Israeli airstrikes overshadow French-US ceasefire push in Lebanon

Update Israeli airstrikes overshadow French-US ceasefire push in Lebanon
An Israeli military helicopter approaches Haifa’s Rambam hospital before landing there on October 11, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 12 October 2024
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Israeli airstrikes overshadow French-US ceasefire push in Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes overshadow French-US ceasefire push in Lebanon
  • Israeli planes target villages in Iqlim Al-Kharoub, and the districts of Jbeil and Batroun
  • Hezbollah targets Safed, Tiberias, settlements and military bases with rocket, drone strikes

BEIRUT: International diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon gathered pace on Saturday against a backdrop of destruction in southern border towns, the Bekaa, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron, while US presidential envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein called Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss the deadly Israel-Hezbollah confrontation.
Macron said that he is “making the necessary contacts” to prevent Israel from continuing its ground military operations, but said that “the Lebanese must take the necessary steps to cease fire, implement Resolution 1701, and quickly resolve the presidential election to reach a political and diplomatic solution,” according to Berri’s office.
Mikati’s media office said the discussion with Hochstein focused on “ways to achieve a ceasefire and stop the military confrontations between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in order to return to discussing a comprehensive political solution based on the implementation of Resolution 1701.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called both Mikati and Berri on Friday. During a 40-minute conversation with Berri, they agreed on three points: “Committing to international resolutions, particularly Resolution 1701, preventing the expansion of the war, and reaching a diplomatic solution,” according to Berri’s office.
Political efforts to mitigate the losses Lebanon is suffering as a result of Israel’s war on Hezbollah are barely heard amid the noise of airstrikes, Israeli artillery, and the immense destruction in southern towns, the Bekaa, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the cries of people who have lost everything and now find themselves in shelters or on the street.
A closed national meeting was held under the title “In Defense of Lebanon: Proposing a Rescue Roadmap” at the residence of the head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea in Maarab. The meeting brought together Lebanese figures opposing Hezbollah’s ongoing war.
Geagea said the Lebanese people “deserve to live a dignified life free from the specter of wars. It is essential to restore the state amid the collapse of the structure over everyone’s heads and the dominance over the decision of war in Lebanon.”
He noted that “the accumulation of half-measures will not lead to solutions or stability without the establishment of a state.
“The international and Arab communities do not trust the current ruling system that is poised against the state.
“There is an urgent need to first achieve a ceasefire. We must proceed to elect a president who commits in advance to implementing international resolutions 1559, 1680, and 1701, as well as adhering to the provisions of the Taif Agreement.
“The elected president must ensure that the strategic decision-making authority resides solely with the state and grant the Lebanese Army all necessary powers.
“It is essential that the president is detached from all failed policies and is recognized for integrity and patriotism. Following this, binding parliamentary consultations should take place, leading to the election of a prime minister and the formation of a government.”
On Saturday afternoon, for the first time, the Israeli raids targeted the entrance to the town of Barja in the Iqlim Al-Kharoub and the main road of Nahr Ibrahim toward Qartaba in the Jbeil region in northern Lebanon. They also targeted the town of Deir Billa in the Batroun district.
Amid these developments, Hezbollah’s media relations official, Mohammed Afif, urged “against rushing to conclusions” regarding the political outcomes of the war.
“The struggle against the enemy is still in its early stages and the Israeli ground incursion into Lebanese territory will not be a picnic,” he said.
On Saturday, there were no further Israeli attacks on UNIFIL forces in the border area, in contrast to incidents over the previous two days that drew a wave of international condemnation. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said “Israel is violating Resolution 1701 by targeting our forces.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf arrived in Beirut after personally flying an Iranian aircraft to Rafic Hariri International Airport. Qalibaf said that his visit was made at the invitation of Berri, and that he brought “a message from the leader of the Islamic revolution, the president, and the Iranian people to the Lebanese people and the resistance.”
The Iranian official met Mikati and Berri, and inspected the site of the Israeli raid on the Basta area in the heart of Beirut, accompanied by a number of Hezbollah MPs.
He said: “We have always been on the side of the Lebanese people, their resistance and the Lebanese government. We extend our full assistance to the people and hope that they will be victorious. We will remain by their side in these challenging times. I will head from here to Geneva and I will carry with me the issues of the oppressed Lebanese and Palestinian peoples.”
However, the Iranian official heard from Mikati that “the government’s priorities at this stage are to work on a ceasefire, stop the Israeli aggression, preserve Lebanon’s security and the safety of its people, uphold Lebanon’s commitment to implementing Resolution 1701, strengthening the army’s presence in the southern region, and engage in necessary communications with influential countries and the UN to exert pressure on Israel for full compliance with the resolution.”
Israeli attacks continued on the south and Bekaa, while cautious calm prevailed in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The Israeli army claimed in a statement that “Hezbollah’s activities are forcing us to act against it.”
The Israeli army issued a new warning to the residents of 23 border towns and villages in the south to “evacuate and head north of the Awali River. It is forbidden to return to your homes until further notice.” Most residents of these towns left last year.
The most serious Israeli warning was directed at ambulances and Civil Defense vehicles, with the Israeli army claiming that “Hezbollah fighters are using them for transport.” The army warned that it would target the vehicles.
More than 25 devastating Israeli airstrikes were recorded on border towns, while Hezbollah reported “direct clashes with Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of the town of Dhayra, ambushing an Israeli force and blowing up an Israeli vehicle.”
The party counted “seven military operations carried out since dawn to counter incursion attempts.”
Lebanese Red Cross chief Georges Kettaneh said: “The movement of the Red Cross ambulances is carried out after informing the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNIFIL about our movements and missions, especially when traveling on the border, to ensure the protection of volunteers.”
In the Bekaa, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on Nabi Sheet, Saraain and Kfar Dan, killing one person and wounding three others. Two were wounded in Al-Kayyal, and four were killed in an airstrike on Boudai.
The Israeli army said that about 30 rockets were launched toward the Galilee panhandle. Israeli media reported “violent explosions” in the city of Safed, and others in Kiryat Shmona.
Hezbollah said it targeted “the occupied city of Tiberias with a salvo of rockets and targeted a military gathering on the outskirts of the town of Blida.”
It also targeted military gatherings in the Metula, Kfar Yuval, Khirbet Nafha, Kfar Giladi and Al-Manara settlements, and a communications base in Keren Naftali.
Hezbollah carried out a drone attack on Ein Margaliot, and another attack with assault drones on the air defense base in Kiryat Eliezer, west of Haifa.


