BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, warned on Friday that continuing Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty undermined efforts to reinforce the ceasefire and diffuse tensions on the southern border.

He called on Western countries to “rapidly contribute to rebuilding what the Israeli war destroyed in Lebanon.”

Bou Habib had received calls from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office Hamish Falconer, European Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality Hadja Lahbib, and European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the discussion between Bou Habib and European officials focused on “ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

The minister promised to “seek to increase humanitarian assistance provided by the EU to Lebanon, enabling the country to address the war’s repercussions and impacts.”

Suica emphasized “the importance of supporting the Lebanese state’s capabilities, as this contributes to achieving long-term national stability.”

She also promised “continued European assistance to Lebanon, provided it is a priority on the EU’s agenda.”

Suica affirmed “the importance of electing a president and undertaking economic reforms in Lebanon, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, so that the EU could provide additional support.”

Also on Friday, the army chief said it remained “one of the few steadfast institutions in Lebanon, the rock of the nation, and one of the most critical factors ensuring its continuity.”

Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun was addressing first-year officer cadets at the military academy who recently joined the military institution as part of efforts to strengthen the Lebanese army’s capabilities to carry out its missions in the south and other regions.

Addressing the cadets, Gen. Aoun said that on graduation, they would “become a strength factor for the military units deployed across Lebanon and contribute to enhancing their professional performance, which has earned the trust of both Lebanese citizens and friendly nations.”

He added that Lebanon “protects the sects, not the other way around.”

Gen. Aoun urged the cadets to “disregard rumors aimed at undermining the army.”

He said: “Give your utmost effort, as your journey at the military academy is challenging but not impossible. Remember that armies are built for times of hardship, and sacrifice is our destiny, even to the point of martyrdom, should duty call. Let your party be Lebanon and your sect the military uniform.”

In other developments on Friday, Israeli forces continued their land violations of the ceasefire agreement.

Israeli troops directed heavy machine-gun fire toward the valleys between Qabrikha and Wadi Al-Salouqi near Ghandourieh, south of the Litani River.

The targeted area is not part of the region that remains occupied by Israel.

Israeli artillery bombed the outskirts of Halta, while the remaining houses in the border village of Kfarkila were detonated and bulldozed, sending tremors through neighboring areas.

Israeli forces also detonated houses located between the border villages of Blida and Aitaroun.

On Friday, Israeli forces withdrew from Bani Hayyan toward Markaba after they entered the area last Wednesday and bulldozed, detonated, and destroyed houses and roads.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee reiterated via social media his reminder to “the residents of southern Lebanon that, until further notice, movement is prohibited south of a line of villages stretching from Mansouri to Shebaa and its surroundings.”

The restricted zone encompasses 63 border villages located south of this line.

UNIFIL and Lebanese army units were deployed in the valleys along the Litani River between Deir Seryan, Alman, El Qsair, Yohmor Al-Shaqif, and Zawtar Al-Sharqiya, while Israeli reconnaissance drones flew at low altitudes over the area.

Based on recommendations from the committee responsible for overseeing the ceasefire agreement, a security source said that “fixed checkpoints and posts for the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL will be established south of the Litani River, from Marjayoun to Qasmiyeh.”

Meanwhile, the recovery of bodies from Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued.

Civil Defense personnel in the Haret Hreik area of Beirut’s southern suburb retrieved three bodies in the morning from among seven missing persons still being searched for.

These people were killed in the heavy airstrikes that assassinated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27.

The bodies are set to undergo DNA testing to confirm their identities.

Civil Defense teams also recovered the body of a Syrian woman in the southern town of Khiam, which the Lebanese army entered after the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The woman had been working at a dairy factory in the town when an Israeli air raid struck it.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that 2024 was a challenging year for Lebanon.

She said in a statement: “Far too many lives were lost, devastated and disrupted. The conflict, which inflicted untold suffering and trauma, has left deep wounds, trauma and widespread destruction.”

“The arduous healing process, picking up the pieces and rebuilding, has just begun.

“While considerable work lies ahead to ensure that the ceasefire arrangement endures and yields the dividends of security and stability that the Lebanese people deserve, 2025 offers the promise of opportunity and reason for hope,” she said.

Hennis-Plasschaert said “the UN continues to stand by Lebanon and its people through challenging times.”

On Thursday evening, merchants held a protest in the central commercial market of Nabatieh city, which Israeli airstrikes had destroyed.

They called on “the Lebanese government and relevant departments to expedite the payment of compensation to institutions, factories, commercial shops, self-employed individuals, pharmacies, poultry, beekeeping and livestock industries, as well as compensation for damaged contents, to restore the economic wheel across the south.”

Moussa Shmeisani, head of the Nabatieh Merchants Association, stressed the need to “speed up the removal of the rubble and debris from the heart of Nabatieh, approve settlements and grant tax exemptions for institutions and shops, to mitigate the losses suffered by merchants as a result of the aggression.”

BEIRUT: Kurdish fighters in northern Syria are increasingly under pressure from Turkish-backed armed groups while also fearing the new authorities in Damascus will upend their hard-won autonomy.
Suppressed for decades, the Kurds took advantage of the weakness of Bashar Assad’s government during the civil war, but with the rise of the new authority following his ouster, they are left navigating a complex and uncertain future.
As Islamist-led militants pressed their lightning 12-day offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, Turkish-backed fighters began a parallel operation against Kurdish-led forces in the north.
They quickly seized Tal Rifaat and Manbij, two key Kurdish-held areas in a 30-kilometer (17-mile) stretch along the Turkish border where Ankara wants to establish a so-called “security zone.”
Following a wave of fighting, a US-brokered truce took hold on December 11, although Kurdish forces say it has not been respected by Turkish forces in the area nor their proxies.
Kurdish fighters make up the bulk of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which was formed in 2015 and is seen as the Kurds’ de facto army.
The SDF spearheaded the fight that defeated Daesh group militants in Syria in 2019 and is still seen by the US as a “crucial” to prevent a militant resurgence in the area.
They have warned about a possible Turkish assault on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab, which has become a symbol of the fight against IS.
On Tuesday, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi proposed setting up a “demilitarized zone” in Kobani under US supervision.
There are also US troops in Syria as part of an international coalition against the militants, whose numbers doubled earlier this year to around 2,000, the Pentagon said Thursday.
As well as relying on pro-Turkish fighters, Ankara has between 16,000 to 18,000 troops in northern Syria, Turkish officials say, indicating they are ready for deployment “east of the Euphrates” if Kurdish fighters don’t disarm.
But Turkiye’s top diplomat Hakan Fidan on Wednesday said there would be no need for Ankara to intervene if the new government was to “address this issue properly.”
Observers say Ankara wants to take advantage of the Syrian upheaval to push Kurdish forces away from the border zone, seeing them as “terrorists” over their ties with the PKK which has fought a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.
Since 2016, the Turkish military has launched several operations in northern Syria targeting the YPG (the People’s Protection Units), which makes up the bulk of the SDF.
Turkish troops have remained in a large stretch of land on the Syrian side of the border.
Syria’s Kurds have made several gestures of openness toward the new authorities in Damascus, fearing for the future of their autonomous region.
They have adopted three-starred independence flag used by the opposition that is now flying over Damascus, and said Wednesday they were canceling customs and other taxes on goods moving between their area and the rest of Syria.
HTS’ military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra, whose nom de guerre is Abu Hassan Al-Hamawi, said Tuesday Kurdish-held areas would be integrated under the new leadership because Syria “will not be divided.”
“The region currently controlled by the SDF will be integrated into the new administration of the country,” he said.