Israeli attacks kill 2 in Lebanon, threatening peace

Update Israeli attacks kill 2 in Lebanon, threatening peace
An Israeli army Merkava main battle tank deploys at a position in northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon on March 18, 2025 (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 23 March 2025
Follow

Israeli attacks kill 2 in Lebanon, threatening peace

Israeli attacks kill 2 in Lebanon, threatening peace
  • Rockets from unidentified sources undermine ceasefire in border area
  • Aoun said: “These events necessitate a firm response,” warning that “any deterioration in the security situation could jeopardize national stability”

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned on Saturday what he described as “attempts to draw Lebanon back into a cycle of violence.”
His comments followed an escalation earlier in the day when rockets were launched from southern Lebanon toward the Israeli settlement of Metula, opposite the Lebanese town of Kfar Kila.
In response, Israel targeted a house in the town of Tulin with artillery and airstrikes, killing two people, including a child.
Eight others were injured, among them two children.
Aoun said: “The events that occurred in the south in the morning, along with the ongoing escalation since Feb. 18, represent a persistent aggression against Lebanon and a significant blow to the rescue plan that has garnered consensus among the Lebanese people.”
This is the first incident of its kind to occur from Lebanese territory since the ceasefire came into effect on Nov. 27 last year, while Israeli violations of the agreement have continued unabated.
Aoun added: “These events necessitate a firm response,” warning that “any deterioration in the security situation could jeopardize national stability.”

He urged “relevant authorities in the south, particularly the committee overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the Lebanese Army, to take necessary measures to prevent any repercussions.”
Aoun also asked the army chief “to implement essential field actions to ensure the safety of citizens and to conduct an urgent investigation to clarify the circumstances of the incident, addressing it with complete transparency.”
He emphasized “the importance of controlling any violations or leniency that could pose a threat to civil peace during these critical times that Lebanon is experiencing.”
The Army Command said that “search-and-inspection operations” following the incident discovered three makeshift rocket launchers in the area north of the Litani River, between the towns of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun in Nabatieh.
The rocket launchers were dismantled.
Army units continue to “implement necessary measures to stabilize the situation in the south,” it said.
Israel said that sirens were activated in the Metula settlement and the Iron Dome system intercepted three missiles.
Israeli media reported that rockets were fired from Qalaat Al-Shaqif, between Yahmar Al-Shaqif and Arnoun, in southern Lebanon.
In response, Israeli artillery targeted Lebanese border villages, including Kafr Kila and Khiam.
Yahmar Al-Shaqif in Nabatieh experienced sporadic shelling, which extended to the outskirts of Arnoun and Kafr Tibnit.
About 10 shells were reported to have landed in these areas, with artillery strikes also reaching Mays Al-Jabal and Blida.
Later, Israel’s Ministry of Defense said that the Israeli army will launch strikes on dozens of sites in Lebanon in response to the attack on Metula.
An Israeli military source said that the army “responds to any threat, regardless of who fires the shots.”
Two security sources told Israeli Army Radio that the army “has not yet completed its response and further attacks are expected in the coming hours.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel “will not allow rocket fire from Lebanon on the Galilee communities. The rule for Metula is the rule for Beirut.”
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said “the army will respond strongly to the attack. The Lebanese state bears responsibility for maintaining the ceasefire agreement.”
While Israel accused Hezbollah of orchestrating the attack, Lebanese media suggested Palestinian factions in Lebanon were behind the incident.
Hezbollah denied involvement, saying that “Israel was using the accusation to justify its continued attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire.”
In a separate statement, Hezbollah reiterated its “full commitment to the ceasefire agreement. We support the Lebanese government in addressing the dangerous Israeli escalation in Lebanon.”
In an interview with Al-Arabiya on Friday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that “the ministerial statement clearly stipulates that the state would be the sole possessor of weapons,” adding that “the slogan ‘people, army, and resistance’ is now a thing of the past.”
Lebanese state authorities acted swiftly to prevent any deterioration of the situation at the border.
Aoun tasked Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Rajji with “carrying out Arab and international calls to convey Lebanon’s position on the developments in the south.”
These calls included “consultations with UNIFIL leadership to prevent any further escalation that could extend into Lebanon’s interior.”
Salam tasked Minister of Defense Michel Menassa with “taking necessary measures to assert that the state solely controls war and peace decisions,” according to his media office.
Salam also contacted Janine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Lebanon, urging the UN “to increase international pressure on Israel to fully withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories.”
Salam warned against “the resurgence of military operations on the southern border, and the risks that could drag the country into a new war, which would bring calamities upon Lebanon and its people.”
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called on Lebanese authorities, including the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, to uncover the circumstances of what happened in the south.
In a statement, he stressed that “the primary beneficiary of dragging Lebanon and the region into a major explosion is Israel, which has violated Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire terms with over 1,500 violations so far, while Lebanon and its resistance have fully adhered to all provisions of this agreement.”
Berri called on “political forces to cleanse political rhetoric, rally behind the state and its institutions, and be aware of the dangers posed by creating pretexts for the enemy through the stirring up of divisive sentiments, which open doors for the enemy to infiltrate and undermine Lebanon’s stability.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Rajji said that “Lebanon doesn’t seek escalation.”
He added: “The latest escalation poses a threat to security and stability in the region, and places Lebanon in confrontation with a regional military power, constituting a significant challenge to Lebanese political and diplomatic efforts.”
In a statement, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti expressed deep concern over the possible escalation of hostilities in the area.
Tenenti said that UNIFIL is closely monitoring the situation, urging all parties “to refrain from taking any steps that might jeopardize the progress made in the ceasefire agreement.”