French, Algerian ties ‘back to normal’, France says after talks

French, Algerian ties ‘back to normal’, France says after talks
Updated 26 min 26 sec ago
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French, Algerian ties ‘back to normal’, France says after talks

French, Algerian ties ‘back to normal’, France says after talks
  • French foreign minister in Algiers after presidents talk
  • French firms being cut out, wheat imports collapse

ALGIERS: France’s foreign minister said on Sunday that ties with Algeria were back to normal after he held 2 1/2 hours of talks with Algeria’s president following months of bickering that have hurt Paris’ economic and security interests in its former colony.
Ties between Paris and Algiers have been complicated for decades, but took a turn for the worse last July when Macron angered Algeria by recognizing a plan for autonomy for the Western Sahara region under Moroccan sovereignty.
A poor relationship has major security, economic and social repercussions: trade is extensive and some 10 percent of France’s 68 million population has links to Algeria, according to French officials.
“We are reactivating as of today all the mechanisms of cooperation in all sectors. We are going back to normal and to repeat the words of President (Abdelmadjid) Tebboune: ‘the curtain is lifted’,” Jean-Noel Barrot said in a statement at the presidential palace in Algiers after 2 1/2 hours of talks.
His visit comes after a call between President Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart Tebboune on March 31, during which the two agreed to a broad roadmap to calm tensions.
French officials say Algiers had put obstacles to administrative authorizations and new financing for French firms operating in the country.
Nowhere was that felt more than in wheat imports. Traders say the diplomatic rift led Algerian grains agency OAIC to tacitly exclude French wheat and firms in its import tenders since October. OAIC has said it treats all suppliers fairly, applying technical requirements.
Barrot said he had specifically brought up the difficulties regarding economic exchanges, notably in the agrobusiness, automobile and maritime transport sectors.
“President Tebboune reassured me of his will to give them new impetus,” Barrot said.

