Already and this is the dailyas this is the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.

Already and this is the dailyas this is the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.

Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Tuesday, the first of October. I'm zara, i'm emma. Over the weekend, Hesbolla's longtime leader, Hassan Nastralla was killed by an Israeli air strike in Lebanon. It marks a significant shift in the region, with Nastrala having been in power for over thirty years. In today's deep dive, we'll explain how we got here and what it means for the conflict between Israel and Hesballa moving forward. But first em what's making headlines.

Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Tuesday, the first of October. I'm zara, i'm emma. Over the weekend, Hesbolla's longtime leader, Hassan Nastralla was killed by an Israeli air strike in Lebanon. It marks a significant shift in the region, with Nastrala having been in power for over thirty years. In today's deep dive, we'll explain how we got here and what it means for the conflict between Israel and Hesballa moving forward. But first em what's making headlines.

The federal government has appointed After Malik as the Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia in Australia. Malik will begin a three year term on the fourteenth of October and will report to the Prime Minister and the Multicultural Affairs Minister. Malik, who has spent over a decade working in the New South Wales premiers Department, said he doesn't tend to advocate that quote one form of hatred is more important than another. Both antisemitism and Islamophobia are unacceptable, he said. This week's appointment comes nearly three months after the government appointed Gillian Siegel as the Special Envoy to combat antisemitism.

The federal government has appointed After Malik as the Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia in Australia. Malik will begin a three year term on the fourteenth of October and will report to the Prime Minister and the Multicultural Affairs Minister. Malik, who has spent over a decade working in the New South Wales premiers Department, said he doesn't tend to advocate that quote one form of hatred is more important than another. Both antisemitism and Islamophobia are unacceptable, he said. This week's appointment comes nearly three months after the government appointed Gillian Siegel as the Special Envoy to combat antisemitism.

The death toll of Hurricane Helene in the US has risen to about one hundred people. Strong storm winds and rain conditions have led to the destruction of homes and businesses across the country's southeastern states. It's been reported that supplies have been airlifted to areas heavily affected Due to hundreds of road closures. More than five hundred people are unaccounted for as the search continues and survivors wait for phone towers to be reinstalled.

The death toll of Hurricane Helene in the US has risen to about one hundred people. Strong storm winds and rain conditions have led to the destruction of homes and businesses across the country's southeastern states. It's been reported that supplies have been airlifted to areas heavily affected Due to hundreds of road closures. More than five hundred people are unaccounted for as the search continues and survivors wait for phone towers to be reinstalled.

The University of Melbourne has appointed its first female Vice Chancellor, with Professor Emma Johnston to take on the role. Johnston's appointment comes after former Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskel announced in April that he would be stepping down from the role. The new VC will move on from her role as Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of Sydney to begin working at the University of Melbourne from February next year.

The University of Melbourne has appointed its first female Vice Chancellor, with Professor Emma Johnston to take on the role. Johnston's appointment comes after former Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskel announced in April that he would be stepping down from the role. The new VC will move on from her role as Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of Sydney to begin working at the University of Melbourne from February next year.

And today's good news, Paleontologists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a giant dinosaur. It's estimated to be seventy two million years old. The dig was conducted by the Philip J. Curry Dinosaur Museum in Canada. The dinosaur uncovered is believed to be a Packy Rhinosaurus as Emma has just instructed me more than four times, and the uncovered skull is the second adult skull found by researchers, weighing in at a hefty two hundred and seventy kilograms. The skull has been nicknamed Big Sam nailed it. Over the weekend, the leader of Hezbala, his name was Hassan Nasralla, was killed in Lebanon by an Israeli air strike. In a statement, the group said in Australia had been killed in a strike on its central headquarters in the center of Beirut, Lebanon's capital. He was killed alongside a number of other high ranking members of Hesbela.

