BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said Tuesday it had captured most of a mountainous area on the border with Syria during an operation to clear Daesh group jihadists from the region.
The army began its campaign in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud Al-Qaa areas on Lebanon’s eastern border on Saturday, capturing more than two thirds of the 120 square kilometers held by Daesh jihadists in the first two days.
“We have captured around another 20 square kilometers, so we have about another 20 square kilometers to go,” said army spokesman Brigadier General Ali Qanso.
He declined to be drawn on how much longer it would take the army to finish the operation.
Four Lebanese soldiers have been killed since the campaign began, including one on Tuesday when a land mine detonated under his vehicle.
The other three were killed when they drove over a land mine at the weekend.
At a press conference, Qanso presented pictures of Daesh weapons, ammunition and mines recovered during the fight, as well as tunnels used by the jihadist group.
The army estimated that around 600 IS fighters were in the area on the eastern border, where jihadists have long posed a security threat.
In 2014, they invaded the border town of Arsal, capturing 30 Lebanese soldiers and police.
Four were executed by their captors and a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine soldiers are believed to remain in Daesh hands.
Their fate remains unclear, and Qanso said the soldiers were the army’s “top concern.”
The army’s operation comes after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carried out its own six-day campaign against fighters from a former Al-Qaeda affiliate further south on the border area.
That offensive ended with a cease-fire under which 8,000 refugees and jihadists were transported to northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched their own simultaneous attack against Daesh from the Syrian side of the border on Saturday, but Lebanon’s army insists it is not coordinating the assault.
Hezbollah is a key ally of Syria’s government and has bolstered its forces against rebels there.
Lebanon army says in final stage of border battle with Daesh
Lebanon army says in final stage of border battle with Daesh
US determines Sudan’s RSF committed genocide, imposes sanctions on leader
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding that they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.
“The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities,” Blinken said.
Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him from traveling to the United States and freezing any US assets he might hold.
“For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation,” the Treasury Department said in a separate statement.
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies have struggled to deliver relief.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
US envoy says Israeli forces begin pullout from 2nd south Lebanon town
- “The Israeli military started its withdrawal from Naqura... and back into Israel proper today, south of the Blue Line,” Hochstein told reporters
- “These withdrawals will continue until all Israeli forces are out of Lebanon completely, and as the Lebanese army continues to deploy into the south and all the way to the Blue Line,”
BEIRUT: Visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein said Israeli forces began withdrawing on Monday from a south Lebanon border town more than halfway into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
It is the second such pullout since a November 27 ceasefire, and came after United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon’s prime minister late last month called on the Israeli army to speed up its withdrawal from Lebanon’s south.
“The Israeli military started its withdrawal from Naqura... and back into Israel proper today, south of the Blue Line,” Hochstein told reporters, referring to the UN-demarcated boundary between the two countries.
“These withdrawals will continue until all Israeli forces are out of Lebanon completely, and as the Lebanese army continues to deploy into the south and all the way to the Blue Line,” he added after meeting with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
“I have no reason not to expect that all parties — all parties — will remain committed to implementing the agreement that they agreed to,” he added after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and following accusations from Israel and Hezbollah that each side was violating the deal.
Israel in September stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza.
Under the terms of the ceasefire which Hochstein helped broker, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period.
Hezbollah is to pull its forces north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Mikati called for “a clear timetable to complete the Israeli withdrawal before the end of the 60-day deadline,” according to a statement released by his office.
It added that any “talk of Israel’s intention to extend the ceasefire deadline is firmly rejected.”
The Lebanese military said that “army units have stationed around the town of Naqura... and began deploying there in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,” referring to UNIFIL, whose headquarters is in Naqura.
The deployment came “in parallel with the Israeli enemy’s withdrawal,” the statement said, and coincided “with a meeting of the five-member committee” overseeing the ceasefire that was also attended by Hochstein.
The Israeli army told AFP that it “operates according to the directive of the political echelon and is committed to the understanding in regards to the ceasefire conditions.”
A committee composed of Israeli, Lebanese, French and US delegates alongside a UNIFIL representative is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.
Hochstein said he co-chaired the third meeting of the committee on Monday together with United States Major General Jasper Jeffers, adding that “the mechanism is working well.”
He said that while the ceasefire implementation may not have proceeded “as quickly as some wanted... what I heard in Naqura today gives me hope that we’re on the right track.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday accused Hezbollah of not withdrawing “beyond the Litani River” as stipulated, and of not meeting other terms of the ceasefire, after Hezbollah accused Israel of violations.
On December 11, Lebanon’s army said it deployed around the border town of Khiam in coordination with UNIFIL, also following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area.
The US military said it was the first such Israeli force withdrawal and subsequent Lebanese army deployment under the ceasefire.
During Monday’s visit, his first since the truce, Hochstein also urged political consensus in Lebanon ahead of a presidential vote this week.