AUTHOR ARRESTED
Beyond business, the relationship has also soured to the point where security cooperation, including over Islamist militancy, stopped. The detention by Algiers in November of 80-year-old Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal also worsened the relationship.
He has since been sentenced to five years in prison. Barrot said he hoped a gesture of “humanity” could be made by Algiers given his age and health.
With Macron’s government under pressure to toughen immigration policies, the spat has fed into domestic politics in both countries.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has called for a 1968 pact between the two countries that makes it easier for Algerians to settle in France to be reviewed, after Algiers refused to take back some of its citizens who were ordered to leave France under the “OQTF” (obligation to leave French territory) deportation regime.
Barrot said Retailleau would soon go to Algiers and that the two sides would resume cooperation on judicial issues.
The relationship between the two countries is scarred by the trauma of the 1954-1962 war in which the North African country, which had a large settler population and was treated as an integral part of France under colonial rule, won independence.


Frankly Speaking: Will President Aoun deliver on his pledges for Lebanon? 

Frankly Speaking: Will President Aoun deliver on his pledges for Lebanon? 
Updated 13 sec ago
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Frankly Speaking: Will President Aoun deliver on his pledges for Lebanon? 

Frankly Speaking: Will President Aoun deliver on his pledges for Lebanon? 
  • Nadim Shehadi sees hope for Lebanon’s economic recovery if the nation’s Shiite community is “liberated” from Hezbollah’s control
  • Economist and political analyst says full normalization between Lebanon and Israel is unlikely unless the Palestinian issue is resolved

RIYADH: Lebanon faces a pivotal moment in its history as President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam take the reins of a country battered by years of economic crisis, political paralysis, and regional instability.

Upon taking office in January, ending a two-year political vacuum, Aoun pledged to prioritize reform and recovery, address the influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, revitalize the Lebanese economy, and pursue regional cooperation and stability.

Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Lebanese economist and political analyst Nadim Shehadi examined whether Aoun is likely to deliver on his pledges or if notions of Lebanon’s rebirth are overly optimistic.

“There is certainly a lot of optimism, not just because of local developments in Lebanon, but because of major regional ones and international developments,” Shehadi said.

“It looks like the international and regional forces are aligned to resolve the problems of the region as a whole, not just of Lebanon. And that’s the cause of the optimism, because a lot of the problems here depend on a regional solution in a way.”

One of the defining features of Aoun’s leadership is his outsider status. Unlike many of his predecessors, Aoun hails from the military rather than Lebanon’s entrenched political establishment — a fact that has bolstered hopes for meaningful change.

Lebanese economist and political analyst Nadim Shehadi examined whether President Aoun is likely to deliver on his pledges or if notions of Lebanon’s rebirth are overly optimistic. (AN Photo)

“The election of General Aoun, which came with international support, one of the significant features of this is that he’s from outside the political establishment,” Shehadi told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen.

“Same with the prime minister, who has also been brought in from outside the political establishment,” he added, referring to Salam’s background in the judiciary. “That’s another cause for optimism.”

However, optimism alone cannot solve Lebanon’s deep-seated problems. The country remains mired in economic turmoil, with widespread poverty and unemployment exacerbated by years of mismanagement and corruption.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value since the 2019 crash, plunging millions into hardship. This was compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, the Beirut port blast, and the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

When asked whether Hezbollah, which has dominated Lebanese political affairs for decades, could derail Lebanon’s reform and recovery efforts, Shehadi was unequivocal. “Absolutely. This is the main issue,” he said.

Hezbollah emerged from the Lebanese civil war of 1975-90 as a formidable military and political force, drawing on support from Lebanon’s Shiite community and the backing of Iran, which used it as a bulwark against Israel.

In solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah fought a year-long war with Israel that resulted in the gutting of the militia’s leadership, the loss of its once formidable arsenal, and the emptying of its coffers, leaving it unable to financially support its base.

