Israel launches ‘series of airstrikes’ on Lebanon

The attack came hours after a civilian was killed by a rocket fired from its northern neighbor

Israel said on Wednesday that it has begun a “series of strikes” in Lebanon, in a move that will likely elevate fears of a major military confrontation between the neighbors, following months of cross-border violence.

The Israeli military did not immediately offer further details of the airstrikes, which came hours after at least one person was killed and a further seven were injured in a rocket attack launched from Lebanon.

Footage circulating on social media appears to show areas in the south of Lebanon damaged by the strikes, including in Nabatieh Governorate – deeper into Lebanese territory than many previous attacks.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that has had near-daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces since the onset of the war in Gaza four months ago, did not immediately claim responsibility for the rocket attacks earlier on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah said rockets fired from Lebanese territory would end “when the attack on Gaza stops and there is a ceasefire” between its Palestinian allies and Israel.

“If they [Israel] broaden the confrontation, we will do the same,” Nasrallah declared in a televised statement.

Wednesday’s airstrikes in Lebanon come amid warnings from global leaders of an expanded conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Over the past several months, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from both sides of the Israel-Lebanon frontier due to waves of cross-border fire.

At least 243 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also 30 civilians, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the Hamas attack on October 7 that inflamed regional tensions, the AFP said.

Nine Israeli soldiers and six civilians have also been killed, according to official figures.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, is generally considered to be a more robust fighting force than Hamas, while also being one of the most influential political factions in Lebanon. According to the group’s leadership, Hezbollah has about 100,000 fighters within its ranks – a figure that exceeds Lebanon’s official state military.

According to Lebanese media outlet Al-Mayadeen, a mother and her two children were killed by the airstrikes in the town of Souaneh.

https://www.rt.com/news/592425-israel-begins-series-strikes-lebanon/

Penn State Professor Charged with Animal Cruelty After Being Caught Having Sex with His Pet Dog, Faces Additional Charges After Video Emerges of Him Sticking “Tree Branch” and “Lollipop” Into His Butt in Public Setting

In a shocking development, an acclaimed Penn State professor, Themis Matsoukas, who was previously charged with animal cruelty after being caught engaging in bestiality with his pet dog, is now facing additional charges following the revelation of further disturbing acts captured on videos, New York Post reported.

The case has now escalated with the emergence of new footage that allegedly shows Matsoukas inserting a tree branch and a lollipop into his anus in a public park.

According to reports from Fox 43, authorities discovered 55 videos on Matsoukas’ electronic devices that depicted acts of indecency. These devices were seized under a search warrant tied to the initial charges.

The affidavit obtained by Onward State details various lewd behaviors exhibited by Matsoukas, including public masturbation on a picnic table and in a lake at the park, as well as climbing a tree while naked and engaging in obscene acts with objects like a Tootsie Pop and a control handle of a DCNR John Deere crawler.

The news outlet added that Matsoukas also deposited fecal matter on leased campgrounds and in a service area adjacent to DCNR machinery, as well as applied bodily fluids to a glass table at a leased campsite.

As a result of these disturbing revelations, Matsoukas has been charged with multiple counts of burglary, criminal trespass, indecent exposure, open lewdness, and disorderly conduct for obscene gestures.

New York Post reported:

Huntingdon County District Judge Douglas Gummo released him Monday on $50,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 21.

Defense lawyer Matt ​McClenahen told the Centre Daily Times in a message that it would be “inappropriate for me to comment at this time outside of court.”

Huntingdon County District Attorney Dave Smith suggested Monday that no additional charges are expected to be filed since no other videos have been found.

“To my knowledge, we’re satisfied that the investigation is complete with regard to the filing of additional charges,” Smith said, according to the outlet.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/penn-state-professor-charged-animal-cruelty-after-being/

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner Sounds Alarm: We Have Access to Information on a “Serious National Security Threat”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) just sent a chilling and vague message minutes ago, causing alarm bells to go off on Capitol Hill.

On X, Rep. Turner revealed that the Committee had discovered information related to “a serious national security threat” and has made the information available to all members.

He did not specify in his message what this threat entailed. He did urge Joe Biden to declassify all information related to this threat so that America and its allies could formulate a response to it.

Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat.

I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.

