❗️ Russian troops repelled two Ukrainian attempts to break through the state border, as well as four counterattacks in the Kursk region over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

🪖 More statements from the Russian Mod briefing on the situation in the Kusk region:

◻️ Russian forces in the Kursk region repelled two attempts by Ukrainian militants to breach the border near the settlement of Novy Put, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

◻️ The Russian Battlegroup Sever repelled four counterattacks near Plekhovo.

◻️ Ukraine's losses amounted to around 200 militants, with one captured, and seven pieces of equipment destroyed.

◻️ Since the start of the fighting in thу region, the enemy has lost more than 20,800 militants and 136 tanks.

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New details of Mossad's deadly pager operation emerge

The exploding pagers that targeted Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon in September were crafted and booby-trapped by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, The Washington Post has reported.

New significant details of the operation gleaned from interviews with Israeli, Arab, US, and Lebanese officials, politicians, diplomats, and people close to the Hezbollah movement suggest:

▪️ The first part of the plan to target Hezbollah with a “communications Trojan horse” dates back to 2015, when booby-trapped walkie-talkies containing a hidden explosive and transmission system began being inserted in Lebanon. They allowed Israel to eavesdrop on Hezbollah communications.

▪️ The main idea for the pager operation originated at the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv in 2022.

▪️ Hezbollah was offered a batch of AR924 pagers in 2023 by a former unidentified Middle East sales representative for Apollo. The Taiwanese company itself reportedly had no knowledge of the plan by Mossad to use their trademark. The marketing official who made the sales pitch was unaware that the pagers were assembled in Israel under Mossad oversight.

▪️ Mossad’s pagers contained a battery pack with a tiny amount of powerful explosive that was virtually undetectable, even if the device was taken apart.

▪️ Concealed remote access to the devices could trigger the explosion of the pagers simultaneously. The blast could also be triggered by a two-step procedure required for viewing encrypted messages.

▪️ Since two buttons needed to be pushed simultaneously to read the message, most users would be holding the pager with both hands. When it detonated, the explosion would “wound both their hands,” one insider said, and “be incapable to fight.”

▪️ Most top Israeli officials were unaware of the plot until Mossad officials finally revealed it on September 12 at a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his intelligence advisors. By then, the booby-trapped pagers were already in the hands of thousands of Hezbollah operatives.

▪️ Despite some officials citing risks, Netanyahu approved triggering the devices while they could inflict maximum damage and had not been detected.

▪️ The US was not informed of the booby-trapped pagers, American officials claimed.

▪️ On September 17, thousands of pagers exploded as Hezbollah operatives received an encrypted message. Less than a minute later, thousands of other devices were triggered remotely. On September 18, hundreds of walkie-talkies blew up in the same way.

▪️ Over 40 people were killed and nearly 3,500 injured in Lebanon.

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A Russian Iskander-M missile struck a container ship unloading ammunition at the port of Yuzhny in Ukraine's Odessa region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which released footage of the vessel's destruction.

The Defense Ministry reported that the container ship had delivered a shipment of ammunition and weapons from Europe.

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Night of destruction: Israeli strikes hit Beirut airport road

The devastating consequences of Israeli strikes last night on the road leading to Beirut's international airport. Video shared by social media users shows the damaged Golden Plaza Hotel, located just two kilometers from the country's main airline hub.

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Shooting attack in Beersheba leaves one dead and ten injured

One woman has died and the number of injured has risen to 10 following a shooting attack at the central bus station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, Israel's emergency medical service (MDA) reported.

"Medics confirmed the death of a young woman, approximately 25 years old, and are providing medical assistance to 10 victims being transported to Soroka Hospital," the statement said.

According to MDA, five of the injured sustained gunshot wounds, while the other five are in a non-serious condition with bruises and injuries from shattered glass.

Israeli police earlier reported the shooting attack at Beersheba's central bus station. The attacker was neutralized.

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Iran berates US and UK over aggression against Yemen, blames Israel for inflaming regional instability

Iran “strongly condemns the US and British military attacks on parts of Sanaa, Hodeidah and other regions of Yemen,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in a social media post Saturday night in the wake of attacks on Yemen by the US-led coalition October 4.

“Repeated military aggression by the United States and Britain against Yemen constitutes a blatant infringement of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law. The attacking parties bear international accountability for such unlawful acts,” Baghaei wrote.

Baghaei cited the actions of Yemenis and “other Islamic nations in the region” in response to Israeli actions a “natural reaction to the killing of their Palestinian and Lebanese brothers and sisters,” and emphasized that the military operations by the US and its allies against Yemen “will have no effect on their determination to defend the people of Palestine and Lebanon.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman went on to blast Israel over its ongoing military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, suggesting that “the continuation of the occupation, war-mongering and expansionism of the Zionist regime is the main reason for the continued insecurity and instability in the region,” and that an end of attacks on Lebanon and the “genocide in Gaza” were the preconditions “for restoring peace and stability in the region.”

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Hezbollah has attacked an Israeli base south of Haifa with drones, group says

Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement "launched an air assault with a squadron of attack drones on the maintenance and rehabilitation base south of Haifa," the group said in a statement.

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Islamic Jihad's military wing says it has fired rockets at Israel's Ashkelon, settlements near Gaza border

Video taken from social media.

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❗️Iran cancels all flights from 20:30 local time on Sunday until 05:30 Monday - Civil Aviation Authority

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🇵🇸 Pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul draws thousands, including Erdogan’s children

A pro-Palestinian rally to mark the anniversary of the escalation of the Middle East conflict, took place in Istanbul. Several thousand demonstrators gathered, including children of the Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking to the crowd, Bilal Erdogan, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for the Spread of Knowledge, stated that the US would go down in history as an accomplice to the genocide in Gaza.

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❗️The Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority announced that Beirut International Airport canceled all flights from 9:00 PM on Sunday to 6:00 AM on Monday.

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The beginning of the school year has been postponed in Lebanon until November 4 amid continuing Israeli attacks, Lebanon's Education Minister Abbas Halabi said on Sunday.

"Studies in public schools, colleges and specialized schools will begin on November 4," Halabi was quoted by Lebanese TV broadcaster Al Jadeed as saying.

On Saturday night, a Sputnik correspondent reported that the Israeli air force aircraft launched a new series of strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs. More than three strikes were carried out on the highway from the city center to the airport. Several explosions occurred about two kilometers (1.3 miles) from Beirut International Airport. The previous strikes were carried out on the Choueifat and Bourj el-Barajneh municipalities.

Israel started a ground operation against the Hezbollah movement in the south of Lebanon on Monday, while the mutual exchange of air and rocket strikes continues. Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Wednesday that about 1.2 million people, including Syrian refugees, were displaced due to the hostilities. Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday that nearly 2,000 people died and over 9,000 others were injured in Israeli attacks.

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🇮🇱 The Israeli Defence Forces have declared three areas in northern Israel as 'closed zones'

'Following a situational assessment, the areas of Manara, Yiftah, and Malkia in northern Israel have been declared a closed military zone. Entry to these areas is prohibited,'  the IDF said in a statement.

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