Adding to its woes, the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in neighboring Syria deprived Hezbollah of a long-term ally, which had provided a land bridge for the delivery of weapons and funds from Iran via Iraq.

Despite its enfeebled state, which is reflected in its limited role in the new Lebanese government, Shehadi said Hezbollah’s continued grip on Lebanon’s Shiite community poses a significant challenge to Aoun’s aim of achieving national unity and progress.

“The question is not about the destruction of Hezbollah or of its infrastructure,” he said. “The question is the liberation of the community, of the Shiite community, from the grip of Hezbollah.”

He argued that Hezbollah’s Achilles’ heel lies within its own enabling environment — its constituency — which must decide to reject its agenda and integrate fully into Lebanese society. Shehadi said Hezbollah’s economic stranglehold on its community is a critical issue.

“Even the institutions of Hezbollah that are being targeted — the economic institutions of Hezbollah — the money is not Hezbollah’s money. The money is in large part that of the community, and that money has been hijacked by Hezbollah,” he said.

A handout photo provided by the Lebanese Presidency on April 5, 2025, shows Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus (2nd-R) and members of her delegation at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. (AFP via Lebanese Presidency)

Addressing this issue requires a political solution rather than a military confrontation, he added.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire deal struck between Hezbollah and Israel last November, it was agreed that the militia would disarm, handing the monopoly on the use of force to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

In exchange for Israeli forces withdrawing from Lebanese territory, Hezbollah fighters were also required to retreat from Israel’s border to the Litani River — a key stipulation in the UN resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Little progress has been made on this front, leading to suggestions that the Lebanese army could be deployed to disarm Hezbollah by force. However, Shehadi dismissed this idea as both impractical and undesirable.

“No, I don’t think (Aoun) ever meant to say that either,” he said. “He never meant that the Lebanese army would clash with Hezbollah and disarm Hezbollah by force. That was never on the cards and will never be on the cards. And it’s not possible.”

Far from risking a replay of the Lebanese civil war, Shehadi said that rebuilding Lebanon would require a political agreement among all communities.

“Even if it was possible (to disarm Hezbollah by force), it’s not desirable because reconstituting the country, putting it back on track, includes a political agreement between all its components,” he said.

Shehadi expressed confidence that Hezbollah is unlikely to return to its previous position of strength due to growing dissatisfaction within its constituency. “I don’t think its own constituency would accept that,” he said.

In light of US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states, questions have arisen about whether Lebanon could follow suit under Aoun’s leadership. Shehadi said this is unlikely without first addressing the Palestinian question.

“I don’t think that normalization is possible without a solution to the Palestinian issue, especially not with Lebanon and also not with Saudi Arabia,” he said.

He pointed out that both countries adhere to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which calls for the full Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian occupied territories and a two-state solution before normalization can occur.

Instead, Shehadi suggested revisiting historical agreements like the May 1983 accord between Israel and Lebanon as a potential model for coexistence. “Lebanon can also look back to … the 17th of May Agreement … which I think is the best Lebanon can achieve with Israel,” he said.

Furthermore, domestic resistance to normalization remains strong due to Israel’s past military actions in Lebanon. “There are lots of issues that need to be resolved with Israel,” said Shehadi.

“Israel’s bombing of the country is not conducive to peace. It’s not a way of getting yourself loved, if you like, by the way they destroyed the villages and all that.

“So, there would be a resistance to normalization for internal reasons. And because we do not see Israel as being in a mood for peace.”

funeral of Hezbollah fighters, killed before the November 27 ceasefire with Israel, in southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel on April 6, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon's economic collapse in 2019 has left billions missing from banks and central reserves — a crisis that new central bank governor, Karim Souaid, must urgently address. Shehadi said that resolving these losses will be pivotal for Lebanon’s recovery.

“The biggest question is where are the losses going to go? There are billions of dollars that have disappeared from the banks and from the central banks. These are the depositors’ money and the banks’ money. And so the big question is who will bear the cost of that?

“The way you resolve this should also set the country on a path to recovery. And the binary view of this is that it is the state versus the banks, but in reality, Lebanon cannot survive without the banks and Lebanon cannot survive without the state.

