Mikati: Lebanon committed to UNIFIL mission, de-escalation

Mikati: Lebanon committed to UNIFIL mission, de-escalation
UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) armoured vehicles patrol on the entrance of the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura near the border with Israel on June 17, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 12 August 2024
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Mikati: Lebanon committed to UNIFIL mission, de-escalation

Mikati: Lebanon committed to UNIFIL mission, de-escalation
  • Lebanese military confirms continuation of joint patrols with UNIFIL following row

BEIRUT: Lebanon is committed to UNIFIL’s mission in the south, the country’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, reiterated on Monday.

He said cooperation between the Lebanese military and UNIFIL forces is crucial, and rejected claims of differences and discrepancies, adding that “any issues arising during task implementation are promptly resolved.”

Mikati’s remarks follow a dispute between the military and a UNIFIL patrol during a joint operation within UNIFIL’s area of operation.

According to security reports, “a patrol carrying members of the French unit insisted on entering an area outside UNIFIL’s jurisdiction in the town of Kfarhamam” — a village in the border district of Hasbaya in the Nabatiye Governorate.

Residents were displaced during the escalation of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli military over the past few months.

The reports said the Lebanese troops refused to follow the patrol after the French unit insisted on entering an area considered private property.

Communications intensified after the Lebanese military threatened to suspend joint patrols, with efforts focusing on mending relations.

The developments prompted Lebanese Army Command to confirm in a statement that “military units continue to carry out joint tasks with UNIFIL, maintaining close cooperation and coordination within the framework of UN Resolution 1701, in light of the exceptional circumstances and developments in the country, particularly the ongoing Israeli assaults.”

The incident in Kfarhamam occurred shortly before the extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, which is scheduled for the end of this month, and amidst increasing hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli military.

Mikati said on Monday that Lebanon was in discussions with the relevant countries regarding the extension of UNIFIL forces’ presence.

Last week, Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib noted “slight changes to the text concerning the extension of UNIFIL forces (remaining in place).”

A security source said that Lebanon “demanded a comprehensive and ongoing coordination between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army and that any Israeli attack on the Lebanese Army be condemned.”

Last week, the Lebanese government distributed a document to the heads of diplomatic missions outlining the principles to achieve long-term stability in southern Lebanon in connection with Resolution 1701.

Mikati said on Monday that the document “establishes clear foundations for a solution, the most significant of which is to reduce escalation to avoid a destructive cycle of violence.”

It also calls for the international community to play a decisive and immediate role in calming tensions and restraining the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon, he said.

Mikati emphasized that “the main message that Lebanon underscores in all its diplomatic communications is the implementation of Resolution 1701, which serves as the cornerstone for ensuring stability and security in southern Lebanon.”

Retired Lebanese Army Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Chehaitli told Arab News on Monday: “The Army Command Operations Rooms determine the routes of the joint patrols, and therefore, an army route that is not agreed upon cannot be altered during the patrol.”

He continued: “There are stop points that no one can change, and this is not a matter of entering private property.”

A source close to UNIFIL said: “There is a constant issue of entering private property, which could be an orchard, a house, or an establishment.

“UNIFIL submits its schedule of operations in advance to the Army Command Operations Rooms, and the army only participates in eight percent of joint patrols due to its shortage of personnel and military capabilities.”

The source added: “Under Lebanese laws, the army cannot enter private property without permission from the Public Prosecution’s Office, and Hezbollah may have exploited this legal loophole in UNIFIL’s tasks and relied upon it to refuse UNIFIL’s access to private property on the pretext that the Lebanese Army is not entitled to do so.”

Hezbollah’s supporters have previously accused UNIFIL of “monitoring and tracking some of Hezbollah’s military sites, centers or movements.”
The suspicions have intensified during the recent months of confrontation on the southern border.

This is not the first such incident — UNIFIL patrols have faced confrontation with residents of towns over access to their internal streets before. The bloodiest took place at the end of 2022 in the town of Al-Aqabiya, outside UNIFIL’s area of operation, resulting in the killing of an Irish soldier and the wounding of three others.

On Monday, artillery bombardment persisted on the periphery of Naqoura, Aita Al-Shaab Square, and Burj Al-Muluk.

Israeli aircraft conducted airstrikes over the town of Chihine in the west of the country.

Additionally, the forest surrounding Kounin was subjected to incendiary phosphorus bombs.

Meanwhile, in Israel, sirens sounded at dawn in the settlement of Nahariya and its surroundings, reaching the Krayot area.

Israeli media reported that air defenses intercepted 20 missiles fired by Hezbollah at Nahariya and surrounding towns, causing fires to break out in various areas of Western Galilee.

Over the past 48 hours, Hezbollah has conducted more than 10 attacks on military sites and gatherings of Israeli soldiers.

Israeli raids resulted in the death of a Hezbollah member and left five civilians injured in the areas of Taybeh, Kfar Kila, and Wazzani.

