Yasmeen Altaji gives a round-up of today's trends
Trending Middle East
Netanyahu reacts to ICC arrest warrant and Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon
"This is trending your daily rundown of news from the Middle East and around the world brought to you by The National. From Abu Dhabi, I'm Yasmin Al-Taji. Here are today's headlines." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued against him and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant on Thursday are "anti-Semitic measure," that breaches what he called "the natural right of democracies to defend themselves against murderous terrorism." "What in God's name are they talking about in the Hague? The truth is simple. No war is more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza after Hamas attacked us, unprovoked." Mr. Netanyahu said the warrant served only to deter Israel, quote, "from exercising our natural right to defend ourselves against our enemies." The U.S. is among an outlying cohort of foreign allies that have criticized the court's decision. The ICC confirmed it had issued warrants for the arrests of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Galant Thursday. It followed a court filing made by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who accused Israel of using starvation as a method of war. Israeli strikes killed at least 51 people across Lebanon on Thursday. The Lebanese Health Ministry said in the country's east, airstrikes killed 40 people in 10 different towns in Balbegh province. As of Thursday, the health ministry had recorded at least 3,583 people killed and 15,244 wounded in Lebanon. During the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel, the majority of casualties took place after Israel's escalation and ground offensive in late September. And Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow struck Ukraine with a new type of missile, marking an apparent escalation of the nearly three-year-long war. Reuters reports Russia fired a hypersonic, intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Niipro on Thursday. The attack was a response to the U.S. and the U.K., allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons. That's all for this morning's headlines. You can get these stories at our site and visit the National News.com/podcasts for more like this. Yasmin Al-Taji, the National. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)