“So, there’s going to be a middle ground, hopefully favoring the banking system, because I believe that the banking system is the main engine of the economy. The new governor has a huge job to do.”

While corruption is often cited as a primary cause of many of Lebanon’s problems, Shehadi challenged this narrative.

“This is a very dominant narrative about Lebanon, that it was years of corruption. What happened in Lebanon and the reason for the meltdown is not years of corruption,” he said.

“What happened is the result of years of the state and society being pounded, being battered, if you like, through assassinations, through declarations of war, through paralysis of government. 

“We’ve had three periods of between two to three years of total paralysis with no president, no government and parliament in any way. We’ve had 2 million Syrian refugees, which are a huge burden on the economy.

“We’ve had a constant state of war in the sense that every year Hezbollah declares war on Israel five times. And that paralyzes the economy. That cancels trips, cancels investment opportunities.

“So, all of that accumulated cost of the paralysis, the wars, is what brought the country down. It’s wrong to emphasize the corruption of the country as a reason for it.”

Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Shehadi was unequivocal when asked whether Hezbollah, which has dominated Lebanese political affairs for decades, could derail Lebanon’s reform and recovery efforts. (AN Photo)

He added: “The rich political elite want stability. And the bankers want stability. The financiers want stability. Because they are very invested in the country. There has been a wrong narrative that has set in.”

Saudi Arabia has historically played a significant role in Lebanese affairs — a relationship Aoun sought to strengthen during his recent visit to Riyadh. However, challenges remain — most notably Riyadh’s travel ban on Saudis visiting Lebanon.

Shehadi expressed optimism about Saudi-Lebanese relations returning to normalcy. “I’m optimistic that this will come back,” he said.

“The normal state of affairs is good relations. What we had in the last probably 15 years was an exception. It was not a normal state of affairs. It’s not the default state of relations.”

He dismissed sectarian interpretations of Saudi support in Lebanon. “I don’t think it was ever that clear-cut, that they support a prime minister because the prime minister is Sunni,” he said.

“Saudi Arabia had allies in Lebanon and supported the country and had opponents from (different sects). I don’t think it was determined by sect or religion. I don’t think the Kingdom behaves that way.”

With Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa signaling a shift toward respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty following the fall of Assad, questions arise about future Lebanese-Syrian relations. 

“The whole region is entering a new phase,” said Shehadi. “The phase we are getting out of, which we have been in for probably the last half century, was one which did not respect the sovereignty of individual countries in the region.

“It was one dominated by political parties that aimed to dominate their neighbors. Like the Ba’ath. I mean, the example is Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, of course, and Syrian intervention in Lebanon and Syrian problems with Turkiye, with Jordan.

“We have an order which is changing. We’re entering a new order. And, hopefully, that order will be more in line with the original protocols that set up the Arab League in 1944, which was the Alexandria protocols, which enhanced cooperation between the Arab countries, both culturally and economically, but also respect for each other’s sovereignty.”


UNICEF forced to shut down malnutrition centers in Gaza amid worsening humanitarian crisis

UNICEF forced to shut down malnutrition centers in Gaza amid worsening humanitarian crisis
Updated 56 min 44 sec ago
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UNICEF forced to shut down malnutrition centers in Gaza amid worsening humanitarian crisis

UNICEF forced to shut down malnutrition centers in Gaza amid worsening humanitarian crisis
  • Closures come as Gaza faces an unprecedented humanitarian emergency, exacerbated by Israel’s continued blockade of aid into the enclave

GAZA: The UN Children’s Fund has closed 21 malnutrition treatment centers in the Gaza Strip, citing ongoing Israeli military operations and recent evacuation orders in the areas where these centres were operating.

Kazem Abu Khalaf, a spokesperson for the organization, said on Sunday that the closures were directly linked to Israel’s renewed military actions and the increasingly volatile security situation, Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.

Abu Khalaf added that UNICEF was currently awaiting findings from a special body tasked with assessing the scale of food insecurity in Gaza, with the aim of presenting a comprehensive picture of the deteriorating conditions.

The closures come as Gaza faces an unprecedented humanitarian emergency, exacerbated by Israel’s continued blockade of aid into the enclave.

