INTERNACIONAL
Israel bombardea Beirut y despierta fantasmas de guerra en la capital libanesa
Cuando al mediodía de este viernes, Israel lanzó su primera orden de evacuación para los suburbios meridionales de Beirut en cuatro meses del alto el fuego, Sawsan dormía plácidamente en su hogar, a apenas 400 metros del inmueble que el Ejército del país vecino amenazaba con bombardear.
El aviso, apenas hora y media antes de que dos misiles redujeran a escombros el edificio, despertó para muchos residentes del extrarradio del Dahye los fantasmas de un conflicto durante el que sus barrios fueron bombardeados cruentamente, casi siempre tras órdenes de evacuación como la de este viernes.
«Estaba durmiendo cuando el conserje llamó a la puerta para avisarme, me desperté, y vi que tenía muchas llamadas y mensajes de familiares alertándome (…) Puse ropa en una mochila y la primera explosión de aviso me atrapó en el departamento; todo tembló y entonces salí corriendo«, relata Sawsan a EFE.
Los cazas israelíes llevaron a cabo tres simulaciones de ataque a intervalos, hasta que, finalmente, el bombardeo real resonó con fuerza por toda la capital.
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Israel bombardea Beirut y despierta fantasmas de guerra en la capital libanesa
La mujer, de 30 años, explica que el ataque tuvo lugar unos 15 minutos después de que abandonara corriendo su casa en el barrio de Hadath y no esconde que está «asustada» mientras deja pasar el tiempo junto a otros evacuados congregados alrededor de una iglesia no muy lejos de lugar del ataque.
«Cuando escuché el sonido recordé lo que sentía durante la guerra y me sentí fatal. Estaba nerviosa, notaba como mi cuerpo temblaba», afirma la vecina.
Durante la cruenta ofensiva área israelí que golpeó el Líbano entre el 23 de septiembre y el 27 de noviembre de 2024, y que acabó convirtiendo el Dahye en un suburbio fantasma hasta la entrada en vigor de un alto el fuego, Sawsan dormía en el coche o en la calle.
«Ahora estamos otra vez aquí afuera esperando», lamenta.
Las últimas explosiones habían resonado en el Dahye la madrugada del 27 de noviembre, cuando el reloj se acercaba a la entrada en vigor del cese de hostilidades, y desde entonces el suburbio capitalino vivía en calma pese a la repetición de algunos ataques en zonas más meridionales.
Sin embargo, a primera hora de este viernes, dos cohetes fueron lanzados desde el Líbano hacia el norte de Israel, provocando en respuesta una serie de bombardeos contra el sur del territorio libanés, el más grave de los cuales causó al menos tres muertos y 18 heridos en Kfar Tebnit.
Al mediodía, llegó el ataque al lado de Beirut, disparando los miedos a una nueva espiral de violencia.
Farid, otro vecino de Hadath que este viernes tuvo que abandonar su hogar corriendo, reconoce que no se puede sacar de la cabeza la posibilidad de que se reactive la guerra y solo espera que este ataque no sea el inicio de un regreso a la situación que les tocó vivir hasta finales del pasado año.
«Si la guerra vuelve tengo que cuidar de mi mujer, de mis hermanas y padres. Tengo que estar pendiente de mi vida y de la suya, y me preocupa; si ahora pasase algo en mi casa no tendría otro hogar donde vivir», lamenta a EFE el joven, de 32 años.
«Durante la guerra dormíamos en el coche, solo entrábamos a casa de vez en cuando para ducharnos y volvíamos al coche», recuerda.
Por ello, al enterarse de la nueva orden de evacuación israelí lo primer que sintió fue «miedo» a tener que volver a pasar sus días de aquella forma. También le cruzó la mente un pensamiento claro: «No quiero vivir en un coche», comenta Farid.
Mostafa es cristiano, tiene 51 años y el caos de este viernes le dejó atrapado en la carretera de Hadath mientras iba a buscar a su hijo.
Después de que el Ejército israelí avisara en la red social X de que tenía planes de hacer volar por los aires un edificio en la zona, la población salió corriendo a las calles entre disparos al aire para avisar del peligro y las autoridades anunciaron la cancelación de clases en el área.
Sin embargo, pese a todo, Mostafa no comparte los miedos a un nuevo ciclo de violencia de envergadura, ya que está convencido de que el lanzamiento del cohete no tiene nada que ver con Hezbollah.
«No creo que la guerra vaya a volver a empezar, no estoy asustado, solo es una amenaza», zanja, mientras las autoridades libanesas tratan de establecer la autoría del ataque simbólico que despertó a los cazas israelíes.
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A suspected retaliatory drone attack by pro-Iranian militias struck a major U.S. diplomatic facility in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.
The newspaper said the strike hit the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, and no injuries were immediately reported.
Six drones were launched toward the compound, five of which were shot down.
The Post, citing a security official and a State Department alert, reported one drone struck near a guard tower and people at the facility were instructed to «duck and cover.»
GULF STATES INTERCEPT HUNDREDS OF IRANIAN MISSILES AND DRONES, ISSUE JOINT CONDEMNATION WITH US
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey stands with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey, Gen. James Mattis, Gen. Lloyd Austin III and Sgt. Maj. Joseph Allen following a ceremony retiring the ceremonial flag at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center on Dec. 15, 2011. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
«Accountability is ongoing,» the alert said.
Iraq’s ministry of defense condemned the drone and missile attacks targeting the Martyr Muhammad Alaa Air Base and the Martyr Ali Fallah Air Base in a post on X but did not mention the hit on the U.S. facility or Iran directly.
