Biden says ‘working’ to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border

Biden says ‘working’ to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon’s southern village of Taybeh on Sept. 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 20 September 2024
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Biden says ‘working’ to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border

Biden says ‘working’ to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
  • Biden added that it was crucial to keep pushing for a Gaza ceasefire to underpin regional peace
  • Biden told reporters he wanted to “make sure that the people in northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to go back to their homes, to go back safely”

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said Friday he was working to allow people to return to their homes on the Israeli-Lebanon border, in his first comments since a wave of explosions targeting the Hezbollah militia sent tensions soaring.
Biden added that it was crucial to keep pushing for a Gaza ceasefire to underpin regional peace, despite a media report that his administration had given up hope of securing a truce before he leaves office in January.
Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting in the White House, Biden told reporters he wanted to “make sure that the people in northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to go back to their homes, to go back safely.”
“And the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, our whole team are working with the intelligence community to try to get that done. We’re going to keep at it until we get it done, but we’ve got a way to go,” Biden said.
It was Biden’s first reaction since the violence shifted dramatically from Gaza to Lebanon, with thousands of Hezbollah operatives’ pagers and walkie-talkies exploding earlier this week.
The blasts — which Hezbollah blamed on Israel — killed 37 people including children and wounded thousands more. Israel has not commented on the explosions.
Months of near-daily border clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens in Israel, forcing thousands on both sides to flee their homes.
Biden also denied that a ceasefire to end Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas October 7 attacks was unrealistic, following a Wall Street Journal report that officials believe it is now unlikely.
“If I ever said it’s not realistic, we might as well leave. A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done. We have to keep at it,” Biden said.


Syria urges UN to stop Israeli aggression against neighbors

Syria urges UN to stop Israeli aggression against neighbors
Updated 41 sec ago
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Syria urges UN to stop Israeli aggression against neighbors

Syria urges UN to stop Israeli aggression against neighbors
  • Foreign Minister Bassam Al-Sabbagh blames US for allowing Israel to operate with impunity
  • Demands return of occupied Golan Heights, warns states to stop interfering in his country’s domestic affairs

LONDON: Syria’s foreign minister on Monday urged the world to do more to end Israeli aggression towards its neighbors, blaming the US for hindering international peace and security.

Bassam Al-Sabbagh made the comments to the UN General Assembly in a wide-ranging address in which he also defended his government’s record during Syria’s civil war, hit out at interference in its domestic affairs by foreign states, and demanded the return of Syrian territory occupied by Israel.

“For more than a decade, Syria has experienced unparalleled suffering,” he said. “It fell victim to a fierce terrorist war, direct attacks on its territories that continue to this day, a multifaceted and stifling economic blockade, and … unprecedented political and media incitement campaigns. 

“Billions of dollars were spent to erode the development progress that Syria has worked over decades to achieve.

“Billions more were spent to spread chaos and undermine security and stability, and to force millions of Syrians to leave their homes only to become internally displaced or refugees in other countries.

“Despite everything, we’ve remained faithful to our strong beliefs, our firm positions and to the choices we made as a nation.

“Syria never hesitated to protect and defend its people, and never faltered in its war on terrorism.”

He said the way his government was treated on the international stage “revealed the true intentions of the collective West, which completely contradict the principles and purposes that form the pillars and foundation and function of (the UN).”

Al-Sabbagh was unequivocal in his condemnation of Israel’s “expansionist and racist occupation and ongoing aggression,” blaming the US for preventing the UN Security Council “from fulfilling its responsibility to confront threats to international peace and security.”

He told the UNGA: “The ongoing Israeli occupation of Arab territory since 1967, including the Syrian Arab Golan (Heights) and the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity it commits, are a glaring example of the failure of this organization.”

Al-Sabbagh added: “Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has continued to commit bloody and terrorist crimes, adding another chapter to its seven decade-long criminal record over the past months.

“The occupying forces and settler gangs have been carrying out savage aggression on the Palestinian people and committing a genocide before the eyes of the whole world, which has claimed the lives of more than 42,000 Palestinians, most of whom are children and women.

“The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and renews its solidarity with a legitimate struggle to liberate their occupied land and establish an independent state on their entire national territory with Jerusalem as its capital, while ensuring the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions.

“The Israeli occupying forces … have chosen to drag the region into a serious escalation while benefiting from the immunity, impunity and unlimited support provided by certain countries, in particular the US.

“In a clear case of hypocrisy and double standards, Israeli forces have scaled up their attacks on countries in the region, including my country, Syria, targeting vital civilian facilities, residential buildings and even diplomatic premises, resulting in the death of dozens of civilians, significant material damage and hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrians.”

Al-Sabbagh also touched upon developments in Lebanon, saying: “Two weeks ago, the Israeli occupation authorities committed an unprecedented crime against Lebanese by using the means of communication as a tool to kill unarmed civilians in a collective manner. 

