BANGKOK (AP) — A 64-year-old woman was preparing to do her evening dishes at her home outside Bangkok when she felt a sharp pain in her thigh and looked down to see a huge python taking hold of her.
“I was about to scoop some water and when I sat down it bit me immediately,” Arom Arunroj told Thailand's Thairath newspaper. “When I looked I saw the snake wrapping around me.”
The four-to-five-meter-long (13-to-16-foot-long) python coiled itself around her torso, squeezing her down to the floor of her kitchen.
“I grabbed it by the head, but it wouldn't release me,” she said. “It only tightened.”
Pythons are non-venomous constrictors, which kill their prey by gradually squeezing the breath out of it.
Propped up against her kitchen door, she cried for help but it wasn't until a neighbor happened to be walking by about an hour and a half later and heard her screams that authorities were called.
Responding police officer Anusorn Wongmalee told The Associated Press on Thursday that when he arrived the woman was still leaning against her door, looking exhausted and pale, with the snake coiled around her.
Police and animal control officers used a crowbar to hit the snake on the head until it released its grip and slithered away before it could be captured.
In all, Arom spent about two hours on Tuesday night in the clutches of the python before being freed.
She was treated for several bites but appeared to be otherwise unharmed in videos of her talking to Thai media shortly after the incident.
Encounters with snakes are not uncommon in Thailand, and last year 26 people were killed by venomous snake bites, according to government statistics. A total of 12,000 people were treated for venomous bites by snakes and other animals 2023.
The reticulated python is the largest snake found in Thailand and usually ranges in size from 1.5 meters to 6.5 meters (5 to 21 feet), weighing up to about 75 kilograms (165 pounds). They have been found as big as 10 meters (33 feet) long and 130 kilograms (287 pounds).
Smaller pythons feed on small mammals such as rats, but larger snakes switch to prey such as pigs, deer and even domestic dogs and cats. Attacks on humans are not common, though do happen occasionally.
In this photo provided by Kunyakit Thanawtchaikun, a python coils itself around Arom Arunro's torso, squeezing her down to the floor of her kitchen in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Kunyakit Thanawtchaikun)
Israel’s defense minister has declared the start of a “new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus toward the northern front against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Two waves of explosive attacks hit Syria and Lebanon: an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah that killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000 on Tuesday, and exploding walkie-talkies and other electronics Wednesday across Lebanon that killed at least 20 people and injured 450 others.
“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Wednesday.
The head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council promised the group would respond to Tuesday’s pager explosion attack with “special punishment.”
Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Here's the latest:
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes have killed at least 10 people in the Gaza Strip, including three women and three children.
They were laid to rest Thursday after the overnight strikes in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. Records at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed the toll and an Associated Press reporter counted the bodies.
Mohammed Abu Huweij said his wife and three children were killed while he was out getting food.
“The eldest, Mira, was 8 years old and the youngest was 9 months. What did they do?” he said. “I left, and when I came back my entire family had been martyred.”
Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians in its nearly yearlong campaign against Hamas, which operates in residential areas. The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.
The war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7 in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not say how many were fighters, but says a little over half were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s civil aviation authorities have banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
The measure announced Thursday comes after such devices, mainly used by members of the militant Hezbollah group, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing dozens and wounding 3,000 people over the past two days.
The authorities called on all airline companies to inform passengers using the airport that carrying pagers and walkie-talkies onto jets is banned “until further notice.” It added that authorities will confiscate such devices found with passengers.
JERUSALEM — Hezbollah says it struck a military position in northern Israel as part of its ongoing attacks in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.
The militant group has vowed to continue such operations after several of its members were killed and thousands wounded when their personal devices exploded, in what appeared to be a sophisticated attack by Israel.
Israeli media reported injuries from the strike early Thursday but there was no official confirmation.
Hezbollah began striking northern Israel shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both close allies of Iran.
Israel has responded to the near-daily fire with escalating strikes of its own and in recent days has warned of a wider military operation.
The military said early Thursday that it had struck several militant sites in southern Lebanon overnight.
