Global News Podcast - Israel claims it killed Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

The Israeli military said Fuad Shukr was 'eliminated' but local security sources say he was not in the building that was hit. Also: the new head of the US Secret Service apologises for its failure to stop Donald Trump's would-be assassin, and protests across Turkey - as its parliament legislates to round up the country's four million stray dogs.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Paul Moss and in the early hours of Wednesday the 31st of July these are our main stories. Israel says it carried out an airstrike in Beirut targeting a Hezbollah commander,

one they held responsible for last Saturday's attack on the Golan Heights. There's been violence on the streets of Venezuela following the results of Sunday's presidential election, which gave Nicolas Maduro a third term. And rescue teams in southern India have been struggling in heavy rain to find survivors of massive landslides, which have killed more than 120 people. Also in this podcast, as a career law enforcement officer, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured. The new head of the US Secret Service offers an abject apology for its failure to stop Donald Trump's would-be assassin. There wasn't any waiting around for a claim of responsibility. Just minutes after an explosion was heard in Beirut, Israel issued a statement saying it had launched an airstrike on the

Lebanese capital. It later said it had eliminated the Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukra, who had held responsible for a rocket attack on the Golan Heights area last Saturday, which killed 12 young people. Our correspondent in Lebanon is Hugo Bechega. We haven't had any reaction from Hezbollah yet. Obviously, we're waiting to hear what they have to say, what they're going to do. I mean, I think it's almost inevitable that there will be some kind of retaliation. But we had a statement from the Israeli military saying that Fouad Shoukat was killed. They called it a precise operation. They described him as the right-hand man to Hassan Nasrallah, who is the leader of Hezbollah. He was also described as being someone involved in planning and coordinating attacks and operations that have

been carried out by the group. And again, if confirmed, he is the most high-profile Hezbollah figure to have been killed by Israel in this current violence with Hezbollah. So a very significant figure here and a very significant operation by the Israelis and perhaps victory for the Israelis if this killing is confirmed. I looked at some of that footage and although they are describing it as a targeted attack, it looks like the damage was quite widespread. Do we know if it is Mr. Shukra who was killed? Were there other injuries? Are there other people caught up in the attack? Yeah, so this is a densely populated area in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area known as Dahir. And I was there for the last time

just two weeks ago for the Ashura celebrations for Shia Muslims. So this is a very busy area, and we've seen pictures of the destruction there, the damage that has been caused by this attack. At least one building partially collapsed as a result of this attack. And the Lebanese authorities are saying that at least three people were killed. More than 70 were injured as a result of this attack. But again, as you say, there was significant destruction there after this attack that happened just before sunset in Beirut. There have been these calls over the past few months and again in the last

few days for Israel to show some kind of restraint when it came to Lebanon to avoid a full scale regional war? I know it's guesswork, but does this count as restrained in the Israeli playbook to have a targeted attack, perhaps just one explosion resulting? Well, we don't know whether the reaction is over. And I think for Hezbollah, perhaps, this could be seen as a major provocation by Israel, because this is an attack that targeted a senior commander, a high-profile commander inside the group. It targeted the group stronghold in Beirut. So it is very significant. And again, I think it's almost inevitable that we're going to see a significant reaction from Hezbollah. But again, there have been these concerns since the beginning of these attacks by Hezbollah and the counterattacks by Israel that we could see an escalation of violence that could end up in a major confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah. And we know that Hezbollah is supported by Iran. Some other groups backed by Iran in the Middle East have been saying that if there is a

major war between Hezbollah and Israel, they're going to join Hezbollah in the fight against Israel. So this is a very dangerous moment here. Hugo Bochega. While tensions rise between Israel and Lebanon, strains within Israel have reached a new level. It began when Israel's military police went to a detention camp to investigate reports that 10 reservists in the armed forces physically and sexually abused a Palestinian prisoner. He was taken to hospital needing surgery. But when the police tried to enter the camp, they were challenged by soldiers. Then, far-right members of the Israeli parliament tried to storm the base to show the soldiers their support.

