PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent a “conflagration” between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, during a telephone call between the two leaders.
Macron “reiterated his serious concern over a deepening of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel... and underscored the absolute need to prevent a conflagration that would harm the interests of Lebanon as well as Israel,” the French presidency said in a statement.
He also insisted on the “urgency for all parties to move rapidly toward a diplomatic solution” to end the conflict sparked by the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants in Gaza.
“The two leaders discussed the diplomatic efforts underway toward this,” the Elysee Palace said, ahead of a visit by the US envoy for the conflict, Amos Hochstein, to Paris on Wednesday.
Hochstein is scheduled to meet with Macron’s Lebanon envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian following visits to Israel and Lebanon in June to try to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
Macron also called on Netanyahu to refrain from any “new operation” in Gaza near Rafah or Khan Yunis, “which would only aggravate the human toll and a humanitarian situation that is already catastrophic,” the Elysee said.
The Israeli army on Monday ordered the evacuation of most areas east of Khan Yunis and Rafah along the Egyptian border.
It did not explicitly announce a military operation, but such orders have typically preceded major offensives.
The announcement sparked a mass exodus of Palestinians from parts of southern Gaza on Tuesday as Israeli forces launched deadly strikes and clashed with militants.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive aimed at eradicating the Palestinian militants in Gaza has killed at least 37,925 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Macron and Netanyahu also discussed recent “developments” in Iran’s nuclear program, in particular reports of “the installation of new centrifuges” for enriching uranium.
In mid-June, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran was further expanding its nuclear capabilities, with Western nations fearing the country is pursuing nuclear weapons following the US withdrawal from a 2015 deal to limit its atomic program.
The IAEA has said that Tehran has significantly ramped up its nuclear program and now has enough material to build several atomic bombs, though Iran says it is only for peaceful purposes.
“France, with its partners, remains fully committed to continuing to exert pressure on the Iranian government, which must respect its international obligations and fully cooperate with the IAEA,” Macron’s office said.
Macron urges Netanyahu to prevent Israel-Hezbollah ‘conflagration’
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Macron urges Netanyahu to prevent Israel-Hezbollah ‘conflagration’
- Macron “reiterated his serious concern over a deepening of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel
Supporters say Iranian Nobel winner’s health deteriorating in prison
- Rights activist Narges Mohammedi, 52, has been jailed since November 2021, and has spent much of the past decade in and out of prison
PARIS: The health of jailed Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammedi has deteriorated in prison, supporters said Thursday, demanding her freedom and calling to give her access to medical care “without delay.”
Rights activist Mohammedi, 52, has been jailed since November 2021, and has spent much of the past decade in and out of prison.
A group of supporters of Mohammedi, who in 2023 won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her advocacy work, said they had been informed of the results of medical tests carried out last month “which showed a worrying deterioration of her health.”
“The Free Narges Coalition is extremely worried about the deterioration of Narges Mohammadi’s health in detention,” the group said in a statement, noting cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and other risks.
Mohammedi, who is held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, should be released “immediately” and have access to medical care “without delay,” the coalition added.
In the past eight months, Mohammedi has been suffering from acute back and knee pain, including a herniated spinal disc, the supporters said.
Mohammedi has kept campaigning even behind bars and strongly supported the protests that erupted across Iran following the September 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini who had been arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress rules for women.
In recent weeks, Mohammedi and other women held with her at Evin have staged protests in the prison yard against death sentences handed to two Iranian Kurdish activists, Pakhshan Azizi and Sharifeh Mohammedi who were tried for membership of an illegal armed group.
Narges Mohammedi in June received a new one-year prison term for “propaganda against the state,” on top of a litany of other verdicts that already amounted to 12 years and three months of imprisonment, 154 lashes, two years of exile and various social and political restrictions.
Turkiye blocks NATO-Israel cooperation over Gaza war
- Ankara ‘will not allow Israel to continue its interaction with NATO until there is an end to the conflict,’ source says
ANKARA: Turkiye has blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said.
Israel carries the status of NATO partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the US.
Prior to Israel’s offensive in Gaza — prompted by Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage — NATO member Turkiye had been working to mend its long-strained ties with Israel.
Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel’s operation in Gaza, which it says amounts to a genocide, and has halted all bilateral trade.
It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Turkiye had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, viewing Israel’s “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO’s founding principles.
A UN inquiry in June found that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war.
It said Israel’s actions constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses. Israel rejects this and says its operation in Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people, aims to eradicate Hamas.
The sources said Turkiye would maintain this block and not allow Israel to continue or advance its interaction with NATO until there was an end to the conflict, as it believes Israel’s actions in Gaza violate international law and universal human rights.
After a NATO summit in Washington in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.
Earlier this week, Israel’s foreign minister urged the alliance to expel Turkiye after Erdogan appeared to threaten to enter Israel, as it had Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.
Erdogan has condemned the “perfidious assassination” in Tehran of his close ally and “brother” Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas.
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom after this odious attack,” Erdogan wrote on the X social media platform, denouncing “Zionist barbarity.”
“This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious Gazan resistance and our Palestinian brothers’ just fight, and to intimidate Palestinians,” Erdogan added.
Thousands of protesters marched after evening prayers in Istanbul to condemn the killing, many waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans hostile to Israel, while an Israeli flag was burned.
“I am here because Israel martyred the representative of the Palestinian people,” said 44-year-old demonstrator Mehmet.
“The great powers have an important role to play. If they don’t prevent these massacres ... history will accuse us of looking on.”
