An out-of-season sandstorm has struck the Middle East causing thousands to have medical issues and reducing visibility in region.
The Times of Israel called the storm “a brownish-yellow fog throughout the country.” The storm has been working across Israel and into Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. Meteorologists say the storm will be followed by an intense heat wave that will last through the weekend.
Health officials through the region are telling residents to stay inside to avoid breathing problems. Schools were either closed to keep children inside to avoid the fine particulates in the air.
The head of a major hospital in Damascus told reporters that over 1,200 people had been treated for breathing problems. At least 100 of the victims were children.
“It is unbelievable. This must be some test,” said Mansour, a Damascus resident, who gave only his first name told the Associated Press. “It’s hot. Temperatures are high and above that we have this dusty weather! It is something beyond reasonable. Enough please!”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that some villages such as al-Mayadeen were so short of medical supplies that they ran out of oxygen canisters and had to turn away victims of the storm.
A Lebanese TV station has added the Arabic letter “N” to their name as a show of solidarity with the persecuted Christians of Iraq.
A news anchor that wore a T-shirt during an evening newscast emblazoned with the letter made the announcement. Arabic language speakers pronounce the letter “N” as “noon”.
“From Mosul to Beirut, we are all Noon,” anchor Dima Sadeq said. “We are all targets to be pointed at with a finger or a sword because we’re different, whether in terms of sex, religion or color of our skin. We are all targets of murder in this insane era. The era of radicals, dictatorships and Israel’s hatred. Only here [in the region,] are children killed on beaches, churches closed down, mosques raided, shrines of prophets destroyed.”
Viewers of the TV station flooded phone lines and websites with positive responses.
The letter has become a symbol of solidarity with Christians in Iraq because the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria sprays the letter on the homes and businesses of Christians. The letter was chosen because it’s the first letter in Nazarene, the term they use for followers of Christ.
The exodus of Christians from the northern parts of Iraq has reached levels that some major cities have virtually no Christians left. The city of Mosul does not have a single operating church within its borders.
Hamas terrorists could be attempting to create a second front in their battle to kill Israel’s citizens.
A spokesman for Lebanon’s military says they found a group of terrorists working at a rocket launching location in their territory and there were at least two working rockets ready for launch into Israel at the time of the discovery. A man was arrested after soldiers followed a blood trail from the site.
Friday morning, rockets from that area were fired into Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces responded by firing heavy artillery into the area. At least 25 shells struck the site near the Lebanese city of Kfar Shuba.
A spokesman for the IDF said at this point they are not going to say if the attack was symbolic or an attempt to open up battle on a second front. They have referred the situation to the United Nations force in Lebanon for investigation into the incident.
A sniper with the Lebanese army launched an unprovoked attack on an Israeli soldier. The soldier was driving along the border late Sunday night when he was shot by the sniper.
Two Lebanese soldiers were then killed early Monday morning by Israeli troops.
The shootings are causing concern that the area will see hostilities resume after a mostly peaceful season after a one-month war in 2006. Israeli officials said they do not want to see an escalation of the violence and they would take no actions to add to that atmosphere.
Lebanon’s National News Agency confirmed the killing of the Israeli soldier was by a member of their army but did not mention why the sniper chose to assassinate the Israeli.
United Nations officials have called on both sides to provide information for an investigation into the incident without delay.
The state department has ruled all non-essential personnel must leave Lebanon and any staff in southern Turkey can voluntarily leave due to “current tensions within the region.”
The state department also said that U.S. citizens in the area need to remain alert because they are in “potential danger.” Continue reading →
The United Nations’ refugee agency has reported the total number of Syrians fleeing the country’s civil war has climbed to over 2 million.
The number includes only those who have registered as refugees with U.N. related organizations so the number could be higher. The total has risen more than one million in the last six months. Continue reading →
Two Islamic clerics have been arrested in connection with bombing in Tripoli last week that killed 42 people and wounded hundreds.
Sheikhs Hashem Minkara and Ahmad Gharib were arrested with three other men and charged with forming a terror cell to attack government buildings. The clerks are believed to have close ties to a Sunni group in Syria. Continue reading →
At least four rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday afternoon with one confirmed to strike near Nahariya.
No one was killed in the assault although several residents were treated by hospitals and clinics for “shock.” Continue reading →
The Israeli Counter Terrorism Bureau has released a report showing that al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists groups are planning a major focus on Israeli and Jewish targets over the next few weeks.
The report listed dozens of nations where the CTB was “concrete” proof of a terrorist threat. Israeli citizens were urged to immediately leave nations Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon among others. A travel restriction was put in place to other nations such as Libya, Tunisia and Sudan. Continue reading →
The European Union reached a unanimous agreement to list the Lebanese group Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Hezbollah, backed by the Iranian government, has been playing a role in helping Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fight against the rebels attempting to overthrow his government. Continue reading →
