INTERNACIONAL
Israeli strike on Hezbollah more devastating than 2024 pager attack, IDF says
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Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group, saw its command structure across Lebanon come under what Israeli officials described as one of the most devastating blows of the war April 8.
Nearly simultaneously, explosions tore through Beirut, Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon as roughly 50 Israeli aircraft struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets.
The targets were not rocket launchers or weapons depots, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but the nerve centers of the organization — command rooms, intelligence headquarters and offices where Hezbollah commanders planned the next stage of the fight.
BROTHER OF MICHIGAN SYNAGOGUE ATTACKER WAS HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST, ISRAEL ALLEGES
The strike marked a new phase in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted March 2 after Hezbollah entered the conflict in support of Iran, one day after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Since then, Hezbollah has fired rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles into northern Israel, while Israel has responded with widening airstrikes and a ground offensive inside southern Lebanon.
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Lebanon after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel during the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. (Karamallah Daher/Reuters)
«Within only a minute, the IDF eliminated 250 Hezbollah terrorists in three areas simultaneously,» the Israeli military said in a statement, adding the assessment is still ongoing.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesman, told Fox News Digital the strike was the result of weeks of intelligence work.
Israeli intelligence agencies tracked Hezbollah operatives as they moved between apartments, offices and safe houses across Lebanon.
«The timing had to do with the preparations,» Shoshani said. «There was weeks of amazing intelligence.»
Asked whether the operation showed Israel still has deep penetration inside Hezbollah despite months of war, Shoshani pointed to the scale of the attack.
«The fact that we were able to find 250 terrorists hiding in different locations in Lebanon, many of them in locations for recent weeks, eliminating them in real time, I think the capabilities speak for themselves,» he said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Wednesday’s strikes.
«The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific,» said United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. «Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief.»
«This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases,» Hezbollah said in a statement.
IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON
An explosion erupts from a building after an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. (Hussein Malla/AP)
The strike drew a comparison to the «beeper» operation in September 2024, when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives exploded almost simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria in an operation widely attributed to Israel.
The blasts killed more than 40 people and wounded roughly 4,000, according to Lebanese authorities, while Hezbollah later acknowledged that about 1,500 fighters were taken out of action. The operation shattered Hezbollah’s communications network and became the benchmark in Israel for a strike that fundamentally changed the battlefield.
«The beeper had more … effective injuries. That was the purpose of it,» Shoshani said. «But both targeted hundreds of terrorists and within 60 seconds.»
Like the beeper operation, he said, the April 8 strike was intended not just to kill operatives but to throw Hezbollah into disarray.
«It was important to the aspect of creating disarray, of breaking their chain of command, breaking their command and patrol capabilities and kind of tilting the organization out of balance,» he said.
A former Israeli intelligence official, speaking on background, said the strike may not have reached the level of the beeper operation, but it appeared to hit an unusually broad layer of Hezbollah’s middle ranks.
Hezbollah remains in shock from the blow, according to the former official, even if that has not yet been reflected in a drop in its rocket fire.
But he cautioned against judging the operation only by the number of people killed.
The real measure, he said, is whether the strike changes the course of the war and leaves Hezbollah less able to operate.
The IDF said many of those killed belonged to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s most capable and best-trained combat unit, intelligence apparatus, missile units and aerial Unit 127.
The Israeli military said most of the targets were embedded inside civilian areas.
«Most of the infrastructure that was struck was located within the heart of the civilian population,» the IDF said.
HEZBOLLAH, IRAN UNLEASH COORDINATED CLUSTER BOMB STRIKES ON ISRAEL IN MAJOR ESCALATION
The Israeli military said most of the targets were embedded inside civilian areas. (Fadel Itani/AFP)
Shoshani said Israel warned civilians to evacuate before the strikes, but Hezbollah moved its operatives into new civilian locations.
«When we gave the warnings for areas, civilians moved out, then Hezbollah saw that they moved out and started hiding behind civilians in new locations,» he said.
Despite the blow, Israeli officials say Hezbollah remains a major threat. Shoshani said the group, which before the war possessed between 150,000 and 200,000 rockets and missiles, still has the ability to fire into Israel.
«They still are a real threat for our civilians,» he said.
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Smoke billows after strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel during the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
The strike comes as Israel and Lebanon opened their first direct talks in more than three decades at the U.S. State Department in Washington.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has signaled willingness to discuss normalization and the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted there will be no ceasefire until Hezbollah is dismantled and pushed back from the border.
