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Lebanese army warns Israeli airstrikes might force it to freeze cooperation with ceasefire committee
Lebanese army warns Israeli airstrikes might force it to freeze cooperation with ceasefire committee
- The Lebanese army said it started coordinating with the committee observing the ceasefire after Israel’s military issued its warning and sent patrols to the areas that were to be struck to search them
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army condemned Friday Israel’s airstrikes on suburbs of Beirut, warning that such attacks are weakening the role of Lebanon’s armed forces that might eventually suspend cooperation with the committee monitoring the truce that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The army statement came hours after the Israeli military struck several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs that it said held underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production. The strikes, preceded by an Israeli warning to evacuate several buildings, came on the eve of Eid Al-Adha, a Muslim holiday.
The Lebanese army said it started coordinating with the committee observing the ceasefire after Israel’s military issued its warning and sent patrols to the areas that were to be struck to search them. It added that Israel rejected the suggestion.
The US-led committee that has been supervising the ceasefire that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war in November is made up of Lebanon, Israel, France, the US and the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon known as UNIFIL.
“The Israeli enemy violations of the deal and its refusal to respond to the committee is weakening the role of the committee and the army,” the Lebanese army said in its statement. It added such attacks by Israel could lead the army to freeze its cooperation with the committee “when it comes to searching posts.”
Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended, Israel has carried out nearly daily airstrikes on parts of Lebanon targeting Hezbollah operatives. Beirut’s southern suburbs were struck on several occasions since then.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on Oct. 8, 2023, when the Lebanese militant group began launching rockets across the border in support of its ally, Hamas, in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling and the two were quickly locked in a low-level conflict that continued for nearly a year before escalating into full-scale war in September 2024.
It killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, while the Lebanese government said in April that Israeli strikes had killed another 190 people and wounded 485 since the ceasefire agreement.
There has been increasing pressure on Hezbollah, both domestic and international, to give up its remaining arsenal, but officials with the group have said they will not do so until Israel stops its airstrikes and withdraws from five points it is still occupying along the border in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah says that it has ended its military presence along the border with Israel south of the Litani River, in accordance with terms of the ceasefire deal.
Canada and China agree to ‘regularize communications’
MONTREAL: Canada and China have agreed to regularize channels of communication, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday, after a period of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“Mark Carney, spoke with the Premier of China, Li Qiang. The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations, including the importance of engagement, and agreed to regularize channels of communication between Canada and China,” it said in a statement.
They also discussed trade and “committed their governments to working together to address the fentanyl crisis.”
Ties between Beijing and Ottawa have been tense in recent years following the arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive on a US warrant in 2018.
Li told Carney that “in recent years, China-Canada relations have faced unnecessary disturbances and encountered serious difficulties,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
He added that China is “willing to work with Canada to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade” in the face of growing unilateralism and protectionism, Xinhua reported, noting that the call came at Carney’s request.
Both countries have been targeted by US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes and have condemned them.
Jordanians bask in glory of World Cup qualification
- Fans drove their cars through Jordan’s capital Amman late Thursday, honking their horns and chanting victory while others waved the national flag in triumph
- Jordan sealed their place on the penultimate day of Asian qualifying for the 2026 tournament, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada
AMMAN: Huge celebrations erupted in Jordan after the national team qualified for the 2026 World Cup, earning a spot in the tournament for the first time following a decisive 3-0 victory against Oman.
Fans drove their cars through Jordan’s capital Amman late Thursday, honking their horns and chanting victory while others waved the national flag in triumph.
“We are all with you!” and “It’s getting closer, heroes” read messages written into the night sky in a spectacular drone light show.
Jordan sealed their place on the penultimate day of Asian qualifying for the 2026 tournament, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Ali Olwin netted a hat-trick as the 2023 Asian Cup runners-up etched their name in the history books.
They secured their spot in the World Cup when South Korea defeated Iraq, also on Thursday, 2-0.
The royal court published pictures of King Abdullah II wearing a national team jersey as he watched the game from the embassy in London, where he was on a visit.
“This historic qualification is well-deserved by our team, which includes stars and cadres of whom we are proud,” he wrote on X.
“Special thanks go to our loyal fans who have been our support and encouragement.”
Sohad Idrissi, a 48-year-old housewife who watched the game with her siblings, beamed with pride as she said that her side had played “a beautiful game and deserved to qualify for the World Cup.”
“Today the joy is two-fold: there is the joy of Eid Al-Adha, and the joy of Nashama qualifying,” she said, using a nickname for the Jordanian team.
Fadi Qalanzi, a 21-year-old university student, called the win “a dream that is finally coming true.”
“Our team put on a beautiful performance, and they truly deserved to qualify,” he added.
Osama Al-Shreeda, a 60-year-old retired civil servant, also called it a dream come true.
“I’ve been following Jordanian football since 1978, and a relative of mine used to play with the national team,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity for our team and its players to be recognized globally,” he added, calling it an achievement not just for Jordan but for the wider Arab region.
“It was about time, this is a joy we’d been waiting for a long time,” said 55-year-old schoolteacher Nashat Badr.
Trump says brokered India-Pakistan ceasefire on trade warning, threat of nuclear war
- India and Pakistan reached US-brokered ceasefire on May 10 to end hostilities that had spiraled alarmingly, threatening regional peace
- Between May 7-10, two sides used fighter jets, drones, missiles, artillery to attack each other in worst fighting between them in decades
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said this week he had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month through a trade warning and because of the threat of the conflict spiraling into a nuclear war.
Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea on May 10 in a US-brokered ceasefire to end escalating hostilities that had spiraled alarmingly, threatening regional peace.
The two sides used fighter jets, drones, missiles and artillery to attack each other in the worst fighting between them in decades, leaving around 70 people dead on both sides of the border.
Speaking at the White House where he was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said on Thursday he was “proud” that he has been able to broker the truce.
“I spoke to some very talented people on both sides ... and I said, you know, we’re dealing with you on trade, Pakistan and India right now. I said we’re not going to deal with you on trade if you’re going to go shooting each other and whipping out nuclear weapons that maybe even affect us,” Trump said.
“Because you know that nuclear dust blows across oceans very quickly, it affects us.
“And I said if you’re going to do that, we’re not going to do any trade deals, and you know what, I got that war stopped.”
He credited the “good and strong” leadership of both countries for backing off from the military confrontation.
Since the ceasefire, Pakistan has repeatedly thanked Trump for his mediation during the crisis while India rejects it acted due to US pressure.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir. The latest military conflict between them was also triggered by a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22.
India struck multiple Pakistani cities on May 7, blaming the April 22 attack on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any complicity in the assault and reciprocated with similar strikes against Indian military targets. A ceasefire was brokered on May 10 after both countries struck each other’s air bases, airfields and other military facilities.
UN rights chief demands US withdraw sanctions on ICC judges
- Volker Turk: ‘I call for the prompt reconsideration and withdrawal of these latest measures’
GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief on Friday demanded the United States lift sanctions it imposed on four International Criminal Court judges, saying they were contrary to the rule of law.
“I am profoundly disturbed by the decision of the Government of the United States of America to sanction judges of the International Criminal Court,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
“I call for the prompt reconsideration and withdrawal of these latest measures,” he said.
“Attacks against judges for performance of their judicial functions, at national or international levels, run directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law – values for which the US has long stood.
“Such attacks are deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice,” he said.
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on four ICC judges.
Two of the targeted judges, Beti Hohler of Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin, took part in proceedings that led to an arrest warrant issued last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two other judges, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, were part of the court proceedings that led to the authorization of an investigation into allegations that US forces committed war crimes during the war in Afghanistan.
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