Lebanese army prevents Israeli forces from entering Kfar Hamam

Special Lebanese army prevents Israeli forces from entering Kfar Hamam
Lebanese army troops deploy in the southern Lebanese border town of Aitaroun, following the pullout of Israeli forces, on February 2, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 04 February 2025
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Lebanese army prevents Israeli forces from entering Kfar Hamam

Lebanese army prevents Israeli forces from entering Kfar Hamam
  • Israeli convoy had crossed the border line at Shebaa Farms, and advanced toward Kfarshouba in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon
  • Convoy headed toward the surroundings of Kfar Hamam, where the Lebanese army is deployed - intense gunfire was heard, and the Israeli force withdrew two hours later

BEIRUT: The Lebanese army on Tuesday blocked the main road connecting Kfar Hamam and Rashaya Al-Foukhar to prevent an Israeli force with six vehicles from advancing toward the area.

The Israeli convoy had crossed the border line at Shebaa Farms, and advanced toward Kfarshouba in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon.

It then headed toward the surroundings of Kfar Hamam, where the Lebanese army is deployed. Intense gunfire was heard, and the Israeli force withdrew two hours later.

The Lebanese response to the incursion was a step up in tactics against Israeli forces stationed in the border area.

The Israeli presence in the border region has been extended until Feb. 18 upon US approval, although the ceasefire agreement had initially stipulated that Israeli forces should completely withdraw from southern Lebanon within a 60-day period that ended on Jan. 27.

The Lebanese army has avoided entering any village subject to Israeli incursions, instead waiting for notification of their withdrawal from UN peacekeeping forces.

A ceasefire agreement that went into force on Nov. 27 last year put an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war and saw the Lebanese army redeployed in the border area.

Lebanese Army Command said on Tuesday morning: “Military troops were redeployed in Taybeh-Marjayoun in the eastern sector, as well as other regions in south of Litani, following the Israeli withdrawal.”

It added that the deployment was carried out “in cooperation with the Quintet Committee overseeing the implementation mechanism of the ceasefire agreement.”

It also repeated its call for citizens “to adhere to the directives issued in its official statements, and abide by the instructions of the military units deployed in the southern regions, to safeguard their lives and safety.”

Taybeh municipality called on the town’s residents “to cooperate with the army members and abide by their directives, until they make sure that the town is safe, with no Israeli presence.”

In another development, Lebanese Army Intelligence seized a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition left over from a warehouse targeted by Israel in the Al-Wardaniyah area in Iqlim Al-Kharroub.

A security source reported: “The truck driver and his companion noticed an Israeli military drone pursuing them from the air, prompting them to disembark from the truck and flee.

“The truck contained explosives, detonators and rocket shells, and its cargo was concealed under a large cover that obscured the contents from view.”

Meanwhile, Israeli forces across the border area continued demolishing homes and facilities that they claim belong to Hezbollah members.

On Tuesday, Israeli troops destroyed a wastewater treatment plant in the Marjeyoun plain toward Kfar Kila.

An Israeli drone released two sonic weapons in the airspace over the town of Al-Jabin. Additionally, Israeli forces destroyed trees and agricultural land, and burned several homes in the town of Houla.

Israeli forces once again violated the ceasefire agreement by conducting mock airstrikes in the skies over the northern Litani River, specifically above the regions of Nabatieh and the Western Bekaa, at a medium altitude.

The Ministry of Agriculture described the bulldozing of agricultural lands in Houla as a “painful aggression, as the bulldozing included olive groves and fruit trees, in addition to burning some houses in the town.”

The ministry said in a statement: “The Israeli enemy deliberately bulldozed the surroundings of the Israeli Al-Abbad site adjacent to the border, which contains large numbers of oak and pine trees, which causes the destruction of the environment and natural resources that are the source of livelihood for farmers.”

It is “working with the relevant authorities to follow up on the damage caused to the agricultural field in this area. We are also coordinating with international bodies to document these attacks and apply pressure for compensation to the affected farmers.”

The ministry also called on the international community “to take urgent measures to protect Lebanon’s environment and natural resources.

“We urge all relevant authorities to intensify their efforts to help farmers rebuild after the destruction caused by the Israeli aggression, especially under these critical circumstances.”

On Tuesday, Hezbollah released a statement condemning the “unjust decision” by Australia to impose sanctions on its secretary-general, Naim Qassem.

