UNIFIL: Expanded conflict ‘will be disastrous not only for Lebanon but for the entire region’

A member of the Lebanese security forces inspects the damage around a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Wadi Jilou, east of Tyre, on June 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 06 June 2024
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UNIFIL: Expanded conflict ‘will be disastrous not only for Lebanon but for the entire region’

  • Residents say repeated sonic booms caused by Israeli warplanes ‘tear our nerves and instill fear in our children’

 

BEIRUT: The situation on the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel is alarming, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon has said.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said potential remained for increased tension in the border area.

Tenenti said that the organization was maintaining communication channels with the Lebanese authorities and the Israeli army to avoid any extension of the conflict.

But he warned that “an expanded conflict would be a disaster not only for Lebanon but for the entire region.”

UNIFIL’s statement came as an Israeli military drone strike killed a motorcyclist — a member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah — in the square of the Lebanese border village of Aitaroun.

The attack came amid escalating hostilities between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, with Israeli warplanes breaking the sound barrier at low altitude over the southern border villages, reaching areas north of the Litani River.

Fatima, who lives near Nabatieh, said the explosions caused by the sonic booms “could make our veins explode due to their psychological impact.”

She added: “They happen daily, day and night, and scare my kids. We cannot leave our house as my husband’s work is here, and if he stops working we could die of hunger.

“If we flee, we cannot receive any of the aid provided since we do not live in a border village.”

Mohammed, who lives with his wife and two little girls in a village near Adloun, used to go to Beirut every day for work.

He said he moved to the village two years ago because the economic crisis impacted his job.

He is now thinking about moving his family to Beirut’s southern suburbs and is looking for a school for his children after an Israeli raid killed a physics teacher while on his way home and damaged a school bus that was transporting students.

He added: “My children were at that same school.”

Mohammed said he was looking for a school in Beirut to admit his children next year, but added that the schools are full as many families decided to travel from the south to Beirut following the end of the academic year.

The Israeli army resumed its attacks on Thursday afternoon, carrying out raids on Aitaroun for the second time and firing an air-to-surface missile on a targeted area.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has announced the death of Hussein Nehme Al-Hourani, 46, from Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon.

Israeli warplanes also bombed Wadi Jilou in Tyre on Thursday, targeting and demolishing a two-story building. The attack set several houses and a warehouse on fire, causing extensive damage to dozens of homes and infrastructure, including water and electricity. The warehouse stored cleaning supplies and oils.

Video footage captured by residents showed the extent of the destruction in Aitaroun and the targeted areas.

The residents said that the owner of one of the buildings, a member of the Jaber family, had received a text in Arabic on his phone from someone called Ibrahim prior to the raid.

The message read: “Evacuate the house immediately because the two-story location near the pharmacy in Wadi Jilou will be targeted shortly, and you must ensure everyone evacuates immediately.

“You are responsible for the lives of everyone. Evacuate as quickly as possible and move somewhere far away from the site as it is about to be blown up.”

It appeared that the sender used a non-Lebanese phone number.

A resident of a nearby building said: “This Israeli method of warning via cellphone or landline has been used multiple times to warn homeowners in the towns of Kfour and Beit Yahoun, among others, before destructive raids on buildings were carried out.

“The attack began with two missiles falling in the vicinity of the building, injuring civilians in their homes, before targeting the Jaber building and destroying it with terrifying missiles. Civil Defense members worked to extinguish the fires.”

Hezbollah said that the headquarters of Israel’s 91st Division in the Pranit Barracks and the soldiers’ positions around it were targeted with Falaq-1 rockets in retaliation for the Aitaroun attack.

Hezbollah claimed it hit the target directly, causing partial destruction and casualties.

Israeli attacks also targeted homes in the towns of Siddikine and Odaisseh.

Wednesday witnessed an escalation in the intensity of exchanged shelling and fires were caused by the use of incendiary bombs.

The Israeli attacks caused large fires to break out in the towns of Aitaroun and Maroun Al-Ras.

The Israeli army said a soldier was killed and 11 people wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack on Wednesday evening on a military site near Hurfeish in Western Galilee.

According to Hezbollah, the bombing, which used a squadron of assault drones, targeted positions and bases of Israeli officers and soldiers and did not trigger warning sirens.

The Israeli military used incendiary bombs to set fire to forests near the Blue Line, specifically targeting Naqoura and Alma Al-Shaab.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was ready “for an extreme action on the northern front.”

