- SAfrica prosecutors drop criminal complaint against president
- 'Good opportunity': Nagelsmann upbeat despite Germany's long injury list
- Hurricane whips up bitter US election battle
- Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours
- NFL MVP Jackson and rookie phenom Daniels set for showdown
- Chad's capital under threat as floodwaters rise
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
- No answers on strike on reporters in Lebanon one year on: watchdog
- Ramharack picks four wickets as Windies beat Bangladesh in Women's T20 World Cup
- France's City of Light switches to climate-resilient power cables
- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
- Obama hits campaign trail for Harris
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Djokovic tells Nadal: 'Your legacy will live forever'
- Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, dead at 96
- Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.12% | 24.55 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
SCS | -3.58% | 12.58 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.08% | 24.7 | $ | |
BCC | -2.49% | 138.93 | $ | |
NGG | 0.42% | 65.91 | $ | |
RIO | 0.79% | 66.875 | $ | |
GSK | -2.72% | 39.175 | $ | |
AZN | -0.85% | 76.85 | $ | |
RELX | -0.69% | 46.39 | $ | |
BCE | -1.6% | 32.785 | $ | |
BP | 1.13% | 32.345 | $ | |
JRI | 0.03% | 13.224 | $ | |
VOD | -0.26% | 9.705 | $ | |
BTI | -0.75% | 35.215 | $ |
Israeli PM gives security 'full freedom' to act after attack
Israel's premier on Friday gave security agencies "full freedom" of operation to curb surging violence, after the latest deadly attack saw a Palestinian gunman kill two men in a popular nightlife area.
"There are not and will not be limits for this war," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, speaking hours after the attack in Tel Aviv.
"We are granting full freedom of action to the army, the Shin Bet (the domestic security agency) and all security forces in order to defeat the terror," he added, in a public address in the Israeli coastal city.
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the Islamic Jihad group praised the attack but have stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Earlier Friday, Israeli police said they had shot dead a Palestinian gunman who killed two Israeli men and wounded over a dozen others when he opened fire on a street of busy bars and restaurants crowded on a Thursday evening.
The attacker had shot at revellers, triggering chaos as people fled in panic, and sparking an overnight manhunt that saw some 1,000 heavily armed police and soldiers deployed.
The two Israeli men killed were named as Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini, both 27 and childhood friends from the city of Kfar Saba, the mayor Rafi Saar said, who called them "our best sons."
- Hundreds arrested -
Special forces confronted the attacker in the old city of Jaffa, the historic Arab district of Tel Aviv, where on Friday morning, street cleaners hosed blood off the ground.
Police commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said officers had "succeeded this morning... in eliminating the terrorist by exchange of fire".
Israel's Shin Bet agency named the assailant as Raad Hazem, 28, from Jenin in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where last week Israeli forces killed three in a raid.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas condemned the attack.
The Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported Abbas said "the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only leads to a further deterioration of the situation."
Thursday's attack in Tel Aviv came as Israeli police are on alert for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque in annexed east Jerusalem.
The third-holiest site in Islam, it is a flashpoint in the long-running Middle East conflict and scene of frequent clashes.
Last year, nightly demonstrations in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa compound escalated into 11 days of war between Israel and Hamas.
A total of 13 people have been killed in attacks in Israel since March 22, including some carried out by assailants linked to or inspired by the Islamic State group.
Over the same period, at least nine Palestinians have been killed, including assailants.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, speaking alongside Bennett, said Israel has made "around 200 arrests, and if necessary there will be thousands."
- 'A nightmare' -
Following the Tel Aviv attack, the Magen David Adom medical emergency service said 16 people had been taken to hospital, with "four seriously wounded".
Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, which was treating eight people injured in the shooting, said Friday morning that one of the victims was "in critical condition with an immediate risk to his life".
On Friday, outside the bar where the attack took place, mourners lit candles and left flowers.
Noa Roberts, 21, who works at a bar across the street from the attack, said she heard dozens of bullets as terrified customers and staff raced to shelter.
"We all ran in the back, it was so scary," Roberts said. "You hear real shooting, it was like a nightmare."
She said 50 people cowered for two hours at her bar until police told them they could leave.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the "terrorist attack" and said Washington stood with Israel "in the face of senseless terrorism and violence."
- Islamist groups praise attack -
The Israeli army said Friday the Jalama border crossing from the northern West Bank into Israel would be closed, as troops step up their presence in the area.
On Thursday night, Islamic Jihad "welcomed" the attack as a "natural response" to Israel's "crimes", including a recent raid on the West Bank city of Jenin, where the alleged attacker was from.
One of its leaders, Yussef al-Hasainah, said: "It confirms that the resistance can penetrate the security system... and that the resistance will continue and that it is the best choice to deter the arrogant enemy".
The Hamas militant Islamist group praised what it called a "heroic operation... which led to the killing of a number of occupying soldiers and Zionist settlers."
X.Karnes--AMWN