Lebanon has been without a president for more than two years amid bitter divisions between Hezbollah and its opponents.
“These are critical times for Lebanon... not just to implement this agreement, but to come to political consensus, to focus on Lebanon for Lebanese people,” Hochstein said ahead Thursday’s vote.
“This is an opportunity... to really just focus on rebuilding the economy,” on implementing “reforms that will allow for investment, and returning the country to economic growth and prosperity for all,” Hochstein added.
The Lebanese army said Hochstein and Jeffers also met with army commander Joseph Aoun on Monday, discussing the ceasefire.
Aoun’s name has been floated as a potential presidential candidate.
Erdogan warns no place for 'terrorist' groups in Syria
- There is no place for "terrorist organisations or affiliated elements in the future of the new Syria," Erdogan said
- Ankara accuses one leading Kurdish force in Syria, the People's Protection Units (YPG), of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkiye
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said there was no place for "terrorist organisations" in Syria under its new Islamist leaders, in a warning regarding Kurdish forces there.
The fall of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad last month raised the prospect of Türkiye intervening in the country against Kurdish forces accused by Ankara of links to armed separatists.
Erdogan's comment came during a meeting in Ankara with the prime minister of Iraq's Kurdish region, Masrour Barzani, the Turkish leader's office said in a statement.
Erdogan told Barzani that Türkiye was working to prevent the ousting of Assad in neighbouring Syria from causing new instability in the region.
There is no place for "terrorist organisations or affiliated elements in the future of the new Syria," Erdogan said.
Ankara accuses one leading Kurdish force in Syria, the People's Protection Units (YPG), of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Türkiye.
The PKK has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state and is banned as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.
The Turkish military regularly launches strikes against Kurdish fighters in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, accusing them of PKK links.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: "The elimination of the PKK/YPG is only a matter of time."
He cited a call by Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose HTS group has long had ties with Türkiye, for the Kurdish-led forces to be integrated into Syria's national army.
The United States has backed the YPG in its fight against the jihadist movement Islamic State (IS), which has been largely crushed in its former Syrian stronghold.
But Fidan warned that Western countries should not use the threat of IS as "a pretext to strengthen the PKK".
Hamas stands by demand for end to Gaza war under hostage deal, as Trump deadline approaches
- Both sides accuse the other of blocking a deal by adhering to conditions that torpedoed all previous peace efforts for more than a year
- Hamas says it will free its remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to end the war
JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Hamas stood by its demand on Tuesday that Israel fully end its assault on Gaza under any deal to release hostages and said US President-elect Donald Trump was rash to say there would be “hell to pay” unless they go free by his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Officials from the Islamist group and Israel have been holding talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in the most intensive effort for months to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
The outgoing US administration has called for a final push for a deal before Joe Biden leaves office, and many in the region now view Trump’s inauguration as an unofficial deadline.
But with the clock ticking, both sides accuse the other of blocking a deal by adhering to conditions that torpedoed all previous peace efforts for more than a year.
Hamas says it will free its remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
“Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of the hostages,” the director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, Eden Bar Tal, told a briefing with reporters, saying Israel was fully committed to reaching a deal.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who held a news conference in Algiers, said Israel was to blame for undermining all efforts to reach a deal.
While he said he would not give details about the latest round of negotiations, he reiterated the Hamas conditions of “a complete end to the aggression and a full withdrawal from lands the occupation invaded.”
Commenting on Trump’s threat that there would be “hell to pay” unless all hostages were freed before the inauguration, Hamdan said: “I think the US president must make more disciplined and diplomatic statements.”
Israel has sent a team of mid-ranking officials to Qatar for talks brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Some Arabic media reports said David Barnea, the head of Mossad, who has been leading negotiations, was expected to join them. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not comment.
In one notable step toward a deal, a Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday the group had cleared a list submitted by Israel of 34 hostages who could be freed in the initial phase of a truce, alongside Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The list included female Israeli soldiers, plus elderly, female and minor-aged civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had so far received no confirmation about whether those on its list were still alive.
STRIKES KILL 10 PALESTINIANS
Nearly 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave. The assault was launched after Hamas fighters stormed Israeli territory in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 10 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory urged international donors to immediately provide fuel to maintain medical services.
One of those strikes killed four people in a house in Beach camp in Gaza City, while the remaining six were killed in separate strikes across the enclave, medics said.
The health ministry said hospitals were running out of fuel to operate generators and maintain medical services across Gaza because of Israeli restrictions.
Israel has repeatedly said it facilitated the delivery of fuel and medical supplies to hospitals in the enclave, even in areas where forces have active operations.
On Tuesday, the military said 240 Palestinians its forces had detained in a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza last month had provided “substantial intelligence.”
