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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Mundial de Fútbol 2026: 42 expertos en infectología advierten que la vacunación es la mejor defensa para los hinchas viajeros
El Mundial de Fútbol 2026 arranca el 11 de junio y, por primera vez en la historia, tres países organizan juntos el torneo: Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Son 48 selecciones, 16 ciudades sede y millones de personas de todo el mundo que se van a mezclar en estadios, aeropuertos y zonas de fanáticos durante más de un mes.
Cuando tantas personas se juntan en un mismo lugar, los riesgos de transmisión de enfermedades infecciosas también suben.
En el último artículo editorial de la revista especializada Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 42 expertos en infectología y medicina del viajero de Perú, Colombia, Argentina, México y Brasil, entre otros países, advirtieron sobre los principales riesgos sanitarios del torneo y pusieron en el tope de la lista una enfermedad que muchos creían superada: el sarampión.
En diálogo con Infobae, el médico Alfonso Rodríguez-Morales, vicepresidente de la Alianza Latinoamericana de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (ALEIMC) y coautor del artículo, afirmó que “si bien los riesgos de transmisión de infecciones existen, queremos promover que las personas tomen medidas de prevención antes del viaje. También alentamos que se fortalezca la vigilancia activa entre las fronteras”.
El sarampión es una enfermedad viral que se transmite por el aire y provoca fiebre alta, sarpullido y, en casos graves, complicaciones neurológicas o pulmonares.
América la había eliminado, pero en noviembre de 2025 la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) confirmó que la región perdió ese logro: el virus volvió a circular de forma sostenida y sin interrupciones. El detonante no fue uno solo.
Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, millones de niños no accedieron a las vacunas por diferentes razones y nunca las recuperaron. A eso se sumó el crecimiento de la desconfianza hacia las vacunas en varios países, lo que dejó a poblaciones enteras en riesgo de exposición al virus.
El resultado es visible en los números: en 2026, los tres países sede del Mundial ya acumulan más de 20.000 casos de sarampión, y 15 de las 16 ciudades donde se juegan partidos tienen brotes activos.
No es casualidad que los expertos lo pongan en el tope de la lista de riesgos. “El sarampión tiene un índice de reproducción alto y por eso la inmunización de la población es clave. Esto significa que cada persona enferma puede contagiar a más de 3 personas si no hay inmunidad previa en la población”, explicó a Infobae el médico infectólogo Cristian Biscayart, coautor y miembro de la Sociedad Argentina de Infectología (SADI).
Por su parte, Carlos Espinal, investigador del Colegio Robert Stempel de Salud Pública y Trabajo Social de la Universidad Internacional de Florida, en Miami, Estados Unidos, señaló a Infobae: «Debemos preocuparnos por el sarampión debido a la epidemia y al número alto de casos en los tres países sedes del Mundial de Fútbol, además de los brotes en Europa y en el resto de países de América Latina».
“Adicionalmente, tenemos un resurgimiento de la tos ferina en el continente y debemos también tener estrategias para identificar rápidamente ante posibles casos de ébola provenientes de África. El 17 de mayo de 2026, la Organización Mundial de la Salud declaró a la epidemia de ébola una emergencia de salud pública de importancia internacional”, afirmó Espinal, quien también fue coautor.
El sarampión no es el único riesgo. Las infecciones respiratorias, como gripe y COVID-19, también se transmiten con facilidad en espacios cerrados y llenos de personas.
La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ya advirtió sobre una variante del virus de la gripe o influenza A H3N2 que tuvo transmisión sostenida en Norteamérica durante la temporada 2025-2026.
Otra amenaza frecuente y menos mencionada es la diarrea del viajero. Bacterias como la Salmonella o la Escherichia coli pueden ingresar al organismo por el consumo de agua o comida contaminada, y el riesgo sube cuando los servicios de alimentación atienden a miles de personas al mismo tiempo.
Lavarse las manos con frecuencia, tomar agua embotellada y evitar alimentos crudos o mal cocidos son las medidas más simples y más efectivas.
En México se agrega otro factor: la presencia de mosquitos, según los expertos. El dengue, el Zika y el chikungunya, que son enfermedades que provocan fiebre, dolores articulares intensos y, en algunos casos, complicaciones graves, siguen en expansión en América.
El repelente adecuado según la edad, la ropa que cubre el cuerpo y los alojamientos con mosquiteros o aire acondicionado son la mejor barrera, de acuerdo con los expertos.
Tras hacer un análisis de la situación de riesgos, los expertos afirmaron en el artículo editorial: “Fortalecer la cobertura de vacunación, mejorar la vigilancia, promover la educación preventiva y fomentar la colaboración internacional serán fundamentales para minimizar el riesgo de enfermedades infecciosas durante este evento deportivo sin precedentes”.
Se debería consultar al médico entre 4 y 8 semanas antes del viaje para revisar el esquema de vacunación, no el día antes de tomar el avión.
Las vacunas prioritarias son la triple viral (que da protección contra sarampión, paperas y rubéola), la de la gripe, la del COVID-19, y las de hepatitis A y B.
“Todos las personas que viajen deben constatar que tienen dos dosis de vacuna doble o triple viral”, enfatizó en diálogo con Infobae la médica Susana Lloveras, coautora y ex-presidente de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Medicina del Viajero (SLAMVI).
