GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Council announced on Monday it would hold an urgent session this month on Iran, where a brutal crackdown on mass protests has left hundreds dead.
The United Nations’ highest rights body said a special session on “the deteriorating human rights situation” in Iran would be held on November 24.
The decision comes after the German and Icelandic ambassadors to the UN in Geneva submitted a request for such a meeting late on Friday.
The support of 16 of the Human Rights Council’s 47 members — more than a third — is required to convene a special session outside the three regular ones held each year.
So far, 44 countries, including 17 Council members, have backed the call, the body said.
The request follows eight weeks of protests in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress rules for women based on Islamic sharia law.
At least 326 people have been killed in the crackdown on the protests, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR), as the demonstrations have grown into a broad movement against the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 fall of the shah.
Thousands of peaceful protesters have also been arrested, according to UN rights experts, including many women, children, lawyers, activists and journalists.
UN rights council to hold urgent session on Iran
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UN rights council to hold urgent session on Iran
- Decision comes after the German and Icelandic ambassadors to the UN in Geneva submitted a request for such a meeting late on Friday
- So far, 44 countries, including 17 Council members, have backed the call
Lebanon parliament speaker accuses Israel of blatant breaches of ceasefire agreement
- At least two people killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described “the Israeli occupying forces’ hostilities as blatant violations of the ceasefire agreement” as Lebanese authorities reported that at least two people were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
Berri called on the committee responsible for monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah to “urgently start carrying out its duties and oblige Israel to stop its violations and withdraw from the areas it invaded before anything else.”
Hezbollah “is committed to its pledges,” Berri said.
More than 54 Israeli breaches have been recorded, said Berri, who handled the ceasefire negotiations with the US envoy after being delegated to do so by Hezbollah.
Berri’s protest came as the ministry of health said one person was killed in an Israeli drone attack near the electricity plant in Marjayoun.
Lebanon’s state security said an Israeli drone strike killed a member of its forces — Cpl. Mahdi Khreis — while he was on duty in Nabatieh, 12 kilometers from the border.
State security called it a “flagrant violation” of the truce.
Security sources said Israeli attacks struck sites deep inside Lebanon. An Israeli drone fired three missiles at Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali village on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The Israeli army said it attacked military vehicles operating near Hezbollah military infrastructure in Bekaa, Lebanon.
The Lebanese army said an Israeli drone struck an army bulldozer carrying out construction work at the Al-Abbara military center in the Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali area of Hermel, injuring a soldier.
The Israeli army said that it was aware of the attack and that the incident was under investigation.
Israeli breaches continued in the area invaded by the Israeli army, including demolishing houses and private and public facilities and carrying out airstrikes against Bint Jbeil, Maroun Al-Ras and Aitaroun, injuring one person.
The Israeli army imposed a curfew on residents of the invaded area for specific hours.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee continued to warn residents of this area, which includes more than 50 villages, against going back to their houses at the moment. Many residents fled the area 14 months ago.
Berri denounced “the Israeli occupying forces’ hostilities, including demolishing homes in Lebanese border villages, carrying out air raids on Lebanese territories, as well as the latest strikes in Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali, Hermel, and Jdeidet Marjayoun, which resulted in casualties.”
Berri said the Israeli actions “are blatant breaches of the ceasefire agreement, effective since 4 a.m. on Nov. 27, to which Lebanon fully adheres.”
Berri questioned “the silence of the technical committee tasked with monitoring the agreement,” highlighting Israeli offences.
He emphasized that “Lebanon and the resistance remain committed to their pledges.”
Media reports stated that US envoy Amos Hochstein, who handled the ceasefire negotiations, sent a message to Israel regarding its “violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed that Israel “adheres to the ceasefire agreement.”
But, he claimed, the 60-day period for the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the areas it invaded according to the agreement is “a gradual process to ensure Hezbollah's threat is gone.”
Hagari told Sky News Arabia: “Israel’s primary concern is to ensure its security and that it is not exposed to any threats.”
He said the Lebanese people “must ensure that the border areas with Israel are free of weapons that threaten Israel's security.”
According to a security source, the Israeli forces in a new incursion infiltrated the area near the Mays Al-Jabal government hospital.
“These forces regard this location as part of their operational zone, having established a boundary restricting Lebanese residents from returning to their towns following the ceasefire implementation.” the source said, adding that the situation was expected to persist until the forces withdraw within 60 days.
Adraee reiterated the Israeli prohibition on X: “Until further notice, movement south of the line of villages: Shebaa, Al-Habbariyeh, Marjayoun, Arnoun, Yohmor, Qantara, Shaqra, Baraashit, Yater, and Mansouri, and the surrounding areas of these villages is restricted.”
He said that “anyone who moves south of this line puts themselves at risk.”
The mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement is scheduled to commence at the beginning of this week.
The monitoring committee includes the US, France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL representatives.
The French Foreign Ministry said that Paris had informed Israel of the need for all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement.
Over the past weekend, it said French authorities observed 52 violations of the ceasefire agreement by Israel in the space of 24 hours.