And today's good news, Paleontologists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a giant dinosaur. It's estimated to be seventy two million years old. The dig was conducted by the Philip J. Curry Dinosaur Museum in Canada. The dinosaur uncovered is believed to be a Packy Rhinosaurus as Emma has just instructed me more than four times, and the uncovered skull is the second adult skull found by researchers, weighing in at a hefty two hundred and seventy kilograms. The skull has been nicknamed Big Sam nailed it. Over the weekend, the leader of Hezbala, his name was Hassan Nasralla, was killed in Lebanon by an Israeli air strike. In a statement, the group said in Australia had been killed in a strike on its central headquarters in the center of Beirut, Lebanon's capital. He was killed alongside a number of other high ranking members of Hesbela.

Okay, so before we go into what happened on the weekend, the impacts of that, why it was significant, I think it's really important to take a step back, particularly when stories like this develop. A lot of us can feel left behind. Maybe we're missing pieces of the puzzle. So I wanted to ask you to give us a little bit of background on Hesbela before we go any further.

Okay, so before we go into what happened on the weekend, the impacts of that, why it was significant, I think it's really important to take a step back, particularly when stories like this develop. A lot of us can feel left behind. Maybe we're missing pieces of the puzzle. So I wanted to ask you to give us a little bit of background on Hesbela before we go any further.

Yeah. So, Hesbela, the word itself is derived from the Arabic term hizb Allah, which translates roughly to party of God. It was established after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in nineteen eighty two, as the country itself was grappling with a civil war. Hesbela is based in Lebanon and receives funding and training from Iran. Australia, alongside a lot of other Western nations, lists Hesbela as a terrorist organization and its manifesto specifically calls for the destruction of Israel.

Yeah. So, Hesbela, the word itself is derived from the Arabic term hizb Allah, which translates roughly to party of God. It was established after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in nineteen eighty two, as the country itself was grappling with a civil war. Hesbela is based in Lebanon and receives funding and training from Iran. Australia, alongside a lot of other Western nations, lists Hesbela as a terrorist organization and its manifesto specifically calls for the destruction of Israel.

And just to clarify, Lebanon as a country is governed by a parliamentary democracy of elected officials, despite Hesbela's presence in the region, right.

And just to clarify, Lebanon as a country is governed by a parliamentary democracy of elected officials, despite Hesbela's presence in the region, right.

Yeah, exactly. So while there are members of parliament who do represent Hesbela, it is not the governing party, as for example, Kamas is in Gaza. It's a different situation there. So, following its invasion in the nineteen eighties, Israel officially withdrew from Lebanon in two thousand. At the time, the UN drew up what it called a provisional border that was between the two countries, and they called it the blue line. That blue line has been monitored by UN peacekeeping forces ever since that time. And I should say that the relationship between Israel and Hesbela, it's a long and a checkered one, and it would take its own podcast to explain what has happened since that to how we got to here. But for the sake of understanding these most recent events, I think that where we need to begin is on October eighth of last year, and that is the day after Hummas's attack on Israel, and it is the day that Hesbelah began firing rockets into Israel. At that time, I'm quoting directly from Hesbala here it declared to hum Us, our souls are with you, our history and our guns and our rockets are with you. Now. Since that time, the eighth of October last year, there have been escalating cross border attacks between Israel and Hesbeala. They've been continuing for much of a year. We are now approaching that same timeline a year later, but they have certainly escalated in the past few weeks.

Yeah, exactly. So while there are members of parliament who do represent Hesbela, it is not the governing party, as for example, Kamas is in Gaza. It's a different situation there. So, following its invasion in the nineteen eighties, Israel officially withdrew from Lebanon in two thousand. At the time, the UN drew up what it called a provisional border that was between the two countries, and they called it the blue line. That blue line has been monitored by UN peacekeeping forces ever since that time. And I should say that the relationship between Israel and Hesbela, it's a long and a checkered one, and it would take its own podcast to explain what has happened since that to how we got to here. But for the sake of understanding these most recent events, I think that where we need to begin is on October eighth of last year, and that is the day after Hummas's attack on Israel, and it is the day that Hesbelah began firing rockets into Israel. At that time, I'm quoting directly from Hesbala here it declared to hum Us, our souls are with you, our history and our guns and our rockets are with you. Now. Since that time, the eighth of October last year, there have been escalating cross border attacks between Israel and Hesbeala. They've been continuing for much of a year. We are now approaching that same timeline a year later, but they have certainly escalated in the past few weeks.