Since then, another Israeli soldier has been indicted. He's accused of attacking handcuffed detainees with a club, documenting this on video. As for the original Palestinian detainee, his situation is still critical, according to Oneg Ben-Draw from the campaign group Physicians for Human Rights. She spoke about the case to Julian Marshall. What we know is that he has been hospitalised in a life-threatening condition with severe injuries in his upper body and in his rectum. And this is the only reason why this case has been revealed. And in your experience, from what you know, what has happened to this detainee at this

military camp or base is not unusual? Since the war started, unfortunately, it is usual. Palestinians in Israeli custody, including Gaza detainees, are going through torture, sexual violence and physical violence. Some resulted with broken bones and some also died because of that. How do you know this? Because you've said to me that the case of the Palestinian detainee who was hospitalized meant that it had become public knowledge. But these other cases that you're talking about, I mean, how do you get information about them? who got released from lawyer visits, because that's the only way now to communicate with Palestinians in prison and in detention, whether it's under the Israeli army custody or the prison

service custody. And we know also, for instance, in this specific detention facility, which is inside the military base, which is called Sleteman. We also know some of the information from whistleblowers, people who are physicians who are working in a field hospital that was established there. I mean, in this particular case, IDF reservists are being questioned by the military police. Is that unusual? We started to see, and there was a public announcement, that the military police started to investigate some cases after the ICC. And yeah, we haven't seen that before that. And I would say that also in this case, we called for an investigation, an international one.

But again, we know of many other cases of abuse and torture and maltreatment that haven't been investigated. What was that ICC announcement that has prompted this apparent change of policy? Basically about the detention orders regarding Netanyahu and Galan. I think the possibility of issuing this order made some of the parties involved push them to do some steps.

Oneg Bendro, we asked the Israeli military for comment. They said they would check to see if someone was available to talk to the BBC. We now know that the three children killed in a knife attack in the English town of Southport on Monday were aged nine, seven and six. Eight other children and two adults were wounded, with some of them still in a critical condition. All had gone to a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class. Britain's Prime Minister visited the scene on Tuesday and police there later came under attack from rioters who threw missiles and at one point appeared to set a police car on fire. A 17-year-old boy remains in custody, accused of murder and attempted murder.

From Southport, Judith Moritz sent this report. Photographs showing the three young victims were released today. They were Alice Adjiar, just nine years old, beaming in a beautiful party dress. Her parents say she'll always be their princess. Elsie Dot Stankham, aged seven, smiling proudly for her school photograph. And Bibi King, just six years old, smiling with her milk teeth missing. Her family say they have no words to describe the devastation that's hit them. How can you find the words?

Three children who were just dancing and now they're gone. It's impossible to make sense of this. Southport is reeling. At the Cordon today, many came to lay flowers. Most were simply too upset to talk. Leanne Hasson's daughter goes to a nursery just down the road. I just can't believe something like this could happen. Right where we live, you know,

the children are just out enjoying the summer holidays and they never got to go out last night. right where we live, you know, the children are just out enjoying the summer holidays and they never got to go out last night. I'm just heartbroken for the parents. I can't even begin to imagine what they must be going through. As well as members of the public, the firefighters of Greenwatch who went to help the children yesterday laid flowers, speechless and numb. Later, ambulance crews who raced to save them and treat their wounds brought wreaths. But there was anger here too.

As the Prime Minister came to pay his respects, he was heckled by a local woman. I've just found out my friend's nine-year-old daughter was killed here. The person I've held as a child. Come here, sweetheart. Come here. He's meant to be the prime minister! Sir Keir Starmer said the attack has touched a nerve with the whole country.

