Biden describes Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as ‘measure of justice’
Biden describes Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as ‘measure of justice’/node/2573128/middle-east
Biden describes Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as ‘measure of justice’
Lebanese and Palestinian women hold portraits of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during protest in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP)
Biden describes Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as ‘measure of justice’
President says US will ‘further enhance defense posture’ in the Middle East to deter aggression
Nasrallah responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians, Biden says
Updated 29 September 2024
Arab News
LONDON: US President Joe Biden on Saturday described the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a “measure of justice” for his thousands of victims.
Biden was speaking after Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.
Biden said “taking out” Nasrallah happened in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 last year.
“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in a statement.
He also noted that Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s watch had been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.
Biden said that he had directed US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to “further enhance the defense posture of US military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.”
Washington’s goal was to “deescalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,” he added.
However, Biden and his administration have repeatedly said that they had no prior knowledge of the latest Israeli attack, a strike that some officials have spoken out against.
“Nasrallah was a bad guy, but it is frustrating that the Israelis are doing this without consulting us and then ask that we clean up when it comes to deterring Iran,” one US official told Axios.
Another American official said “Nasrallah has blood on his hands,” but that the Biden administration did not see how Israel’s “whack-a-mole” approach will address the larger strategic picture, Axios added.
Now, for Assad’s rule, the “writing is on the wall,” Joshua Landis, of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma told AFP. “Things are folding very quickly”
As early as November 2011, Turkiye’s Erdogan urged Assad to hold free elections and warned that his “office is only temporary”
Updated 21 sec ago
AFP
PARIS: More than 13 years since Bashar Assad’s security forces opened fire on protesters demanding democratic reforms, the Syrian president’s grip on power may finally be weakening.
The 59-year-old son and heir of late dictator Hafez Assad has faced several setbacks during the long civil war triggered by his brutal crackdown in March 2011, but has so far managed to cling on to power.
Now, with his Lebanese ally Hezbollah reeling from an Israeli onslaught and his great power backer Russia distracted by its invasion of Ukraine, Assad is running short of friends on the battlefield.
Key cities in the north, including Aleppo and Hama have fallen to opposition fighters in just a matter of days.
And on Saturday the militants said they are now encircling the capital where Assad has ruled since the death of his father in 2000.
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed the militant advance; Israel is reinforcing its forces in the occupied Golan; and Syria’s southern neighbor Jordan is organizing an evacuation of its citizens.
In a further sign of Assad’s isolation, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group, which controls much of northeast Syria, said it was ready to speak to its foes among the Turkish-backed militants.
But international observers have repeatedly predicted the isolated former ophthalmologist’s fall since the earliest months of the uprising, and they have repeatedly been incorrect.
The 2011 protests against Assad’s rule began after a teenager was arrested for allegedly scrawling anti-government graffiti in the southern town of Daraa.
Now, for Assad’s rule, the “writing is on the wall,” Joshua Landis, of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma told AFP. “Things are folding very quickly.”
The militant advance has been stunning.
After Aleppo and Hama fell in quick succession, the militants and government forces were clashing Saturday near the major city of Homs.
Its capture would effectively cut Assad’s capital off from his support base in the Alawite minority community in the coastal highlands.
“The Alawite minority has lost faith in Assad,” Landis said. “There are serious questions about whether the Syrian army has any fight left.”
But some caution is merited. After all, haven’t world leaders underestimated Assad before?
As early as November 2011, Turkiye’s Erdogan urged Assad to hold free elections and warned that his “office is only temporary.”
In October 2012, during a re-election campaign debate, US president Barack Obama also warned Assad that his “days are numbered.”
The next month, Nabil Elaraby, then the head of the Arab League, declared “everyone knows that the government in Syria will not remain for long.”
The Syrian strongman defied them all, even as international lawyers drew up arrest warrants for war crimes and rights groups denounced Syria’s use of chemical weapons and aerial bombardment in civilian areas.
As the civil war spiralled into overlapping regional conflicts — government versus militants, Turkiye versus Kurdish fighters, US-backed militias against Daesh group jihadists — Assad retained his grip.
At first he was ostracized by many fellow Arab leaders, leaning instead on Iranian and Russian support, but as it became clear he was not leaving the stage diplomatic ties quietly resumed.
