Lebanon parliament speaker accuses Israel of blatant breaches of ceasefire agreement

Lebanon parliament speaker accuses Israel of blatant breaches of ceasefire agreement
Cars drive past buildings that were damaged or destroyed in Israeli strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs Hay El-Sellom neighbourhood on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 03 December 2024
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Lebanon parliament speaker accuses Israel of blatant breaches of ceasefire agreement

Lebanon parliament speaker accuses Israel of blatant breaches of ceasefire agreement
  • At least two people killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon 

 

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described “the Israeli occupying forces’ hostilities as blatant violations of the ceasefire agreement” as Lebanese authorities reported that at least two people were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.

Berri called on the committee responsible for monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah to “urgently start carrying out its duties and oblige Israel to stop its violations and withdraw from the areas it invaded before anything else.”

Hezbollah “is committed to its pledges,” Berri said.

More than 54 Israeli breaches have been recorded, said Berri, who handled the ceasefire negotiations with the US envoy after being delegated to do so by Hezbollah.

Berri’s protest came as the ministry of health said one person was killed in an Israeli drone attack near the electricity plant in Marjayoun.

Lebanon’s state security said an Israeli drone strike killed a member of its forces — Cpl. Mahdi Khreis — while he was on duty in Nabatieh, 12 kilometers from the border.

State security called it a “flagrant violation” of the truce.

Security sources said Israeli attacks struck sites deep inside Lebanon. An Israeli drone fired three missiles at Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali village on the Lebanese-Syrian border.

The Israeli army said it attacked military vehicles operating near Hezbollah military infrastructure in Bekaa, Lebanon.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli drone struck an army bulldozer carrying out construction work at the Al-Abbara military center in the Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali area of Hermel, injuring a soldier.

The Israeli army said that it was aware of the attack and that the incident was under investigation.

Israeli breaches continued in the area invaded by the Israeli army, including demolishing houses and private and public facilities and carrying out airstrikes against Bint Jbeil, Maroun Al-Ras and Aitaroun, injuring one person.

The Israeli army imposed a curfew on residents of the invaded area for specific hours.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee continued to warn residents of this area, which includes more than 50 villages, against going back to their houses at the moment. Many residents fled the area 14 months ago.

Berri denounced “the Israeli occupying forces’ hostilities, including demolishing homes in Lebanese border villages, carrying out air raids on Lebanese territories, as well as the latest strikes in Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali, Hermel, and Jdeidet Marjayoun, which resulted in casualties.”

Berri said the Israeli actions “are blatant breaches of the ceasefire agreement, effective since 4 a.m. on Nov. 27, to which Lebanon fully adheres.”

Berri questioned “the silence of the technical committee tasked with monitoring the agreement,” highlighting Israeli offences.

He emphasized that “Lebanon and the resistance remain committed to their pledges.”

Media reports stated that US envoy Amos Hochstein, who handled the ceasefire negotiations, sent a message to Israel regarding its “violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed that Israel “adheres to the ceasefire agreement.”

But, he claimed, the 60-day period for the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the areas it invaded according to the agreement is “a gradual process to ensure Hezbollah's threat is gone.”

Hagari told Sky News Arabia: “Israel’s primary concern is to ensure its security and that it is not exposed to any threats.”

He said the Lebanese people “must ensure that the border areas with Israel are free of weapons that threaten Israel's security.”

According to a security source, the Israeli forces in a new incursion infiltrated the area near the Mays Al-Jabal government hospital.

“These forces regard this location as part of their operational zone, having established a boundary restricting Lebanese residents from returning to their towns following the ceasefire implementation.” the source said, adding that the situation was expected to persist until the forces withdraw within 60 days.

Adraee reiterated the Israeli prohibition on X: “Until further notice, movement south of the line of villages: Shebaa, Al-Habbariyeh, Marjayoun, Arnoun, Yohmor, Qantara, Shaqra, Baraashit, Yater, and Mansouri, and the surrounding areas of these villages is restricted.”