Hezbollah, citing repeated Israeli ceasefire violations, carried out a strike on an Israeli military position late on Monday.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Hezbollah's firing toward army positions "will be met with a harsh response."
Hezbollah targeted the Kfar Shuba hills within the Shebaa Farms around 6 p.m. for the first time since the ceasefire went into effect.
A political observer described Hezbollah's action as "a calculated response, as the Shebaa Farms are not included in the 1701 Agreement and therefore are not included in the ceasefire."
Israeli media reported that two missiles were detected crossing from Lebanon into the Mount Dov area and falling in an open area, and two explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Ruwaysat Al-Alam site in the Kfar Shuba Heights.
A Hezbollah statement said that the military operation it carried out was "in response to the repeated violations by Israel of the declared cessation of hostilities agreement, which took various forms, including firing on civilians and airstrikes in different parts of Lebanon, which led to the martyrdom of citizens and the injury of others, in addition to the continued violation of Lebanese airspace by hostile Israeli aircraft, reaching the capital Beirut."
"Since the reviews of the relevant authorities to stop these violations did not succeed, Hezbollah carried out an initial warning defensive response targeting the Ruwaysat Al-Alam site belonging to the Israeli army in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba Hills."
The Israeli army later carried out raids on towns within the zone it declared south of the Litani Line.
In other developments, the Lebanese government has increased its meetings to deliberate on strategies to deal with the piles of debris resulting from the Israeli demolition of residential structures.
The move came as those displaced began to return to their homes in the less-affected regions of the southern suburbs of Beirut, the South, and Bekaa.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said: “We are faced with the challenge of reconstruction, everything that has to do with removing the rubble and where to put it. There will be full coordination with the relevant ministries and bodies.”
After a meeting with the governors, he said that the “army and general security protect the Lebanese borders.”
The minister asked the governors to “constantly cooperate with the security forces and hold sub-security council meetings to discuss what may happen.”
The Beirut Southern Suburb Union of Municipalities said it continues to work on opening main and secondary roads by pushing rubble aside.
Data, including the names of residents, were circulated and showed that Hezbollah had started counting the people who were affected and surveying the damaged areas.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Gathering of Engineers has launched a drive to “recruit engineers and architects who wish to take part in the surveying and reconstruction efforts.”
Israel continues to bombard Gaza
- Palestinian medics say 20 killed in latest attack
- A new ceasefire push is underway, officials say
CAIRO: Israeli forces bombarded houses in several attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, including one airstrike that killed at least 15 people in a home sheltering displaced people in the town of Beit Lahiya, Palestinian medics said on Monday.
The three barely operational hospitals in the area were unable to cope with the wounded from the attack, and several other people were still missing, with rescue workers unable to reach them, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.
Residents said clusters of houses were bombed and some set ablaze in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, three towns on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip where the Israeli army has been operating for weeks.
They said Israeli drones had also dropped bombs outside a school sheltering displaced families in Beit Lahiya, part of what residents have described as a campaign to scare people into leaving.
Palestinians say Israel’s army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone.
The Israeli army denies this and says it has returned to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area where it had previously cleared them out.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 44,400 Palestinians and displaced most of the population, Gaza officials say. Vast swaths of the enclave lie in ruins.
A former Israeli defense minister accused Israel on Sunday of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, drawing a sharp rebuke from government ranks.
Moshe Yaalon, a hawkish former general, told Israeli media that hard-liners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet were looking to chase Palestinians from northern Gaza and wanted to re-establish Jewish settlements there.
On Monday, the Israeli military rejected Yaalon’s serious claims.
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) operates under international law and evacuates civilians based on operational necessity for their protection,” it said.
Palestinian and UN officials said there were no safe areas in the Gaza Strip for the 2.3 million population, most of whom have been internally displaced.
In Gaza City, two Israeli air strikes killed five people, medics said.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week that halted fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.
But the Gaza war itself has ground on with only a single ceasefire that lasted for a week more than a year ago.
Officials in Cairo have hosted talks between Hamas and the rival Fatah group led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the possible establishment of a committee to run post-war Gaza.
Egypt has proposed that a committee made up of non-partisan technocrat figures and supervised by Abbas’s authority should be ready to run Gaza straight after the war ends. Israel has said Hamas should have no role in governance.
An official close to the talks said progress had been made, but no final deal had been reached. Israel’s approval would determine whether the committee could fulfill its role.
Egyptian security officials have also held talks with Hamas on ways to reach a ceasefire with Israel.
A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said Hamas stood by its condition that any agreement must bring an end to the war and involve an Israeli troop withdrawal, but Hamas would show the flexibility needed to achieve that.
Israel has said the war will end only when Hamas no longer governs Gaza and poses no threat to Israelis.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday there was some indication of progress toward a deal to free Israeli hostages but that Israel’s conditions for ending the war had not changed.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal were now more likely.
UN chief ‘alarmed’ by Syria violence, calls for end to fighting
NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “alarmed” by the escalation of violence in Syria and is calling for an immediate end to fighting, his spokesman said on Monday.