“A few days ago, the Israeli occupation authorities targeted the southern suburb of Beirut with a treacherous and cowardly (act of) aggression, destroying an entire residential block using tons of explosives … to assassinate Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.”

Al-Sabbagh added: “This large-scale Israeli aggression … is pushing the region to the brink of a dangerous escalation and confrontation whose consequences can’t be predicted, and causing disastrous effects on peace and security, not only in our region but also beyond it. 

“The Syrian Arab Republic calls on all member states of the UN to work towards ending the Israeli aggression against Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, and hold the occupation authorities accountable for their crimes, as well as prevent impunity.

“The Syrian Republic reiterates that the Golan is an occupied Syrian territory and that its inhabitants are Syrian Arab citizens who are, and will always be, an integral part of the people of Syria.”

Al-Sabbagh condemned foreign interference in Syria, demanding that other states take steps to repatriate their citizens currently imprisoned in the country for affiliation with terrorist organizations.

“The crimes and attacks of the Israeli occupying forces against Syria can’t be seen in separation from the subversive role played by certain Western countries, especially the US,” he said. 

“These countries have continued to violate Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity by illegally deploying their military forces inside Syria’s territory, allowing their officials to sneak into Syria and supporting separatist militia and terrorist groups.

“These countries have also worked to exacerbate the humanitarian situation of the Syrian people by depriving them of the benefit of their resources as a result of their systematic looting of Syria’s national riches and by imposing inhumane, unilateral coercive measures.”

He added: “Syria is healing from the wounds of what it has been exposed and subjected to — it looks to the future with a sense of hope and optimism.

“However, the success of its efforts necessarily requires the collective West to stop politicizing humanitarian work and linking it to political conditionality.

“Donors need to fulfill their pledges in humanitarian funding and provide sustainable solutions for livelihoods and supporting resilience.”

Al-Sabbagh concluded: “My country reiterates its call for the immediate, full and unconditional lifting of unilateral coercive measures as they amount to collective punishment … and the flagrant violation of the UN Charter.”


Yemeni government condemns Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah

A view of the wreckage of a power station destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, in Hodeidah, Yemen.
A view of the wreckage of a power station destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, in Hodeidah, Yemen.
Updated 52 min 40 sec ago
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Yemeni government condemns Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah

A view of the wreckage of a power station destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, in Hodeidah, Yemen.
  • Warns the ‘Iranian regime, its agent militias’ and Israel not to use Yemen as a battleground

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s internationally recognized government on Monday condemned Israeli airstrikes on the Houthi-held west-coast city of Hodeidah, and warned Israel and Iran not to use the country as a battleground.

It said the attack on Sunday was a violation of Yemen’s territorial sovereignty, as well as international norms and charters, and made the already dire humanitarian situation in the country even worse.

The Yemeni government “warns the Iranian regime, its agent militias and the Zionist entity that they risk escalating the situation and turning the region into a staging ground for their absurd wars and destructive projects,” the official Yemeni state news agency SABA reported.

The strikes caused large explosions and smoke hung over the area in the aftermath. The Houthi Ministry of Health said that four people were killed and 40 wounded, many of whom were in critical condition.

The attack came a day after the Israeli military said it shot down a ballistic missile outside Israel’s borders that had been launched by the Houthi militia in Yemen.

The Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion International Airport with the missile as part of their ongoing campaign, in support of the Palestinian people, to put pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza. This campaign has also included months of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and other waters off the coast of Yemen.

The attack on Sunday was the second time Israeli forces have targeted Hodeidah. The first was on July 20, when power plants and port facilities, including one with an oil terminal, were hit in response to a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv in which 10 Israelis were killed or injured.


Israel defense minister says ground troops could join Hezbollah fight

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said ground forces could be used against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. (AFP)
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said ground forces could be used against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. (AFP)
Updated 30 September 2024
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Israel defense minister says ground troops could join Hezbollah fight

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said ground forces could be used against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. (AFP)
  • “We will use all the means that may be required — your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, and on land,” Gallant said
  • “The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one,” he said

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said ground forces could be used against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, adding military operations will go on despite the killing of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Gallant made the comments while speaking to Israeli troops deployed to the northern border where cross-border fire with Hezbollah continued for nearly a year but escalated this month.
“We will use all the means that may be required — your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, and on land,” Gallant said.
“The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one.”
Israel killed Nasrallah on Friday in an air strike on the Iran-backed group’s southern Beirut stronghold.
Israel had intensified air raids against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon from September 23, when Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 558 people were killed, in the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war.
Israeli officials have been hinting at a potential ground invasion into Lebanon, following attacks which decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and communications this month.
After Hamas Palestinian militants’ unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing at Israeli military positions and communities along the border, in what it called “support” for Hamas.
Fighting had been relatively contained until the current escalation.
Tens of thousands of Israeli residents were evacuated from their country’s northern border area nearly a year ago.
“Our goal is to ensure the (safe) return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. We are prepared to make every effort necessary to accomplish this mission,” said Gallant.
Israel said earlier this month that it was shifting its focus from Gaza to securing the northern border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said Monday the movement was ready to face any Israeli ground operation, and warned that the battle could last a long time.