And meanwhile, Russia and Iran had Assad’s back. Lebanon’s pro-Iran Hezbollah sent thousands of fighters, backed by Iranian advisers, to bolster Syrian government forces. Russia carried out air strikes.
But the speed of this week’s militant victories seems to suggest that without his powerful foreign friends, Assad’s Syrian army is a hollow shell.
Russia has such little confidence in its ally that its embassy has acknowledged a “difficult military and political situation.”
Before the recent ceasefire in its conflict with Israel, Hezbollah lost thousands of fighters and weapons and its long-standing chief Hassan Nasrallah.
It appears to be in no position to help, despite a Hezbollah source saying Saturday it had sent 2,000 fighters into Syria’s Qusayr area “to defend its positions.”
“The Assad government is in its most precarious position since the summer of 2012,” Nick Heras, an analyst at the New Lines Institute, told AFP.
“There is a real risk that the Assad government could lose power in Damascus, either through battles or through a negotiated retreat.
“Ultimately, the Assad government’s ability to survive will depend on the extent to which Iran and Russia see Assad as useful to their strategies in the region.”
Heras said that Russia, which has a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, would be loath to withdraw its military personnel and assets from the country, and Iran would be similarly reluctant to abandon Assad.
“If either or both of those allies decide they can advance their interests without Assad, then his days in power are numbered,” Heras said.
The winners would be Assad’s main regional opponents: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkiye’s Erdogan, who both faced periods of intense domestic criticism only to emerge victorious in war.
Turkiye-backed militants are now spearheading the opposition advance on Homs, and Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian targets in Syria have effectively neutralized Assad’s most potent backer.
Israel army says assisting UN force in ‘repelling attack’ in Syria
“A short while ago, an attack was carried out by armed individuals at a UN post in the Hader area in Syria,” the army said
“The (Israeli army) is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack“
Updated 07 December 2024
AFP
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Saturday that its troops were assisting UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights in repelling an attack “by armed individuals,” while the foreign minister said “armed forces” had entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone.
There was no immediate comment from the UN force.
“A short while ago, an attack was carried out by armed individuals at a UN post in the Hader area in Syria,” the army said in a statement, referring to a Syrian town on the edge of the buffer zone.
“The (Israeli army) is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack.”
Late on Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X: “During the last day, armed forces entered the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border with Israel. Among other things, attacks were carried out on the (peacekeepers) in the area.”
He said Israel was “troubled by violations” of the 1974 armistice with Syria. “Israel does not intervene in the internal conflict in Syria,” he added.
Earlier on Saturday, Syrian militants took control of the provincial capital of Quneitra around 12 kilometers (eight miles) south of Hader, Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The long-stalemated Syrian civil war burst back into life late last month, with militants sweeping across the country and capturing multiple major cities.
The military said that army chief Herzi Halevi visited the Syrian border on Saturday, He too underlined that Israel was not intervening in Syria.
He said Israel’s “primary focus is on observing Iran’s movements and interests” while a “secondary focus” was on Syrian factions and “ensuring they do not mistakenly direct their actions toward us.”
The military declined to comment on Saturday evening when asked if the attack was ongoing.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it was “reinforcing aerial and ground forces” in the Israeli-occupied parts of the Golan in response to the situation in Syria. And on Saturday it said it had conducted exercises to ensure troop readiness.
Israel conquered most of the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move never recognized by the international community as a whole.
A UN peacekeeping force, UNDOF, has patrolled a buffer zone between the Israeli- and Syrian-controlled zones since 1974.
In August 2014, Islamist militants attacked UNDOF and took more than 40 Fijian peacekeepers hostage, holding them captive for almost two weeks.
How Israeli raids transformed a Gaza hospital into a symbol of conflict’s cruel toll
Shambolic state of Kamal Adwan Hospital underscores the deepening humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza
Facility pays a high price as Israeli forces conduct repeated operations against Hamas fighters in surrounding areas
Updated 52 min 32 sec ago
ANAN TELLO
LONDON: Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last partially functioning medical facility in northern Gaza, has been rendered non-operational following nearly seven weeks of heavy Israeli shelling, a renewed blockade and a deadly raid.
The hospital, located in Beit Lahia, north of Jabalia, has become an emblem of the destruction wrought by the conflict in the Gaza Strip, leaving the region’s already fragile health care system in tatters.
