Israeli delegation in Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks

Talal Al-Assali, 64, poses in front of his destroyed home in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on February 9, 2025. (AFP)
Talal Al-Assali, 64, poses in front of his destroyed home in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on February 9, 2025. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 09 February 2025
Follow

Israeli delegation in Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks

Talal Al-Assali, 64, poses in front of his destroyed home in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on February 9, 2025. (AFP)
  • Netanyahu’s security cabinet was scheduled to discuss Trump’s proposal, as well as the second stage of the ceasefire, on Tuesday, the source in his office said

CAIRO/JERUSALEM: An Israeli delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for more Gaza truce talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson said, as its military withdrew from an important crossing point in the enclave, as agreed under the truce with Hamas.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on the next stage of the ceasefire are set to start this week following Netanyahu’s visit to the United States last week.
However, a source in Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli delegation at this point will only discuss technical issues, rather than the bigger matters which are supposed to be hammered out, including the administration of post-war Gaza.
Last week, US President Donald Trump made a surprise call for Palestinians to be displaced from Gaza and for the enclave to come under the ownership of the US, which would rebuild it.
US officials have since walked back some of Trump’s remarks, saying Palestinians could return to Gaza once it was cleared of unexploded ordnance and rebuilt.
Still, Trump’s plan was widely panned with some critics saying it amounted to “ethnic cleansing.” Israeli officials have welcomed it.
Netanyahu’s security cabinet was scheduled to discuss Trump’s proposal, as well as the second stage of the ceasefire, on Tuesday, the source in his office said.
The first stage of the ceasefire which began on January 19 is meant to last six weeks and includes the release by Hamas of 33 Israeli hostages in return for Israel freeing almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners from its jails.
Images of three hostages freed on Saturday, looking gaunt and weak, shocked Israelis. “Yesterday we got our father back. He lost much of his weight but not his spirit,” said Yulie Ben Ami, whose father Ohad was freed. “He survived hell.”
Withdrawal
Washington, Qatar and Egypt mediated the ceasefire, which has largely held. In keeping with the deal, on Sunday the Israeli military completed its withdrawal from its remaining positions in the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza.
Crowds of people were seen traversing the corridor as Hamas announced the Israeli withdrawal, while a long line of cars waited to pass through. An Israeli security source confirmed the military was leaving its positions there.
The Hamas-run police force deployed to the area to manage the flow Palestinians crossing through and Reuters footage showed what appeared to be Israeli military vehicles moving away from the coast and toward the Israeli border.
Hamas military and police forces have increased their public presence since January’s ceasefire, in what analysts say is an intentional message that the group has not been defeated.
Former American soldiers employed as private contractors have been deployed to inspect vehicles passing through the corridor in recent weeks following the ceasefire agreement that was implemented on January 19 after more than 15 months of war.
Israel had occupied the roughly 4 mile-long (6km) corridor south of Gaza City that stretches from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
The corridor cut off Gaza’s northern communities, including its largest metropolitan area, from the south.
Thousands of Palestinians have streamed through the corridor in recent weeks, returning to their homes in the north from southern Gaza where they had sought shelter from the war.
Much of northern Gaza has become a wasteland following Israel’s devastating campaign. After finding their homes destroyed, some Gazans have gone back to the south, while others have set up tents where their homes once stood.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas for its October 2023 attack in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 48,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory assault, according to Palestinian health authorities, most of them civilians.
Gazan medics said that on Sunday four Palestinians, including an elderly woman, had been killed by Israeli gunfire in two separate incidents near Khan Yunis and in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said soldiers had fired warning shots at “several suspects” and that “several hits were identified,” when asked about the Gaza City incident where medics said three Palestinians had been killed and five wounded. The military was not aware of the incident where the woman was allegedly killed.


Sudanese seek refuge underground in western region of Darfur

Sudanese seek refuge underground in western region of Darfur
Updated 25 sec ago
Follow

Sudanese seek refuge underground in western region of Darfur

Sudanese seek refuge underground in western region of Darfur

EL-FASHER: Beneath the broken earth of the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher in the western region of Darfur, Nafisa Malik clutches her five children close.

As shells rain down, the 45-year-old mother tries to shield them in a cramped hole barely big enough to crouch in.

