Amid Israel-Hezbollah strikes, Lebanon says only US can stop fighting

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib holds a press conference with his Iranian counterpart (unseen) in Beirut on February 10, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 25 September 2024
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Amid Israel-Hezbollah strikes, Lebanon says only US can stop fighting

  • "The United States is the only country that can really make a difference in the Middle East and with regard to Lebanon”

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East and Lebanon said only Washington could help end the fighting.
Hezbollah early on Wednesday confirmed senior commander Ibrahim Qubaisi was killed by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday on the Lebanese capital as Israel announced earlier. Israel said Qubaisi headed the group’s missile and rocket force.
Israel’s offensive since Monday morning has killed 569 people, including 50 children, and wounded 1,835 in Lebanon, Health Minister Firass Abiad told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Israel kills Hezbollah commander in Beirut

• Lebanese health ministry says two-day death toll is 569

• UN Security Council to meet Wednesday

• Fears of a wider conflict are growing

The new offensive against Hezbollah has stoked fears that nearly a year of conflict between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza is escalating and could destabilize the Middle East. Britain urged its nationals to leave Lebanon and said it was moving 700 troops to Cyprus to help its citizens evacuate.
The UN Security Council said it would meet on Wednesday to discuss the conflict.
“Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world — cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
At the UN, which is holding its General Assembly this week, US President Joe Biden made a plea for calm. “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even if a situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible,” he said.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib criticized Biden’s address as “not strong, not promising” and said the US was the only country “that can really make a difference in the Middle East and with regard to Lebanon.” Washington is Israel’s longtime ally and biggest arms supplier.
The United States “is the key ... to our salvation,” he told an event in New York City hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In Beirut, thousands of displaced people who fled from southern Lebanon were sheltering in schools and other buildings.
At the Technical Institute of Bir Hassan, volunteers brought water bottles, medicine and other supplies for the new arrivals.
In one classroom, 11-month-old Matila slept on a mattress while children elsewhere stood on chairs to pass time by scribbling on a whiteboard. Rima Ali Chahine, 50, said the shelter provided diapers, pastries and milk for the children.
“It’s a lot of pressure for grownups and children. They’re exhausted and stressed. They could not sleep,” she said. “The kids — they are living through terrible conditions.”
Early on Wednesday, an Israeli strike hit the seaside town of Jiyyeh, 75 km (46 miles) north of the border with Israel, two security sources said.
HEZBOLLAH WEAKENED, SAYS ISRAEL
Half a million people are estimated to have been displaced in Lebanon, said Bou Habib. He said Lebanon’s prime minister hoped to meet with US officials over the next two days.
The US and fellow mediators Qatar and Egypt have so far been unsuccessful in their efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the nearly year-old war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a Hezbollah ally.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose country and Israel are arch-enemies, told the UN General Assembly the international community must “secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and bring an end to the desperate barbarism of Israel in Lebanon, before it engulfs the region and the world.”
Israel’s military said its airforce conducted “extensive strikes” on Tuesday on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and dozens of launchers that were aimed at Israeli territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the attacks had weakened Hezbollah and would continue. Hezbollah “has suffered a sequence of blows to its command and control, its fighters, and the means to fight. These are all severe blows,” he told Israeli troops.
He accused the UN of shirking its responsibility to prevent Hezbollah’s attacks into Israel.
Hezbollah said it launched rockets at the Dado military base in northern Israel and attacked the Atlit naval base south of Haifa with drones, among other targets.
Suspected Israeli missiles were also launched at the Syrian port city of Tartous and were intercepted by Syrian air defenses, Syrian army sources said. The Israeli military declined to comment on the report.
Since the Gaza war started in October, Israel has intensified a years-long air campaign targeting Iran-aligned armed groups and their weapons transfers in Syria.
Funerals were held on Tuesday for people killed in Lebanon by Israel’s bombardment. In the coastal city of Saksakiyeh, Mohammed Helal was defiant as he mourned his daughter Jouri.
“We are not afraid. Even if they kill, dissect and destroy us,” he said.