Israeli bombardment, gun battles between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters, and a severe shortage of medical supplies, food, water and fuel have crippled an already overstretched health system in Gaza.
Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia the northern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2024 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Compounding the misery of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, most of whom have been repeatedly displaced, heavy winter rains have flooded tents across the enclave, spoiling food and damaging plastic and cloth sheeting that had protected the displaced Palestinians against the elements.
Israel says that its forces seek to minimize civilian fatalities but that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques, as shields for its military operations. As of Nov. 5, only 17 of the enclave’s 36 hospitals remained partially functional, according to UN figures.
Once a critical lifeline for the residents of northern Gaza, Kamal Adwan is now a shadow of its former self. Israeli forces claim their operations target Hamas militants, but the toll on civilians has been catastrophic. Witness accounts, humanitarian reports and harrowing images from the hospital reveal terrible suffering, compounded by the destruction of medical infrastructure that thousands relied on for urgent care.
IN NUMBERS
• 44,211+
Palestinians, most of them civilians, killed in Gaza war.
• 18,000
Combatants killed according to Israel.
• 2.3m
People in Gaza displaced at least once since Oct. 7, 2023.
On Friday, according to a CNN website report quoting witnesses, four doctors were killed and dozens of people wounded after Israeli forces stormed the compound. In a statement, Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital’s director, accused the troops of forcing health workers and patients to leave the facility, and destroying critical medical supplies.
A Palestinian man carries away an injured child from a home that was hit in an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 7, 2024. (AFP)
The Israel military denied striking or operating within the hospital, instead saying that its forces fought “against terror infrastructure and terrorists” in the nearby Jabalia area. It said it was in “continuous contact” with Kamal Adwan Hospital to deliver supplies and equipment.
The attack on Friday was the second such raid by the Israeli military since it commenced operations in three cities in northern Gaza on Oct. 5, asserting that Hamas fighters were regrouping in the area. It warned of “systematic strikes and the radical destruction of terrorist structures.”
On Oct. 8, amid fierce fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants in Jabalia and its refugee camp, Israeli tanks surrounded Kamal Adwan Hospital, issuing evacuation orders to its staff, patients and hundreds of people seeking refuge within its walls.
The attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital must stop immediately, and safe passage for a humanitarian mission must be ensured, says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO
According to Gaza’s health authority, the situation quickly deteriorated as Israeli bombardment escalated, cutting off vital access to food, water and medical supplies.
Prior to the hospital siege, the Israeli military had ordered Palestinians in Jabalia to relocate southward to a designated “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi. However, international organizations and rights groups have consistently challenged Israeli claims about the existence of safe zones in Gaza. In July, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated emphatically: “Nowhere (in Gaza) is safe. Everywhere is a potential killing zone.”
On Oct. 24, during the third week of Israel’s offensive in Jabalia, the World Health Organization and its partners undertook a perilous mission to Kamal Adwan. Despite hostilities in the vicinity, the team managed to transfer 23 patients and 26 caregivers to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. They also delivered 180 units of blood, trauma and surgical supplies, and medicines for more than 5,000 patients, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.
Rubbish and debris are scattered near damaged buildings in the vicinity of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
“Kamal Adwan Hospital has been overflowing with close to 200 patients — a constant stream of horrific trauma cases. It is also full of hundreds of people seeking shelter,” he said on X.
Noting that the WHO mission returned at 3:30am, Ghebreyesus said “accessing hospitals across Gaza is getting unbelievably harder and exposes our staff to unnecessary danger.”
Hours later, the WHO said that it had lost touch with Kamal Adwan’s staff. In the afternoon, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had also lost contact with its staff member and orthopedic surgeon Mohammed Obeid, who was sheltering and working in the hospital.
Kamal Adwan Hospital has been overflowing with close to 200 patients — a constant stream of horrific trauma cases.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO
The following day, Oct. 26, and after a days-long raid, Israeli troops withdrew from the facility, leaving it in complete disarray and taking with them dozens of staffers — including MSF’s Obeid.
The US-based NGO MedGlobal also said that six of its affiliates, including Mahmoud Lubbad, the nursing director at Kamal Adwan, were among those “illegally detained by Israeli forces.”