Okay, So Hesbela began launching rockets on October eighth, twenty twenty three. We're now in October, nearly a year later, as you mentioned, So what has the escalation looked like?

Okay, So Hesbela began launching rockets on October eighth, twenty twenty three. We're now in October, nearly a year later, as you mentioned, So what has the escalation looked like?

So for a while it was much of the same. I said, it was those rockets, and then Israel was retaliating and sending rockets back into Lebanon. But it kind of looked that same way for the past eleven months, and then last month Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu said that his cabinet had updated its war objectives to include returning the residents of the north securely to their homes. What he is referring to there is the residents in the north of Israel who have been displaced due to those rockets that we were talking about earlier, and so according to the Natanyahu government, an objective of the war was now to return those residents home, and that was essentially saying that they were going to escalate their war against Hesbolah.

So for a while it was much of the same. I said, it was those rockets, and then Israel was retaliating and sending rockets back into Lebanon. But it kind of looked that same way for the past eleven months, and then last month Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu said that his cabinet had updated its war objectives to include returning the residents of the north securely to their homes. What he is referring to there is the residents in the north of Israel who have been displaced due to those rockets that we were talking about earlier, and so according to the Natanyahu government, an objective of the war was now to return those residents home, and that was essentially saying that they were going to escalate their war against Hesbolah.

Okay, So we knew that this escalation was going to be imminent. What form has that taken? How have things changed?

Okay, So we knew that this escalation was going to be imminent. What form has that taken? How have things changed?

So, I mean it's taken a few different forms. The first was just a day after the Israeli government updated those war objectives, and that was when we saw those pager and walkie talkie attacks happen across le So if you weren't familiar with that story, the first of the two attacks was targeting pages that were used by Hesbella members. According to the group, those pages all exploded at once. We understand that there were a couple of beeps and then they exploded. That attack appeared to be targeting members of the group, as I said, who owned those pages, And through all of the reporting it appears they had obtained those pages in an effort to not have their communications tracked by Israel. Lebanon's Health ministry said that after that attack, nine people, including some Hesbeala members, were killed in the attack, and then thousands more were injured. It was then just a day later that walkie talkies exploded across Lebanon, killing twenty people, also including members of the group, and injuring hundreds of others. And so those were the two recent significant escalations and from there it's really grown. It was just days later after those two attacks that the Israeli military launched a campaign of air strikes, said we're also targeting Hesbela members. Those strikes killed more than five hundred people, in what became the deadliest day in Lebanon since two thousand and six. The IDF said that those strikes were quote proactive and extensive, and that they were targeting both members of Hesbela but also basis so the infrastructure of Hesbala. At the time, authorities didn't really confirm how many of those killed had been members of Hesbala, But what we did see happen was that Hesbela really increased the number of daily rockets that they were firing into Israel.

So, I mean it's taken a few different forms. The first was just a day after the Israeli government updated those war objectives, and that was when we saw those pager and walkie talkie attacks happen across le So if you weren't familiar with that story, the first of the two attacks was targeting pages that were used by Hesbella members. According to the group, those pages all exploded at once. We understand that there were a couple of beeps and then they exploded. That attack appeared to be targeting members of the group, as I said, who owned those pages, And through all of the reporting it appears they had obtained those pages in an effort to not have their communications tracked by Israel. Lebanon's Health ministry said that after that attack, nine people, including some Hesbeala members, were killed in the attack, and then thousands more were injured. It was then just a day later that walkie talkies exploded across Lebanon, killing twenty people, also including members of the group, and injuring hundreds of others. And so those were the two recent significant escalations and from there it's really grown. It was just days later after those two attacks that the Israeli military launched a campaign of air strikes, said we're also targeting Hesbela members. Those strikes killed more than five hundred people, in what became the deadliest day in Lebanon since two thousand and six. The IDF said that those strikes were quote proactive and extensive, and that they were targeting both members of Hesbela but also basis so the infrastructure of Hesbala. At the time, authorities didn't really confirm how many of those killed had been members of Hesbala, But what we did see happen was that Hesbela really increased the number of daily rockets that they were firing into Israel.

