https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-taking-sayyed-nasrallahs-threats-seriously:-israeli-m

'Israel' taking Sayyed Nasrallah's threats seriously: Israeli media

The Israeli military and security apparatuses are taking Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's threats seriously, Israeli Channel 12 said Wednesday, noting that the Israeli occupation forces are raising their level of alert.

"These are not the first threats that Nasrallah makes. But this time, he is specifying the time and making clear cut conditions regarding the start of the extraction of gas from the Karish gas field," the Israeli TV channel said.

"There are more and more forces and more and more reconnaissance operations, as well as an increase in preparedness in the region - something the eyes can't see. You do not see the soldiers in specific places, and you do not see more Navy vessels, but yes. There is more preparedness on all levels," Channel 12 added.

In terms of the letters sent through official channels, the Israeli TV channel said, "through the United Nations and the Lebanese army to the Lebanese government, Israel is clarifying that it will not allow the incident to go without a response, i.e., threats against an Israeli economic and strategic facility belonging to it cannot pass peacefully."

"Nasrallah wants to achieve this before September, the date for when the extraction of oil from [the Karish] rig starts," it continued.

The Israeli occupation forces over the past few months have been simulating various scenarios, including a missile attack on several targets in "Israel's" maritime economic zone, Israeli media reported on Tuesday, citing senior security sources.

The sources made the revelations Tuesday morning, following statements from Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who warned the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, saying there were no Israeli targets in the sea or on land that are out of the reach of the resistance's precision missiles.

"The security and military establishment in Israel raised the level of alert and preparedness in light of the issues and stalling of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders, as well as accessing the Karish gas field and extracting oil from it in September," Israeli media said.

Israeli occupation Reserve Major General Amos Gilad called on "Tel Aviv" to take Sayyed Nasrallah's threats made against the Israeli occupation on Monday seriously.

"Nasrallah's threats must be taken seriously, and [the Israeli occupation forces] must prepare," Gilad told Israeli public broadcaster KAN. "If they attack the Karish rig or any other rig, that will definitely lead to a confrontation that can have many dimensions."

Warning the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said there were no Israeli targets in the sea or land out of the reach of the Resistance's precision missiles.

Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that the Israeli occupation realized, through the July war, that confrontation with the resistance was dangerous and that the resistance's capabilities were much more than just confrontations at the border.

"Since 2006, the enemy does not dare take any action against Lebanon," the Resistance leader said, noting that "Tel Aviv" was only resorting to run-of-the-mill operations that leave no mark in Lebanon.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/health/fourth-person-in-history-seemingly-cured-of-hiv

Fourth person in history seemingly 'cured' of HIV

AIDS researchers announced on Wednesday that a fourth person has been "cured" of HIV, but for patients battling cancer too, the procedure is risky as it may be uncomfortable for the tens of millions living with the virus across the world.

The 66-year-old patient, called the City of Hope after the Californian center in which he was treated, was declared in remission in the lead-up to the International AIDS Conference, which begins on Friday in Montreal, Canada.

He is the second this year to be announced as cured after a US woman was dubbed by researchers as the New York patient who had also gone into remission in February.

The City of Hope patient, just like the London and Berlin patients before him, achieved lasting remission after a bone marrow transplant to treat cancer.

The Duesseldorf patient has also previously been said to have reached remission, potentially bringing the number cured to five.

An infectious disease specialist at the City of Hope, Jana Dickter, told AFP that since the latest patient was the oldest to achieve remission so far, his success could be promising for older HIV sufferers who also live with cancer.

Beyond grateful

"When I was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, like many others, I thought it was a death sentence," said the patient, who prefers not to be identified, adding, "I never thought I would live to see the day that I no longer have HIV," he said in a statement at the City of Hope. "I am beyond grateful."

Dickter commented on what the patient had told her during the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, saying, "He saw many of his friends and loved ones become very ill and ultimately succumb to the disease.".

He had "full-blown AIDS" for a while, but was part of the first trials of antiretroviral therapy, which now allows many HIV patients to live with the virus, she said.

After being diagnosed with leukemia in 2019, he received a bone marrow transplant with stem cells from an unrelated donor with a rare mutation in which part of the CCR5 gene is missing, making people resistant to HIV.