Varias de estas enfermedades tienen períodos de incubación (el tiempo que pasa entre el momento del contagio y la aparición de los síntomas) más largos que un vuelo de regreso a casa. Por eso, una persona podría contagiarse un patógeno en el estadio, cruzar la frontera sin ningún síntoma y enfermarse recién días después, ya en su país.
fútbol,Mundial,Copa Mundial,FIFA,trofeo,celebración,victoria,deporte,oro
INTERNACIONAL
Dead voter allegation fuels concerns about voting safeguards as blue state official turns herself in
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Illinois GOP Chairman Bob Grogan is calling on a Democratic Waukegan city official to resign after prosecutors said she submitted her dead mother’s vote-by-mail ballot, a case conservatives say exposes broader concerns about mail-in voting and voter-roll safeguards even though the ballot was caught before it was counted.
A Waukegan, Illinois alderman, Sylvia Sims Bolton, turned herself on Wednesday after prosecutors said she submitted her dead mother’s vote-by-mail ballot during a March primary election, which has resulted in two charges, including one Class 4 Felony.
According to the Office of the State’s Attorney in Lake County, Illinois, a vote-by-mail ballot for Mary Sims, Bolton’s late-mother, was issued in the first tranche of ballots to go out from the Lake County Clerk’s Office in February. Just days later, however, the same office processed the cancellation of Mary Sim’s voter registration after receiving a notification of her passing from the Illinois Department of Public Health via the state’s Board of Elections voter registration system.
After the ballot was dropped by Bolton at an official ballot drop box, it went through the county’s established security and verification protocols, which flagged that the voter’s death record was processed prior to the ballot being submitted and ultimately spurred the sheriff’s office investigation leading to the charges against Bolton.
PA WOMAN CHARGED WITH TRYING TO REGISTER DEAD PEOPLE, INCLUDING OWN FATHER, TO VOTE
A picture of the Illinois state flag is seen next to Illinois alderman, Sylvia Sims Bolton’s mugshot. (Getty Images/Lake County State’s Attorney Office)
«A dead person voting, that you’re actually aware that they’re dead, is the easiest voter fraud to find. It’s like somebody leaning over the cash register and grabbing the cash out of the till,» Grogan told Fox News Digital. «But the complicated stuff, the behind-the-scenes stuff, that’s something that is harder to find … This is a one-off incident and if fraudsters do it right, it could be many, many more votes like this.»
Election integrity advocate Jason Snead, who runs the Honest Elections Project, added that the Bolton case «plainly shows that voter fraud occurs.»
«Mail ballots are especially vulnerable, which is why they should be secured, should never be mailed without a specific request from the voter, and should always be verified before they are tabulated. This case also shows how essential it is to maintain clean voter rolls,» Snead said. «Had the list maintenance process been slower, it is possible this illegal vote would have been counted before the fraud was discovered. Unfortunately, too many states—particularly blue states—actively resist commonsense safeguards, which begs the question: how many other illegal votes have slipped through the system?»
A press release from the Lake County State’s Attorney Office indicated that «all ballot envelopes» get reviewed through automated systems designed to flag irregularities that may require additional review.
Readability issues due to barcode problems, ballots being submitted for the wrong election, ballots that were previously rejected, and ballots associated with a canceled voter registration record, are all examples of irregularities that might be flagged. Other, less obvious irregularities, include whether a ballot is overweight or underweight.
TRUMP CALLS FOR DOJ PROBE INTO MARYLAND MAIL-IN BALLOT ERROR, SUSPECTING ‘CORRUPT’ GOV WES MOORE TIES
Poll workers process ballots at an elections warehouse outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Ed JonesAFP via Getty Images))
The investigation into Bolton, who represents Waukegan’s Ward 1, began in March, and she turned herself in Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for Rinehart’s office. She has been charged with one count of Mutilation of Election Material, a Class 4 felony, for allegedly knowingly falsifying election material, and one count of Disregarding Election Code, a Class A misdemeanor.
If convicted on the felony count, Bolton could face one to three years in prison, though Illinois law also allows probation or conditional discharge for Class 4 felonies. The election-material charge also carries a five-year ban on public employment after completion of the sentence. A Class A misdemeanor conviction carries less than one year in jail and a possible fine.
According to the State’s Attorney’s office, the investigation by law enforcement officials «did not uncover any facts linking these allegations to her city duties,» adding that she «is not charged with official misconduct.»
A vote-by-mail ballot drop box is shown alongside Waukegan alderperson Sylvia Sims Bolton, who was charged after authorities alleged she submitted a ballot in her deceased mother’s name during Illinois’ 2026 primary election. (Getty Images and City of Waukegan)
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Officials in the State’s Attorney’s office also noted that they were not aware of any previous investigations related to individuals trying to use the vote-by-mail system to cast a ballot on behalf of deceased individuals.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bolton and her attorney but Fox News Digital did not receive a response in time for publication.
«This case shows the importance of having a well-funded, independent Clerk’s office that also has state-of-the-art technology,» State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. «Clerk Vega and his team followed national best practices in order to detect and report this crime. We must say loudly to people that if you improperly vote for others, you will be caught, investigated, and prosecuted.»
illinois, investigations, voting, elections state and local, voter fraud concerns
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