Okay, so we've seen this significant intensifying of tensions, firstly with those really targeted attacks in Lebanon you mentioned the pages and the walkie talkies, to those more widespread, deadlier strikes across Lebanon, and then the retaliation of more rockets into Israel. So that pretty much brings us to last week. Talk me through the weekend. What happened.

Okay, so we've seen this significant intensifying of tensions, firstly with those really targeted attacks in Lebanon you mentioned the pages and the walkie talkies, to those more widespread, deadlier strikes across Lebanon, and then the retaliation of more rockets into Israel. So that pretty much brings us to last week. Talk me through the weekend. What happened.

So over the weekend, as I mentioned at the time, Hesbala's leader, Hassan Nasralla was killed, and he was killed by an Israeli air strike that hit Hesbala's central headquarters. To give you a bit of background into Nasralla and to I guess just emphasize how significant this is. He was elected as the secretary General of Hesbala in nineteen ninety two. He was at that point aged thirty two, so he had held this position for over three decades. When he assumed the leadership, Hesbala was growing in dominance in the south of Lebanon, but it was by no means the power that it is today. In the decades since he was appointed leader, the group had grown its influence not just in Lebanon, but also across the Middle East more generally. We know that Hesbala has fought alongside Syria's President Bashah al Asad against the popular uprising back in two thousand and eleven. What we also know is that Nasrela had avoided public appearances since two thousand and six.

So over the weekend, as I mentioned at the time, Hesbala's leader, Hassan Nasralla was killed, and he was killed by an Israeli air strike that hit Hesbala's central headquarters. To give you a bit of background into Nasralla and to I guess just emphasize how significant this is. He was elected as the secretary General of Hesbala in nineteen ninety two. He was at that point aged thirty two, so he had held this position for over three decades. When he assumed the leadership, Hesbala was growing in dominance in the south of Lebanon, but it was by no means the power that it is today. In the decades since he was appointed leader, the group had grown its influence not just in Lebanon, but also across the Middle East more generally. We know that Hesbala has fought alongside Syria's President Bashah al Asad against the popular uprising back in two thousand and eleven. What we also know is that Nasrela had avoided public appearances since two thousand and six.

Wow, that's a long time, an.

Wow, that's a long time, an.

Incredibly long time. I mean, he had been doing televised events, and he had been doing all of that, but out of fear of assassination, he had not been seen publicly. And so I guess that just paints a picture as to how significant it is that he was both found and targeted in this air strike over the weekend.

Incredibly long time. I mean, he had been doing televised events, and he had been doing all of that, but out of fear of assassination, he had not been seen publicly. And so I guess that just paints a picture as to how significant it is that he was both found and targeted in this air strike over the weekend.

And a man who has spent the majority of his adult life at the hell of this group. So, given the significance of Nozraala as a senior figure in this conflict, what has the reaction been.

And a man who has spent the majority of his adult life at the hell of this group. So, given the significance of Nozraala as a senior figure in this conflict, what has the reaction been.

Well, I think as expected, the response has been very varied depending on who and where it is coming from. So if we start with the US and Israel, who of course are close allies to one another, they both described Nostralla as a terrorist. Prime Minister Benjamin Natanier, who said, and I'm quoting directly here, he said, we have set alled accounts with someone who was responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many nationals of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French. Nosrala was not just another terrorist, He was the terrorist. US President Joe Biden said in a statement following the announcement of Nasralla's death that his death from an Israeli air strike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israeli and Lebanese civilians. And one of the points that Joe Biden made quite clear in his statement was that he believes that Nasralla miscalculated on October eighth in beginning to send those rockets over, and that's what was really echoed by Kamala Harris in her statement as well.