The military released footage of the interrogation of a purported Hamas militant who detailed how militants “operated from the hospital area” and transferred weapons to and from it.
Hamas and the health ministry deny any armed presence at the hospital.
Global cooperation ‘flatlined’ amid rising conflicts: WEF report
- Multilateral bodies failing to resolve wars, says WEF’s Borge Brende
- Deaths at highest in 30 years, record 122m people displaced in 2024
DUBAI: Geopolitical tensions and rising conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan have caused global cooperation to stall after a period of growth, according to a report from the World Economic Forum.
The second edition of the Global Cooperation Barometer was launched on Tuesday, ahead of the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos from Jan. 20 to 24.
The report, developed in collaboration with McKinsey & Co., found that cooperation was increasing positively over a decade, surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels but stagnated over the past three years due to geopolitical instability.
However, collaboration has continued in various other areas including vaccine distribution, scientific research and renewable energy development, the reported stated.
“The concern with a stalled level of cooperation is that as the world enters the second half of the decade, with critical global deadlines ahead, progress is not where it needs to be,” said Borge Brende, president and CEO of the WEF, during the report’s online launch event.
This rise in global security issues and record levels of humanitarian crises were due to the inability of multilateral institutions to prevent and resolve conflicts in recent years, the report found.
According to UN figures, the number of conflict-related deaths has risen to the highest levels in 30 years, with a record number of 122 million people displaced as of 2024, double the number from a decade ago.
Brende urged the international community to unify and address the mounting geopolitical tensions and competition as leaders approach a highly “complex and uncertain” world.
“The Barometer is being released at a moment of great global instability and at a time when many new governments are developing agendas for the year, and their terms, ahead,” Brende said.
“What the Barometer shows is that cooperation is not only essential to address crucial economic, environmental and technological challenges, it is possible within today’s more turbulent context.”
The Barometer uses 41 indicators to measure global cooperation between 2012 and 2023 across five pillars: trade and capital flows, innovation and technology, climate and natural capital, health and wellness, and peace and security.
Positive momentum in climate finance, trade and innovation offered hope, the report stated.
“Advancing global innovation, health, prosperity and resilience cannot be done alone,” said Bob Sternfels, global managing partner at McKinsey & Co.
“Leaders will need new mechanisms for working together on key priorities, even as they disagree on others, and the past several years have shown this balance is possible.”
He urged world leaders to embrace “disordered” cooperation, as well as develop adaptive and solutions-driven decision-making to navigate a turbulent global landscape.
“By pivoting towards cooperative solutions, leaders can rebuild trust, drive meaningful change and unlock new opportunities for shared progress and resilience in the complex years ahead,” he said.
According to the UN, just 17 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals are on track to meet the 2030 deadline.
The advancement of cooperation in innovation in 2023 drove the adoption of new technologies that benefited multiple areas of life. However, the WEF warned that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence was reshaping the global landscape, raising the possibility of an “AI arms race.”
“Cooperative leadership and inclusive strategies will be key to harness its vast potential while tackling risks,” according to experts quoted in the report.
The report found that cooperation on climate goals improved over the past year, with increased finance flows and higher trade in low-carbon technologies such as solar, wind and electric vehicles. Yet, urgent action was still required to meet net-zero targets as global emissions continue to rise.
According to UN figures, global temperatures have risen to record levels, with 2024 being the hottest year on record.
Health outcomes, including life expectancy, continued to improve post-pandemic, but overall progress was slowing compared to pre-2020. Brende warned that forging collaboration in a highly fragmented world was crucial to address cross-border challenges.
Seven million people died from COVID-19, while the US has reported the first human death linked to bird flu on Tuesday. Cybercrime cost the world $2 trillion in 2023, he added.
“With pandemics, there is no other way than using the tools we have for early warnings. We have to come together and put all resources to move much faster than we did.
“COVID-19 was the worst pandemic we had seen in 100 years, but I don’t think it will take 100 years before we see the next pandemic,” warned Brende.
The report revealed that although cross-border assistance and pharmaceutical research and development have declined, and cooperation on trade in health goods and international regulations stalled, various health metrics including child and maternal mortality remained strong.
Goods trade declined by 5 percent, driven largely by slower growth in China and other developing economies, while global fragmentation continued to reduce trade between Western and Eastern-aligned blocs. However, Brende said a 3 percent increase in global trade is expected this year.
Despite this, the report found global flows of services, capital and people showed resilience. Foreign direct investment surged, particularly in strategic sectors including semiconductors and green energy, while labor migration and remittances rebounded strongly, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
“There should be enough common interest to collaborate even in a competitive world. So I hope that this Barometer will then be a useful tool for leaders around the world to know where we stand today, as well as the risks and opportunities we face,” he said.
The WEF’s annual meeting will convene global leaders under the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” The meeting aims to foster new partnerships and insights in an era of rapidly advancing technology.