It's awful to contemplate what happened. I think about the families, the friends, the loved ones, those directly impacted, and, of course, the wider community here. There's no pretending, I think, that anybody in the country is not untouched by what happened yesterday. Taylor Swift herself has posted on Instagram to say the horror is washing over her continuously. A fundraiser by her fans Swifties for Southport is approaching nearly £200,000. Judith Moritz. The protesters on the streets of Venezuela were at least warned. The country's president, Nicolas Maduro, had suggested that if he lost Sunday's election,

there would be bloodshed. Well, a lot of people insist that Mr Maduro did lose, that exit polls showed an overwhelming victory for the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. That's why they've taken to the streets and bloodshed there has been. Several protesters at least were reportedly killed by the security forces. Tear gas and bullets the response to opposition grievances. As usual, we have problems with electoral fraud in Venezuela. We have no democracy.

The votes were stolen and the opposition leader has proof that the opposition won the election this year. We're calling on the international community, on countries like Colombia and Brazil, to make a statement. And we're waiting for good decisions. The people are in the streets doing what they should be doing, fighting for their vote, protesting. We're tired of this crisis, tired of this misery. Venezuela's president is conceding no ground when it comes to those taking part in the demonstrations. His attorney general said 749 protesters had been arrested.

Nicolas Maduro described them as criminals and terrorists. And the country's defence minister, Vladimir Padrina, had equally harsh words for those who refused to accept the results of the vote. We are in the presence, quite simply, of a coup d'etat. And a coup d'etat engineered, again, by these fascist factors of the extreme right, supported, of course, by US imperialism and its allies. The president and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces, Nicolás Maduro, has taken the lead to stop it. And yet those protests didn't stop.

Indeed, more took place throughout Tuesday. As I heard from our correspondent in Caracas, Norberto Paredes. There were loads of people today attending to the call from Maria Corina to go to the streets peacefully. Yesterday we saw the largest protest in Venezuela in many years. It was reported that one person died. Today we see Caracas completely blocked. Many shops are closed. People are in the streets again, and not only in Caracas, but across Venezuela. People say that they don't believe the results, the official results,

given by the electoral authority. And they say they're tired of the government. They say they want a change and they're backing Maria Corina Machado's results that she says that Emundo Gonzalez won the election. Can I ask you, you're in a part of Caracas where I think people are normally considered to be big fans of Nicolás Maduro, a Maduro stronghold if you like. What are you hearing there? Yes, So what's interesting about the protest these days is that people protesting are people from the slums, people who are loyal to

Nicolás Maduro and the Chavismo movement. These people always voted for Chávez and for Maduro. And now they are voting for the opposition for the first time. And they say that the economic crisis has hit them really hard. They were just saying a few moments ago that they want liberty because they feel that they don't live in a democratic country anymore. Norberto Paredes. Still to come... The fact that these animals who look into our eyes and ask for help will be wiped out. As far as I'm concerned, no one can take a life that was created by God.

Protests across Turkey as its parliament legislates to round up the country's 4 million stray dogs. Thank you. Plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. The tea plantations of Kerala are considered to be one of India's more elegant spectacles, terraced layers of tea plants rising majestically over the surrounding terrain. But these towering edifices proved fatal when torrential rains hit Wayanad district, causing landslides. The latest figures suggest more than 120 people have been killed,

and about 100 are still missing. Our South Asia regional editor, Ambarasan Ethirajan, explained why the death toll was so high. According to officials, many of those killed were among the lowly paid workers in the state. They usually live in small tin roof houses or thatched roof houses along the tea estates. And because these houses were not made of concrete or anything strong, it was also easily affected by these huge landslides. Even we have seen that big houses built in those areas, they can be just washed away when the whole mountainside caves in.

So dozens of people had been buried alive. A torrent of muddy water washed through that area. Rescue forces have now moved into some of these localities trying to retrieve people from under the mud. But they are struggling because it is difficult to get the vehicles like the JCB and the big bulldozers to those areas. And they expect the number of people who died in this unfortunate incident to go up. This is not the first time this kind of disaster has hit Kerala.

