s.