The party said: “This decision has no legal or moral basis; it is a clear bias in favor of the Zionist entity and a cover-up of its aggression and terrorism. The decision will not affect the morale of the loyal resistance supporters in Lebanon or Hezbollah’s position.”

Hezbollah also said that Feb. 23 will mark the day of the popular funerals for former secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah and his successor, Hashem Safieddine, who were both killed in Israeli raids five months ago in the southern suburb of Beirut.

Nasrallah will be buried in a field located along the old road connecting Beirut to the airport, while Safieddine will be laid to rest in his hometown of Deir Kanoun in the Sour district.

The field where Nasrallah will be buried contains a large building constructed by American Insurance in the early 1970s.

Overlooking the western lane of the old airport road, the site spans more than 20,000 sq. meters.

The building was eventually purchased by a Shiite contractor and financier close to Hezbollah for $40 million.

Mahmoud Qomati, a member of Hezbollah’s political council, said on Tuesday that the funeral “will serve as a popular referendum demonstrating adherence to the resistance and commitment to Hezbollah’s principles and Lebanon’s liberation cause.”

He added: “The funeral will be held with the utmost consideration for security and national arrangements. We will be inviting figures from Lebanon and abroad to participate in the event.”


Syria Kurd forces chief says agreement with Sharaa ‘real opportunity’ to build new Syria

Syria Kurd forces chief says agreement with Sharaa ‘real opportunity’ to build new Syria
Updated 34 sec ago
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Syria Kurd forces chief says agreement with Sharaa ‘real opportunity’ to build new Syria

Syria Kurd forces chief says agreement with Sharaa ‘real opportunity’ to build new Syria

DAMASCUS: The head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Tuesday that an accord reached with the new leaders in Damascus is a “real opportunity to build a new Syria.” “We are committed to building a better future that guarantees the rights of all Syrians and fulfills their aspirations for peace and dignity,” Mazloum Abdi said in a posting on X.
The Syrian presidency announced on Monday an agreement with the SDF to integrate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.


Israeli fire kills 4 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank

Israeli fire kills 4 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank
Updated 9 min 29 sec ago
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Israeli fire kills 4 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank

Israeli fire kills 4 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank

Israeli fire has killed four people and wounded 14 in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said, even as a fragile ceasefire with Hamas has largely held.
Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the army says had approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas in violation of the January truce.
Israel last week suspended supplies of goods and electricity to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians as it tries to pressure the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. That phase ended March 1. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.


Israel-Gaza war behind record high US anti-Muslim incidents, advocacy group says

Israel-Gaza war behind record high US anti-Muslim incidents, advocacy group says
Updated 11 March 2025
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Israel-Gaza war behind record high US anti-Muslim incidents, advocacy group says

Israel-Gaza war behind record high US anti-Muslim incidents, advocacy group says
  • Muslim advocacy group says it recorded over 8,600 incidents in 2024
  • Rights advocates have noted rising Islamophobia, antisemitism since start of Israel-Gaza war

WASHINGTON: Discrimination and attacks against American Muslims and Arabs rose by 7.4 percent in 2024 due to heightened Islamophobia caused by US ally Israel’s war in Gaza and the resulting college campus protests, a Muslim advocacy group said on Tuesday.
The Council on American Islamic Relations said it recorded the highest number of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab complaints — 8,658 — in 2024 since it began publishing data in 1996.
Most complaints were in the categories of employment discrimination (15.4 percent), immigration and asylum (14.8 percent), education discrimination (9.8 percent) and hate crimes (7.5 percent), according to the CAIR report.
Rights advocates have highlighted an increase in Islamophobia, anti-Arab bias and antisemitism since the start of Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza.
The CAIR report also details police and university crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on college campuses.
Demonstrators have for months demanded an end to US support for Israel. At the height of college campus demonstrations in the summer of 2024, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned, and student protesters were suspended and arrested.
Human rights and free speech advocates condemned the crackdown on protests which were called disruptive by university administrators. Notable incidents include violent arrests by police of protesters at Columbia University and a mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“For the second year in a row, the US-backed Gaza genocide drove a wave of Islamophobia in the United States,” CAIR said. Israel denies genocide and war crimes accusations.
Last month, an Illinois jury found a man guilty of hate crime in an October 2023 fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy.
Other alarming US incidents since late 2023 include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl in Texas, the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York and a Florida shooting of two Israeli visitors whom a suspect mistook to be Palestinians.
In recent days, the US government has faced criticism from rights advocates over the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who has played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.