 

 

 


Two Egyptian pilots killed in helicopter crash in Suez: army

Updated 2 sec ago
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Two Egyptian pilots killed in helicopter crash in Suez: army

The Egyptian air force operates aircraft from various countries

CAIRO: Two Egyptian air force officers were killed on Tuesday when a helicopter crashed during a training exercise, the military said.
The helicopter went down near a key air base in the town of Shalufa, in Suez province, “due to a technical malfunction,” military spokesman Gharib Abdel Hafez said in a post on his official Facebook page.
He did not specify the manufacturer or model of the aircraft.
The Egyptian air force operates aircraft from various countries, including France, Russia and the United States.
In November 2022, the military said a fighter jet had crashed during a military exercise but it reported no casualties.
In December 2019, an aircraft crashed during a training exercise. The pilot ejected safely.

US soldier injured during Gaza pier operation has died: military

Updated 15 min 56 sec ago
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US soldier injured during Gaza pier operation has died: military

  • “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley,” Captain Shkeila Milford-Glover said
  • In addition to the injuries, the project faced other problems starting in May, when the pier was damaged by bad weather and had to be removed for repairs

WASHINGTON: An American soldier has died after being injured during Washington’s problem-plagued operation to establish a temporary aid pier on the coast of Gaza, the US military said Tuesday.
The pier effort aimed to boost deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian assistance into the war-wracked Palestinian territory as Israel held up shipments by land.
But the effort ran into repeated weather issues and the United States ended it in mid-July, some two months after its installation.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, a recently retired motor transport operator,” Captain Shkeila Milford-Glover, spokesperson for the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, said in a statement.
She did not say when Stanley died or what kind of injury he had sustained, specifying only that the soldier had been receiving treatment in a long-term care facility.
He was one of three US military personnel who suffered non-combat injuries at sea during the pier operation.
The two others suffered minor injuries, a sprained ankle and a hurt back, the military said in May.
In addition to the injuries, the project faced other problems starting in May, when the pier was damaged by bad weather and had to be removed for repairs.
It was then reattached on June 7, but was moved to Ashdod on June 14 to protect it from anticipated high seas — a situation that was repeated later in the month.
US President Joe Biden announced the pier project during his State of the Union address in March as Israel held up deliveries of assistance by land, and the Pentagon has said it helped push the Israeli government to open more aid routes.


Japanese prime minister praises Saudi Arabia’s role in addressing the Gaza crisis

Updated 31 min 34 sec ago
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Japanese prime minister praises Saudi Arabia’s role in addressing the Gaza crisis

  • PM Ishiba made the remarks during a telephone summit with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
  • Ishiba stated that he would like to strengthen the strategic partnership between Japan and Saudi Arabia

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hailed “Saudi Arabia’s leadership on Gaza” and expressed his determination to continue working with the Kingdom to bring stability to the Middle East.

Ishiba made the remarks during a telephone summit with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, during which he expressed his hope that Saudi Arabia would continue to play a leading role in stabilizing the global oil market.

The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said the crown prince expressed his wish to deepen cooperation with Japan in various fields, including politics, economics, security, and potentially technology transfer and cultural exchange.

Ishiba said he would like Japan and Saudi Arabia to expand cooperation to areas including clean energy, advanced technology, and entertainment.

With 2025 marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ishiba reiterated his commitment to peace and stability in the region. He stated that he would like to strengthen the strategic partnership between Japan and Saudi Arabia and work even more closely together to promote these values. The crown prince also affirmed his commitment to these goals, stating that Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to its relations with Japan and welcomes further cooperation.

The Foreign Ministry added that both leaders shared their concerns about conflicts in the Middle East and the need for all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint. Ishiba said he appreciated Saudi Arabia’s leadership on Gaza, and the two leaders agreed to continue working closely together to achieve stability in the Middle East.


Syrian state media: Israel attacked town near Lebanon border

Updated 32 min 41 sec ago
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Syrian state media: Israel attacked town near Lebanon border

DAMASCUS: An Israeli strike hit a Syrian town near the border with Lebanon on Tuesday, Syrian state media said, less than a week after deadly strikes on the same area.
“An Israeli aggression targeted the industrial zone in Al-Qusayr” in Homs province, the official SANA news agency said. There was no immediate news of casualties or damage.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Hezbollah.
The Israeli military has intensified its strikes on Syria since it launched its war on Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
Israeli authorities rarely comment on the strikes, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.


Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 43,391

Updated 05 November 2024
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Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 43,391

  • The toll includes 17 deaths in the previous 24 hours

GAZA STRIP: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Tuesday that at least 43,391 people have been killed in the year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 17 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 102,347 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.