Within hours of the diplomatic opening, Israeli warplanes again struck Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report.
israel, benjamin netanyahu, conflicts, lebanon, terrorism
INTERNACIONAL
Andy Burnham está a un voto de quedarse con el liderazgo de los Laboristas y se perfila como el sucesor de Keir Starmer en el Reino Unido
El parlamentario Andy Burnham, quien representa al sector de la izquierda moderada en el oficialismo británico, está a punto de convertirse en el próximo primer ministro del Reino Unido, tras asegurarse este jueves el respaldo del 80 por ciento de los legisladores laboristas en una contienda por el liderazgo del partido.
El probable sucesor de Keir Starmer consiguió el respaldo de 322 diputados de los 403 miembros laboristas del Parlamento, solo uno por debajo del umbral que anularía matemáticamente la posibilidad de que haya otro candidato.
En el primer día del plazo de presentación de candidaturas al liderazgo laborista, el exalcalde de Gran Manchester, ahora diputado por Makerfield, logró situarse a tan solo un voto de los 323 apoyos necesarios para que sea matemáticamente imposible que un rival se presente contra él.
Burhnham también superó con creces el mínimo de 81 diputados -el 20 % del total de parlamentarios laboristas- que se necesita para poder postularse a primer ministro. El plazo para la candidaturas a líder del Partido Laborista vence el próximo miércoles.
Este es exactamente el número de votos que quedan por registrar, por lo que todos ellos deberían apoyar a un único rival alternativo para evitar una victoria de Burnham. Esto es algo poco probable, ya que algunos diputados que no han emitido todavía su voto lo han respaldado públicamente.
Burnham dijo en redes sociales que estaba “profundamente agradecido” por el apoyo de los diputados laboristas, que “refleja una creencia compartida de que el Reino Unido necesita un nuevo enfoque de la política”.
La propuesta del laborista consiste en «poder fuera de Westminster, una economía reconfigurada para la gente común y un buen crecimiento en cada código postal», escribió en X. «Quiero empoderar a los diputados para que traigan las experiencias de sus electores al corazón del gobierno, y aprovechar toda la amplitud de nuestro movimiento laborista, recurriendo a todas sus tradiciones y creencias en pos de un propósito común», agregó.
Además de superar el umbral de los 323 avales, Burnham necesitaría también obtener la nominación de al menos tres de las 31 sociedades socialistas y sindicatos afiliados al Partido Laborista, aunque se espera que este sea un mero trámite formal.
De confirmarse que el umbral se supera, y que no existe ningún candidato alternativo, Burnham sería declarado formalmente como nuevo líder del Partido Laborista el próximo 17 de julio y accedería al cargo de primer ministro el día 20, tras una reunión con el rey Carlos III.
As the first day of nominations draws to a close, I am deeply grateful to the 322 Labour MPs who have put their trust in me and nominated me for Leader of the Labour Party.
Their support comes from across the PLP and reflects a shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to…
— Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) July 9, 2026
Entre los 322 diputados que han respaldado la candidatura del exalcalde de Manchester se incluyen gran parte de los ministros y otros miembros de alto rango en el actual Gobierno del Ejecutivo de Keir Starmer, encabezados por el vice primer ministro británico, David Lammy, la ministra de Economía, Rachel Reeves o la actual titular de Exteriores, Yvette Cooper.
La democracia parlamentaria del Reino Unido permite que los partidos gobernantes cambien de líder y, por lo tanto, de primer ministro, sin necesidad de una elección general. La próxima elección nacional recién tendría que celebrarse en 2029.
Starmer anunció en junio que tiene previsto renunciar tan pronto como su partido de centroizquierda eligiera a un sucesor. Fue elegido con una victoria aplastante en julio de 2024, pero luego de dos años anunció su salida del cargo,marcada por tropiezos y errores de juicio que erosionaron su posición ante su partido y el público.
Burnham, quien también ostentó cargos de secretario de estado, pasó casi una década al frente del Gran Manchester, en el noroeste de Inglaterra, antes de regresar al Parlamento al ganar una elección especial el mes pasado. Ahora, en el espacio de unas pocas semanas, se ha convertido en el candidato más firme para asumir como premier.
El británico se comprometió a revertir casi dos décadas de bajo crecimiento desde la crisis financiera de 2008 mediante un enfoque bautizado como “manchesterismo”, que consiste en aprovechar dinero privado y público para invertir en áreas como transporte, vivienda e infraestructura.
Con información de EFE y AP.
INTERNACIONAL
Democrats are ‘completely stained’ after backing Platner through multiple scandals, Republicans charge
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Graham Platner is taking his name off the ballot, but the trail of debris left from the mounting controversies that brought down his nearly year-long insurgent Senate campaign in Maine is giving Republicans ammunition to use against Democrats in other crucial midterm races.