According to UNICEF, Israeli authorities have blocked all crossings into Gaza for 35 consecutive days, preventing the entry of food, medical supplies, and nutritional supplements.

On Saturday, UNICEF issued a stark warning, stating that more than one million children in Gaza have been cut off from life-saving humanitarian assistance for over a month.

The organization condemned the blockade, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law with devastating consequences for children and other vulnerable groups.

UNICEF confirmed it has thousands of aid parcels ready for immediate delivery but has been unable to gain access. It also revealed that food supplies for infants in Gaza have been entirely depleted, while the remaining stock of ready-to-use infant milk is only sufficient to feed 400 children for one month.

The crisis in Gaza has intensified since the resumption of hostilities in March, which ended a temporary ceasefire which came into force earlier this year.

Israel’s war with Hamas, which started in October 2023, has left much of Gaza’s infrastructure in ruins and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of the risk of famine and a collapse of basic health services unless humanitarian access is urgently restored.


Lebanon ministry says two dead in Israeli strike on south

Lebanon ministry says two dead in Israeli strike on south
Updated 06 April 2025
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Lebanon ministry says two dead in Israeli strike on south

Lebanon ministry says two dead in Israeli strike on south
  • The Israeli military said it carried out an air strike targeting two Hezbollah operatives

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said two people were killed Sunday in an Israeli strike on the country’s south, as Israel said it hit Hezbollah operatives amid a fragile truce.
The toll in the “strike launched by the Israeli enemy on the town of Zibqin rose to two dead,” the health ministry said in a statement, adding that the toll was final after earlier reporting one dead.
The Israeli military said it carried out an air strike targeting two Hezbollah operatives in the Zibqin area, adding in a statement that they were “attempting to rebuild Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites.”
A fragile ceasefire in late November largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, but Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon.
The latest raid came after visiting US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus discussed the situation in south Lebanon with senior officials on Saturday.
On Friday, Israel killed a commander of Palestinian militant group Hamas in a pre-dawn raid in the south Lebanese port city of Sidon that also killed his adult son and daughter.
A day earlier, Israel’s military said it carried out an air strike targeting a Hezbollah member in south Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Israel struck south Beirut, killing a Hezbollah Palestinian liaison officer, in only the second raid on the capital since the November 27 ceasefire.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported four dead in that strike, including a woman.
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to redeploy its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel was to withdraw its forces across the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, but has missed two deadlines to do so and continues to hold five positions in south Lebanon that it deems “strategic.”


Israel walks back account of killing of 15 medics in Gaza after video seems to contradict it

Israel walks back account of killing of 15 medics in Gaza after video seems to contradict it
Updated 06 April 2025
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Israel walks back account of killing of 15 medics in Gaza after video seems to contradict it

Israel walks back account of killing of 15 medics in Gaza after video seems to contradict it
  • Israeli military changes initial account of Gaza aid worker killings
  • UN and Red Cross demand independent inquiry into incident

UNITED NATIONS: The Israeli military backtracked on its account of the killing of 15 Palestinian medics by its forces last month after phone video appeared to contradict its claims that their vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire on them in the Gaza Strip.
The military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals. An Israeli military official, speaking late Saturday on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said that account was “mistaken.”
The footage shows the Red Crescent and Civil Defense teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicles’ lights flashing, logos visible, as they pulled up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier. The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward the stricken ambulance.
Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire, which goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses. The owner of the phone can be heard praying.
“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose, mother, to help people,” he cries, his voice weak.
Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by Israeli troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Troops then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society's vice president, Marwan Jilani, said the phone with the footage was found in the pocket of one of its slain staffers. The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations distributed the video to the UN Security Council. The Associated Press obtained the video from a UN diplomat on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.
One paramedic who survived, Munzer Abed, confirmed the veracity of the video to the AP. Two block-shaped concrete structures visible in the video are also seen in a UN video released Sunday showing the recovery of the bodies from the site — a sign they are in the same location.
Asked about the video, the Israeli military said Saturday that the incident was “under thorough examination.”
One medic remains missing
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, called for an independent investigation. “We don’t trust any of the army investigations,” he told a briefing at the UN on Friday.
One medic, Assaad al-Nassasra, is still missing, the Red Crescent says. Abed said he saw al-Nassasra being led away blindfolded by Israeli troops. Al-Khatib said the organization has asked the military where it is holding the staffer.
Al-Khatib said the slain men had been “targeted at close range” and that a forensic autopsy report would be released soon.
Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, arguing that justifies strikes on them. Medical personnel largely deny the accusations.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers, according to the UN. The Israeli military rarely investigates such incidents.