He said that “anyone who moves south of this line puts themselves at risk.”

The mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement is scheduled to commence at the beginning of this week.

The monitoring committee includes the US, France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL representatives.

The French Foreign Ministry said that Paris had informed Israel of the need for all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement.

Over the past weekend, it said French authorities observed 52 violations of the ceasefire agreement by Israel in the space of 24 hours.

Hezbollah, citing repeated Israeli ceasefire violations, carried out a strike on an Israeli military position late on Monday.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Hezbollah's firing toward army positions "will be met with a harsh response."

Hezbollah targeted the Kfar Shuba hills within the Shebaa Farms around 6 p.m. for the first time since the ceasefire went into effect.

A political observer described Hezbollah's action as "a calculated response, as the Shebaa Farms are not included in the 1701 Agreement and therefore are not included in the ceasefire."

Israeli media reported that two missiles were detected crossing from Lebanon into the Mount Dov area and falling in an open area, and two explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Ruwaysat Al-Alam site in the Kfar Shuba Heights. 

A Hezbollah statement said that the military operation it carried out was "in response to the repeated violations by Israel of the declared cessation of hostilities agreement, which took various forms, including firing on civilians and airstrikes in different parts of Lebanon, which led to the martyrdom of citizens and the injury of others, in addition to the continued violation of Lebanese airspace by hostile Israeli aircraft, reaching the capital Beirut."

"Since the reviews of the relevant authorities to stop these violations did not succeed, Hezbollah carried out an initial warning defensive response targeting the Ruwaysat Al-Alam site belonging to the Israeli army in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba Hills."

The Israeli army later carried out raids on towns within the zone it declared south of the Litani Line.

In other developments, the Lebanese government has increased its meetings to deliberate on strategies to deal with the piles of debris resulting from the Israeli demolition of residential structures.

The move came as those displaced began to return to their homes in the less-affected regions of the southern suburbs of Beirut, the South, and Bekaa.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said: “We are faced with the challenge of reconstruction, everything that has to do with removing the rubble and where to put it. There will be full coordination with the relevant ministries and bodies.”

After a meeting with the governors, he said that the “army and general security protect the Lebanese borders.”

The minister asked the governors to “constantly cooperate with the security forces and hold sub-security council meetings to discuss what may happen.”

The Beirut Southern Suburb Union of Municipalities said it continues to work on opening main and secondary roads by pushing rubble aside.

Data, including the names of residents, were circulated and showed that Hezbollah had started counting the people who were affected and surveying the damaged areas.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Gathering of Engineers has launched a drive to “recruit engineers and architects who wish to take part in the surveying and reconstruction efforts.”


Macron says two French-Israelis among first hostages to be freed by Hamas

Updated 4 sec ago
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Macron says two French-Israelis among first hostages to be freed by Hamas

Macron says two French-Israelis among first hostages to be freed by Hamas
“Our fellow citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are on the list of 33 hostages to be freed,” Macron said
The French president is set to meet with the families of the two Franco-Israeli hostages “very soon“

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said that French-Israeli citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are in the first group of hostages due to be freed by Hamas following a ceasefire with Israel.
Macron’s announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel is expected to begin on Sunday.
“Our fellow citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are on the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase of the Gaza accord,” Macron said in a social media post.
“We remain mobilized without pause to ensure their return to their families,” he wrote.
The French president is set to meet with the families of the two Franco-Israeli hostages “very soon,” according to his entourage.
Yahalomi, who turned 50 in captivity, was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz kibbutz.
His 12-year-old son, abducted separately, was released in November 2023 during the first truce.
Kalderon, 54, was kidnapped along with his son and daughter from Nir Oz kibbutz. The two children were released in the November 2023 truce.