Iran says will not send forces to confront Israel

A billboard bearing a picture of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut.
A billboard bearing a picture of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut.
Updated 30 September 2024
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Iran says will not send forces to confront Israel

A billboard bearing a picture of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut.
  • “There is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani
  • He added that Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories “have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression”

TEHRAN: Iran will not deploy forces to Lebanon or Gaza to confront Israel, its foreign ministry said on Monday, as Israeli strikes target its allies in the region.
“There is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, adding that Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories “have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression.”
Israel has in recent days been mounting heavy air strikes in Lebanon against the so-called “axis of resistance,” a network of Iran-aligned militant groups in the region, including in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
An Israeli strike on Beirut Friday killed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that has been armed and financed by the Islamic republic for years.
“We have not received any request in this regard from any side, on the contrary, we are informed and are sure that they do not need the help of our forces,” Kanani told reporters in Tehran.
Kanani nonetheless vowed that Israel “will not remain without reprimand and punishment for the crimes it has committed against the Iranian people, military personnel and the resistance forces.”
Also on Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Hezbollah’s office in Tehran “to pay tribute” to Nasrallah, according to the government’s website.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of the state, has vowed that Nasrallah’s death “will not be in vain,” and First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said it would bring about Israel’s “destruction.”
Iran has also vowed to avenge the killing of Abbas Nilforoushan, a top commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ foreign operations arm, who died alongside the Hezbollah leader.


Hezbollah says it is ready for any Israeli land invasion in Lebanon

People watch a televised speech by Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem in a cafe in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 30.
People watch a televised speech by Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem in a cafe in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 30.
Updated 30 September 2024
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Hezbollah says it is ready for any Israeli land invasion in Lebanon

People watch a televised speech by Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem in a cafe in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 30.
  • “We will face any possibility and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement,” Qassem said

BEIRUT: Hezbollah fighters are primed to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said on Monday in his first public speech since Israeli airstrikes killed its veteran chief Hassan Nasrallah last week.
Israel will not achieve its goals, he said.
“We will face any possibility and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement,” he said in an address from an undisclosed location.
He was speaking as Israeli airstrikes on targets in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon continued, extending a two-week long wave of attacks that has eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also killed about 1,000 Lebanese and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
Nasrallah’s killing, along with the series of blows against the organization’s communications devices and assassination of other senior commanders, constitute the biggest blow to the organization since Iran created it in 1982 to fight Israel.
He had built it up into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force, with wide sway across the Middle East.
Now Hezbollah faces the challenge of replacing a charismatic, towering leader who was a hero to millions of supporters because he stood up to Israel even though the West branded him a terrorist mastermind.
“We will choose a secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity...and we will fill the leadership and positions on a permanent basis,” Qassem said.
Qassem said Hezbollah’s fighters had continued to fire rockets as deep as 150 km (93 miles) into Israeli territory and were ready to face any possible Israeli ground incursion.
“What we are doing is the bare minimum...We know that the battle may be long,” he said. “We will win as we won in the liberation of 2006 in the face of the Israeli enemy,” he added, referring to the last big conflict between the two foes.
Israel, which has also assassinated leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza war, says it will do whatever it takes to return its citizens to evacuated communities on its northern border safely.
It has not ruled out a ground invasion and its troops have been training for one.
“The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one. In order to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities, we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops deployed to the country’s northern border.
Other militants hit
Hours before Hezbollah’s Qassem spoke, Hamas said an Israeli airstrike killed its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, along with his wife, son and daughter in the southern city of Tyre on Monday.
Another faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said three of its leaders died in a strike in Beirut’s Kola district — the first such hit inside the city limits.
The wave of Israeli attacks on militant targets in Lebanon are part of a conflict also stretching from the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, to Yemen, Iraq and within Israel itself. The escalation has raised fears that the United States and Iran will be sucked into the conflict.
Multiple fronts
The latest actions indicated Israel has no intention of slowing down its offensive even after eliminating Nasrallah, who was Iran’s most powerful ally in its “Axis of Resistance” against Israeli and US influence in the region.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Tehran would not let any of Israel’s “criminal acts” go unanswered. He was referring to the killing of Nasrallah and an Iranian Guard deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, who died in the same strikes on Friday.
Russia said Nasrallah’s death had led to a serious destabilization in the broader region.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain called for a ceasefire, although they added that its support for Israel’s right to self-defense was “ironclad.”
Close ally the United States has shown unwavering support for Israel despite concerns over heavy civilian casualties.