Helene death toll tops 220, hundreds still missing – National & International News – FRI 4Oct2024

Helene death toll tops 220, hundreds still missing.

Israel continues bombing Lebanon, plans Iran retaliation

NATIONAL NEWS

Helene death toll tops 220, hundreds still missing

It’s now a week since hurricane Helene devastated communities in the Southeast. The confirmed death toll now stands at 223, and hundreds are still missing. Two hundred people are missing from Buncombe County, NC, alone, where Asheville is located. Earlier this week, authorities said that there were at least 600 missing. It’s not clear at this point how many of those have since been accounted for either through the discovery of their bodies, or by missing people managing to report in as telecommunications are slowly restored. As of today, over 700,000 customers remain without power, most of them in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Many communities in Appalachia remain largely inaccessible by road. Desperately needed supplies, including medicine, food, fresh water, ice, and fuel are being delivered to isolated communities by air, and even by pack mule in some mountainous regions.

IV fluid shortage and Impact Plastics lawsuits

The destruction has also impacted nationwide supplies of IV fluid. These are the fluids given intravenously in hospitals during surgeries and to hydrate patients. Baxter International is the nation’s largest supplier of IV fluids to hospitals. Their facility in Marion, NC, was impacted by flooding and production has halted. Other IV fluid suppliers in unaffected areas are ramping up their production to make up for the shortfall.

In Erwin, TN, four employees from Impact Plastics have been confirmed deceased, and some are still missing. Employees and family members of the missing and deceased say that the company did not allow employees to leave the facility until the floodwaters from the nearby Nolichucky River were too high for them to be able to escape. The company disputes this claim. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the allegations, while several families are preparing to sue the company.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel continues bombarding Lebanon, plans retaliation to Iran strike

On Tuesday, Iran launched hundreds of missiles from its territory into Israel, targeting military facilities around the country, as well as a building believed to be the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency. US military assets in the region as well as Israeli defensive systems were able to intercept most of the missiles.

However, we now know from videos posted online that dozens of these missiles did hit their targets. A video shows one air base being struck at least nine times in quick succession. Israel has not revealed the extent of the damage.

Iran declared the missile strikes to be retaliation for Israel’s assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon last month and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital in June. Iran has repeatedly signaled that it does not want war with Israel, but will retaliate in defense of its territory and interests.

Israel plans to retaliate against Iran, but it is not clear what form this retaliation will take or how extensive it will be. This week, President Biden signaled that he would not support an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility. After reports on Thursday that the White House was “discussing” a possible strike on Iranian oil fields, oil prices surged. Fearing another inflationary gas hike ahead of the November election, Biden apparently had a change of heart today and said that Israel should consider “other alternatives”.

Offensives in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank

Meanwhile, Israel continues bombarding Lebanon in Beirut, Tyre, and other densely populated areas. Israel has also bombed some of the main roads from Lebanon into Syria, which thousands of people had been using to flee to safety. The destruction of these key crossings will also make it more difficult to bring in food and other necessary supplies. Israel is apparently seeking to inflict its Gaza starvation strategy on the whole of Lebanon.

Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon is not proceeding according to plan. Despite the chaos created by Israel’s assassination of most of Hezbollah’s commanders and leadership, Hezbollah’s infantry has managed to mount a fearsome defense against the Israeli invaders. Israel Defense Force chief Herzl Halevi has touted his troops’ preparedness for their operation in Lebanon, something the IDF has been planning certainly as far back as October 8 of last year, if not longer. However, Hezbollah has clearly been making plans of their own, and their fighters have managed to inflict significant Israeli losses.

Throughout all of this, Israel has continued to bombard Gaza, killing dozens of people a day in heavily populated areas and in previously declared “safe zones” near Khan Yunis. The IDF has also carried out deadly airstrikes on refugee camps in the occupied West Bank this week.

Aside from wanton death, terror, and destruction, Israel is unlikely to achieve much militarily in Lebanon, or in its brinksmanship with Iran. However, the furor on these two fronts has been largely successful in distracting the public and media attention from Israel’s ongoing efforts to inflict as much misery and destruction on the Palestinians as possible.