During a party event, MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, said that Hezbollah initiated actions on the southern front because “we had no other choice.”

Fadlallah said: “No person with a free conscience can observe the events unfolding in Gaza and choose to remain an onlooker.”

Regarding Hezbollah’s response to the assassination of prominent military leader Fouad Shukr, Fadlallah said: “We are currently in a phase of anticipation concerning the strategy and tactics that the resistance will employ in response.

“However, we must not allow the enemy to dictate our actions, as we remain on a supportive front, and the primary conflict continues to unfold in Gaza.”


Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war

Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war
Updated 13 sec ago
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Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war

Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war

BAGHDAD: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has slammed the West, saying that Israel is “committing massacres” in the war in Gaza and using European and American weapons to do so.

Pezeshkian, who spoke in Baghdad at the start of his first visit abroad since taking office, hopes to cement Tehran’s ties to Baghdad.

“The Israeli entity is committing massacres against women, children, young men, and the elderly. They bomb hospitals and schools,” Pezeshkian said.

“All these crimes are being committed by using European and American ammunition and bombs,” he added.

Ahead of Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion struck a site near Baghdad International Airport used by the US military on Tuesday night. There were no reported casualties, and the circumstances of the explosion were unclear.

The US Embassy later described it as an “attack” on the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, an American diplomatic facility, and that it was “assessing the damage” and the cause of the explosion. It did not provide further details.


US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah

US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah
Updated 1 min 43 sec ago
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US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah

US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah
  • The sanctions target three people, five companies and two vessels that the US Treasury Department said were overseen by a senior leader of Hezbollah’s finance team

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Wednesday issued sanctions on a Lebanese network it accused of smuggling oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to help fund the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
The sanctions target three people, five companies and two vessels that the US Treasury Department said were overseen by a senior leader of Hezbollah’s finance team and used profits from illicit LPG shipments to Syria to aid generate revenue for the group.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith, in a statement, said Hezbollah “continues to launch rockets into Israel and fuel regional instability, choosing to prioritize funding violence over taking care of the people it claims to care about, including the tens of thousands displaced in southern Lebanon.”


Egypt urges robust efforts to bolster Palestinian hopes for self-determination

Egypt urges robust efforts to bolster Palestinian hopes for self-determination
Updated 11 September 2024
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Egypt urges robust efforts to bolster Palestinian hopes for self-determination

Egypt urges robust efforts to bolster Palestinian hopes for self-determination
  • Deadly bombardment of Gaza humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, draws widespread condemnation
  • Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process since 2021, also condemned the strike on Al-Mawasi

CAIRO: An Israeli strike on a crowded tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the war in Gaza prompted condemnations on Wednesday from across the region and beyond.

The strike hit Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip, which Israel had designated as a humanitarian zone early in the war.

Egypt condemned the bombardment in the strongest terms.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates also called for “intensifying efforts to restore hope to the Palestinian people in achieving self-determination and regaining their freedom.”

Al-Mawasi has been turned into the main displacement and refuge area for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who have been ordered by the Israeli military to leave their homes.

The Egyptian statement denounced the “continued Israeli massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip in the absence of any effective international action to put an end to such human suffering.”

It said Israeli actions “challenge the credibility of all humanitarian standards and values and constitute a violation of the most basic rules of international humanitarian law and human rights.”

It also said Egypt “considers that the continuation of these crimes and the disregard for the lives of innocents and civilians has become a threat to regional and international peace and security and calls on all global stakeholders to shun the policy of double standards and assume their humanitarian and moral responsibilities to halt this human tragedy immediately.”

The statement said Egypt “reminds all parties that putting an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people in a just manner and restoring regional security and stability will not only be achieved by reaching a full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but also by achieving a just and lasting settlement to this conflict — the sole foundation of which is the two-state solution based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process since 2021, also condemned the strike, saying international humanitarian law “must be upheld at all times.”


Israel says soldier killed in West Bank truck-ramming attack

Israel says soldier killed in West Bank truck-ramming attack
Updated 11 September 2024
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Israel says soldier killed in West Bank truck-ramming attack

Israel says soldier killed in West Bank truck-ramming attack
  • The suspected assailant was “neutralized” by Israeli forces “and an armed civilian” at the scene of the attack
  • It later identified the dead soldier as 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said a soldier was killed Wednesday when the driver of “a Palestinian truck” rammed into “forces conducting operational activity” in the occupied West Bank.
The suspected assailant was “neutralized” by Israeli forces “and an armed civilian” at the scene of the attack near the Jewish settlement of Givat Assaf, north of Ramallah, an army statement said.
It later identified the dead soldier as 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and is separated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli territory, has seen a surge of violence during nearly a year of the Israel-Hamas war, though Palestinian car-ramming attacks have been rare.
The latest incident comes days after a Jordanian truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at a West Bank crossing with Jordan.
Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 24 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.
The West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians as well as 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements that are illegal under international law.