Lebanon says four Syrians killed in Israeli strike on south
- “The health ministry announces... four Syrian nationals were martyred” in an “Israeli strike” on the southern village of Shama, it said in a statement
BEIRUT: The Lebanese health ministry said four Syrians were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on the south, where Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire since the Gaza war began in October.
“The health ministry announces... four Syrian nationals were martyred” in an “Israeli strike” on the southern village of Shama, it said in a statement.
The ministry said the toll might rise once DNA tests had been carried out.
The strike also wounded five Lebanese nationals, it added.
Emergency services told AFP that the dead were farmer workers and part of the same family.
Plumes of smoke billowed from the site of the strike, which heavily damaged two nearby buildings and burnt a vehicle to a crisp, a photographer working with AFP reported.
Hezbollah has not claimed any new attacks since an Israel air strike killed its top commander Fuad Shukr on Tuesday evening, with leader Hassan Nasrallah saying operations will resume on Friday morning.
Nasrallah warned his group was bound to respond to the killing of Shukr.
His death was followed hours later Wednesday, by the killing of Hezbollah ally Hamas’s chief Ismail Haniyeh in a strike in Tehran, which Iran and Hamas have blamed on Israel. Israel has declined to comment on his killing.
The violence since October has killed at least 542 people on the Lebanese side, most of them fighters but also including 114 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
At least 22 soldiers and 25 civilians have been killed on the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, according to army figures.
Kuwait will not become launchpad for attacks on neighbors, officials say
- Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Hamad Al-Sager dismisses reports that suggest otherwise
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti authorities said on Thursday they will not allow the nation’s land or airspace to be used as launchpads for military attacks on neighboring countries.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Hamad Al-Sager dismissed reports that suggested otherwise, reported the Kuwait News Agency on Thursday.
His statement came as Iranian officials were due to meet regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss possible retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an airstrike in Tehran on Wednesday.
There are growing fears of a wider regional conflict between Israel and Iran and its proxies following the killing of Haniyeh, and an Israeli strike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur.
Iran, allies plan joint but limited retaliation against Israel
- “Two scenarios were discussed: a simultaneous response from Iran and its allies or a staggered response from each party,” the source said
- “There is a very strong likelihood that the response will be coordinated...,” said Amal Saad, a Hezbollah researcher and lecturer at Britain’s Cardiff University
BEIRUT: Iran and armed groups backed by it are preparing coordinated action meant to deter Israel but avert all-out war, sources and analysts said, after the killings of top Hamas and Hezbollah figures.
On Thursday, Iranian officials met in Tehran with representatives of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — a loose alliance of Tehran-backed groups hostile to Israel — to discuss retaliation for the deaths of Hamas’s leader and Hezbollah’s top military commander, said a source close to Lebanese group.
“Two scenarios were discussed: a simultaneous response from Iran and its allies or a staggered response from each party,” the source who had been briefed on the meeting told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened a “harsh punishment” for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which the group blamed on Israel, also vowing revenge.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Thursday his group was bound to respond to Israel’s killing of top military commander Fuad Shukr, saying in a speech broadcast at the funeral that his death and that of Haniyeh “crossed” red lines.
Israel said it “eliminated” Shukr Tuesday in a strike on southern Beirut, describing him as Nasrallah’s “right-hand man.” He led operations in south Lebanon, where the group has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel since the Gaza war erupted.
“There is a very strong likelihood that the response will be coordinated... among other resistance actors,” said Amal Saad, a Hezbollah researcher and lecturer at Britain’s Cardiff University.
“It’s going to greatly deepen the tactical coordination between Iran” and the groups it supports across the region, she said, naming Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Palestinian movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Yemen’s Houthi militants and Iraq’s Hashed Al-Shaabi force.
A leader of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a loose alliance of pro-Iran groups, told AFP that “Iran will lead the first response with the participation of Iraqi, Yemeni and Syrian factions, striking military targets, followed by a second response from Hezbollah.”
The Iraqi alliance has claimed attacks on US troops, most recently over the Gaza war, before suspending them in late January.
It has also claimed to have targeted Israel with drones and rockets.
The source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Hezbollah may target civilians to avenge the killing of three women and two children in the strike that killed Shukr in Beirut.
Iran and its allies are widely expected to respond militarily to the killings blamed on Israel, which has claimed responsibility only for Shukr’s death, though experts say the retaliation would be measured to avoid a wider conflagration.
“Iran and Hezbollah will not want to play into (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s hands and give him the bait or ammunition he needs to drag the US into a war,” Saad said.
“They will more than likely try to avert a war while also strongly deterring Israel from continuing with this new policy, this targeted shock and awe.”
The White House said the two killings hours apart “don’t help” regional tensions, though National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington saw “no signs that an escalation is imminent.”
Iranian analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi, who specializes in international relations, said “a stronger response is expected” from Tehran than during its last direct face-off with Israel in April.
Iran on April 13 made its first ever direct attack on Israeli soil, firing a barrage of drones and missiles after a strike blamed on Israel killed Revolutionary Guards at Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
The United States was in touch with Iran at the time, sending “a series of direct communications through the Swiss channel,” a senior administration official had told AFP.
Zeidabadi said that “a repeat of the previous operation wouldn’t make much sense, because the missiles and drones did not hit sensitive areas or have a deterrent effect.”
But he ruled out a “generalized, all-out and out-of-control war.”
According to Middle East analyst Rodger Shanahan, “regime survival” is a top priority for Tehran, “the same as Hezbollah.”
“They will put a lot of pressure on the Israelis on behalf of the Palestinians, but they are not going to risk an existential threat against them,” he told AFP.
