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Ex-CIA chief says Lebanon pager attacks a ‘form of terrorism’
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta told the CBS broadcaster that he was worried about the possible repercussions from the pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon that killed at least 37 people.
“I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism,” Panetta said.
“When you have terror going into the supply chain it makes people ask the question what is next,” he said, adding that if governments “don’t try to deal with it now, mark my word, it is the battlefield of the future”.
At least two children and a medic were killed in the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. More than 3,000 others were also wounded.
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attack. But Israel has yet to comment.
China urges its citizens to leave Israel ‘as soon as possible’
Last month, China asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave after an Israeli attack killed a senior Palestinian fighter in the country. Now, its embassy in Israel has urged Chinese citizens to “return home or relocate to safer areas as soon as possible”.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in tit-for-tat attacks since the war on Gaza began, with tensions escalating this past week.
“Currently, the situation along the Israel-Lebanon border is extremely tense, with frequent military conflicts,” the embassy said in a statement. “The security situation in Israel remains severe, complex, and unpredictable.”
Israeli tech sector faces funding uncertainty amid war with Hamas
Israel’s tech sector has remained resilient during a yearlong war on Gaza, but as it relies on large companies and foreign investment, the sector faces funding uncertainty that could harm the broader economy, a government report showed.
Since the war began on October 7, Israeli tech firms have raised some $9bn – third behind Silicon Valley and New York, according to the state-funded Israel Innovation Authority (IIA).
“The level of investment was pretty much the same as the same period before the war,” Dror Bin, CEO of the IIA, told Reuters. “So despite the fact that risk went up for investments in Israel, they still see the potential of those startups, and they continue to invest in them.”
High-tech drives Israel’s economy and accounts for 16 percent of employment, more than half of Israel’s exports, a third of income taxes and 20 percent of its overall economic output.
Bin expressed concerns that employment in the sector has remained stagnant, which could curb income tax when the state needs funds to finance the war. At the same time, most investment is in mature startups and cybersecurity firms, while other areas are suffering.
“We are looking at something that might evolve to be a problem,” said Bin, adding that many good companies that should be funded are currently having trouble.