For the people of northern Gaza, it was more than just a medical facility; it was a lifeline in a region under siege. (Photo: X @DrTedros)
The Gaza health ministry accused Israeli soldiers of setting large sections of the hospital ablaze, assaulting staff and patients, arresting 30 medical personnel, and taking six MedGlobal affiliates, including the hospital’s nursing director, Mahmoud Lubbad, into custody.
Khalil Daqran, spokesperson for Gaza’s health ministry, described the raid as an act of deliberate destruction. “The army stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, causing widespread destruction; setting large parts on fire, destroying the hospital’s entrances, and demolishing surrounding walls,” he said in a video statement. “Patients and medical staff were assaulted, with many patients and companions arrested, along with most of the medical staff. The fate of 30 medical personnel remains unknown.
“The (Israeli) army has removed the hospital from service entirely, destroying all its contents. There are now no medicines, medical supplies or food within the hospital.”
People comfort each other inside the Kamal Adwan hospital, as victims receive medical care following an Israeli strike that hit an area near the medical establishment in Beit Layia in the northern Gaza Strip early on November 21, 2024, reportedly leaving dozens of people killed or unaccounted for. (AFP)
Gaza’s health authority said that more than 600 people were trapped in Kamal Adwan during the Israeli military incursion.
Witnesses recounted chilling scenes. According to the Australian broadcaster ABC, Israeli soldiers beat patients until they bled, used dogs to intimidate children, and forced more than 100 men — many of them ill or injured — to strip down to their underwear in the cold before taking them away.
Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said that after the Israeli soldiers withdrew, the hospital still had “195 patients, many of whom, along with displaced people, fear leaving due to safety concerns.”
“What they have endured is beyond words,” she wrote in a post on X.
She also said that “of the 70 hospital staff, reportedly 44 male staff members were detained. Only female staff, the hospital director, and another male doctor remain at the hospital. Some patients and displaced people were also reportedly detained.”
The Israeli military said that its operation targeted a “Hamas terrorist stronghold” and claimed to have detained about 100 militants. It also alleged that some Hamas fighters disguised themselves as medical staff, releasing a video in which an ambulance driver said that Hamas fighters were stationed at the hospital.
People gather as smoke rises from a UN school-turned-shelter after it was hit in an Israeli strike, in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on November 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (AFP)
Both hospital staff and Hamas have denied any militant presence at the facility.
Despite the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Kamal Adwan continued to face bombardment. On Nov. 24, Abu Safiya, the hospital’s director, was injured in a quadcopter strike targeting his office. He described relentless attacks on the hospital’s emergency entrance, courtyard and oxygen station, which disrupted vital supplies and care.
In a statement sent to Arab News two days before the attack, Abu Safiya said: “While we were in the emergency department checking on the injured, a plane suddenly dropped bombs on the emergency reception entrance without prior warning.
People gather as smoke rises from a UN school-turned-shelter after it was hit in an Israeli strike, in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on November 14, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (AFP)
“Four medical staff members were injured. When we transferred them to the radiology department to perform imaging for their injuries, those transporting the injured were targeted as well. Two other nursing staff members were critically injured and admitted to the intensive care unit.”
Abu Safiya added that the hospital courtyard was also bombed, severely damaging the power generators and the adjacent oxygen station, which disrupted the oxygen supply to multiple departments.
“This is not the first time Kamal Adwan Hospital has been bombed,” Abu Safiya said, referring to similar incidents in December 2022 and May 2023. During one earlier raid, Israeli forces reportedly barred doctors from providing care to critical patients, resulting in multiple deaths, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A Palestinian man stares at the rubble of the Alloush family's house, levelled in an Israeli strike in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2024. (AFP)
He wrote that the relentless strikes “resulted in 12 injuries among doctors, nurses and administrative staff within the emergency and reception areas.
“Additionally, there was significant damage that disrupted the electrical generator, oxygen supply network, and water supply, instilling terror and fear among the injured and patients, including children and women.”
At the hospital there were 86 injured individuals, eight cases in intensive care on ventilators, and 13 child patients, he said.
Palestinians carry down an injured child from a home that was hit in an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 7, 2024. (AFP)
Malnutrition cases have also emerged in the pediatric department. Abu Safiya called on the international community “to intervene by sending surgical teams, medical supplies, and ambulances.”
The destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital has drawn widespread condemnation from humanitarian organizations and rights groups. Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK charity, described the attack as “another atrocity” by Israeli forces, while WHO chief Ghebreyesus demanded that the attacks on Kamal Adwan “must stop immediately.”