I saw that 500 people died in monsoon-related flooding six years ago there, and yet it seems that monsoon rains in India have been getting worse and more severe. Two reasons. One, experts are now blaming the climate change, man-induced, human-being-induced climate change that is triggering very intense rain falling at a very short time, like within many trees from the hillsides, huge dam projects, and also settlements. The cities are expanding further into the forest areas, more trees are being cut. So they are also blaming the development activities for this phenomenon. And Kerala is particularly vulnerable because it faces very heavy monsoons sometimes. Even though monsoon rains are a vital lifeline for the farming community, especially Kerala gets very intense monsoon.

In 2018, more than 400 people died because of these heavy rains. But now the opposition politicians and experts are urging the government to come out with a bigger plan how to manage landslides, what kind of precautionary measures they have to take. Because a few weeks ago, we saw a similar situation in the northeast of India, in the states of Assam and Meghalaya, where the landslides were happening and killing many people. Ambarasan Ethirajan. Bit by bit, detail by detail, we're learning a little more about the man who apparently tried to kill Donald Trump. A US Senate hearing has been told that Thomas Crooks posted violent anti-Semitic

and anti-immigrant content online when he was a teenager. He also flew a drone near the spot he fired from, part of what looks like an advanced reconnaissance mission. The fact that this wasn't spotted, and that Crooks himself wasn't spotted when he climbed on that nearby roof, these were failures for which the acting head of the US Secret Service has now apologised. The former head, Kimberly Cheadle, was forced to resign last week. Her successor, Ronald Rowe, had a tone of unqualified contrition when he addressed the hearing. I identified gaps in our security on July 13th and have implemented corrective actions. One of my first actions as acting director was traveling

to the Butler Farm Show site to better understand how our protection failed. I went to the roof of the AGR building where the assailant fired shots and I laid in a prone position to evaluate his line of sight. What I saw made me ashamed. As a career law enforcement officer and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured. Ronald Rowe were watching that testimony and the hearing itself was our correspondent, Nomia Iqbal. It was interesting because Ronald Rowe appeared at the hearing with clearly in mind that it didn't go so well last week for his predecessor, Kimberley Cheetle, who faced unanimous calls to stand down.

Her testimony had been pretty vague. She hadn't given clear answers and she'd been on the defensive, whereas Mr Rowe came here with a lot more strength, I would say. And he made sure that he was contrite about what had happened. As we heard there in that clip, he said that it made him ashamed. He did not shy away from the catastrophic failures, but he was also pretty tough as well in his positions. He said that there were investigations underway, that he had lost sleepless nights. There were moments when there was a shouting match between him and some of the Republican senators who were usually, they're very loyal to Donald Trump and they do tend to sort of

put on these kind of performances in the hearing. But Mr. Rowe, he was very clear in that the Secret Service had to take accountability and that he was the man to make sure that that would happen. Now, what about Thomas Crooks? As I said, there was more about him in the hearing. What else did we learn? We did. We heard more from the FBI's deputy director, who was also in the hearing alongside Mr. Rowe. And we heard that between 2019 and 2020, I think it was, there were about 700 comments found on a social media account which they believe Mr Crooks was linked to. And this showed posts that they said were anti-Semitic,

anti-immigrant and generally just very extreme in nature. The crucial thing, however, is we still don't know the motivation. We still don't know what motivated him at all. The Secret Service said that within firing the shot, he was neutralised by the Secret Service within 15 seconds. We learnt that. But as of yet, we don't know exactly what led him to carry out this attempted assassination on Donald Trump. And that's just going to be one of the sort of