«Democrats rolled in the mud with Platner, and now they are completely stained by their association with this sick monster,» Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters charged in a statement minutes after the Marine Corp veteran announced on Wednesday night that he was suspending his campaign.
Republicans are now linking Platner to Democrats in a handful of House and Senate races that will directly impact the midterm battle for control of Congress.
Platner, a populist Democrat backed last September by leading national progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and very expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.
PLANTER CALLS IT QUITS, DROPS SENATE BID AMID MOUNTING SCANDALS
Graham Platner, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, June 9, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Platner’s exit from the race came two days after an explosive report on Monday afternoon contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. It was only after that report when a chorus of calls emerged from top Democrats across the country for him to immediately drop out.
But Platner, the combat veteran and oyster farmer whose campaign caught fire and steamrolled the Democratic establishment, had already been forced on defense ahead of the his primary victory last month.
Past inflammatory online comments made on a now-deleted Reddit account came back to haunt him at the same time he was reeling from revelations of a now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol. Then reports that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married came right before allegations from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes were made public.
Platner repeatedly called the allegations of violence untrue and dismissed his tattoo and Reddit posts as actions taken by a younger man who has now changed.
And addressing the latest rape allegation, a visibly irritated Platner charged in his suspension video on Wednesday: «This is all false. The things that have been claimed did not happen. It is not real.»
PLATNER’S GONE: HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT AND WHO’S SCRAMBLING TO REPLACE HIM
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
But Republicans see an opportunity to use Platner’s toxic baggage as a cudgel against some Democrats on the ballot in key races this year — especially those who once backed the Maine candidate or defended him against previous allegations.
«Every Democrat that endorsed Graham Platner endorsed a rapist, and every Democrat that stayed silent was complicit,» Gruters argued.
The GOP quickly took aim at Matt Dunlap, the Democratic nominee in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a Democrat-controlled open seat in a mostly rural district President Donald Trump carried in the past three presidential elections that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is heavily targeting.
Dunlap endorsed Platner and appeared with him at a campaign event days before Maine’s June 9 primary.
«Out of touch freak Matt Dunlap might be okay with Nazi lovers and men who abuse women, but in November, he’ll see for himself that Mainers aren’t. Dunlap’s embrace of this vile human is disqualifying,» NRCC Spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole charged.
On Monday, amid a wave of Democrats calling on Platner to call it quits, Dunlap said in a statement, «The allegations reported today are serious, and they deserve to be treated with the gravity they warrant. As such, I am calling on Graham Platner to withdraw from the race for Senate so we can all come together behind a nominee who can successfully carry the torch in November.»
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
In neighboring battleground New Hampshire, the NRCC took aim at Stefany Shaheen, the polling front runner in the September primary in the state’s 1st Congressional District, another crucial swing seat that is among roughly two to three dozen that will determine if the GOP holds its razor-thin House majority in the midterms.
«Granite Staters will hold Shaheen accountable for her appalling judgment,» O’Toole argued.
Shaheen never endorsed Platner, but did not explicitly condemn him until Monday, when she said in a statement that «the allegations of sexual assault are extremely disturbing.»
«Graham Platner needs to drop out of this race. I stand with the women who bravely came forward,» she added.
The Shaheen campaign told Fox News Digital that Republicans are being hypocritical, and pointed to President Donald Trump as an example of the double standard.
«Stefany Shaheen called for Graham Platner to drop out. Republicans hacks are total hypocrites still excusing Donald Trump even after he was forced to pay millions in damages to a woman he sexually abused,» Shaheen campaign manager Emma Greenberg told Fox News Digital.
«They have nothing to say about the twenty-eight women who have accused Trump of sexually abusing them. Stefany is going to keep taking on Donald Trump’s corrupt self-dealing and misogyny along with the hacks who keep enabling it.»
The general election winner in the congressional race will succeed four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for the Senate this year.
Former GOP Sen. John E. Sununu, the Republican front-runner in that race, took aim at Pappas over what he charged were the «failures of Chris Pappas when it comes to Graham Platner.»
The statement spotlights a critical piece on Pappas penned by the conservative-leaning New Hampshire Journal.
Pappas, who never endorsed Platner, also took to social media on Monday, saying, «The allegations against Graham Platner are reprehensible, and he must step aside.»
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The Pappas campaign also argued that Sununu, who is backed byTrump, is being hypocritical.
«Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, bragged about sexually harassing women and girls, has publicly defamed and demeaned survivors, and is mentioned in the Epstein files over 38,000 times — and John Sununu accepted Trump’s endorsement anyway,» Chris Pappas for Senate spokesperson Gates MacPherson said. «Chris Pappas called on Platner to step aside immediately. John Sununu still stands with Donald Trump. They are not the same.»
