Defense chief says Israel doesn’t want war but warns Hezbollah; cites progress on resolving weapons rift with US

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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stand during an honor cordon at the Pentagon on June 25, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) and his delegation meet with US officials led by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R)at the Pentagon on June 25, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 27 June 2024
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Defense chief says Israel doesn’t want war but warns Hezbollah; cites progress on resolving weapons rift with US

  • Israel ready to inflict “massive damage” on Hezbollah if diplomacy fails, says Yoav Gallant
  • US in “fairly intensive conversations” with Israel, Lebanon and other actors to avoid a “major escalation”
  • Also reassured that Israel was "committed to and firmly backing" Biden's deal to end the Gaza war

WASHINGTON: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on a visit to Washington that his country does not want war in Lebanon but was ready to inflict “massive damage” on Hezbollah if diplomacy fails.

“We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” Gallant told reporters during the visit that ended Wednesday.“Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched,” he said.

Tensions have been rising, with growing skirmishes along the border between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia, since the October 7 attack by Hamas that prompted a relentless Israeli retaliatory campaign in Gaza.

Gallant said that Israel has killed more than 400 Hezbollah “terrorists” in recent months.




A damaged Israeli military position targeted by Hezbollah fighters is seen on the top of Mount Hermon in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where the borders between Israel, Syria and Lebanon meet. (AP Photo)

The Israeli defense minister was in Washington for three days meeting with officials in a bid to quietly resolve a rift over US weapons shipments, drawing an implicit contrast to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s more confrontational approach.

“During the meetings we made significant progress, obstacles were removed and bottlenecks were addressed,” Gallant said after meeting with Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser.

Gallant said the progress was on “a variety of issues” including “the topic of force build-up and munition supply that we must bring to the state of Israel.”

“I would like to thank the US administration and the American public for their enduring support for the state of Israel,” he said.

Netanyahu in recent days has publicly accused the Biden administration of slowing down weapons deliveries to Israel, which has been at war in Gaza since an October 7 attack by Hamas.

US officials have denied the accusations and showed annoyance, months before an election in which Biden’s support for Israel has become a liability with a left flank of his Democratic Party outraged by the heavy death toll among Palestinian civilians.

The US in early May froze a shipment that included 2,000-pound bombs and Biden warned of a further halt as he pressed Israel not to carry out a wide-scale military assault of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million displaced Palestinians had sought shelter.

A senior US administration official said the United States has sent more than $6.5 billion in weapons to Israel since October 7, with nearly $3 billion alone in May.

“This is a massive, massive undertaking and nothing is paused other than one shipment,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The official blamed the rift on misunderstandings of the “complex” US bureaucratic process. He said Gallant’s team and US experts went through “every single case.”

“There was real progress and a mutual understanding of where things stand, of prioritization of certain cases over others, so that we can make sure that we are moving things in ways that meet the needs of the Israelis,” he said.




A Lebanese civil defense member inspects the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Khiam near the Lebanese border with northern Israeli on June 26, 2024. (AFP)

Biden — whose approach to Israel has drawn criticism both from progressives and the right — held off on curbing weapon deliveries after Israel carried out what US officials described as comparatively targeted operations in Rafah.

Netanyahu and Gallant have said the most intense phase of the fighting is over — with Israel set to shift forces toward the border with Lebanon after rising skirmishes with the Iranian-backed militant movement Hezbollah.

The US official said Washington remained in “fairly intensive conversations” with Israel, Lebanon and other actors and believed that no side sought a “major escalation.”

Gallant, who met twice in Washington with Amos Hochstein, the US pointman between Israel and Lebanon, reassured that his country was trying to avoid an all-out war with the Iran-backed Hezbolla militia of Lebanon.

“We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” Gallant told reporters.

US officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken have voiced hope that a ceasefire in Gaza could lead to a reduction in tension over Lebanon as well.

Biden on May 31 laid out a plan for a temporary ceasefire and release of hostages, but Hamas came back with further demands.