“Time slows down here,” Malik said, from her home near El-Fasher’s Hajjer Gadou market.

“We sit in the darkness, listening, trying to guess when it’s over,” she said.

For almost two years the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army have waged a war that has killed tens of thousands.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called it a “crisis of staggering scale and brutality.”

El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, is the only major city in Darfur still under army control, making it a strategic prize.

The paramilitary troops have tried for months to seize it.

Malik’s crude shelter, held up by splintered wooden planks and scraps of rusted metal, is one of thousands in the war-battered city, according to residents.

The army regained much of the capital Khartoum this year, but the paramilitary troops have intensified their attacks on El-Fasher.

Desperate for safety from artillery and drone strikes, residents have built makeshift bunkers.

Some are hurriedly excavated foxholes, others are more solid and reinforced with sandbags.

Mohammed Ibrahim, 54, once believed hiding under beds would be enough, “until houses were hit.”


Syria authorities accuse Hezbollah of killing three soldiers

A member of security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government speaks on a cell phone while standing by Mediterranean sea.
A member of security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government speaks on a cell phone while standing by Mediterranean sea.
Updated 8 min 57 sec ago
Follow

Syria authorities accuse Hezbollah of killing three soldiers

A member of security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government speaks on a cell phone while standing by Mediterranean sea.
  • Hezbollah in a statement denied any involvement in clashes with Syrian security forces or in Syrian territory
  • Group was a key backer of Syria’s former president Bashar Assad before he was toppled in a lightning offensive

DAMASCUS: Syria’s defense ministry on Sunday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah group of abducting three soldiers to Lebanon and killing them there, state media reported, as Hezbollah denied any involvement in clashes.
“A group from the Hezbollah militia... kidnapped three members of the Syrian army on the Syrian-Lebanese border... before taking them to Lebanese territory and eliminating them,” the news agency SANA quoted the defense ministry as saying.
“The defense ministry will take all the necessary measures after this dangerous escalation from the Hezbollah militia,” it added of the incident which it said occurred near the Zeita Dam, west of Homs.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah in a statement denied any involvement in clashes with Syrian security forces or in Syrian territory.
The group said it “categorically denies any connection to the events taking place today on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”
It added that it “reaffirms its previous announcements that Hezbollah has no relation to any events within Syrian territory.”
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported that rockets fired from Syrian territory had landed in the Lebanese village of Qasr near the border.
“A number of rockets, fired from the Qusayr countryside inside Syrian territory, fell on the border town of Qasr,” it said, without providing further details.
Hezbollah was a key backer of Syria’s former president Bashar Assad before he was toppled in a lightning offensive by militants in December.
The country’s new authorities announced last month the launch of a security campaign in the border province of Homs, aimed at shutting down routes used for arms and goods smuggling.
They accused Hezbollah of launching attacks, saying it was sponsoring cross-border smuggling gangs.


Jumblatt calls on Syrian Druze to preserve their Arab identity

Jumblatt calls on Syrian Druze to preserve their Arab identity
Updated 55 min 45 sec ago
Follow

Jumblatt calls on Syrian Druze to preserve their Arab identity

Jumblatt calls on Syrian Druze to preserve their Arab identity
  • Lebanese Druze leader emphasizes the need for Israeli forces to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Sunday warned Syrian Druze against foreign influence, urging them to resist Israeli approaches and protect their heritage.

Jumblatt, former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, was speaking on the 48th anniversary of the assassination of his father, and party founder, Kamal Jumblatt.

He said that the arrest of Ibrahim Huweija — who was responsible for the assassination — by Syrian authorities a week ago “represents historical justice taking its course, albeit after a while.”

FASTFACT

The commemoration of the 48th anniversary of Kamal Jumblatt’s assassination took place on Sunday in Moukhtara, Jumblatt’s political stronghold and the center of Druze leadership in Lebanon,

Jumblatt urged Druze from Syria’s Jabal Al-Arab region to defend their shared struggle with Syrian and Arab citizens against “occupation, colonialism, and mandates imposed on the Golan Heights.”

“Safeguard your heritage and beware of being used by some to divide Syria under the banner of the ‘alliance of minorities,’ which Kamal Jumblatt opposed,” he said.