Well, I think as expected, the response has been very varied depending on who and where it is coming from. So if we start with the US and Israel, who of course are close allies to one another, they both described Nostralla as a terrorist. Prime Minister Benjamin Natanier, who said, and I'm quoting directly here, he said, we have set alled accounts with someone who was responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many nationals of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French. Nosrala was not just another terrorist, He was the terrorist. US President Joe Biden said in a statement following the announcement of Nasralla's death that his death from an Israeli air strike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israeli and Lebanese civilians. And one of the points that Joe Biden made quite clear in his statement was that he believes that Nasralla miscalculated on October eighth in beginning to send those rockets over, and that's what was really echoed by Kamala Harris in her statement as well.

You've mentioned Zara that Hesbela is controlled, resourced, directed by Iran. So what has the Iranian response been.

You've mentioned Zara that Hesbela is controlled, resourced, directed by Iran. So what has the Iranian response been.

Well, I'd say starkly different to what we saw from Israel and from the US, which is of course to be expected. So Iranian state media reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Iatollah Ali Khmani declared five days of national mourning for Nusrala. He described Nosralla as quote a path and a school of thought that would continue through Hesbella's activity of significance. He said that Iran would continue its fight to confront the enemy and that Israel would face crushing blows as all regional resistance forces are ready to become involved. And I think it's important there to just explain Hesbalah is not the only proxy army that Iran has. We have also seen the Huthis in Yemen be equipped, resourced and directed by Iran. And there is also, of course the connection between Hamas and Iran. On the latter point, Hamas's previous political leader, Ismail Hania, was killed in Iran on Iranian soil, and all of this really just shows how deep this kind of regional conflict goes. Speaking now of Lebanon, it has declared three days of mourning following Maasrala's death.

Well, I'd say starkly different to what we saw from Israel and from the US, which is of course to be expected. So Iranian state media reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Iatollah Ali Khmani declared five days of national mourning for Nusrala. He described Nosralla as quote a path and a school of thought that would continue through Hesbella's activity of significance. He said that Iran would continue its fight to confront the enemy and that Israel would face crushing blows as all regional resistance forces are ready to become involved. And I think it's important there to just explain Hesbalah is not the only proxy army that Iran has. We have also seen the Huthis in Yemen be equipped, resourced and directed by Iran. And there is also, of course the connection between Hamas and Iran. On the latter point, Hamas's previous political leader, Ismail Hania, was killed in Iran on Iranian soil, and all of this really just shows how deep this kind of regional conflict goes. Speaking now of Lebanon, it has declared three days of mourning following Maasrala's death.

So what happens from here? Obviously we have seen the headlines for nearly a year now about concerns surrounding escalating conflict, Israel's war in Gaza expanding, you know, across the Middle East broadly, So what happens from here? Are we there now?

So what happens from here? Obviously we have seen the headlines for nearly a year now about concerns surrounding escalating conflict, Israel's war in Gaza expanding, you know, across the Middle East broadly, So what happens from here? Are we there now?

Yeah? Well, I mean, in the days before Nastraula was killed, there were already a number of nations calling for a seasire between Israel and Hezbala. So it was I'd say a very rare form of unity to see the US, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, UK and Qatar all come together and call for a twenty one day ceasefire. And that was to quote conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes safely.

Yeah? Well, I mean, in the days before Nastraula was killed, there were already a number of nations calling for a seasire between Israel and Hezbala. So it was I'd say a very rare form of unity to see the US, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, UK and Qatar all come together and call for a twenty one day ceasefire. And that was to quote conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes safely.

Wow, it's not every day you have most of the world's most powerful Western democracies joining forces with the UAE and Saudi authorities to sign a joint declaration exactly.

Wow, it's not every day you have most of the world's most powerful Western democracies joining forces with the UAE and Saudi authorities to sign a joint declaration exactly.

