BEIRUT: The Israeli army intensified its hostilities on Saturday against border villages in southern Lebanon, destroying and flattening several neighborhoods.
The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s “disregard for international law and humanitarian standards” in a statement on Saturday.
It said that “the deliberate killing of large numbers of unarmed Palestinian civilians in the attack against the Al-Taba’een school in the Gaza Strip is clear evidence of Israel’s intention to prolong the war and expand its scope, especially as international mediators intensify efforts to reach a ceasefire.”
The ministry said that the Israeli “occupation army’s systematic and indiscriminate shelling, and the killing of children and civilians, clearly demonstrate the Israeli government’s disregard for international law and humanitarian standards.”
It urged “the international community and relevant countries to take a unified, serious and effective stance to protect the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and put an end to this humanitarian catastrophe.
“The first step to avoiding de-escalation and a wider conflict in the region is to halt the aggression on Gaza and adopt a peaceful diplomatic path by taking serious steps to obligate Israel to accept a two-state solution in line with relevant international resolutions,” the ministry added.
It circulated a document from the Lebanese government to its diplomatic missions abroad, containing “the principles aimed at achieving long-term stability in southern Lebanon.”
The ministry requested its missions to “conduct the necessary communications in their respective countries, both bilaterally and within the councils of Arab ambassadors, to present the Lebanese stance outlined in the document.”
The document stated that “the Lebanese government believes that a full-scale war can still be avoided, and it is committed to protecting the safety and security of its citizens, retaining its right to self-defense under international law.
“At the same time, the government believes that de-escalation is the most appropriate path to avoid a destructive cycle of violence, which would be more challenging to contain.”
The document said that “the government cannot act alone. The international community must play a decisive and immediate role in calming tensions and curbing the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon.”
The text added: “To achieve de-escalation, the Lebanese government proposes a systematic and organized approach that would provide an alternative to the current chaos. This approach would be purposeful, with the primary goal of restoring stability.”
The government statement also demanded the “full and equitable implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. There is a need for immediate de-escalation and cessation of provocative actions to reduce risks and protect civilians.
“Any activity within this framework should not obstruct the full re-commitment to Resolution 1701 or increase the risk of a full-scale conflict,” it said.
The document also said that “the Lebanese government believes that a ceasefire in Gaza would immediately calm tensions in southern Lebanon, paving the way for long-term sustainable stability. In this context, the Lebanese government supports President Biden’s agreement to ceasefire in Gaza and calls for its immediate implementation following Resolution 2735.”
The Lebanese reaction came as a local TV team survived an Israeli raid on the Majdal Selm village this morning.
Israeli artillery shelling targeted Houla, while Israeli warplanes raided several houses in Tayr Harfa, Tyre.
The Health Ministry emergency operations center said that “the Israeli artillery shelling with phosphorus shells on Kfarkila has resulted in a severe case of asphyxiation for one resident, who required hospitalization.”
The destructive artillery shelling flattened several houses in Aitaroun, while Israeli warplanes hit Aita Al-Shaab.
Hezbollah separately said in a statement that it destroyed “spy equipment in the Israeli military Ramia site with an attack drone.”
Hezbollah released footage of its operation targeting “a newly established Israeli military position in Khirbet Manot.”
It also announced targeting “a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Tel Sha’ar with rocket weapons.”
Israeli warplanes continued to fly at medium altitude over southern villages, extending to Sidon and Beirut.
Lebanese government accuses Israel of intending to prolong war, expand its scope
https://arab.news/4kn7a
Lebanese government accuses Israel of intending to prolong war, expand its scope
- Israeli airstrikes, shelling target towns in southern Lebanon
- Hezbollah targets Israeli military gatherings
UNRWA chief vows to continue aid to Palestinians despite Israeli ban
OSLO: The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will continue to provide aid to people in the Palestinian territories despite an Israeli ban due to be implemented by the end of January, its director said Wednesday.
“We will ... stay and deliver,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told a conference in Oslo. “UNRWA’s local staff will remain and continue to provide emergency assistance and where possible, education and primary health care,” he said.
Erdogan says Turkiye can ‘crush’ all terrorists in Syria
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged all countries to “take their hands off” Syria and said Turkiye had the capacity and ability to crush all terrorist organizations in the country, including Kurdish militia and Islamic State.
Speaking in parliament, Erdogan said the Kurdish YPG militia was the biggest problem in Syria now after the ousting of former President Bashar Assad, and added that the group would not be able to escape its inevitable end unless it lays down its arms.