The commemoration of the 48th anniversary of Kamal Jumblatt’s assassination took place on Sunday in Moukhtara, Jumblatt’s political stronghold and the center of Druze leadership in Lebanon, evolving into a significant and inclusive political gathering.

On March 16 every year the Progressive Socialist Party gathers at Kamal Jumblatt’s tomb, marking the anniversary of his assassination and those who were with him.

His convoy was ambushed in Deir Dourite at a pivotal moment in Lebanese politics.

Investigations determined that Ibrahim Huweija, a general in the ousted Syrian regime’s army and a senior security officer, was responsible for the crime.

According to the new Syrian authorities, Huweija is accused of “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the assassination of Jumblatt.”

Jumblatt’s speech on Sunday coincided with his announcement that the annual commemoration of his father’s assassination would be discontinued after the arrest of its perpetrator.

In his speech, Jumblatt said: “For 48 years, we have gathered on March 16 to recite Al-Fatiha and place a red flower on Kamal Jumblatt’s tomb. This occasion symbolizes our defiance and strength to remember, endure, and persevere.

“We have stood in reverence for the blood of the martyrs who fell treacherously on that fateful day. The Lebanese people will remember their sacrifices and the political legacy.”

Jumblatt said that the Progressive Socialist Party looked forward to a new phase of struggle, challenges, and adherence to the most humane form of socialism.

Jumblatt emphasized the party’s position on recent developments, highlighting the need to end Israeli occupation in the south and establish borders under international resolutions to maintain sovereignty.

He emphasized the need to reconstruct the south and other affected areas by establishing a reliable mechanism at both Arab and international levels.

He also underlined the importance of “rebuilding relations between Lebanon and Syria based on new principles. This includes clearly defining land and maritime borders, supporting legitimate Palestinian rights — particularly the two-state solution and the affirmation of the right of return — and upholding the ceasefire agreement.”

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov participated in the commemoration.

Former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin sent a message to Walid Jumblatt, acknowledging the “void left by the assassination of his father.”

He emphasized that his father was an advocate for peace in the Middle East, believing that true peace cannot be achieved without recognizing the Palestinians’ right to establish their own state.

In the meantime, the municipality of the border town of Houla released a statement condemning the ongoing Israeli attacks, especially in the eastern region of the town, where Israeli soldiers are digging a trench extending toward the Al-Abbad site.

The municipality said that Israel’s actions indicated an occupation beyond the five occupied heights.

The municipality urged all relevant officials in the Lebanese government to take immediate action and exert pressure on the UN and the five-member committee responsible for overseeing the implementation of UN Resolution 1701.

The goal is to prevent further aggression and to ensure the return of the occupied territories, it added.

The appeal came as Israeli forces opened fire with bursts of machinegun fire and bombs from the Ruwaisat Al-Alam border site on the outskirts of Kafr Shuba late on Saturday and into Sunday.

The forces also launched a military incursion into Odaisseh, occupying the town square for several hours before withdrawing.

A security source reported that a Lebanese army motorized unit was sent from Taybeh to Odaisseh after the Israeli forces pulled out.

 

 


Netanyahu seeks to dismiss Israel’s internal security chief as power struggle boils over

Netanyahu seeks to dismiss Israel’s internal security chief as power struggle boils over
Updated 16 March 2025
Follow

Netanyahu seeks to dismiss Israel’s internal security chief as power struggle boils over

Netanyahu seeks to dismiss Israel’s internal security chief as power struggle boils over
  • Shin Bet Director Ronen said he would refuse to immediately step down
  • Netanyahu’s proposed resolution for Bar’s dismissal would need the approval of parliament

