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Strikes hit south Beirut after Israeli army warns residents to evacuate Hezbollah bastion
‘Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on [Beirut’s] southern suburbs,’ Lebanon’s National News Agency said
Heavy fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon characterised the front late on Saturday evening, with Hezbollah firing 130 missiles into Israel and Israel continuing to attack targets in Lebanon, including at the capital Beirut.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was bombing “terrorist targets” in Beirut, without giving any details. The information could not be independently verified, but explosions in the southern suburbs could be heard throughout the city, according to reporters.
The IDF had said that the Shiite militia had once again fired extensively on Israel. After sirens sounded after midnight in the area of the city of Kiriat Schmona in northern Israel, about 30 missiles were identified as having entered Israeli territory from Lebanon, the IDF said. Some missiles were intercepted, others fell in the area.
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The IDF said it will continue to attack targets in Lebanon to weaken Hezbollah and drive it back from the border.
Official Lebanese media said five Israeli strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts on Saturday, four of them “very violent”, after the Israeli army warned residents to evacuate the Hezbollah bastion.
“Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on [Beirut’s] southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said.
Footage filmed by Agence France-Presse showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas, with one strike creating a ball of flame that rose into the air while flares shot up amid thick smoke.
The NNA later said air traffic at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport was “ongoing despite the Israeli enemy’s aggression on the southern suburbs. Several Middle East Airlines planes have just landed”.
The Israeli army earlier on Saturday night announced a new call for residents to evacuate from Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate the designated buildings and those near them and move away from them at least 500 metres,” said spokesman Avichay Adraee on social media, alongside satellite images highlighting areas in the Burj el-Barajneh, Haret Hreik and Chouaifat al-Amrussiya neighbourhoods.

A Lebanese family who fled Beirut’s southern suburb erects a makeshift tent on Saturday. Photo: dpa
The Israeli army is continuing its attacks in Lebanon from the air and with artillery fire. According to the Lebanese state agency NNA, attacks late on Saturday were aimed at Udaissa in the southeast, where the Shiite militia Hezbollah had reported initial fighting with Israeli ground troops.
According to NNA reports, the Israeli air force carried out several attacks on villages in the south, including near Tyre and Nabatiyeh, as well as in suburbs south of the capital Beirut. In some cases, large fires broke out. A drone attack also hit the coastal town of Ghaziyeh.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported 25 additional deaths and more than 120 additional injuries as a result of Israeli attacks. The ministry does not distinguish in its figures between Hezbollah members and civilians.
In addition to the area around Udaissa, which, according to the NNA reports, was heavily shelled by the Israeli army, there is still heavy shelling near Bint Jubayl, close to the demarcation line with Israel.
According to their own statements, Israeli ground troops have destroyed Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches in this area. These statements cannot be independently verified.
Reporting by Agence France-Presse, dpa
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Gunmen k!ll President General of Ogidi community and one other in Anambra.
Unidentified gunmen, suspected to be cultists, have k!lled a community leader and one other person in Anambra State.
The President-General of Ogidi community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Ikwuka Okoye, popularly known as Anumili (pictured above), was k!lled on Friday, Feb. 6.
The attack was alleged to have been carried out by members of a rival cult group in revenge for the de@th of their leader, who was arrested and k!lled by local security operatives.
During the attack, which took place at the School Field, Ogidi, another man whose identity has yet to be ascertained was also gunned down.
The spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a press statement on Saturday.
Ikenga said the incident is allegedly linked to the recent capture and k!lling of a known notorious cultist within the community.
He said, “The Anambra State Police Command regrets the murd£r of the President-General of the Ogidi community and one other person. The incident, which occurred on the evening of February 6, 2026, at the School Field, Ogidi, is allegedly linked to the recent capture and k!lling of a known notorious cultist within the community.
“Following the report, police operatives swiftly took over the scene of the incident and commenced investigations. The command is currently working with eyewitness accounts and other available intelligence to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
“The Anambra State Police Command assures members of the public that all efforts are being intensified to bring those responsible to justice.
“Residents are urged to remain calm and cooperate with the police as investigations continue.
“Further developments will be communicated in due course.”

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Police bust syndicate behind nude photo blackmail in Lagos
Men of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Lagos, have apprehended three suspects who allegedly run a cyber blackmail and extortion scheme in the state.
According to the spokesperson of the unit, DSP Ovie Ewhubare, the suspects get a hold of their victims explicit photos and then threaten to release them if a ransom is not paid.
He said that the suspects, two males and a female, were apprehended after a petition was filed by a complainant who reported being repeatedly threatened by unknown individuals demanding money.
“The complainant received several phone calls in which the callers threatened to release her nude photographs to the public if she failed to pay them. Acting out of fear and emotional distress, she transferred money to the suspects.
The situation escalated when the suspects demanded an additional N10 million, prompting her to formally petition the police,” he said
The police imagemaker state dthat upon receipt of the complaint, the Commissioner of Police, PSFU, Mr Kayode Ojapinwa, ordered the immediate deployment of operatives to investigate the matter.
“The investigation led to the arrest of the three suspects. Investigations revealed that one of the suspects gained unlawful access to the complainant’s mobile device and fraudulently transferred her nude photographs to his own device. Further findings indicated that he conspired with the other suspects and other accomplices currently at large to demand and receive money from the complainant in several tranches,” he said
According to him, the suspects are currently in police custody and are expected to be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The image maker said that investigations were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate and to recover all proceeds of the alleged crime.
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Catholic Priest Collapses And D!es In Front Of Congregation While Walking To Tabernacle To Return Holy Communion
A Catholic priest has tragically passed away after suddenly collapsing in front of the congregation during Sunday mass.
The tragic incident took place last Sunday, February 1 in Wiesmath in the district of Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
Shortly after administering Holy Communion, 59-year-old priest Raimund Beisteiner was about to return the host to the tabernacle when he “suddenly” collapsed, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Vienna.
“Despite immediate professional assistance, he di£d in the church,” the statement said.
The mayor of Wiesmath, Erich Rasner, had also attended the Mass with many other believers and witnessed the dramatic scenes.
The shock in Wiesmath at the loss of the popular priest is great. Beisteiner had shaped the spiritual life of the parish for almost two decades and was highly regarded far beyond the community.
Rasner praised him as an “extremely conscientious, sensitive priest” and also emphasized the personal loss of a friendship that had grown over many years.
A prayer service was organized at short notice for the late priest. It was attended by numerous priests from the deanery as well as Archbishop Josef Grünwidl.

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