The Senate showdown for the Democrat-controlled seat in New Hampshire is one of roughly a dozen races that will determine if Republicans retain their majority in the chamber.
Democrats question how effective any concerted push by the GOP to use Platner as ammunition may be with voters this autumn.
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«Battleground district voters don’t care about Graham Platner, CJ Warnke, communications director at the House Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting congressional Democrats, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Warnke, pivoting to affordability, argued that voters «care about how Republicans broke their promise lower costs by passing a toxic agenda of tariffs, new wars, and devastating health care cuts. Meanwhile, Democrats are running on making life more affordable and rooting out corruption, and in November we’re going to win.»
politics, graham platner, midterm elections, democrats elections, republicans, elections, maine
El tráfico ilícito de tabaco, alcohol, agroquímicos y electrónicos se ha afianzado en Centroamérica por una serie de fallas estructurales y regulatorias que persisten en la región, según un informe reciente de la Alianza Transnacional para Combatir el Comercio Ilícito (Tracit).
La presentación de la “Evaluación del desempeño de Centroamérica en el Índice de Comercio Ilícito” tuvo lugar en la Ciudad de Panamá, con la participación de representantes empresariales y expertos, según informó EFE. El estudio examina la situación de 158 economías en seis rubros distintos, entre ellos el entorno impositivo, la regulación, los controles gubernamentales, la corrupción y los sistemas para combatir el blanqueo de capitales.
El informe destaca que la falta de control aduanero en las zonas francas y la debilidad de los intermediarios en la cadena de suministros facilitan el flujo ilegal de una amplia gama de productos. Además, señala la existencia de una economía informal robusta, el uso indebido de zonas francas y una capacidad desigual de monitoreo estatal que favorecen la expansión del comercio ilícito en la región.
Según el índice de 2025, Costa Rica y Panamá encabezan la lista centroamericana con 51.2 y 49.6 puntos respectivamente. Les siguen El Salvador, Belice, Guatemala, Honduras y Nicaragua, estos últimos con puntuaciones que reflejan una mayor vulnerabilidad.
Dentro de América Latina, Uruguay se distingue como el país mejor ubicado. El promedio global, de 49.9 puntos sobre 100, indica que la mayoría de los gobiernos en el mundo no está preparado para prevenir o mitigar el comercio ilícito.
El informe de Tracit sostiene que, aunque algunos países centroamericanos muestran avances, la región en su conjunto sigue enfrentando obstáculos significativos para controlar la circulación ilegal de productos, de acuerdo con lo reportado por EFE.
El documento menciona que la Zona Libre de Colón en Panamá y la de Corozal en Belice son focos críticos, ya que manejan altos volúmenes de reexportaciones con baja transparencia sobre los beneficiarios finales y un mínimo de inspección física de mercancías de alto riesgo, tales como cigarrillos y destilados.
La investigación advierte que estos factores, junto a la corrupción arraigada y la informalidad, permiten que el comercio ilícito de bienes como tabaco, bebidas alcohólicas, electrónicos, medicamentos y productos agrícolas falsificados o adulterados se mantenga activo y conectado a nivel regional.
Entre los productos más afectados por el comercio ilegal se encuentran los cigarrillos, las bebidas alcohólicas y los electrónicos, principalmente de origen asiático.
A esto se suman medicamentos falsificados —antibióticos, analgésicos, tratamientos contra la gripe y productos dermatológicos— y la circulación de plaguicidas, fertilizantes y semillas adulterados o robados. Este flujo ilícito representa un riesgo para la salud y la seguridad alimentaria.
Las redes de comercio ilegal aprovechan las brechas en el monitoreo de la cadena de suministro y la falta de inspecciones efectivas para mover mercancía a gran escala en toda la región.
El informe señala que los gobiernos centroamericanos reconocen cada vez más el comercio ilícito como un asunto prioritario y han comenzado a establecer medidas de control y salvaguardas. Tracit propone que las zonas francas sean declaradas formalmente bajo jurisdicción aduanera, con derechos plenos para inspeccionar y controlar almacenes y puntos de entrada o salida.
Según el documento, “los crecientes esfuerzos de Centroamérica por fortalecer la transparencia y la integridad de la cadena de suministro, junto con los avances continuos para abordar las limitaciones de capacidad institucional y alinear los marcos regulatorios con los tratados y normas internacionales, ofrecen una base sólida para aumentar la resiliencia frente al comercio ilícito en toda la región”.
Mientras la región avanza en la coordinación y actualización normativa, el informe de Tracit subraya la necesidad de profundizar en estos esfuerzos para enfrentar el comercio ilícito y proteger tanto la economía como la salud pública.
contrabando,zona fronteriza,cigarrillos,alcohol,agroquímicos,electrónica
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