It was quite a big step, but of course that was before what happened this weekend. Also before the weekend, the US had committed to sending forces to the region in response to what it labeled as increased tension, but all of that changed this weekend. What happens from here is unknown. In terms of hes Bala's senior leadership, it wasn't just an Australa that was killed. We understand that much of the kind of senior command has been killed by Israeli forces, and that means that the group that has reigned with such power for so long is now really at the stage of having to rebuild. And what that looks like in its newest iteration, we really don't know at this stage. We also don't know where it leaves the conflict with Israel. Hes Blah and indeed Iran have committed to retaliation, but we don't know when, how what that will look like, so we will have to wait and see. Just to bring this closer to home for a moment, over the weekend, there were a number of protests and rallies held across the country that was to mark what's called a National Day of Action for Gaza that was being run by the Australia Palestine Advocacy. At some of those rallies, people were holding signs of either Nasralla himself, photos of the leader who had just been killed, or of Hezbollah's own signage. And what we've seen now is quite a strong political response to the events of the weekend. From the government side. We've seen Penny Wog, our Foreign Minister, come out and say we condemn any indication of support for a terrorist organization such as Hesbolah not only threatens national security but fuels fear and division in our communities. All of us, including every political leader, must stand together to reject terrorism and extremism. And then on the other side of politics, we had Peter Dudden and he has come out and demanded that there be law changes and laws that are passed with urgency. According to him, that would see visas canceled of people that were seen to be supporting Hesbeala over the weekend. In response, we had Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke say that he would consider refusing and canceling visas for anyone who seeks to incite discord in Australia and that he condemned quote any indication of support for a terrorist organization.

It was quite a big step, but of course that was before what happened this weekend. Also before the weekend, the US had committed to sending forces to the region in response to what it labeled as increased tension, but all of that changed this weekend. What happens from here is unknown. In terms of hes Bala's senior leadership, it wasn't just an Australa that was killed. We understand that much of the kind of senior command has been killed by Israeli forces, and that means that the group that has reigned with such power for so long is now really at the stage of having to rebuild. And what that looks like in its newest iteration, we really don't know at this stage. We also don't know where it leaves the conflict with Israel. Hes Blah and indeed Iran have committed to retaliation, but we don't know when, how what that will look like, so we will have to wait and see. Just to bring this closer to home for a moment, over the weekend, there were a number of protests and rallies held across the country that was to mark what's called a National Day of Action for Gaza that was being run by the Australia Palestine Advocacy. At some of those rallies, people were holding signs of either Nasralla himself, photos of the leader who had just been killed, or of Hezbollah's own signage. And what we've seen now is quite a strong political response to the events of the weekend. From the government side. We've seen Penny Wog, our Foreign Minister, come out and say we condemn any indication of support for a terrorist organization such as Hesbolah not only threatens national security but fuels fear and division in our communities. All of us, including every political leader, must stand together to reject terrorism and extremism. And then on the other side of politics, we had Peter Dudden and he has come out and demanded that there be law changes and laws that are passed with urgency. According to him, that would see visas canceled of people that were seen to be supporting Hesbeala over the weekend. In response, we had Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke say that he would consider refusing and canceling visas for anyone who seeks to incite discord in Australia and that he condemned quote any indication of support for a terrorist organization.

And the Australian Federal Police have also responded since the protests, They've said that they can't arrest someone for displaying images associated with an extremist group, so the legislation doesn't exist there yet. No doubt we'll see more conversation around this over the weeks to come. Zara, thank you so much for breaking that one down for us today. An incredibly complex story and one that no doubt will continue to develop, and we will keep you up to date here on The Daily Os.

And the Australian Federal Police have also responded since the protests, They've said that they can't arrest someone for displaying images associated with an extremist group, so the legislation doesn't exist there yet. No doubt we'll see more conversation around this over the weeks to come. Zara, thank you so much for breaking that one down for us today. An incredibly complex story and one that no doubt will continue to develop, and we will keep you up to date here on The Daily Os.

My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Calcotin woman from Gadigl Country. The Daily Os acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.

My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Calcotin woman from Gadigl Country. The Daily Os acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.