Jake Sherman from PunchBowl News reports that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will brief House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT) and Turner tomorrow on the intelligence threat that Turner is referring to.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/breaking-house-intelligence-committee-chairman-mike-turner-sounds/

Israel caught ‘faking’ Gaza aid

A post by the country’s official X (formerly Twitter) account acknowledged that photos from Moldova were used as “illustrations” of assistance to Palestinians

Israel admitted on Tuesday to using stock footage of a Moldovan refugee camp in a video it posted on X touting its claims that it has provided tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza during the war.

The country’s official X account deleted the video that included the offending photo, which it insisted had been used “for illustrative purposes only," and promised to “ensure transparency" in subsequent visuals.

BBC reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh exposed the fraudulent clip on Monday, posting side-by-side screenshots of Israel’s video, which claimed West Jerusalem had sent “23,000 tons of tents and shelter equipment” to Gaza, and the original image on the stock photo service iStock.

The photo’s description clearly reads, “Land arranged on the territory of Moldova with tents near the border of Ukraine for refugees coming from the war in Ukraine.”

Israel claimed in the video that it had sent 11,000 aid trucks into Gaza since declaring war on Hamas in October, including 140,000 tons of food, 1,000 water trucks, and 17,000 tons of medical supplies, in addition to the shelter equipment supposedly sent.

While the UN estimates that 2 million Palestinians in Gaza – nearly all of the territory’s 2.1 million residents – are currently dependent upon such humanitarian aid, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society last month highlighted a steep decline in aid deliveries since the war began.

The organization said it received an average of just 94.5 aid trucks per day during the last three months, compared to the 500 that entered daily before October 7, even as Israel has continued to insist there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, alternately blaming Hamas and Egypt for the trickle passing through the Rafah crossing.

Many commenters on X questioned why, if Israel was truly providing the Palestinians with such a humanitarian bounty, it did not use photographs of its own aid deliveries.

West Jerusalem last month explicitly accused 13 employees of the UN’s Palestinian refugee aid agency, UNRWA, of assisting Hamas during the October 7 raid that left 1,200 Israelis dead and another 240 captured, causing over a dozen countries to pull hundreds of millions of dollars in funding without an investigation.

The accusation came days after the International Court of Justice’s preliminary ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. West Jerusalem was compelled to increase aid deliveries to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe afflicting Gaza’s Palestinian population, most of whom are experiencing famine, according to the UN. Israel has killed over 28,000 Palestinians there, mostly women and children, since the war began, according to the territory’s health ministry, and over 85% of residents have been displaced by Israeli bombardment.

https://www.rt.com/news/592447-israel-admits-gaza-moldova-fake/

Jailed former leader’s party excluded from coalition government despite win

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has alleged widespread vote tampering in last week’s election

A coalition involving two of Pakistan’s major parties has agreed to form a new government, political leaders in the South Asian country said on Tuesday. The accord consigns PTI, the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, to a political wilderness, despite its candidates receiving the most votes in last week’s election.

At a Tuesday press conference in Islamabad, it was confirmed by the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), along with four other parties, that a coalition government would be formed in order to “take Pakistan out of difficulty.”

It was also stated that PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif would be the sole candidate for prime minister – a move backed by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Khan, who is currently in prison and who was barred from standing in the election, alleged in a Tuesday statement issued by the PTI/Tehreek-e-Insaf party that the vote had been undermined by large-scale electoral rigging.

“I warn against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes,” Khan, who was PM from 2018 until his ouster in 2022, said. “Such daylight robbery will not only be a disrespect to the citizens but will also push the country’s economy further into a downward spiral.”

Pakistan’s caretaker government and election commission deny accusations of vote tampering.

The announcement of the formation of a new executive follows several days of uncertainty across a divided political landscape in the country. Last week’s election results saw candidates backed by PTI win 93 of 266 directly elected seats, but not enough for a majority.

By comparison the PPP won 54 seats and the PML-N took 73, according to the country’s election commission.

The new coalition is of a similar background to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) formed in 2020 with the intention of removing Khan from office. Following Khan’s exit in April 2022, the PDM ruled with Shehbaz Sharif as leader. However, it struggled to set its agenda amid some claims in Pakistan that it was not suitably addressing the country’s economic crisis.

This time around, Sharif pledged to take “revolutionary steps” to combat a contracting economy in the country of 241 million people as it battles slow growth and record inflation, along with an increase in militant violence.

Pakistan averted a sovereign debt default last year following a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Khan, formerly one of Pakistan’s biggest sports stars, is currently jailed on charges of corruption and revealing state secrets. His party was barred from the election, forcing its candidates to run as independents.

https://www.rt.com/news/592446-pakistan-khan-coaltion-government/