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Israeli airstrikes kill at least 11 in Beirut as diplomats push for cease-fire
Israeli airstrikes Saturday killed at least 11 people and injured dozens in central Beirut as diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah..
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the death toll in the country’s capital could rise as emergency responders dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, it said, adding that 63 people were wounded.
Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty Images
The pre-dawn strikes, which destroyed an eight-story building and left a crater in the ground, were the fourth in Beirut in less than a week.
The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region this week in an attempt to broker a cease-fire deal to end the more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hochstein said on Tuesday that he held “very constructive talks” with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah who is mediating on the group’s behalf.
“Specifically today, we have continued to significantly narrow the gaps,” the envoy told reporters after the two-hour meeting. “It’s ultimately the decisions of the parties to reach a conclusion to this conflict. … It is now within our grasp.”
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz to discuss ongoing operations and reaffirm the United States’ “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
In a statement, the Pentagon said Austin also reiterated the U.S. commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that “allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border.”
Israeli bombardment has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded more than 15,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by rockets, drones and missiles in northern Israel and in fighting in Lebanon.
Israel’s military did not issue a warning for residents prior to the strikes in central Beirut and did not comment on the casualties. It warned residents Saturday in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were residing near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 meters (yards) away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centers and weapons storage facilities.
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Wisconsin drunk driver who killed four siblings in wrong-way crash sentenced to decades in prison
A drunken driver who was traveling the wrong way on a Wisconsin highway was sentenced Friday to more than 35 years in prison for a crash that killed four siblings in another vehicle.
“It’s incomprehensible to this court to imagine losing four children,” Judge Raymond Huber said.
Scott Farmer, 48, of Neenah had pleaded no contest to homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle in the crash last December in Waupaca County.
Police said Farmer was driving the wrong way when his truck crashed into an SUV in Weyauwega, about 100 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
The crash killed Daniel Gonzalez, 25, his brother Fabian Gonzalez, 23, and their sisters, Lilian Gonzalez, 14, and Daniela Gonzalez, 9. The four were the children of Kurt Schilling, a pastor at Emmaus Lutheran Church in Waupaca, and his wife, Paulina.
“This court certainly has knowledge that there are a number of wrong-way drivers on Highway 10,” the judge said. “While the Department of Transportation should look at possibly making improvements, it does not obviate Mr. Farmer’s culpability.”
Farmer had a blood-alcohol level of 0.34, more than four times over the legal limit. His legal threshold was even lower because of previous alcohol-related convictions, Huber said.
Defense attorney John Miller Carroll said Farmer excessively drank vodka at home before getting in his truck — “the worst decision of his life.” He said Farmer didn’t see headlights coming toward him on a tricky highway.
The children were buried in Ecuador, the homeland of their mother.
A man’s leg was amputated and he is fighting for his life after he was trapped between rocks of a raging river during a kayaking trip in Tasmania.
Officials said the man, an international tourist in his 60s, was kayaking with friends in the Franklin River when he slipped and became trapped between rocks in the river rapids on Friday afternoon.
Doug Oosterloo, the acting assistant police commissioner for Tasmania police, said the man’s smartwatch made a call for assistance about an hour after getting stuck and it triggered a massive emergency response.
“Several attempts were made to extract the man yesterday evening and overnight but were not successful,” police said in a statement. “The man was made as comfortable as possible as he remained partly submerged in the river.”
Tasmania Police
A medical team stayed with the man throughout the night. After they determined his condition was deteriorating, the decision was made to amputate his leg to facilitate his rescue.
“This rescue was an extremely challenging and technical operation and an incredible effort over many hours to save the man’s life,” Oosterloo said. “Every effort was made to extract the man before the difficult decision to amputate his leg.”
The man was taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said.
Oosterloo told the Australian Associated Press that the other 10 travelers who were with the man had stopped kayaking and were on the shore when the man slipped.
“He was scouting the area and he slipped and fell into the rock crevice,” he said, according to CBS News partner BBC.