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will seek to dismiss the head of the country’s internal security service this week, deepening a power struggle between the men focused largely on who bears responsibility for the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
The effort by Netanyahu to remove Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar is the latest move in an increasingly acrimonious dispute, which also involves the security service’s investigation into close aides of Netanyahu. In response, Bar said he would refuse to immediately step down, heightening the turmoil.
Netanyahu said in a statement he has had “ongoing distrust” with Bar, and “this distrust has grown over time.”
Bar replied in a statement that he planned to continue in the post for the near future and had told that to Netanyahu, citing his “personal obligations” to free the remaining hostages in Gaza, finish sensitive investigations and prepare potential successors.
The Shin Bet is responsible for monitoring Palestinian militant groups, and recently issued a report accepting responsibility for its failures around the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. But it also criticized Netanyahu, saying failed government policies helped create the climate that led to it.
Whereas the army concluded in a recent report that it underestimated Hamas’ capabilities, Shin Bet said it had a “deep understanding of the threat.” In veiled criticism of the government, the agency said its attempts to thwart the Hamas threat were not implemented.
“The investigation reveals a long and deliberate disregard from the political leadership from the organization’s warnings,” Bar said Sunday.
The tensions boiled over this weekend when Bar’s predecessor, Nadav Argaman, said he would release sensitive information about Netanyahu if it is found that the prime minister had broken the law. Netanyahu accused Argaman of blackmail and filed a police complaint.
Netanyahu has resisted calls for an official state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack and has tried to blame the failures on the army and security agencies. In recent months, a number of senior security officials, including a defense minister and army chief, have been fired or forced to step down.
Bar has been been one of the few senior security officials since the Oct. 7 attack to remain in office.
Netanyahu said removing Bar as Shin Bet chief would help Israel “achieve its war goals and prevent the next disaster.” The prime minister is expected to appoint a loyalist in his place, slowing any momentum for the commission of inquiry.
Netanyahu’s proposed resolution for Bar’s dismissal would need the approval of parliament, the Knesset, and it is likely he has support to pass it.
However, a personnel decision of this magnitude must get the attorney general’s approval, said Amichai Cohen, a senior research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute think tank. Cohen said Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara may challenge Netanyahu, setting up a court battle.
The two have a combative relationship, with the prime minister accusing Baharav-Miara of meddling in government decisions. Earlier this month, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, one of Netanyahu’s biggest supporters, initiated the process of firing her.
Cohen also called Netanyahu’s decision “very problematic,” and said it illustrates the conflict of interest regarding investigations into connections between the prime minister’s office and Qatar and the information Shin Bet published in its investigation into the failures leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good-governance civil society group, called Netanyahu’s announcement a “declaration of war on the rule of law” and claimed that he does not have the authority to take the step against Bar because of investigations into his own office.
Netanyahu is angry that the Shin Bet is investigating members of his staff for their dealings with Qatar, a mediator in talks on the war in Gaza. The Shin Bet, and Bar, have been closely involved with the hostage negotiations.
Netanyahu recently removed Bar from the negotiating team and replaced him with a loyalist, Cabinet minister Ron Dermer. Israeli media have reported on deep policy differences between the negotiators, who have pushed for a hostage deal, and Netanyahu, who continues to threaten to resume the war.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of attempting to fire Bar over the investigation into connections between the prime minister’s office and Qatar, and said he would appeal the dismissal, calling the resolution “shameful” and politically motivated.


Libya education minister convicted over textbook scandal

Libya education minister convicted over textbook scandal
Updated 16 March 2025
Follow

Libya education minister convicted over textbook scandal

Libya education minister convicted over textbook scandal
  • Libya’s education minister has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison

TRIPOLI: Libya’s education minister has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison because of a textbook shortage dating back to 2021, the attorney-general’s office announced on Sunday.
The Tripoli court of appeal also fined Moussa Al-Megarief 1,000 dinars (about $200) and deprived him of his civil rights for the duration of his sentence and a year afterwards, the same source said in a statement on Facebook.
Megarief, a member of the national unity government, was accused of “violating the principle of equality,” interceding in favor of an unnamed party, and “favoritism in contract management ... over the printing of textbooks.”
The case dates to the start of the 2021 school year, when a textbook shortage forced parents to spend money on photocopies of textbooks supposed to be provided free in public schools.
An investigation began into Megarief over his management of “contractual procedures for printing textbooks and the reasons behind this shortage.”
He was then placed in preventive detention as part of an investigation into “negligence in the exercise of his functions.”
Megarief was later released from custody for lack of evidence, and resumed his post as education minister.
He attributed the textbook shortage to unifying the school curriculum among the North African country’s three regions, saying this delayed payments owed to suppliers.
Before the attorney-general’s announcement on Sunday, the education ministry’s Facebook page posted a picture showing Megarief at work.