He waited until he got his Covid-19 vaccination in March 2021 to stop taking antiretrovirals and has been in remission from both cancer and HIV since.

Reduced chemotherapy worked for him, and this potentially allows older HIV patients with cancer to get the treatment, Dickter said, but warned of this "complex procedure with serious side effects" that "isn't a suitable option for most people with HIV."

HIV expert at the University of California, San Francisco, Steven Deeks, told AFP that the "first thing you do in a bone marrow transplant is you destroy your own immune system temporarily," adding that "You would never do this if you didn't have cancer."

Sharon Lewin, the president-elect of the International AIDS Society which convenes the conference, said that "A cure remains the Holy Grail of HIV research," adding, "We have seen a handful of individual cure cases before and the two presented today provide continued hope for people living with HIV and inspiration for the scientific community."

Deeks, an author of the new research also presented at the conference, said it was an "unprecedented deep dive into the biology of the infected cell" because researchers found that a cell with HIV has many particular characteristics; it can proliferate better than most, it is hard to kill, and it is resilient and difficult to detect, he said. "This is why HIV is a lifelong infection."

However, cases such as the City of Hope patient opened a potential door towards a broadly available cure, possibly using CRISPR gene-editing technology, as per Deeks, who said, "I think that if you can get rid of HIV, and get rid of CCR5, the door by which HIV gets in, then you can cure someone," adding, "It's theoretically possible we're not there yet to give someone a shot in the arm that will deliver an enzyme that will go into the cells and knock out CCR5, and knock out the virus. But that's science fiction for now."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-gives-us-proposal-on-demarcation-of-lebanese-maritime

'Israel' gives US proposal on demarcation of Lebanese maritime borders

The Israeli occupation on Tuesday gave the United States an updated proposal regarding "Tel Aviv's" maritime borders with Lebanon, Israeli newspaper Walla! said on Wednesday.

"The Israeli position was given to the White House ahead of US mediator Amos Hochstein's visit to Lebanon next week in light of the indirect talks between [Beirut and 'Tel Aviv']," two Israeli officials familiar with the matter said.

The Biden administration, along with the Israeli and Lebanese governments, hopes that Hoschstein's visit to Beirut lead to a breakthrough and subsequently an agreement.

This comes in light of threats from Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who warned the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, saying there were no Israeli targets in the sea or on land that are out of the reach of the resistance's precision missiles.

National Security Adviser Eyal Holata and Israeli chief negotiator Udi Adiri talked with US envoy Hochstein and Biden's senior adviser on Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, about the negotiations with Lebanon.

"The goal of this conversation was to convey the updated Israeli position so that Hoschstein can present it during the negotiations in Beirut," senior Israeli officials said.

"Israel's position entails confirmation that it is ready to offer concessions regarding the disputed area with Lebanon, but it will not offer any concessions outside the disputed area," the officials added.

"Tel Aviv" clarified that it has "economic rights" to any gas field discovered in the disputed area, but it is ready to offer concessions regarding the possible revenues.

"Israel" has presented the United States with a blueprint for the "fair distribution of potential profits" from any gas field discovered in the disputed area, senior Israeli officials said.

Israeli occupation Reserve Major General Amos Gilad called on "Tel Aviv" to take Sayyed Nasrallah's threats made against the Israeli occupation on Monday seriously.

"Nasrallah's threats must be taken seriously, and [the Israeli occupation forces] must prepare," Gilad told Israeli public broadcaster KAN. "If they attack the Karish rig or any other rig, that will definitely lead to a confrontation that can have many dimensions."

Warning the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said there were no Israeli targets in the sea or land out of the reach of the Resistance's precision missiles.

Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that the Israeli occupation realized, through the July war, that confrontation with the resistance was dangerous and that the resistance's capabilities were much more than just confrontations at the border.

"Since 2006, the enemy does not dare take any action against Lebanon," the Resistance leader said, noting that "Tel Aviv" was only resorting to run-of-the-mill operations that leave no mark in Lebanon.

The Israeli military and security apparatuses are taking Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's threats seriously, Israeli Channel 12 said Wednesday, noting that the Israeli occupation forces are raising their level of alert.

"These are not the first threats that Nasrallah makes. But this time, he is specifying the time and making clear cut conditions regarding the start of the extraction of gas from the Karish gas field," the Israeli TV channel said.