Hundreds of thousands return home in Sudan

Hundreds of thousands return home in Sudan
Updated 11 March 2025
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Hundreds of thousands return home in Sudan

Hundreds of thousands return home in Sudan
  • Displaced families have headed back in droves, even to burned homes

PORT SUDAN: Nearly 400,000 Sudanese have returned to their homes over the past two and a half months after being displaced by the ongoing conflict, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday.

Between December and March, “approximately 396,738 individuals” returned to areas retaken from paramilitary forces by the army, which has advanced through central Sudan in recent months, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been locked in a brutal conflict between army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Nearly all the returnees moved back to their homes in the central Sudanese states of Sennar, which the army largely recaptured in December, and Al-Jazira after it was retaken the following month.

Thousands more have returned to the capital Khartoum, where the army regained large areas last month and appeared on the verge of expelling the RSF.

Displaced families have headed back in droves, even to looted and burned homes, after more than a year of displacement.

Across the country, 11.5 million people are internally displaced, many of them facing mass starvation in what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

A further 3.5 million people have fled across borders since the war broke out.

Parts of the country have already descended into famine, with another 8 million people on the brink of mass starvation.

On Monday, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said only 6.3 percent of the funding necessary to provide lifesaving aid had been received.

Nationwide, nearly 25 million people are suffering dire food insecurity.

The conflict divided the country into two parts, with the army controlling the country’s north and east while the RSF holds nearly all Darfur and parts of the south.

A medical source said RSF shelling on Sunday on a strategic city in Sudan’s south killed nine civilians and injured 21 others.

El-Obeid, the state capital of North Kordofan, came under attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, said the source at the city’s main hospital and several witnesses.


Boatless in Gaza: using old fridge doors to catch fish

Boatless in Gaza: using old fridge doors to catch fish
Updated 11 March 2025
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Boatless in Gaza: using old fridge doors to catch fish

Boatless in Gaza: using old fridge doors to catch fish
  • Israeli bombardment over more than 15 months of war has destroyed most of the boats in the harbor, wrecking the fishermen’s means of making a living

GAZA CITY: Balanced calmly on top of what was once a refrigerator door, fisherman Khaled Habib uses a makeshift paddle to propel himself through the waters of Gaza City’s fishing port.

Israeli bombardment over more than 15 months of war has destroyed most of the boats in the harbor, wrecking the fishermen’s means of making a living.

“We’re in a very difficult situation today, and struggling with the fishing. There are no fishing boats left. They’ve all been destroyed and tossed on the ground,” said Habib.

“I made this ‘boat’ from refrigerator doors and cork — and thankfully it worked.”

So he could continue feeding his family, Habib came up with the idea of stuffing cork into old fridge doors to make them buoyant.

He covered one side with wood and the other with plastic sheeting to help make the makeshift paddleboard waterproof.

Habib also crafted a fishing cage out of wire because of the lack of nets but admitted that his resulting catch was “small.”

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said in December that the conflict had taken Gaza’s “once thriving fishing sector to the brink of collapse.”

“Gaza’s average daily catch between October 2023 to April 2024 dropped to just 7.3 percent of 2022 levels, causing a $17.5 million production loss,” the FAO said.

Habib now fishes mainly inside the small port area using dough as bait.

Despite the fragile ceasefire that came into force on Jan. 19, which essentially halted the fighting, Habib said that fishing outside the port is prohibited.

“If we go (outside the fishermen’s harbor), the Israeli boats will shoot at us, and that’s a problem we suffer from a lot.”

Habib said he catches enough fish to feed his family and tries to help others by selling the rest at an affordable price.

After dividing his catch into small plastic bags, the fisherman sells some at the high prices at the harbor market.

The first phase of the Gaza truce, which ended on March 1, had enabled the entry of vital food, shelter, and medical assistance into the Palestinian territory.

Israel announced on March 2 that it was blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, where Palestinians say they fear food shortages and price hikes.

Several other fishermen, particularly the younger generation, have also used the new makeshift floating platforms.

Habib sees the homemade paddleboards as having a dual purpose.

“If we wanted to raise a new generation to learn how to swim, boats should be made from refrigerator doors, and then everyone would learn how to swim, row, and sail,” he said.

“Thank God, now they’ve learned how to swim,” he added, looking over the water at children trying to keep their balance.