Ambulances under a barrage of Israeli fire
Ambulances started heading to Tel al-Sultan at around 3:50 a.m. on March 23, responding to reports of wounded, Jilani said. The first ambulance returned safely with at least one casualty, he said. But, he said, subsequent ambulances came under fire.
His hands trembling, Abed told the AP on Saturday that as his ambulance entered the area, its siren lights were on. “All of a sudden, I am telling you, there was direct shooting at us,” so intense that the vehicle ground to a stop, he said.
A 10-year veteran of the Red Crescent, Abed said he was sitting in the back seat and ducked to the floor. He said he could hear nothing from his two colleagues in the front seat — the only others in the vehicle. They appear to have been killed instantly.
Israeli troops, some with night goggles, dragged Abed out of the ambulance and onto the ground, he said. They made him strip to his underwear, beat him all over his body with their rifle butts, then tied his hands behind his back, he said.
They interrogated him, asking him about his paramedic training and how many people were in the ambulance with him, he said. One soldier pressed the muzzle of his automatic rifle into his neck. Another pressed his knife blade into Abed’s palm, almost cutting it, until a third soldier pulled them away and warned Abed, “They’re crazy.”
Abed said he witnessed them opening fire on the next vehicles to arrive. Soldiers forced him onto his stomach and pressed a gun into his back, he said, and amid the shooting in the darkness, so he could only see two Civil Defense vehicles.
Video shows medic’s terror
The phone video shows a rescue convoy of Red Crescent and Civil Defense vehicles that was sent out after contact was lost with the stricken ambulance. Taken from the dashboard of one vehicle, it shows several ambulances and a fire truck moving down a road through a barren area in the darkness. The emergency lights on their roofs are flashing the entire way.
They arrive at an ambulance on the side of the road and stop next to it, their lights still flashing. No Israeli troops are visible.
“Lord, let them be OK,” a man in the car says. Then he cries out, “They’re tossed around on the ground!” — apparently referring to bodies. Three men in orange Civil Defense clothing can be seen getting out of the vehicles and walking toward the stopped ambulance.
A shot rings out and one of the men appears to fall. Gunfire erupts.
The man holding the phone appears to scramble out of the car and onto the ground, but the screen goes black, though the audio continues. The gunfire goes on for nearly five and a half minutes, with long, heavy barrages followed by silences punctuated by individual shots and shouts and screams.
Throughout, the man with the phone says over and over, “There is no God but God and Muhammad is God’s prophet” — the profession of faith that Muslims say when they fear they are about to die. Near the end of the six-minute, 40-second video, voices can be heard shouting in Hebrew. “The Jews are coming,” the man said, referring to Israeli soldiers, before the video cuts off.
The Israeli military official asserted there was “no mistreatment,” and said he didn’t know why the vehicles had been buried. He had no information about the medic who remained missing.

Israel claims they found militants afterward
The Israeli military says that after the shooting, troops determined they had killed a Hamas figure named Mohammed Amin Shobaki and eight other militants. However, none of the 15 slain medics has that name, and no other bodies are known to have been found at the site.
The military has not said what happened to Shobaki's body or released the names of the other alleged militants. The Israeli military official said Israel was “working to bring evidence” that Hamas operatives were killed.
Jonathan Whittall, interim head in Gaza of the UN humanitarian office OCHA, dismissed allegations that the slain medics were Hamas militants, saying staff had worked with the same medics previously in evacuating patients from hospitals and other tasks.
“These are paramedic crews that I personally have met before," he said. “They were buried in their uniforms with their gloves on. They were ready to save lives.”