Lebanese leaders criticize Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm

Lebanese leaders criticize Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm
Updated 12 sec ago
Follow

Lebanese leaders criticize Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm

Lebanese leaders criticize Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm
  • ‘Those who use threats must first stop the tragedies,’ says Lebanese Forces leader

BEIRUT: The Lebanese army on Saturday continued to detonate munitions left over from the Israeli war in southern Lebanon, as well as confiscating ordnance in the area south of the Litani River.

Explosions were heard across southern Lebanon, accompanied by reconnaissance flights from Lebanese army Cessna aircraft south of the Litani River.

During the most recent cabinet session, Army Commander Gen. Rudolph Haykal confirmed that it was no longer possible to cross the Litani River from north to south without passing through Lebanese Army checkpoints. The commander also reviewed the seizure and confiscation of equipment, weapons, and ammunition, presenting statistics from more than 5,000 missions.

In a statement earlier this week, President Joseph Aoun announced that weapons would be brought under state control this year. However, campaigns by Hezbollah officials threaten to disrupt the path outlined by President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to achieve this end. On Saturday, several Lebanese politicians came out against Hezbollah’s attempt to retain its weapons.

The Hezbollah leaders have not learned from the lessons of the catastrophe caused by their party.

Ashraf Rifi, MP and former justice minister

“The remaining Hezbollah leaders have not learned from the lessons of the catastrophe caused by their party,” said MP and former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, claiming that Hezbollah was being “reckless” and holding on to weapons “in support of Tehran, which is negotiating with the US at the expense of the Lebanese.”

He added: “These people appear to have lost essential wisdom and reasoning skills. Sooner or later, the weapons will be surrendered and dismantled; history does not move backward.”

Rifi’s comments followed a series of statements from Hezbollah in recent days, in which the group rejected the notion of surrendering its weapons to the state. They issued a threat to “cut off the hand” of anyone who tried to disarm them.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Friday: “Remove this issue from your vocabulary, as no one will disarm us.”

He added that an Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction efforts must come before any discussions of a defense strategy.

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani endorsed Hezbollah’s stance, stating on Saturday that “the disarmament project is a clear plot against countries,” and warning against “falling into Israel’s trap.”

The Iranian diplomat posted on X: “While the US supplies the Israeli regime with the latest weapons and missiles, it simultaneously prevents other countries from strengthening and arming their militaries. Using various pretexts, it pressures them to reduce or destroy their arsenals.”

He added that when countries agree to disarmament demands, they become vulnerable to attacks and occupations, citing Iraq, Libya, and Syria as examples.