The Israeli army said the death toll had reached 25, a total of 15 soldiers and 10 civilians, since the start of hostilities in southern Lebanon on Oct. 8.


UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza

Updated 04 January 2025
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UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza

  • Reiterating charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, two independent UN rights experts said they were “horrified” by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital
  • UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body

GENEVA: UN experts have denounced Israel’s raid on an embattled hospital in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the “blatant assault” on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Reiterating charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, two independent UN rights experts said they were “horrified” by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital.
“For well over a year into the genocide, Israel’s blatant assault on the right to health in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory is plumbing new depths of impunity,” the experts said.
The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on the right to health.

FASTFACT

The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on the right to health.

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva dismissed the statement as “far removed from the truth,” saying it “completely ignores critical facts and the broader context of Hamas’s exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centers, something Hamas denies.
The military “undertook every effort to protect civilians,” the Israeli mission said, insisting its “actions highlight Israel’s commitment to international law and the protection of civilian infrastructure, even under the most challenging circumstances.”
Israel’s military said it had killed more than 20 suspected militants and detained more than 240, including the hospital’s director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, describing him as a suspected Hamas militant.
In their statement, Albanese and Mofokeng said they were “gravely concerned” at Safiyeh’s detention and demanded his “immediate release.”
“Yet another doctor to be harassed, kidnapped, and arbitrarily detained by the occupation forces,” they said.
“This is part of a pattern by Israel to continuously bombard, destroy, and fully annihilate the realization of the right to health in Gaza.”
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body.
The experts also highlighted “disturbing reports” that Israeli forces had allegedly carried out extrajudicial executions of some people near the hospitals, including a Palestinian man reportedly holding a white flag.
They pointed to figures provided by the Health Ministry in Gaza indicating that at least 1,057 Palestinian health and medical professionals have been killed since the war erupted following the Palestinian group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.
The World Health Organization has repeatedly denounced the high number of attacks on health care staff and facilities in the war: 1,273 attacks on health care in Gaza and the West Bank have been recorded since the start of the war.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X that the pace of desperately needed medical evacuations out of Gaza was “excruciatingly slow.”
“Only 5,383 patients have been evacuated with support from WHO since October 2023, of which only 436 since the Rafah crossing was closed” last May, he said.
He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza.
“At this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients, including thousands of children,” he added.
“In the meantime, their conditions get worse and some die.”

 


Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries

Updated 29 min 14 sec ago
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Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, in a phone call on Friday with Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed Al-Sharaa, discussed relations between the two countries, according to a statement from Mikati’s office posted on X, and said that he received an invitation from Sharaa to visit Syria to discuss common files.
Sharaa also affirmed that Syrian authorities took the necessary measures to restore calm on the border between the two countries, the post on X said.


Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan

Updated 04 January 2025
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Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan

DAMASCUS: The top diplomat in Syria’s new leadership said Friday he will make official visits to Qatar, the UAE and Jordan this week, having just been in Saudi Arabia on his first trip in office.
The new government is eager for foreign investment to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure and boost the economy, shattered by more than a decade of war.
“This week, I will represent my country, Syria, on an official visit to our brothers in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” its foreign minister Asaad Al-Shibani said in a statement on X.
“We look forward to these visits contributing to support stability, security, economic recovery, and building distinguished partnerships,” he added.
Earlier this week, Shaibani headed a high-ranking delegation to Riyadh that included the new government’s defense minister and intelligence chief.
It was the first foreign visit by Syria’s new rulers since they ousted president Bashar Assad last month.


Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing

Updated 03 January 2025
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Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing

  • Interior minister defends additional security measures at airport and land crossing points

BEIRUT: A Lebanese army unit clashed with a group of armed Syrian nationals at the border on Friday as the soldiers attempted to “close an illegal crossing” in the Maarboun-Baalbek area of eastern Lebanon.

The Syrians were trying to forcibly reopen the crossing with a bulldozer, the army said. Soldiers fired warning shots into the air and Syrians responded by returning fire.

The “armed Syrians fired at the Lebanese soldiers, injuring one and sparking a clash between both sides,” the army command added. “Artillery shells were used” and other Lebanese army units in the area also responded with strict military measures, it added.

Subsequently, “reinforcements from the army’s mobile regiment arrived in the area, following the retreat of the armed Syrians, some of whom sustained injuries,” and the illegal crossing remained closed.

