BEIRUT: Hezbollah on Tuesday intensified its military operations against Israeli forces by targeting army positions across the southern border of Lebanon. It came as Israel stepped up its ground assault on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces responded to the Hezbollah activity by launching air and artillery strikes on Lebanese villages and towns, reportedly using phosphorus shells. The use of such weapons in civilian areas is prohibited under international law.

TUNIS: Five prisoners convicted of “terrorism” escaped Tunisia’s largest prison on Tuesday, the interior ministry said in a statement.
It called for Tunisians to be vigilant following the escape from Mornaguia prison just outside the capital Tunis.
“Five dangerous individuals serving prison sentences related to terrorist cases” escaped Mornaguia prison at dawn on Tuesday, the ministry said.

TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have arrested a prominent lawyer and human rights defender as she attended the funeral of a teenage girl who died after a disputed metro incident, her husband said Monday.
The arrest of 60-year-old Nasrin Sotoudeh took place Sunday in Tehran during the funeral of 17-year-old Armita Garawand, who died a day earlier after nearly a month in intensive care.
Sotoudeh, who was awarded the European Parliament’s 2012 Sakharov prize for her human rights work, has been arrested several times in recent years.

IRBIL, IRAQI KURDISTAN: With its coffers swelled by high oil prices and its politicians laying enmities aside, Iraq looked all set to enjoy a period of stability not seen in decades. However, the Israel-Hamas war that erupted in early October could undo this modest progress, especially if it inflames the sensitive regional situation and escalates into a wider conflict.

GAZA CITY: Gaza medical chiefs are turning to volunteers to help run an emergency service buckling under Israel’s offensive as ambulances struggle to reach bomb sites past rubble-strewn roads and with ever-depleting supplies of fuel.

Medical and emergency staff have worked with little rest and are deployed in the most dangerous areas, witnessing the horror of violent death, terrible injuries, and grief.