Amani stressed that Iran was aware of the dangers posed by “this conspiracy and its threat to regional nations’ security.”

He said: “We warn others not to fall into Israel’s trap, as maintaining deterrence is the first line of defense for sovereignty and independence, and it should not be put at risk.”

Hezbollah’s position has drawn widespread criticism, however. MP Paula Yacoubian characterized it as a strategy to enhance Iran’s negotiation position with the US, and said Lebanon was being used as a bargaining chip.

“Iran, which has poured billions into Hezbollah, now seeks greater returns,” she said. “To preserve the regime, it is time to make concessions, and the party must stop repeating outdated rhetoric while reclaiming its Lebanese identity.”

Former President Michel Suleiman said in a statement: "No to threats of cutting off hands. No to hints of civil war. No to discussions about the army's weaknesses. No to claims regarding the strength of the resistance. No to the idea of keeping weapons in the south, the mountains, the Bekaa, the north, or Beirut in the hands of anyone other than the state.

"Why is this important? Because if the state does not control weapons, then the state and its institutions will not survive.

"Consequently, the economy will not prosper, and we will not restore our friendship with our sister state or the international community."

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated that “resorting to threats, especially regarding severing hands, has no place in a democratic state or a country seeking civil peace.”

He urged those using such rhetoric to stop, as their actions have already caused “significant harm and damage to Lebanon and its people,” adding that they should step aside and “allow the new leadership to guide the country out of the tragedy” they have created.

Geagea also urged Hezbollah to focus on “rebuilding an effective state capable of restoring dignity, pride, and a decent life for the Lebanese people, and take the initiative to facilitate reconstruction efforts.”

A political source told Arab News that Hezbollah’s rejection of disarmament, most recently expressed by Naim Qassem, aimed to preserve internal balance and boost morale within the party.

“Meanwhile, the Iranian position indicates that Iran is trying to control Hezbollah. There may also be another explanation: they may be seeking to gain time,” said the source.

 


Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food

Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food

Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food
  • Once the shell has been removed, the meat is cut up, boiled and cooked in a mix of onion, pepper, tomato and spices
  • “The children were afraid of the turtle, and we told them it tasted as delicious as veal,” said Majida Qanan

KHAN YUNIS, Palestinian Territories: With food scarce in the besieged and war-battered Gaza Strip, some desperate families have turned to eating sea turtles as a rare source of protein.
Once the shell has been removed, the meat is cut up, boiled and cooked in a mix of onion, pepper, tomato and spices.
“The children were afraid of the turtle, and we told them it tasted as delicious as veal,” said Majida Qanan, keeping an eye on the chunks of red meat simmering in a pot over a wood fire.
“Some of them ate it, but others refused.”
For lack of a better alternative, this is the third time 61-year-old Qanan has prepared a turtle-based meal for her family who were displaced and now live in a tent in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza largest city.
After 18 months of devastating war and an Israeli blockade on aid since March 2, the United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory.
Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid, which the Palestinian militant group denies.
The heads of 12 major aid organizations warned on Thursday that “famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts” of the territory.
“There are no open crossings and there is nothing in the market,” said Qanan.
“When I buy two small bags (of vegetables) for 80 shekels ($22), there is no meat,” she added.
Sea turtles are internationally protected as an endangered species, but those caught in Gaza fishermen’s nets are used for food.
Qanan mixes the meat with flour and vinegar to wash it, before rinsing and boiling it in an old metal pot.
“We never expected to eat a turtle,” fisherman Abdel Halim Qanan said.
“When the war started, there was a food shortage. There is no food. So (turtle meat) is an alternative for other sources of protein. There is no meat, poultry or vegetables.”
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began on October 7, 2023, triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Fighting has raged in Gaza since then, pausing only twice — recently during a two-month ceasefire between January 19 and March 17, and in a previous one-week halt in late November 2023.
The World Health Organization’s regional chief Hanan Balkhy said in June that some Gazans were so desperate that they were eating animal food, grass, and drinking sewage water.
Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon” against Gazans by blocking aid supplies.
Fisherman Qanan said the turtles were killed in the “halal” method, in accordance with Islamic rites.
“If there was no famine, we would not eat it and leave it, but we want to compensate for the lack of protein,” he said.


Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 90 people in the last 48 hours, Palestinians say

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 90 people in the last 48 hours, Palestinians say
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 90 people in the last 48 hours, Palestinians say

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 90 people in the last 48 hours, Palestinians say
  • Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 90 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in the last 48 hours.
  • The dead include at least 15 people killed overnight, among them women and children, some of who were sheltering in a designated humanitarian zone, according to hospital staff

DEIR AL-BALAH: Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 90 people in the last 48 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday, as Israeli troops ramp up attacks to pressure Hamas to release its hostages and disarm.
The dead include 15 people who were killed overnight, among them women and children, some of who were sheltering in a designated humanitarian zone, according to hospital staff.
At least 11 people were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, several of them in a tent in the Mwasi area where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living, hospital worker said. Israel has designated it as a humanitarian zone.
Four other people were killed in separate strikes in Rafah city, including a mother and her daughter, according to the European Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Israel has vowed to intensify attacks across Gaza and occupy large “security zones” inside the strip. For six weeks Israel also has blockaded Gaza, barring the entry of food and other goods.
This week, aid groups raised alarm saying that thousands of children have become malnourished, and most people are barely eating one meal a day as stocks dwindle, according to the United Nations.
On Friday, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, the head of the World Health Organization’s eastern Mediterranean office, urged the new US ambassador in Israel, Mike Huckabee, to push the country to lift Gaza’s blockade so medicines and other aid can enter the strip.
“I would wish for him to go in and see the situation firsthand,” she said.
In his first appearance as ambassador on Friday, Huckabee visited the Western Wall, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem’s Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by US President Donald Trump. Huckabee said every effort was being made to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90 percent of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.


Syria president hosts Republican US congressman in Damascus

Syria president hosts Republican US congressman in Damascus
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Syria president hosts Republican US congressman in Damascus

Syria president hosts Republican US congressman in Damascus
  • Al-Sharaa meets with US Congressman Cory Mills in Damascus
  • Washington has already eased some sanctions on Syria affecting essential services

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has met with a US congressman, the Syrian presidency said on Saturday, the first such visit by an American lawmaker since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Assad.
Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani was also present at the meeting with Republican Cory Mills at the presidential palace in Damascus, a presidency statement said.
Mills arrived in Syria on Friday along with Marlin Stutzman, another politician from the Republican party of US President Donald Trump.
In late December, less than two weeks after a coalition spearheaded by Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled Assad, Washington scrapped a long-standing reward for the arrest of the new leader.
The decision to drop the bounty for Sharaa followed “positive messages” from a first meeting with the new authorities, a senior US diplomat said at the time.
The new government, dominated by Sharaa loyalists, has been pushing for Assad-era sanctions to be lifted to revive Syria’s economy and support reconstruction after nearly 14 years of war.
Washington has already eased some sanctions on Syria affecting essential services, although it is a temporary measure as the United States and other governments wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power before enacting wider exemptions.
The United States, which has welcomed the formation of an interim government, has demanded progress on issues such as the fight against terrorism.
Nevertheless, Washington announced on Friday that it would halve the number of US troops deployed to the country to fight the Daesh group, bringing their number to fewer than 1,000.
International sanctions have weighed heavily on the Syrian economy, with around 90 percent of people living in poverty, according to UN figures.
Next week, Syrian ministers and the country’s central bank chief are due to attend the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings in Washington, sources with knowledge of the meetings told AFP.
The congressmen’s visit came as Washington warned on Friday of “imminent attacks” in Syria and particularly in “locations frequented by tourists,” according to an alert posted on the US embassy’s website.
The embassy’s operations in Damascus have been suspended since 2012, the year after the brutal repression of anti-government protests under Assad sparked civil war.


Earthquake of magnitude 5.8 strikes Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, GFZ says

Earthquake of magnitude 5.8 strikes Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, GFZ says
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Earthquake of magnitude 5.8 strikes Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, GFZ says

Earthquake of magnitude 5.8 strikes Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, GFZ says
  • The quake was at a depth of 92 km

DUBAI: An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border on Saturday, German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth of 92 km (57 miles), GFZ said.