Israeli strikes terrorize Lebanese in southern border towns

Israeli strikes terrorize Lebanese in southern border towns
Updated 11 September 2024
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Israeli strikes terrorize Lebanese in southern border towns

Israeli strikes terrorize Lebanese in southern border towns
  • Border area witnessed reciprocated strikes, which residents described as some of the most intense operations since the mobilization of the southern front around a year ago
  • Israeli warplanes carried out more than 15 airstrikes that targeted the forested area and orchards between the outskirts of the towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh, creating a belt of fire

BEIRUT: An Israeli combat drone on Wednesday targeted a motorcycle in the border town of Mays Al-Jabal, killing its rider, a Hezbollah member, and wounding another.

Hostilities between the Israeli army and Hezbollah intensified after the attack.

Throughout Tuesday night, the border area witnessed reciprocated strikes, which residents described as some of the most intense operations since the mobilization of the southern front around a year ago.

The escalation coincided with the arrival in Beirut of Josep Borrell Fontelles, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

The border situation is expected to be high on the agenda during his meetings with Lebanese officials.

At dawn, Israeli warplanes carried out more than 15 airstrikes that targeted the forested area and orchards between the outskirts of the towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh, creating a belt of fire.

Video footage revealed the screams of children inside houses and the prayers of the elderly amid the earth-shattering explosions nearby.

Israeli warplanes also raided the outskirts of the towns of Yater and Rashaya Al-Fakhar, the orchards and valleys near the towns of Qlaileh, Zibqin, Al-Ḥaniyya, Majdal Zoun and Tayr Harfa, and the outskirts of the towns of Deir Seryan and Zawtar Al-Charkieh. The warplanes also carried out a raid on Naqoura.

Two Israeli drones exploded in the park of the village of Maroun Al-Ras, causing damages to facilities.

The Israeli army spokesman announced that it “targeted in four different areas in southern Lebanon about 30 Hezbollah rocket launchers and military structures that posed a threat to the citizens of Israel.” Their forces also targeted the Dhayra area in southern Lebanon with artillery shells.

The missile attacks raised questions about why Israel has been targeting the valleys daily for about two weeks.

Political analyst Ali Amin told Arab News that “despite the Israeli army facing challenges in its conflict with Hezbollah, it appears to be preparing for a prolonged war. It (the Israeli army) previously revealed the mobilization of the Mountain Brigade and plans to sever the eastern and western (mountain) ranges from southern Lebanon.”

Al-Amin, a resident of the border area, said: “The forested areas that have been bombed for two weeks are known to be off-limits to ordinary people and contain Hezbollah military bases, making it almost impossible to move around in them.

“Israel, following the severance of technological communication between the party’s (Hezbollah) members and its leadership, is actively working to fragment the southern region and place it under constant surveillance.”

He said that an increased level of shelling in forests and valleys, along with the failure to protect civilians in targeting Hezbollah, signaled a heightened risk.

It underscored, he added, the necessity of not assuming that Israel would refrain from targeting civilians in its bombardment of the south.

“This escalation may represent a new phase in the war, which is nearing its first anniversary.”

On Aug. 25, Israel targeted forested areas and valleys in the regions of Iqlim Al-Tuffah, Kunin, Zawtar, Rachaf, Deir Siriane, Chamaa, Rihan, Kfar Melki, Beit Yahoun, Ain Qana, Zebqin, Hadatha, and other villages, coinciding with Hezbollah’s response to the assassination of its military leader, Fuad Shukr.

At that time, it claimed to have “thwarted Hezbollah’s retaliation by bombing 6,000 rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.”

On Aug. 30, similar Israeli attacks were recorded on Majdal Zun, Al-Jabeen, Sheheen, Alma Al-Shaab, Hamoul, Wadi Hassan, and Naqoura.

On Sept. 4, Israeli aircraft launched 14 raids on launch pads in Al-Jabeen, Zawtar El-Charkieh, and Ramya.

On Sept. 6 and 7, Israeli warplanes carried out more than 20 raids on forested areas in Srifa, Froun, Al-Ghandouriya, Yater, Qabrikha, and Ainata.

The Israeli army’s radio confirmed on Wednesday that “the military targeted Hezbollah positions and the air force destroyed approximately 25 rocket launch sites.”

The Hezbollah member killed was Hani Ezzeddine, born in 2001, from the town of Deir Qanoun En Nahr in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah targeted “a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Al-Raheb site with missile weapons,” as well as “the site of Rweizat Al-Qarn and the Zabdine barracks in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms.” It confirmed that there were casualties.

Hezbollah said that it successfully struck a “bunker where enemy soldiers were positioned at the Al-Matala site using appropriate weaponry.”

The Israeli military operations on Tuesday advanced deep into the southern region and the western Bekaa, reaching more than 30 km, into some of the targeted towns from the border.