World must keep pressure on Israel after Gaza truce: Palestinian PM
OSLO: The international community will have to maintain pressure on Israel after an hoped-for ceasefire in Gaza so it accepts the creation of a Palestinian state, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said on Wednesday.
A ceasefire agreement appears close following a recent round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying late Tuesday that a deal to end the 15-month war was “on the brink.”
“The ceasefire we’re talking about ... came about primarily because of international pressure. So pressure does pay off,” Mustafa said before a conference in Oslo.
Israel must “be shown what’s right and what’s wrong, and that the veto power on peace and statehood for Palestinians will not be accepted and tolerated any longer,” he told reporters.
He was speaking at the start of the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, gathering representatives from some 80 states and organizations in Oslo.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, the host of the meeting, said a “ceasefire is the prerequisite for peace, but it is not peace.”
“We need to move forward now toward a two-state solution. And since one of the two states exists, which is Israel, we need to build the other state, which is Palestine,” he added.
According to analysts, the two-state solution appears more remote than ever.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, firmly supported by US President-elect Donald Trump, is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israel is not represented at the Oslo meeting.
Norway angered Israel when it recognized the Palestinian state, together with Spain and Ireland, last May, a move later followed by Slovenia.
In a nod to history, Wednesday’s meeting was held in the Oslo City Hall, where Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
The then-head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Israeli prime minister and his foreign minister were honored for signing the Oslo accords a year earlier, which laid the foundation for Palestinian autonomy with the goal of an independent state.
Syrians in uproar after volunteers paint over prison walls
DAMASCUS: Families of missing persons have urged Syria’s new authorities to protect evidence of crimes under president Bashar Assad, after outrage over volunteers painting over etchings on walls inside a former jail.
Thousands poured out of prisons after Islamist-led rebels toppled Assad last month, but many Syrians are still looking for traces of tens of thousands of relatives and friends who went missing.
In the chaos following his ouster, with journalists and families rushing to detention centers, official documents have been left unprotected, with some even looted or destroyed.
Rights groups have stressed the urgent need to preserve “evidence of atrocities,” which includes writings left by detainees on the walls of their cells.
But a video appearing to show young volunteers paint over such writings at an unnamed detention center with white paint and adorning its walls with the new Syrian flag, the depiction of a fireplace or broken chains has circulated on social media in recent days, angering activists.
“Painting the walls of security branches is disgraceful, especially before the start of new investigations into human rights violations” there, said Diab Serriya, a co-founder of Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya Prison (ADMSP).
It is “an attempt to destroy the signs of torture or enforced disappearance and hampers efforts to... gather evidence,” he said.
Jomana Hasan Shtiwy, a Syrian held in three different facilities under Assad, often changing cells, said the writings on the walls held invaluable information.
“On the walls are names and telephone numbers to contact relatives and inform them about the fate of their children,” she said on Facebook.
In each new cell, “we would write a memory so that those who followed could remember us,” she said.
A petition appeared on Tuesday calling for the new Syrian authorities to better protect evidence, and give investigating the fate of those forcibly disappeared under Assad “the highest priority.”
It slammed what it called “the insensitive treatment of the sanctity” of former detention centers.
“Some have gone as far as to paint cells, obscuring their features, which for us represents... a great wronging of detainees,” said signatories, including ADMSP.
The president of the International Committee for the Red Cross said last week determining the fate of those who went missing during Syria’s civil war would be a “huge challenge.”
Mirjana Spoljaric said the ICRC was following 43,000 cases, but that was probably just a fraction of the missing.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, says more than 100,000 people have died in detention from torture or dire health conditions across Syria since 2011.
Iran’s navy unveils its first signals intelligence ship
DUBAI: Iran’s navy received its first signals intelligence ship on Wednesday, semi-official Tasnim news organization reported, a few days after the country’s army took delivery of 1,000 new drones.
The Zagros is a new category of military vessel equipped with electronic sensors and the ability to intercept cyber-operations and conduct intelligence monitoring, Tasnim said.
“The Zagros signals intelligence ship will be the watchful eye of Iran’s navy in the seas and oceans,” Navy Commander Shahram Irani said.
Earlier this month, Iran started two-month-long military exercises which have already included war games in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.
The military drills and procurement come at a time of high tensions with arch-enemy Israel and the United States under incoming US president Donald Trump.
In October, the spokesperson of Iran’s government said the country plans to raise its military budget by around 200 percent to face growing threats.