“All parties must do their utmost to protect civilians and civilian objects, including by allowing safe passage to civilians who are fleeing hostilities,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“Syrians have endured the conflict for nearly 14 years. They deserve a political horizon that will deliver a peaceful future, not more bloodshed,” he added.
UN peacekeeping operations in the country have been “largely suspended” across Aleppo, Idlib and Hama due to security concerns, Dujarric said.
“This has led to severe disruption in people’s ability to access lifesaving assistance,” he said, adding that the United Nations remains committed to delivering humanitarian aid.
Dujarric warned that “the presence of unburied bodies and lack of drinking water” in Syria threatens public health and said that damage to Aleppo’s university hospital had left hundreds of patients without care.
“Syria is also already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 16.7 million human beings in need of assistance and over 7 million people internally displaced,” he said. “More than half a million people have also fled from Lebanon to Syria in recent weeks, and winter conditions will only make the needs in the coming weeks even more acute.”
Syrian President Bashar Assad has branded the militants’ offensive an attempt to redraw the regional map.
“The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map,” a statement from Assad’s office quoted him as saying.
At a news conference in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan blamed the recent flare-up of the conflict on the Syrian government’s refusal to enter a dialogue with the anti-government forces that Turkiye supports. “Recent developments show once again that Damascus must reconcile with its own people,” the Turkish minister said. “Turkiye is ready to make all the necessary contributions toward this.”
Turkiye has been seeking to normalize ties with Syria to address security threats from groups affiliated with Kurdish militants along its southern border and to help ensure the safe return of more than 3 million Syrian refugees.
Assad has insisted that Turkiye’s withdrawal of its forces from northern Syria be a condition for any normalization between the two countries.
UN chief says situation in Gaza ‘appalling and apocalyptic’
- Urged international community to “build foundation for sustainable peace in Gaza and across Middle East”
CAIRO: The United Nations chief said Monday the situation in war-torn Gaza was “appalling and apocalyptic,” warning conditions faced by Palestinians in the territory may amount to the “gravest international crimes.”
In remarks read out on his behalf at a Cairo conference aimed at increasing humanitarian aid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to “build a foundation for sustainable peace in Gaza and across the Middle East.”
The war in Gaza broke out when Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 44,429 people in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Guterres highlighted the devastating toll of the conflict and the urgent need for international action.
“Malnutrition is rampant... Famine is imminent. Meanwhile, the health system has collapsed,” he said.
The UN chief added that Gaza now has “the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world,” with “many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anesthesia.”
The secretary-general also criticized the severe restrictions on aid delivery, calling the current levels “grossly insufficient.”
According to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) count, only 65 aid trucks per day had been able to enter Gaza this past month, compared to a pre-war average of 500.
International aid organizations have repeatedly raised alarm over the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, warning that civilians are on the brink of famine.
They have said aid shipments reaching the enclave are now at their lowest since the start of the war.
Israel, which early in the conflict imposed a complete siege for a period on the Hamas-ruled territory, has blamed aid issues on what it says is the inability of relief organizations to handle and distribute large quantities of aid.
UN’s Guterres said on Monday that the blockade of aid to Gaza “is not a crisis of logistics” but rather “a crisis of political will and of respect for fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
UNRWA said all the attempts it has made to deliver aid into northern Gaza have either been “denied” or “impeded” between October 6, 2024 and November 25, amid fierce fighting in the area.
Guterres said “if UNRWA is forced to close, the responsibility of replacing its vital services ... would rest with Israel.”
In his speech at the conference, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that the agency “remains the backbone of humanitarian response” in Gaza.
He also called for the use of “a robust international legal and political framework” to ensure the continuation of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Without this, humanitarians, however selfless and courageous, cannot stay and deliver,” he added.
Jordan, UN agencies meet to discuss strengthening social development
- The meeting, attended by ministry stakeholders, focused on enhancing social programs and services
AMMAN: Jordan’s minister of social development met UN Resident Coordinator Sheri Ritsema-Anderson and representatives of UN agencies in Amman on Monday to discuss bolstering collaboration on social development initiatives.
The meeting, attended by ministry stakeholders, focused on enhancing social programs and services. Minister Wafa Bani Mustafa lauded the strong partnership between the ministry and UN agencies, highlighting their contributions to a range of projects.
“The collaboration has been instrumental in advancing key initiatives, including the National Social Protection Strategy 2026-2033,” she said.
Among the measures discussed was the professionalization of social work through a newly introduced system, which aims to improve service quality by creating a registry of certified social workers who will undergo specialized training, Jordan News Agency reported.
Bani Mustafa also stressed the significance of fostering partnerships with associations, forming coalitions and launching sustainable, productive projects.
She highlighted the impact of programs supported by UN agencies, including the UN Women Oasis Program, which empowers women and girls through training opportunities, and the Makani project, which equips children and youth with education and entrepreneurial skills.
Discussions also reviewed future plans to enhance support for vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, orphans and those without family support.
Key topics included improving services under the National Aid Fund and advancing women’s empowerment strategies within the framework of Jordan’s economic modernization vision.
UN agency representatives reiterated their commitment to supporting the ministry’s initiatives, commending its dedication to improving social services and empowering women, Jordan News Agency reported.