UN says Sudan war turning ‘more dangerous’ for civilians after Al-Jazira attacks

UN says Sudan war turning ‘more dangerous’ for civilians after Al-Jazira attacks
Updated 54 min 44 sec ago
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UN says Sudan war turning ‘more dangerous’ for civilians after Al-Jazira attacks

UN says Sudan war turning ‘more dangerous’ for civilians after Al-Jazira attacks
  • The “Sudan conflict (is) taking more dangerous turn for civilians,” UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk said
  • On Thursday, the US treasury department announced sanctions against army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan

PORT SUDAN: The United Nations human rights chief warned Friday that the war in Sudan is becoming “more dangerous” for civilians, following reports from rights groups of army-allied militias carrying out ethnic-based attacks on minorities in Al-Jazira state.
The “Sudan conflict (is) taking more dangerous turn for civilians,” UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk said on social media platform X, adding that “there is evidence of... war crimes and other atrocity crimes.”


The Sudanese army, at war with rival paramilitaries since April 2023, led an offensive this week on Al-Jazira state, recapturing its capital Wad Madani from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Rights groups said on Monday that at least 13 people including two children were killed in ethnically-targeted attacks against minority communities in the agricultural state.
Though the RSF has become notorious for alleged ethnic-based violence, reports have also emerged of civilians being targeted on the basis of ethnicity in army-controlled areas.
On Thursday, the US treasury department announced sanctions against army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, accusing the army of attacking schools, markets and hospitals, as well as using food deprivation as a weapon of war.
It came a week after the US also slapped sanctions on RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, accusing his group of committing genocide.
Responding to recent reports from US officials of the Sudanese army using chemical weapons in Sudan, spokesperson of the UN human rights chief Ravina Shamdasani said Friday that due to limited access, the UN “has not specifically documented” such practices during the war.
At a briefing on Friday, Shamdasani described the reports as “very worrying,” adding that “they do require further investigation.”
She said what the UN has documented is “the use of extremely heavy weaponry in populated areas,” including air strikes on marketplaces.
Both sides have been accused of targeting civilians and indiscriminately shelling residential areas, with the RSF specifically accused of ethnic cleansing, systematic sexual violence and laying siege to entire towns.
The war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine, creating what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
In its latest reports, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that over 120,000 people have fled the ongoing violence in the southern Sudanese states of Blue Nile, White Nile and Sennar to South Sudan since early December 2024.


Israel publishes list of 95 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release starting Sunday

Israel publishes list of 95 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release starting Sunday
Updated 17 January 2025
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Israel publishes list of 95 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release starting Sunday

Israel publishes list of 95 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release starting Sunday
  • “The release of prisoners is... subject to government approval of the (ceasefire) plan and will not take place before Sunday,” the ministry said
  • Among those on the list is also Khalida Jarar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker whom Israel arrested and imprisoned on several occasions

JERUSALEM: The Israeli justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners, the majority women, who are to be freed starting Sunday as part of the first exchange for Israeli captives under a Gaza ceasefire deal.
“The release of prisoners is... subject to government approval of the (ceasefire) plan and will not take place before Sunday 16:00 (1400 GMT),” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Israel’s security cabinet approved the deal, while the full cabinet will convene to vote on it later on Friday.
The list includes 69 women, 16 men and 10 minors.
According to the ministry, the youngest inmate on the list is 16.
The list includes only seven prisoners who were arrested before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Among those on the list is also Khalida Jarar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker whom Israel arrested and imprisoned on several occasions.
Jarar is a prominent member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated a “terrorist organization” by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
Detained in late December in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, the 60-year-old has been held since then without charge.
In September 2021, she was released after serving a two-year sentence in an Israeli prison for participating in PFLP activities.
According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the release of hostages as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is expected to begin Sunday.
Two sources close to Hamas told AFP that the first group of hostages to be released consists of three Israeli women soldiers.
However, since the Palestinian Islamist movement considers any Israeli of military age who has completed mandatory service a soldier, the reference could also apply to civilians abducted during the attack that triggered the war.
The first three names on a list obtained by AFP of the 33 hostages set to be released in the first phase are women under 30 who were not in military service on the day of the Hamas attack.
Justice ministry spokeswoman Noga Katz said the final number of prisoners to be released in the first swap would depend on the number of live hostages released by Hamas.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on political allies to vote against the Gaza deal, stating it would see the release of several Palestinian militants “serving life sentences” for killing Israelis.