Maarboun is a town in Baalbek-Hermel governorate, and a natural crossing point between the two countries. However it is an illegal crossing mainly used by smugglers and human traffickers. The surrounding area is known to be pro-Hezbollah.

The incident at the illegal crossing coincided with the actions of Syrian authorities on Friday morning that prevented hundreds of Lebanese from crossing the border between Masnaa in Lebanon and Jdeidet Yabous in Syria.

The Syrians suddenly imposed new conditions on Lebanese visitors, including requirements that they have a hotel reservation and at least $2,000 in cash. People visiting Syria for surgery or other medical care must now have proof of an appointment and a Syrian sponsor who can confirm their identity. A valid residence permit for the stay in Syria is also required. Lebanese authorities imposed similar rules on Syrians entering Lebanon after the civil war in Syria began more than a decade ago.

Buses carrying Lebanese passengers who intended to visit Syria were forced turn back at the border as a result of the new Syrian rules.

Lebanon’s General Security Directorate decided to “prohibit any Lebanese from entering Syria through illegal crossings between both countries in Bekaa and the north, pending clarity during this stage,” a source from the agency said.

After the fall of President Bashar Assad and his regime in Syria in early December, the directorate held two meetings with officials from the new Syrian administration to discuss the regulation of movement between the two countries.

Though media delegations, politicians and civilians have crossed into Syria in recent days, Lebanese authorities have tightened security at land crossings, following similar actions at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut.

Normal operations at the airport resumed on Friday after an incident on Thursday night involving an aircraft belonging to Iranian airline Mahan Air. Airport security decided to conduct a thorough inspection of all passengers when the plane landed, including luggage belonging to diplomats on board. The diplomats protested and chose instead to leave their luggage at the airport. It was taken to a storage facility for inspection the following day using scanners.

Footage circulated on social media apparently showing young men on motorcycles heading to the airport to protest against the measures. It was believed the heightened security was motivated by concerns that passengers might be carrying money for delivery to Hezbollah. A second Iranian plane that landed on Friday faced similar security measures.

Lebanon’s interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, described the move as a routine procedure and added: “What the airport security is doing aims to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese people. We are enforcing the law, protecting the airport and safeguarding all of Lebanon because it cannot withstand any new aggression.”

The decision covered the inspection of all luggage, he said, including that carried by diplomats.

The heightened measures drew criticism from the vice president of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib. During his Friday sermon, he called on the interior minister “to demonstrate his heroism against the enemy, not against those who made sacrifices to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

Also on Friday, US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, head of the international committee monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, toured Khiam, where the Lebanese army was deployed after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. He was accompanied by Brig. Gen. Tony Faris, commander of the Lebanese army’s 7th Brigade.

Their visit came as Israel continued to face criticism for violating Lebanese sovereignty, including reconnaissance flights over southern Lebanon, extending as far as the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israeli forces were also accused of demolishing houses and roads in Dhayra and Jebbayn, and there were renewed warnings to residents of southern Lebanon not to return to homes in border areas until further notice.

There was a heavy presence of UN Interim Force in Lebanon forces along the Bayada-Naqoura road. The Lebanese army has placed concrete barriers on the road to Naqoura, preventing people other than UNIFIL personnel from entering. The UN force’s headquarters is located there.

The Lebanese army said it was surveying military remnants in Naqoura following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the town on Thursday. When this task is complete, Lebanese forces will be redeployed to the area, it added.


Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says

Updated 03 January 2025
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Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says

  • Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks between Israel and Hamas

CAIRO: Hamas said a new round of indirect talks on a Gaza ceasefire resumed in Qatar’s Doha on Friday, stressing the group’s seriousness in seeking to reach a deal as soon as possible, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said.

The new talks will focus on agreeing on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, he added. 

Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks between Israel and Hamas that have failed to end more than a year of devastating conflict in Gaza.

A key obstacle to a deal has been Israel’s reluctance to agree to a lasting ceasefire.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had authorized Israeli negotiators to continue talks in Doha.

In December, Qatar expressed optimism that “momentum” was returning to the talks following Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.

But a war of words then broke out with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” while Israel accused Hamas of creating “new obstacles” to a deal.

In its Friday statement, Hamas said it reaffirmed its “seriousness, positivity and commitment to reaching an agreement as soon as possible that meets the aspirations and goals of our steadfast and resilient people.