enduring questions, I imagine, of this investigation. I see that the Secret Service is now expanding its protection to people like J.D. Vance and the independent candidate Robert Kennedy. And, you know, Robert Rowe in his testimony said that the threat of political violence is, quote, alive and well. In Washington, does it feel like there's a permanently changed mood in the wake of the July 13th shooting? Well, I think the Secret Service is definitely under huge pressure at the moment. Whether or not they've changed any of their internal procedures, we don't know because they wouldn't say that out loud necessarily. I mean, they have gone on to say that the Democratic National Convention, which is due to happen next month in Chicago, that security is tight. But you imagine security was always going to be tight. The same with the Republican National Convention

that just happened. But the Secret Service, remember, they're there to prevent an assassination. They're not there to investigate attempted assassinations. It's a huge failure by them, and they are more conscious now about the way they're operating. Nomia Iqbal. Rent soaring, homelessness rising. Australia is in the grip of a housing crisis. It's thought about 120,000 people now have nowhere to live. Rents have been rising

the fastest in Western Australia, 20% in the past year alone. But that also happens to be the wealthiest part of the country. So where's it all gone wrong? Our Australia correspondent, Katie Watson, reports from Perth. I've got my walker in the back and my pillows and rugs. 71-year-old Mary is sat in the driver's seat of her battered car, surrounded by her belongings. On the back seat is her Zimmer frame. Next to her, there's a tin of rice pudding. And that's my evening meal.

This tiny space is often now Mary's home. Mary's not her real name. She doesn't want to be identified. She's ashamed. It seems to be that the moment people know that you've become homeless, you become what I call a non-person. It's a life Mary never imagined she'd ever have. Pushed out of her flat last year because her landlord wanted to rent it out to short-term

tenants, she couldn't find anywhere else she could afford on her pension. Mary's husband is in a care home with Alzheimer's. He doesn't find anywhere else she could afford on her pension. Mary's husband is in a care home with Alzheimer's. He doesn't know she's living like this. He'd be horrified. Absolutely mortified. A 15-minute drive from the car park that Mary's living in is Elizabeth Quay in the centre of Perth. Swish new apartment blocks and five-star hotels. Overlook glamorous white yachts bobbing in the marina. And then if you look up, there are big neon signs on skyscrapers with the names of mining companies.

It's hard to get your head around, but in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, there are people like Mary with nowhere to sleep through no fault of their own. And this isn't a problem that's particular to Perth. In fact, it's happening across Australia. Older women are the fastest growing group of homeless people in the country. Domestic violence also drives numbers up. But there's something else happening. In recent years, record house prices have killed many people's dream of getting on the property ladder.

Underinvestment in social housing and a growing population mean finding somewhere affordable to rent can be a challenge. Hayley and her daughter Tasicha have been couch surfing and living in tents for nearly four years, most of Tasicha's life. They're on the list for social housing, but nothing yet. Hayley's tired and she's worried about her daughter too. She's constantly getting sick. It doesn't matter if I rug her up, it's the bacteria that are around. It's moving around, getting used to different germs. She's going through a bit of separation anxiety from her father at the moment because it's very hard to try and see him all the time. As evening falls and commuters exit their shiny office buildings and head home,

others start gathering in a square that backs onto the railway tracks. Every night, different charities take turns to offer a little help. The Australian winter's now kicked in and clothes are in high demand. You OK for blanket and stuff? And the street chaplains are out tonight, four women giving out food to those sleeping rough. Can I give you a meal? Just a few months ago, Michelle Rumbold was the one receiving the handouts. A registered nurse left with nothing after she got evicted,

crashed her car and her mother started struggling with her mental health. I ended up losing my job purely because I didn't have accommodation and I didn't have a car. I think it took a while for people to actually realise I was homeless because I didn't look homeless. Gradually over time you become so used to the street that you lose yourself a bit. Michelle managed to get transitional housing. She's now back on her feet with a job as a nurse in a GP surgery. Michelle admits she got lucky, but with no quick solutions to Australia's housing crisis, many more will be finding themselves in a desperate situation

that they never expected. Katie Watson. Politics in Turkey can be a pretty rough business. Bitter, sometimes violent disputes have previously split the country on issues like the role of Islam, the use of the Kurdish language, and what the truth is about the Armenian genocide. But currently it's another subject that's got plenty of people there up in arms. Dogs. Turkey is estimated to have four million stray dogs and the Turkish parliament has approved a new law which would mean they're rounded up and confined to shelters.