Despite criticism of the proposal from some of Netanyahu’s far-right allies, Gallant said, “We are all committed to and firmly backing the president’s deal.”

“Hamas must accept it or bear the consequences,” he said.

The Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized about 250 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, although the army says 42 are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,718 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.
 

 


Amnesty slams Hezbollah for unguided rocket fire at Israeli towns

Updated 4 min 51 sec ago
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Amnesty slams Hezbollah for unguided rocket fire at Israeli towns

  • Amnesty already released the findings of its investigation into Israeli actions during the war
  • A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27
BEIRUT: Human rights group Amnesty International on Friday condemned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for firing salvos of unguided rockets at civilian areas of Israel during the latest conflict.
“Hezbollah’s reckless use of unguided rocket salvos has killed and wounded civilians, and destroyed and damaged civilian homes in Israel,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
“The use of these inherently inaccurate weapons in or near populated civilian areas amounts to prima facie violations of international humanitarian law,” she said.
“Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and indiscriminate attacks that kill and injure civilians must be investigated as war crimes.”
Amnesty said it had documented three Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities that killed eight civilians and wounded at least 16 others following the escalation of the conflict in late September.
In footage of the attacks, it said it had identified the use of unguided multiple launch rocket systems that violate the bedrock principle of distinction under international humanitarian law.
At the time, Hezbollah announced a series of rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers in response to Israeli air strikes on Lebanese towns and villages.
Amnesty already released the findings of its investigation into Israeli actions during the war.
It said it had documented unlawful Israeli air strikes that killed 49 civilians, which must be investigated as war crimes.
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27.
Despite the truce, Israeli air strikes have killed more than 20 people in Lebanon since November 27, according to an AFP tally based on health ministry figures.
Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
Since Hezbollah first started trading cross-border fire with the Israeli army in October 2023, the war has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, according to health ministry figures.
On the Israeli side, the conflict has killed 30 soldiers and 47 civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Security for Kurds ‘essential’ for a secure Syria: German FM

Updated 21 December 2024
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Security for Kurds ‘essential’ for a secure Syria: German FM

  • “The view that the PKK/YPG represents the Kurds in Syria is wrong,” the source quoted him as saying, stressing Turkiye would never allow such “terrorist organizations to abuse the situation in Syria”

ANKARA: Security for the Kurdish people is critical for Syria to have a secure future, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told her Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Friday.
“Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria,” she told journalists after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, warning of the dangers of any “escalation” with Kurdish forces in Syria.
Earlier Friday, Baerbock raised the alarm over fresh violence in northern Syria, where Turkish troops and Ankara-backed fighters have been battling the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led group supported by the US.
Ankara sees the SDF as an extension of its domestic nemesis, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has led a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisting Friday it was “time to neutralize the existing terror organizations in Syria.”
Her comments came as concerns grew over a possible Turkish assault on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab, after pro-Turkish fighters seized Manbij and Tal Rifaat, two other key Kurdish-held towns.
As Islamist-led rebels pressed their lightning that toppled Bashar Assad, Turkish-backed fighters began a parallel operation against Kurdish-led forces in the north, sparking clashes that left hundreds dead in just a few days.
“Thousands of Kurds from Manbij and other places are on the run in Syria or are afraid of fresh violence,” the German minister said.
“I made it very, very clear today that our common security interests must not be jeopardized by an escalation with the Kurds in Syria.”

