Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard in Tokyo.
Al Jazeera reports that an Israeli airstrike on the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed at least 73 people.
The Qatar-based broadcaster carried the report, citing information from authorities in Gaza. The casualties in a residential area in the northern city of Beit Lahiya reportedly included children and women, with many others injured. The Israeli military has been stepping up its operations in its offensive in the northern part of Gaza. Local media report on Saturday that in the neighboring city of Jabalia, a total of 30 people were killed. Multiple media outlets are reporting that the U.S. will send Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel on Tuesday in the hopes of resuming ceasefire talks. But any negotiations could see rough going as the Islamic group Hamas is also poised to continue its hardline stance.
And Israel says a drone hit the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday. He was not at home at the time and no one else was reported injured. The Prime Minister's office and other sources say 3 unmanned aerial vehicles crossed from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday. And one of them hit Netanyahu's house in the town of Sizaria. The site is about 70 kilometers from the border with Lebanon.
Israeli security authorities are reportedly dealing seriously with the incident, which managed to get by interception systems and reach deep inside the country. Netanyahu released a statement blaming the Lebanese Shia Muslim group Hezbollah. And calling the incident an assassination attempt. He called it a grave mistake and warned that anyone who tries to harm Israel's citizens will pay a heavy price. Now Israeli military and media reports say on Saturday about 180 other projectiles fired by Hezbollah crossed from Lebanon into Israel. One person in northern Israel was reportedly killed and 14 were injured. Hezbollah has vowed to step up attacks on Israel in response to the killing of Yahya Sinuar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has expressed solidarity with Hamas.
And defense chiefs from the Group of Seven nations have issued a joint declaration saying they are committedto coordinating a security and defense presence in the Indo-Pacific region. This comes amid China's increasing military activity in the area.
The first defense ministerial meeting under the G7 framework was held in the Italian city of Naples. A joint declaration adopted by the G7 ministers on Saturday reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine. The ministers also expressed their concern about recent military drills carried out by China around Taiwan. Japan's Defense Minister Nakatani Gen. described how Chinese and Russian military aircraft had recently intruded into his country's airspace. Nakatani also noted that Russia was increasing its collaboration with China and North Korea. The G7 statement said they reiterate their strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the statusquo by force or coercion.
And NHK World's Inada Kiyoshi reports from Naples about Japan's role at the G7 meeting.
What Nakatani wanted to achieve was to keep European countries interested in East Asia. The G7 has expressed its willingness to remain committed to the region's security. Japanese government sources say the country's efforts have paid off.
But there is no end in sight for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East is deteriorating. A senior defense ministry official expressed concern that the G7 will become focused on these ongoing challenges and shift their attention away from Asia.
Japan plans to promote individual defense cooperation with the other G7 members to increase their involvement in East Asia. Inada Kyoshi NHK World, Naples.
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Investigative sources say a man arrested after allegedly throwing what appeared to be firebombs in front of the headquarters of Japan's main ruling party was wearing protective gear at the time of the incident. Now, the police believe the suspect had been carefully had been carefully prepared and are investigating his motive and other details.
On Saturday morning, the man approached the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in a van and threw the objects. He then drove on and crashed the van into the fence of the Prime Minister's office, roughly 500 meters away from the first scene. Tokyo police arrested the 49 year old man, Usuda Atsunobu, on suspicion of throwing an apparent smoke bomb toward a police officer guarding the Prime Minister's office. Police say the man is currently not talking. Investigators say the man also sprayed liquid of some sort in front of the LDP building, apparently using a high-pressure cleaning machine.
Three riot police officers say their throats were irritated. The investigation found that unused Molotov cocktails left inside the car contained mixtures of gasoline, alcohol and other substances. It also found that each bottle had two fire starters that were fixed with adhesive tape.
And North Korea's foreign minister, Choe Song-hui, has denounced a new multinational team to monitor UN sanctions, calling it unlawful and illegitimate. Choe made the announcement on Sunday. The minister said the existence of such a mechanism constitutes a denial of the UN Charter. The launch of the monitoring team involving Japan, the U.S., South Korea and eight other nations was announced on Wednesday. Choi named all 11 countries and warned the forces involved in the smear campaign will have to pay a dear price for it. Choi also referred to the North's claim that South Korean drones scattered propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang earlier this month. She said the US will be held accountable for the South's criminal act.
And Ukraine has accused Russia of escalating its invasion of the country by involving North Korea. It released new footage, which it claims shows Pyongyang's troops being outfitted in Russian gear in preparation for deployment to Ukraine.
The video was released on social media showing North Korean soldiers apparently receiving equipment at training facilities in Russia. They're standing in line and speaking Korean. The video is around 30 seconds long. It says it was taken at a training facility in the coastal region of the Russian Far East, the Ukrainian foreign minister wrote on social media on Friday. North Korea is aiding Russian aggression against Ukraine with weapons and personnel, not mercenaries, regular units. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said North Korea dispatched about 1,500 special forces troops to Russia's Far East this month. It also said it believes the soldiers will be deployed in Ukraine after undergoing training by the Russian military. Now, meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters the organization cannot confirm if North Korean soldiers are engaged in the war effort at this moment.
And those are the top stories for this hour.
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And that's a wrap for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard. Thank you very much for joining us.
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