JERUSALEM — Israeli security officials say an Israeli citizen has been indicted for involvement in an Iranian assassination plot against top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A statement from the Shin Bet internal security agency on Thursday said that the citizen was recruited by Iranian intelligence to “carry out terrorist activities” on Israeli soil and “promote assassination attacks” on Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar.
It was unclear how far the alleged plot had advanced. The statement did not say whether the Israeli had obtained a weapon or developed a concrete plan.
The statement said the Israeli had traveled to Iran twice — once in August following the assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion in Iran’s capital that was widely blamed on Israel. Israel has not said whether it was involved.
The Shin Bet said the assassination plot was an attempt by Iran to follow through on its pledge to avenge his death.
The statement said the Israeli was paid 5,000 euros ($5,575.60) but had demanded a million dollars before doing anything. The Iranians refused the demand but said they would be in touch, according to the Shin Bet.
Earlier this week, the Shin Bet said an explosion in a Tel Aviv park last September was linked to an attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff and defense minister.
The Lebanese militant group is closely allied with Iran.
On Tuesday, the police said they had found and dismantled a similar explosive device fitted with a camera and a mechanism that would allow it to be activated by Hezbollah.
It was unclear whether the indicted Israeli was linked to either of the alleged bomb plots.
SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian authorities rejected claims that exploding devices have been shipped through the territory of the Balkan country.
“No customs operations with communication equipment (pagers) have been carried out through the territory of Bulgaria,” the state agency for national security said in a statement on Thursday.
It came in response to media reports alleging that a company registered in Bulgaria had supplied the Lebanese organization Hezbollah with the devices, which later exploded in Lebanon and Syria.
The statement added that the agency was carrying out joint checks with the National Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Interior over the alleged involvement of a Bulgarian-registered company in the supply of communications equipment to Hezbollah.
The Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd., owned by a Norwegian citizen, has been linked by Hungarian media to the sale of the devices that exploded in Lebanon.
Norta Global Ltd. was registered in April 2022 as a project management company, but there is no data available that they produce anything, and there are no records available about their financial operations. It is registered at the same address in downtown Sofia as 196 other companies.
TOKYO — Japanese wireless communication equipment-maker Icom says it cannot confirm whether a walkie-talkie used in the explosive attacks against Hezbollah was related to the company, noting that the production and sales of that device and its battery were discontinued about a decade ago.
The Osaka-based Icom was responding Thursday to a report that said one of the walkie-talkies used in the attacks a day earlier had a sticker with the company’s logo. Icom also noted that the device in question did not have an anti-counterfeit hologram sticker, which all authentic Icom products should be carrying.
Company executive Yoshiki Enomoto told Japanese television NTV he was “surprised” by the news. He said the company could not confirm if the unit in question was Icom-made.
“This specific device had a lot of fake copies out in the market,” he said, adding that company officials could only determine its authenticity if they see its circuits.
Icom said the wireless radio unit IC-V82 was once manufactured for export including to the Middle East from 2004 to October 2014. But the production and shipment of its main unit ended about 10 years ago and batteries for the main units have also been discontinued.
The company said its export models are only distributed through official sales representatives under rigid export control rules set by the Japanese Trade Ministry.
All Icom radio equipment is manufactured by its subsidiary, Wakayama Icom Inc., under strict security controls that only allow use of authorized parts. The products are only manufactured at the Wakayama plant in Japan, Icom said.
This photo shows a sign featuring the names of several companies on the door of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria is headquartered in Budapest, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Hezbollah fighters salute as they stand next to the coffins of four victims who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, during their funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Lebanese army soldiers sit on their armoured vehicle as mourners carry the coffin of Mohammed Mahdi, son of Hezbollah legislator Ali Ammar, who was killed Tuesday after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Female soldiers attend the funeral for Israeli Defense Forces paramedic Sgt. Agam Naim, the first woman Israeli Defense Forces soldier killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Mishmarot, Israel, Wednesday, Israel, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A poster of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is placed next to bouquets of flowers and Lebanese flag in front of the Lebanese Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
This video grab shows a walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo)
This video grab, shows a walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo)
A poster of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is placed on flowers in front of the Lebanese Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