In a post on X on Nov. 25, he wrote that “continued attacks” on the hospital “have caused an additional 14 injuries in the past 48 hours, including the hospital director and the very few remaining doctors and nurses — this is deplorable.”
The Gaza health ministry said that the hospital’s destruction has left northern Gaza completely without medical services, further endangering the lives of thousands of civilians.
The hospital’s fate underscores the broader collapse of Gaza’s health care infrastructure amid the conflict. As of Nov. 5, only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remained partially operational, according to UN figures.
The Israeli military said in a joint statement with COGAT, which coordinates operations with the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, that it had facilitated the transfer of more than 300 patients, caregivers and medical staff from northern Gaza hospitals to safer areas.
On Nov. 24, the Israeli military said that it had transferred 17 patients and their caregivers from Kamal Adwan to other facilities as part of a campaign to ensure “operational medical centers” in Gaza.
The conflict has taken a devastating toll on Gaza’s civilian population. Since Hamas-led Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and abducting 240 others, Israel has responded with widespread airstrikes and ground operations.
According to a Reuters count, the Israeli offensive has resulted in more than 44,200 deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands. On Wednesday, Israeli military strikes across Gaza killed 15 people, some of them in a school housing displaced people, medics in Gaza said.
The destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital has left many northern Gaza residents without access to medical care, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis. For the people of northern Gaza, it was more than just a medical facility; it was a lifeline in a region under siege.
Its destruction has further deepened the suffering of a population caught in the throes of a war that has defied ceasefire efforts. The international community has called for urgent action to address the deteriorating situation, but for now, the hospital remains a stark symbol of the human cost of the Gaza conflict.
‘Stability and reconstruction of southern Lebanon key to regional stability’: PM
Cabinet approves army deployment plan south of Litani
Govt must take action on Lebanese political prisoners detained in Syria, says committee chief
Updated 07 December 2024
NAJIA HOUSSARI
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Cabinet on Saturday approved the deployment of the army south of the Litani River during an exceptional meeting at a military base in Tyre.
The plan is “part of a broader strategy that aims to ensure security in southern areas adjacent to the border with Israel,” Information Minister Ziad Makary said.
He added that the army had begun sending its forces to the south.
“However, the military institution needs additional support in terms of personnel and supplies, as well as modern equipment, to carry out its duties effectively,” Makary said.
The decision came 10 days after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect following a destructive two-month war.
The ministers met in the Benoit Barakat barracks in the coastal city of Tyre, south of the Litani.
They were briefed by Lebanese Army chief Joseph Aoun, who delivered a presentation on strengthening the army’s deployment.
Ministers discussed a draft law to rebuild destroyed homes, put in place an agriculture damage survey mechanism and remove rubble created by Israeli raids in the south, Bekaa, as well as Beirut and its southern suburbs.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to UN Resolution 1701 in a statement delivered before the ministers.
He said that the Lebanese Army would uphold the resolution south of the Litani River, in cooperation and coordination with the UNIFIL, as it is the basis for the ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from “our occupied land.”
He said: “We are kilometers from the ongoing operations of Israel’s army and its repetitive ceasefire violations.
“We are also near the location of the committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the arrangements agreed upon under US and French guarantees.”
Mikati called on the international community, primarily the entities overseeing the security arrangements, to put an end to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
He paid tribute to slain Lebanese Army soldiers and those who sacrificed themselves for the country.
“All the threats and attacks aiming to confuse or push us to change our national beliefs and choices will not scare us,” he said.
“We fully trust the wise army command, which assumes considerable responsibilities with professionalism, discipline and ethics, preserving every inch of our territory and safeguarding our national sovereignty.”
Mikati said that stability in the south and its reconstruction are key to stability in the Middle East, which will only return to security and safety through the implementation of international resolutions.
Makary said after the meeting that the Lebanese Army commander informed the ministers that the debris and ruins of destroyed buildings will be removed, along with the cleaning of areas in the south from cluster bombs.
The army will also deploy along the northern and eastern borders of Syria and take appropriate measures in response to events in the country, he added.
The cabinet allocated 4 trillion Lebanese pounds ($44 million) for the removal of debris, rubble and cluster munitions.
