Israel says it launched ‘special, targeted operations’ in southern Lebanon
Army shares video of troops on ground in ‘targeted nighttime operation’ amid near-daily attacks against neighbour. Israeli troops have entered southern Lebanon, the military says, to dismantle infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, in its latest near-daily violation of its November ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group. The military said in a statement on Wednesday that it had launched “special, targeted operations” to destroy Hezbollah facilities and prevent the group from “reestablishing itself in the area”. It claimed the ground incursion had been launched, acting on “intelligence information and the identification of Hezbollah weapons and terrorist infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon”. The army statement said the 9th Brigade was in the Labbouneh area, while troops from the 300th Brigade were operating in the Jabal Blat area further west – both within sight of the border. It shared a video captioned “footage from a targeted nighttime operation of the 9th Brigade in southern Lebanon”, troops were shown walking on the ground. The army has not commented on whether the incursion marks the first time it has operated on the ground in Lebanon since agreeing to the United States-brokered ceasefire in November 2024. Since striking the deal, which sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah – including several months of all-out war – Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes across Lebanon, including multiple strikes on the capital, Beirut. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, but numerous civilians have been killed and wounded, and residential buildings were destroyed. Advertisement Israeli attacks across Lebanon The new operation was announced as Israel intensified its strikes in Lebanon amid Hezbollah’s weakened position, the Lebanese army staying on the sidelines and the international community’s failure to pressure Israel to abide by the truce. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly asked the US and Israel to rein in Israel’s attacks on the country. On Sunday, the Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group remains open to peace, but it will not disarm or back down from confronting Israel until it ends its air raids and withdraws from southern Lebanon. “We cannot be asked to soften our stance or lay down arms while [Israeli] aggression continues,” Qassem told thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs for Ashura, an important day in the Shia Muslim calendar. Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country, but has kept them in five locations it deems strategic to its own interests. Thomas Barrack, an adviser to US President Donald Trump who serves as Washington’s ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, returned to Beirut on Monday, praising the Lebanese government’s response to a US proposal aimed at disarming Hezbollah amid Israel’s continued military presence in the country. Since the Gaza war started in October 2023, Israel has also carried out attacks against members of Palestinian factions that maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps for Palestinian refugees. On Tuesday, an Israeli strike on a vehicle near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli killed at least three people and injured 13 others, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. The military later announced that it had killed Mehran Mustafa Ba’jur in the strike, describing him as one of Hamas’s key commanders in Lebanon. It underscored that Israel’s assaults are being launched across the country, not just in the south. It was the first time an Israeli assassination had taken place in the area since the truce. Adblock test (Why?)
Why was Christian Horner sacked as Red Bull F1 team boss?
Christian Horner has been sacked as Red Bull team principal with immediate effect after 20 years, the Red Bull Racing Formula One team announced on Wednesday. The 51-year-old oversaw a period of dominance by the team, winning the drivers’ championship eight times – including the past four titles with Max Verstappen – and adding six constructors’ crowns. Who will replace Horner at Red Bull Racing? Horner, who has been in charge of Red Bull since the team was formed in 2005, will be replaced by the principal of sister team Racing Bulls, Laurent Mekies. A motorsport aerodynamics specialist, the French-born Mekies entered Formula One in the early 2000s and had stints working with Arrows, Minardi, Toro Rosso and Ferrari before joining Racing Bulls as team principal in 2024. “I think he has a very, very good understanding of the business, having started as an engineer and then worked at the FIA,” said Fred Vasseur, current F1 team principal at Ferrari, when Mekies left the famous Italian team in July 2023. Laurent Mekies is the new team principal of Red Bull Racing after the shock exit of Christian Horner [File: Alessio Morgese/Stefano Facchin/NurPhoto via Getty Images] No reason given for Horner sacking Horner was sacked as Red Bull’s team principal with immediate effect. The team’s official media statement, released on Wednesday, reads: “Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today [Wednesday, July 9, 2025] and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing. Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO Corporate Projects and Investments, thanked Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years.” “We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years,” said Mintzlaff. “With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.” Martin Brundle, an ex-F1 driver, current race commentator and friend of Horner, told Sky Sports News: Advertisement “I am due to speak to Christian later. I put a message to him saying, ‘I am sorry to read this, can we have a chat before I am due to go on TV because I want to know more about it from his point of view’. “He wasn’t able to do that. What he did say was that no reason was given to him as to why he is being released.” Horner, right, and F1 commentator Martin Brundle chat in the paddock prior to qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Circuit on March 23, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia [Kym Illman/Getty Images] A difficult 18 months for Horner Horner’s dismissal follows a challenging period on several fronts for the team principal. His exit from the team comes nearly a year-and-a-half after it was leaked that a female employee had accused Horner of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour. Horner was twice cleared of the claims by Red Bull headquarters, situated in Austria. At the same time, Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, called for Horner to leave his position and claimed that the Briton’s presence could tear the team apart in a March 4, 2024, interview. Jos told The Daily Mail that “there is tension while he remains in position”, referring to Horner. He added, “The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim when he is the one causing the problems.” The early-2025 departure of Adrian Newey – the former chief technology officer of Red Bull Racing and widely considered one of the greatest motorsport designers in F1 – to rival team Aston Martin was a huge loss to the Milton Keynes-based team and to Horner personally. Newey had joined Red Bull in 2006, just months after Horner’s appointment, with the pair forming one of the most successful F1 management partnerships in history. Horner, married to former ‘Spice Girl’ popstar Geri Halliwell, right, had been accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague but was twice cleared of the claims by the team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH [James Bearne/Getty Images] How successful was Horner as Red Bull boss? Under Horner’s leadership, Red Bull won their first world championship in 2010, with German driver Sebastian Vettel taking the first of four consecutive drivers’ titles. Following a multiyear period of dominance by archrival Mercedes, Red Bull, this time with Max Verstappen of the Netherlands as their star driver, entered a second championship window, winning four more drivers’ titles consecutively from 2021 to 2024. Advertisement In 2023, Horner presided over the most dominant season in Formula One history, with the team winning 21 of 22 races, and Verstappen setting a new F1 record with 10 consecutive victories. Horner, left, celebrates winning the 2021 F1 World Drivers Championship with driver Max Verstappen at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates [Bryn Lennon/Getty Images] Will Max Verstappen stay at Red Bull Racing? At the midway point of the 2025 season, Verstappen trails McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings and has all but conceded the drivers’ title for this season. As far back as April 13, Verstappen was already pessimistic about the prospects of winning a fifth straight drivers’ championship. “McLaren are not my rivals right now. I am just taking part in this world championship,” Verstappen said, as quoted by nl.motorsport.com. When pressed further if he meant he doesn’t see himself competing for the 2025 drivers’ title, he replied: “No, I don’t.” In recent days, and not for the first time, Verstappen has been linked with a move to rival Mercedes, possibly as soon as next season. Brundle told Sky Sports News that Horner’s exit from Red Bull may defuse tensions, resulting in Verstappen re-signing with the only F1 team
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