But she expressed understanding for Ankara’s “legitimate” security concerns, saying “northeast Syria must not pose a threat to Turkiye” while also warning that Islamic State (IS) group jihadists must not be allowed to regain a foothold in Syria.
“No one would be helped if the real winner of a conflict with the Kurds turned out to be the terrorists of IS: that would be a security threat for Syria, Turkiye and also for us in Europe.”
According to a foreign ministry source, Fidan told her the PKK and the YPG — the main force within the SDF — did not represent the Kurdish people.
“The view that the PKK/YPG represents the Kurds in Syria is wrong,” the source quoted him as saying, stressing Turkiye would never allow such “terrorist organizations to abuse the situation in Syria.”
“We expect all our allies to respect Turkiye’s security concerns,” he added.
Baerbock also said Berlin would judge Syria’s new Islamist-led HTS rulers on the basis of their actions amid concerns over the group’s Al-Qaeda origins.
“A radical Islamist order will only lead to new fragmentation, new oppression and therefore new violence,” she said.
“We will judge the new rulers by their actions.”
 

 


UN extends peacekeeping mission between Syria, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

Updated 21 December 2024
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UN extends peacekeeping mission between Syria, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

  • Armed forces from Israel and Syria are not allowed in the demilitarized zone — a 400-square-km (155-square-mile) “Area of Separation” — under the ceasefire arrangement

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended a long-running peacekeeping mission between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for six months and expressed concern that military activities in the area could escalate tensions.
Since a lightning rebel offensive ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this month, Israeli troops have moved into the demilitarised zone — created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war — that is patrolled by the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
Israeli officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel’s borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn.
In the resolution adopted on Friday, the Security Council stressed “that both parties must abide by the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic and scrupulously observe the ceasefire.”
It expressed concern that “the ongoing military activities conducted by any actor in the area of separation continue to have the potential to escalate tensions between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic, jeopardize the ceasefire between the two countries, and pose a risk to the local civilian population and United Nations personnel on the ground.”
Armed forces from Israel and Syria are not allowed in the demilitarized zone — a 400-square-km (155-square-mile) “Area of Separation” — under the ceasefire arrangement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday: “Let me be clear: There should be no military forces in the area of separation other than UN peacekeepers – period.” He also said Israeli airstrikes on Syria were violations of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and “must stop.”

 


Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

Updated 21 December 2024
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Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

  • Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million

CAIRO: Israeli airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, including at least eight in an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp and at least 10, including seven children, in the town of Jabalia.
Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas after more than a year of conflict.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had been able to resolve some differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.
Israel began its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.

 


US says new Syria rulers helping in hunt for reporter Tice

This 2023 age-progressed photo released by the FBI Washington Field Office, shows what Austin Tice may look like in his 40s. (AP
Updated 21 December 2024
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US says new Syria rulers helping in hunt for reporter Tice

  • Tice was working for Agence France-Presse, McClatchy News, The Washington Post, CBS and other media outlets when he was detained at a checkpoint in August 2012

WASHINGTON: US officials said Friday that Syria’s new leaders had assisted in the hunt for missing journalist Austin Tice, with searches underway at sites of interest.
US diplomats, paying the first visit to Damascus since Islamist-led rebels toppled strongman Bashar Assad earlier this month, said they told the new Islamist-led authorities of their priority of finding Tice and other missing Americans.
“We feel it’s our duty as the US government to press on until we know with certainty what happened to him, where he is and to bring him home,” said Roger Carstens, the US pointman on hostages.
He said that he worked Friday with the new Syrian leadership to search a location where Tice could have been held.
“There are other locations that need to be searched in the coming days, weeks and months, and we’ll be working with the interim authorities,” Carstens told reporters after the trip.
Tice was working for Agence France-Presse, McClatchy News, The Washington Post, CBS and other media outlets when he was detained at a checkpoint in August 2012.
Carstens said that US teams were not yet authorized to operate in Syria but that he has reached out to non-governmental groups as well as journalists for assistance.
“The bottom line is that over 12 years, we’ve been able to pinpoint about six facilities that we believe have a high possibility of having had Austin Tice at one point or another,” he said.
Carstens said up to three more sites of interests have been added recently and that he hoped for thorough searches of all of them.
Tice’s mother Debra said earlier this month that she had information that her son was alive.
Carstens said that the United States was also seeking information about other Americans including Majd Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American psychotherapist believed to have died after being detained under the Assad government in 2017.