It is part of a comprehensive plan to restore the regions impacted by the war.
Mikati and the ministers, accompanied by Aoun, toured several military centers in Shawakir and Qleileh, as well as the headquarters of the Fifth Brigade in Bayada.
They met military personnel at the Qleileh center who were injured during an Israeli airstrike on the facility.
Also on Saturday, Israeli forces that penetrated the Lebanese border area continued their violations of the ceasefire agreement.
A military drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Deir Siriane, killing its rider.
The Lebanese Army is observing the activities of Israeli forces in Kfar Kila and Khiam, where soldiers are demolishing buildings and residences.
In other developments, Wadad Halawani, the head of the Committee of Families of Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon, addressed a press conference on Friday.
It followed developments in neighboring Syria and the long-running issue of missing and abducted Lebanese citizens.
Halawani called on the Lebanese state to assume its responsibilities on the issue.
She called for the establishment of a joint emergency committee that includes the relevant ministerial, security and judicial bodies, and the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared.
Its goal should be to negotiate with Syrian parties to identify released people and ensure their safe return to their families in Lebanon, along with providing health care and psychological support.
“What was circulated on social media concerning the release of a Lebanese among the prisoners who were freed from the Hama central prison stirred the emotions of the families of the missing,” Halawani said.
She added that Ali Hassan Al-Ali from Akkar — arrested by Syrian forces in 1986 and not seen until this week — appeared in a social media clip asking an activist who filmed him how to reach his family in Lebanon.
Halawani added that several Syrian organizations are following up on the issue of detainees and missing people.
The Syrian state had repeatedly denied that Lebanese political prisoners were jailed in the country, she added.
The most recent denial came from President Bashar Assad and former foreign minister Walid Muallem.
Militant leader vows to overthrow Assad and establish new governance for Syria
Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN at an undisclosed location inside Syria, Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani outlined his vision for a post-Assad Syria
Updated 07 December 2024
Arab News
LONDON: The leader of Syria’s militants currently sweeping across the country has reiterated his group’s determination to overthrow President Bashar Assad, as the opposition groups continue to gain ground in the country’s protracted civil war.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN at an undisclosed location inside Syria, Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani outlined his vision for a post-Assad Syria, emphasizing the creation of a government based on institutions and a “council chosen by the people.”
Al-Jolani is the leader of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a group that emerged from a former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Speaking to CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh, he said: “When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means to achieve that goal.”
Al-Jolani claimed that the Assad regime’s fall would be inevitable, despite years of support from allies like Iran and Russia.
“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been within it. The Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains: This regime is dead,” he said.
As HTS continues to expand its territorial control in Syria, Al-Jolani sought to reassure minorities who have faced persecution during Syria’s decade-long conflict.
“People who fear Islamic governance either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it properly,” he said.
He promised that minorities such as Christians could live safely under a new coalition’s rule, adding: “No one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them.”
Human rights groups have criticized HTS for its treatment of political dissidents in areas such as Idlib, citing allegations of torture and harsh crackdowns on protests, but Al-Jolani denied any systemic abuse and said that if such incidents happened, it was “not done under our orders or directions” and that HTS had held those responsible accountable.
Al-Jolani also addressed HTS’ enduring terror designation by countries and organizations in the West, including the US, the EU and the UN, describing it as “primarily political and, at the same time, inaccurate.”
He claimed his group had severed ties with extremist Islamist factions, rejecting their brutal tactics. “I was never personally involved in attacks on civilians,” he told CNN.
The Assad government, bolstered by Iranian-backed militias, Hezbollah, and Russian air support, has maintained a tight grip on Syria since the uprising began in 2011.
Al-Jolani, however, said he sees the withdrawal of foreign forces as key to Syria’s future stability.
“I think that once this regime falls, the issue will be resolved, and there will no longer be a need for any foreign forces to remain in Syria,” he said.
Reflecting on the Assad family’s over five decades in power, Al-Jolani called for a complete overhaul of governance in Syria.
“Syria deserves a governing system that is institutional, not one where a single ruler makes arbitrary decisions,” he said.
Al-Jolani envisions a broader national project that goes beyond HTS itself.
“We are talking about a larger project — we are talking about building Syria. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham is merely one part of this dialogue, and it may dissolve at any time. It is not an end in itself but a means to perform a task: confronting this regime.”