Israel wants no celebrations when Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza deal

Israel wants no celebrations when Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza deal
Updated 17 January 2025
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Israel wants no celebrations when Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza deal

Israel wants no celebrations when Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza deal
  • “The commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Major General Kobi Yakobi, instructed that.. to prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon,” the statement said
  • Instead “special units” from the prison service would handle transport

JEURSALEM: The Israel Prison Service said on Friday it was taking measures to prevent any “public displays of joy” when Palestinian prisoners are released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
It said in a statement that it was preparing for the release of prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, which the prime minister’s office said could begin on Sunday.
The prison service said that two jails, one near Jerusalem and another near the southern city of Ashkelon, had begun preparations for the releases by gathering prisoners to be freed.
“The commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Major General Kobi Yakobi, instructed that.. to prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon and other areas of Israel, the escort from ‘Shikma’ Prison will not be handled by civilian buses of the (International Committee of the) Red Cross,” the statement said.
The Geneva-based ICRC oversaw the only previous prisoner exchange of the war, in November 2023, when 105 hostages held in Gaza were freed, the 80 Israelis among them in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Instead “special units” from the prison service would handle transport, the statement said.
Jakobi also told prisoners earmarked for release to “refrain from expressions of joy within Israel.”
Israel’s security cabinet approved the deal on Friday and it now goes before the full cabinet.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged his political allies to reject the deal in a statement on Friday, pointing to the releases.
He said that Palestinians “serving life sentences” for killing Israelis would be released in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
“I call on my friends in Likud and Religious Zionism, it’s not too late, we are before a government meeting, this deal can still be stopped,” he said, referring to two other parties in the governing coalition.
During the initial 42 days of the ceasefire, 33 hostages are to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, according to mediators and officials from both sides.


Japan provides grant to Caritas Lebanon for mammography machine in Sin El Fil

Japan provides grant to Caritas Lebanon for mammography machine in Sin El Fil
Updated 17 January 2025
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Japan provides grant to Caritas Lebanon for mammography machine in Sin El Fil

Japan provides grant to Caritas Lebanon for mammography machine in Sin El Fil
  • Ambassador Magoshi Masayuki signed a grant contract with Father Michel Abboud, President of Caritas Lebanon
  • The center has faced significant challenges due to the economic crisis

BEIRUT: Japan, through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Program (GGP), extended a helping hand to Caritas Lebanon by providing a mammography machine to its Sin El Fil Primary Healthcare Center (PHCC).
On Friday, Ambassador Magoshi Masayuki signed a grant contract with Father Michel Abboud, President of Caritas Lebanon.
The Sin El Fil PHCC, established by Caritas Lebanon in 1985, serves as the sole healthcare center in the town of Sin El Fil, providing essential low-cost primary medical services to approximately 300 patients daily, including Lebanese, Syrian refugees, and migrant workers.
Despite its vital role, the center has faced significant challenges due to the economic crisis, including the breakdown of its mammography machine two and a half years ago. This has left residents without affordable breast cancer screening services, forcing patients to rely on costly private facilities or forego testing altogether.
Recognizing the urgent need for early detection of breast cancer and other diseases, Japan has decided to support the Sin El Fil PHCC by providing a new mammography machine.
This project will enable the center to resume affordable breast cancer screening services and to benefit approximately 1,700 patients annually, aligning with the Lebanese government’s ‘National Cancer Plan (2023-2028)’ and the National Health Strategy, which emphasize early detection and primary healthcare.
At the signing ceremony, Ambassador Magoshi commended Caritas Lebanon’s commitment to supporting vulnerable communities through comprehensive medical services.
Caritas Lebanon, in turn, has expressed its gratitude for Japan’s support, highlighting the significance of this project amid the ongoing socio-economic challenges in Lebanon.