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)
Short Url
Updated 12 October 2024
Follow

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.


Israeli defense firm Elbit gets $130 million European rocket supply deal

Israeli defense firm Elbit gets $130 million European rocket supply deal
Updated 10 sec ago
Follow

Israeli defense firm Elbit gets $130 million European rocket supply deal

Israeli defense firm Elbit gets $130 million European rocket supply deal
JERUSALEM: Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense firm, said on Tuesday it received a $130 million contract to supply advanced rocket munitions to an unnamed European country.
The contract for the Precize and Universal Launching System (PULS), an advanced and versatile artillery rocket system capable of launching a wide range of ammunition types from a single platform, will be performed over three years.
The system, Elbit said, offers precision strike capabilities with a range of up to 300 kilometers.
“As European nations continue to enhance their defense capabilities, the selection of PULS reaffirms its strategic value in modern battlefield scenarios,” said Yehuda Vered, general manager of Elbit Systems Land.
Under the deal, Elbit will supply a variety of advanced rocket systems that are designed to significantly enhance the operational capabilities of the customer’s defense forces.

Netanyahu reverses decision on new Israel security chief

Netanyahu reverses decision on new Israel security chief
Updated 41 min 33 sec ago
Follow

Netanyahu reverses decision on new Israel security chief

Netanyahu reverses decision on new Israel security chief
  • Decision to appoint former navy commander Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit as Shin Bet chief reconsidered following criticism, including from a key US senator

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday he had reversed a decision to appoint former navy commander Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit as security agency chief following criticism, including from a key US senator.
“The prime minister thanked Vice Admiral Sharvit for his willingness to be called to duty but informed him that, after further consideration, he intends to examine other candidates,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Netanyahu had announced Sharvit’s appointment on Monday, pushing back against a supreme court decision to freeze his government’s move to dismiss incumbent director Ronen Bar.
The prime minister had announced Bar’s dismissal on March 21, citing an “ongoing lack of trust.” The supreme court swiftly suspended the decision until April 8.
Bar’s dismissal has sparked daily mass protests in Jerusalem, disrupting the city.
On Monday, hours after Sharvit’s appointment was announced, reports began surfacing that he had been among tens of thousands of Israelis who took to the streets in 2023 to oppose the Netanyahu government’s attempts to reform the judiciary.
Israeli media reports also recalled that Sharvit, who served in the military for 36 years, had supported a 2022 water agreement with Lebanon that Netanyahu had opposed.
It was also revealed that the former naval chief had penned an opinion piece criticizing US President Donald Trump’s policies on climate change, prompting staunch Trump ally, Senator Lindsey Graham, to criticize his appointment in a post on X.
“While it is undeniably true that America has no better friend than Israel, the appointment of Eli Sharvit to be the new leader of the Shin Bet is beyond problematic,” Graham wrote on Monday.
“There has never been a better supporter for the State of Israel than President Trump. The statements made by Eli Sharvit about President Trump and his polices will create unnecessary stress at a critical time. My advice to my Israeli friends is change course and do better vetting.”


Yemen’s Houthis claim they shot down another American drone as US strikes pound country

Yemen’s Houthis claim they shot down another American drone as US strikes pound country
Updated 01 April 2025
Follow

Yemen’s Houthis claim they shot down another American drone as US strikes pound country

Yemen’s Houthis claim they shot down another American drone as US strikes pound country
  • The reported shootdown over Yemen’s contested Marib governorate came as airstrikes hit around Sanaa and Saada
  • The US military acknowledged to The Associated Press being aware of reports of the downing of a Reaper

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed Tuesday that they shot down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone, even as the US kept up its campaign of intense airstrikes targeting the group.
The reported shootdown over Yemen’s contested Marib governorate came as airstrikes hit around Sanaa, the country’s militia-held capital, and Saada, a stronghold for the Houthis.
US President Donald Trump issued a new warning to both the Houthis and their main benefactor, Iran, describing the group as having “been decimated” by the campaign of strikes that began March 15.
“Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us,” Trump wrote on his social media website Truth Social. “We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation.”
He added: “The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”
Houthis claim they downed another US drone
The militia claimed to have felled a drone in Marib governorate, home to oil and gas fields still under the control of allies to Yemen’s exiled central government. Footage released on social media showed flames in the night, with a Yemeni man claiming a drone had been shot down.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, separately claimed downing the MQ-9 drone in a prerecorded video message.
Saree described the militia targeting the drone with “a suitable locally manufactured missile.” The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.
Iran denies arming the militia, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi militia despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The US military acknowledged to The Associated Press being aware of reports of the downing of a Reaper, but declined to comment further.
General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and remain in the air for over 30 hours. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.
The Houthis claim they’ve shot down 20 MQ-9s over the country over the years, with 16 downed during the militia’ campaign over the Israel-Hamas war. The US military hasn’t acknowledged the total number of the drones it has lost there.
Intense US bombings began March 15
An Associated Press review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the US moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis now say have killed at least 61 people, started after the militia threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The militia have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.
The Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none has been hit so far.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war, which has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.


Egyptian inmates’ ordeal in Sudan prisons

Egyptian inmates’ ordeal in Sudan prisons
Updated 01 April 2025
Follow

Egyptian inmates’ ordeal in Sudan prisons

Egyptian inmates’ ordeal in Sudan prisons

CAIRO: Prisoners held by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan spoke on Monday of their ordeal in paramilitary detention centers.

Arrested two months after the country’s civil war began in April 2023, Egyptian traders suspected of spying for the regular army were stripped, tortured and starved, and watched as other inmates died from cholera and malaria.

“You couldn’t go two weeks without falling sick,” said Emad Mouawad, 44, who was held at the notorious Soba prison in southern Khartoum after paramilitary forces raided his home in the city.

At night, swarms of insects crawled over the prisoners. “There was nothing that made you feel human,” he said.

Ahmed Aziz, who was detained with Mouawad, said: “They would bring us hot water mixed with wheat flour. Just sticky, tasteless paste.” Water was either polluted from a well or muddy from the Nile. “If you were sick, you just waited for death,” Aziz said.

Another trader, Mohamed Shaaban, 43, said: “They stripped us naked as the day we were born.  Then they beat us, insulted and degraded us.”
Back home in Egypt, the former prisoners are struggling to recover physically and mentally. “We have to try to turn the page and move on,” Shaaban said. “We have to try and forget.”


New Syrian Cabinet ‘won’t be able to satisfy everyone’

New Syrian Cabinet ‘won’t be able to satisfy everyone’
Updated 01 April 2025
Follow

New Syrian Cabinet ‘won’t be able to satisfy everyone’

New Syrian Cabinet ‘won’t be able to satisfy everyone’
  • Interim president says 23 ministers chosen for competence and expertise, not ideology

DAMASCUS: The new transitional government in the Syrian Arab Republic would aim for consensus in rebuilding the war-torn country but would “not be able to satisfy everyone,” interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said on Monday
The transitional 23-member Cabinet was named at the weekend, more than three months after Sharaa’s forces led an offensive that toppled dictator Bashar Assad. The new authorities were seeking to reunite and rebuild the country and its institutions after nearly 14 years of civil war, Sharaa told a gathering at the presidential palace broadcast on Syrian television after Eid Al-Fitr prayers.

“A new history is being written for Syria ... we are all writing it,” he said.
Sharaa said ministers had been chosen for competence and expertise, “without ideological or political orientations.” The government’s composition took into consideration “the diversity of Syrian society” while rejecting a quota system for religious or ethnic minorities, instead opting for “participation,” he said.