Dog lovers fear this might be an excuse to have the animals killed and there have been protests across the country. We will win by standing strong, they chanted, and the massacre law should be withdrawn. One protester simply carried a banner bearing the biblical injunction, you must not kill. Çiğdem lives in Istanbul with her dog Max. I am very upset. I can't sleep at night and I'm very distressed. The fact that these animals who look into our eyes and ask for help will be wiped out. As far as I'm concerned, no one can take a life that was created by God. Even people who've had bad canine experiences

had some sympathy with the protests. Adem is the grandfather of a boy who was bitten by a stray. They should take the dogs off the street and find them homes or put them under protection. It's a shame. The dogs attack people who are passing by. They're actually docile, you know, but children rile them up. There's that too. Children were at the centre of the arguments which led to the new law reaching Turkey's parliament and being passed, as the BBC's Aylin Yazan explained to my colleague James Reynolds.

There's this association which was founded in 2022 called Safe Streets Association and they argue that around 100 people, almost half of them are kids, died because of stray dog related reasons. Most of them are kids who were running away from dogs and they got hit by cars. So we can say that 4 million dogs and like 100 people died in the last three years. The law proposing getting rid of all the dogs from the streets, those dogs would go to shelters? I mean, that's a lot of dogs to put into shelters.

Apparently, Turkey doesn't have that capacity yet. The law says that the dogs will be put down if they present a danger to life or health of people and animals, display uncontrollable negative behavior, have a contagious or incurable disease, or whose adoption is forbidden. So these dogs will be put down. And it's very ambiguous. And the critics say that it will pave the way to arbitrary practices. And in terms of shelters, there are 322 municipality shelters in Turkey at the moment, which has a capacity of 105,000. And we are talking about 4 million dogs.

And municipalities have four years to build those shelters with no extra fund given to them. So we will see what's going to happen. But critics say that it's unmanageable. Aileen Yazan. It can't be often that you get Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini lined up on the same side of an argument as all 120 of France's bishops and cardinals, plus Donald Trump. But all of these have complained about the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Specifically, it's the tableau which some claim was parodying Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper. Now, one of those who took part is fighting back with a complaint of her own. Barbara Butch said her appearance in the scene had prompted a torrent of online abuse,

including threats of violence, as Isabella Jewell reports. It may have been just one element of the mammoth opening ceremony, but it's the most talked about. As dancers, models and drag queens strutted their stuff over the Seine in a sequence celebrating festivity, the French DJ Barbara Butch performed a set wearing a silver headdress and a sparkling blue outfit. All this before a semi-naked blue man was lowered onto the catwalk on a silver platter. Now, though, the performer says she's been the target of cyber harassment of an increasingly extreme nature and has filed several legal complaints. A lawyer for Ms Butch says she's been threatened with death, torture and rape, and has also been the target of numerous anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and

grossophobic insults. Grossophobie is a French term which means discrimination against people who are obese. Barbara Butch describes herself as a love activist. Last year, she told Attitude magazine, quote, I'm a fat Jewish queer lesbian, and I'm really proud of all my identities, because they make me what I am now as a human. In a defiant post on Instagram, the French DJ at the centre of this latest storm said she was extremely honoured to perform in the ceremony. She added, whatever some may say, I exist. I've never been ashamed of who I am and I take responsibility for everything, including my artistic choices. All my life, I've refused to be a victim. I won't shut up.

Isabella Jewell. And that's all from us for now, but there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, And that's all from us for now, but there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll and the producer was Alison Davies. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Paul Moss. Until next time, goodbye. If you're hearing this,

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