«In response to these sinful aggressions, the Ministry wishes to clarify and confirm the following facts: These air bases are fully sovereign and Iraqi, subject entirely to the authority of the state and the law, and there is no representation of any foreign forces in them under any designation,» the government account wrote.
The security official told The Washington Post the attack was likely conducted by militias affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose umbrella group of Iran-aligned Shiite armed factions that have claimed responsibility for attacks on U.S. forces in the region.
US EMBASSY STRUCK BY DRONES IN SAUDI ARABIA AS AMERICANS INSTRUCTED TO SHELTER IN PLACE
A billboard featuring a photo of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who was killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, is seen along a street in Baghdad on March 9, 2026. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
At the start of Operation Epic Fury, the State Department had urged Americans to depart immediately from more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, warning of «serious safety risks» as the Iran war intensified.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said on March 2 that U.S. citizens should leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The department said Americans who need help arranging departure via commercial means can contact the State Department 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 from abroad or +1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada.
IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
Protesters walk through tear gas during clashes with Iraqi security forces near a bridge leading to the Green Zone in Baghdad on March 1, 2026. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/ via Getty Images)
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Officials warned conditions in the region remain volatile, and security situations could change quickly as fighting tied to the conflict continues.
At least nine U.S. missions, including Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and Israel, issued repeated shelter-in-place directives or advisories at the outset of Iran’s retaliatory attacks against U.S. forces and Israel.
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INTERNACIONAL
Texas conservatives tout record-breaking school choice signups after long battle with teachers unions
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After a decades-long battle with Democrats, teacher unions, and even a few Republicans, Texas conservatives are celebrating the successful launch of what is likely to become the largest school-choice program in the country.
The Lone Star State’s school choice program, called the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, saw record-setting registrations in its first days. Within one hour of the program opening, it had already garnered 8,000 registrations. By the end of the day, it had notched 42,000 signups and three days in, it was sitting at around 62,000 signups. The program is expected to hit 100,000 by its March 17 deadline.
To Texas Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, chief administrator of the program, the program’s early success represents a win for what he called «educational freedom.»
«We figure in the State of Texas, we lead the nation in economic freedom, we might as well lead the nation in educational freedom,» he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS ON VERGE OF CLOSING OVER POSSIBLE TEACHERS STRIKE
The Lone Star State’s school choice program, called the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, saw record-setting registrations in its first days. (Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images; Getty Images)
School choice was a major legislative priority for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed the measure establishing the program into law last May. Under the program, families will receive $10,000 per year to help pay for their child’s private school tuition or costs for home-schooling and virtual learning programs. Children with disabilities can qualify for as much as $30,000 per year.
Though showing early signs of success, getting a school choice program to pass in a state the size of Texas was not easy. As a parent himself, Hancock said he has been an advocate for school choice for the last three decades.
«We got close at times in the state of Texas, where we thought the votes were there, and then we wouldn’t get there. And frankly, a couple of years ago, before Gov. Abbott got involved, I myself was like, ‘OK, I don’t know that we’re ever going to get there,’» he admitted.
While proponents believe the measure gives parents more options by allowing them to take their children out of poor-performing public schools in favor of alternative public or private school choices, others argue it pulls financial resources from Texas’ public school students and subsidizes the private education of wealthy families.
The program saw fierce opposition from the state’s leading teachers unions, including the Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT) and the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA).
Ahead of the program launching, Texas AFT issued a statement calling it a «growing billion-dollar boondoggle.»
TRUMP DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ROLLS OUT LATEST STEP TO EXPAND SCHOOL CHOICE NATIONWIDE
Gov. Greg Abbott laughs during a bill signing in the State Capitol on April 23, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
TSTA argued that Texas could not adequately fund both its public schools and the school choice program, saying, «Our underfunded public schools need all the tax dollars that lawmakers spend on K-12 education.»
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, TSTA President Ovidia Molina vowed to «continue working to kill this expensive and discriminatory program.»
She knocked the state for «most» of the religious schools approved to participate in the program being Christian, which she said, «restrict admission or give preference to children of their own faith.» She also said that «some of these schools refuse admission to LGBTQ students.»
«These schools will use public tax dollars to discriminate against children whose families pay these tax dollars. Public schools do not discriminate. They accept every student who lives in their district, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, family income or whatever, and only public schools should receive our tax revenue,» said Molina.
Hancock, however, pushed back on the idea that the program pits public and private schools against each other. He said Texas, which operates on a constitutionally required balanced budget, was able to fund the school choice program «at the same time that we had record investment in public education and $4 billion in teacher pay, which was a record investment in going directly to paying for our teachers there within the public setting.»
MAJOR CITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOSING STUDENTS AS PARENTS SEEK BETTER OPTIONS
School choice was a major legislative priority for Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed the measure establishing the program into law last May. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
«We want to be number one, not only in this program, but in education as a whole, both our public schools, our charter schools, and home schools, and private schools,» he explained. «We’re willing to give that investment, and we have our eyes set on it.»
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He framed the opposition to the program as attempts to maintain the status quo and eliminate competition in education.
«It’s the standard pushback, and the reality is no change, no competition, we want the system as is, we don’t want any changes to be involved in it,» he said. «Look, I’m a businessman, and I would love it if in the business I’m in that I had limited or no competition, that I have government protections, that had government funding me, that lived within all those protections. I mean, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want those protections? But that’s not good for… the students, the children.»
«What’s the best for children is competition,» he went on.
Further, he believes the huge number of signups indicates how badly needed the program is.
«I think by opening this up and then the enormous turnout we had, the record turnout we hit, that what it shows is we’re meeting the customers’ needs and the customers are Texans.»
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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