JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of a ceasefire in Lebanon on Tuesday that would leave Hezbollah close to his country’s northern border as the militant group threatened to widen its attacks.
Netanyahu’s comments came as the United States ramped up pressure on him over the conduct of Israel’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza, criticizing the recent bombing of Beirut and demanding that more aid reach the Palestinian territory.
In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said he was “opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was,” according to a statement from his office.
Netanyahu and the Israeli military have repeatedly insisted there must be a buffer zone along Israel’s border with Lebanon where there is no presence of Hezbollah fighters.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide this (a buffer zone) and which does not stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping,” the statement said.
In a defiant televised speech, the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said the only solution was a ceasefire while threatening to expand the scope of its missile strikes across Israel.
“Since the Israeli enemy targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right from a defensive position to target any place” in Israel, he said.
In another day of fighting, the Iran-backed group said it launched a barrage of rockets toward the northern Israeli city of Haifa and targeted Israeli bulldozers and a tank near the border.
Israel’s military bombed several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, including in the Bekaa Valley where a hospital in Baalbek city was put out of service, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported.
It also said it had captured three Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon.
Asked about Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, in which residential buildings in the center of Beirut were hit on October 10, the US State Department voiced open criticism.
“We have made clear that we are opposed to the campaign the way we’ve seen it conducted over the past weeks” in Beirut, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
In a letter sent to the Israeli government on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also warned that the United States could withhold weapons deliveries unless more humanitarian aid was delivered to Palestinians in Gaza.
The letter made “clear to the government of Israel that there are changes that they need to make again to see that the level of assistance making it into Gaza comes back up from the very, very low levels that it is at today,” Miller added on Tuesday.
Despite the need for food, medical supplies and shelter in hunger-ravaged Gaza, a spokesman for the UN’s children’s agency UNICEF said Tuesday that aid was facing the tightest restrictions since the start of Israel’s offensive in October last year.
“We see now what is probably the worst restrictions we’ve seen on humanitarian aid, ever,” spokesman James Elder told a press conference in Geneva, adding that there were “several days in the last week (where) no commercial trucks whatsoever were allowed to come in.”
For over a week, Israeli forces have engaged in a sweeping air and ground assault targeting northern Gaza and the area around Jabalia amid claims that Hamas militants were regrouping there.
“The whole area has been reduced to ashes,” said Rana Abdel Majid, 38, from the Al-Faluja area of northern Gaza.
Majid said entire blocks had been levelled by “the indiscriminate, merciless bombing.”
At a school-turned-shelter hit by an Israeli strike in the central Nuseirat camp, Fatima Al-Azab said “there is no safety anywhere” in Gaza.
“They are all children, sleeping in the covers, all burned and cut up,” she said.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after an October 7 attack by Hamas that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, including hostages killed in captivity.
The Israeli campaign has killed 42,344 people, the majority civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory which the UN considers reliable.
Israel dramatically escalated its air campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon from September 23 and then launched a ground offensive a week later intended to push the group back from its northern border.
Hezbollah has been firing thousands of projectiles into Israel over the last year in support of Hamas, displacing tens of thousands of Israelis.
At least 1,356 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated its bombing last month, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.
The war in Lebanon, which has suffered years of economic crisis, has displaced at least 690,000 people, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.
Israel is also weighing how to respond to Iran’s decision to launch around 200 missiles at the country on October 1.
Netanyahu’s office said that Israel — and not its top ally the United States — would decide how to strike back.
“We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Iranian barrage was in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian general Abbas Nilforoushan on September 27.
US President Joe Biden — whose government is Israel’s top arms supplier — has warned Israel against striking Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities.
According to a Washington Post report on Monday citing unnamed US officials, Netanyahu reassured the White House that Israel was only contemplating targeting military sites.
Netanyahu vows ‘no ceasefire’ in Lebanon after Hezbollah threats
https://arab.news/2aq64
Netanyahu vows ‘no ceasefire’ in Lebanon after Hezbollah threats
- Netanyahu and the Israeli military have repeatedly insisted there must be a buffer zone along Israel’s border with Lebanon where there is no presence of Hezbollah fighters
Libya’s anti-NGO push seen as diversion from internal failures, analysts say
- Anas Al-Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute think tank, said “this isn’t about NGOs — it’s about creating enemies to distract from failures“
- Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui noted that the Tripoli government is adopting a similar tone to Tunisian President Kais Saied
TUNIS: Libya’s suspension of 10 international humanitarian groups, part of a broader crackdown on African migrants, is aimed at masking domestic failures and securing external concessions, particularly from Europe, analysts have said.
Libya’s Tripoli-based authorities announced on Wednesday a decision to suspend the Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Terre des Hommes, CESVI and six other groups, accusing them of a plan to “settle migrants” from other parts of Africa in the country.
War-torn Libya is a key departure point on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast for migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries, risking dangerous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.
Anas Al-Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute think tank, said “this isn’t about NGOs — it’s about creating enemies to distract from failures.”
The UN-recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah is “tapping into conservative anxieties while masking their inability to provide basic services,” he told AFP.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi.
It remains split between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
The ultimate goal, according to Gomati, is to “extract concessions from Europe which, fearing potential migration surges, will offer new funding packages and prop up the government in Tripoli.”
On Wednesday, Rome announced the allocation of 20 million euros to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to finance “voluntary repatriations” for 3,300 sub-Saharan migrants who arrived in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
“This isn’t coincidence — its coordination. The Libyan authorities shut down NGOs providing monitoring and protection (for migrants) precisely as Italy announces 20 million euros for ‘voluntary’ returns,” said Gomati.
“Italy gets to claim they’re funding ‘voluntary’ returns while Libya gets to demonstrate ‘sovereignty’, all while vulnerable migrants face extortion in detention before being labelled ‘volunteers’ for deportation.”
Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui noted that the Tripoli government is adopting a similar tone to Tunisian President Kais Saied, who in early 2023 denounced what he called “hordes of sub-Saharan migrants” who threatened to “change the country’s demographic composition.”
Harchaoui, of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said Dbeibah was facing considerable difficulties, particularly in gaining access to public funds, and his once pragmatic relationship with the Haftar family in the east had deteriorated.
The two rivals had previously struck a kind of non-aggression pact in exchange for sharing oil revenues.
“In its bid to assert control and project strength, the Dbeibah government has turned to demonizing sub-Saharan migrants and denouncing NGOs,” Harchaoui said.
This aims to “show who’s in charge in Tripoli and create the illusion that he is curbing migration flows.”
Exiled Libyan human rights activist Husam el-Gomati said on X that “this crackdown appears not only to limit the influence of these organizations but also to prevent the documentation of human rights violations and delay any potential punitive measures against militia leaders involved in these abuses.”
Various reports from the United Nations and NGOs such as Amnesty International have denounced the arbitrary detentions of government opponents, journalists and lawyers in recent months, as well as abuses against migrants, including the discovery of mass graves.
Following the NGO ban, aid groups have expressed concern for both their Libyan colleagues and the migrants who have been made more vulnerable in a country that, according to the IOM, is home to more than 700,000 residents from sub-Saharan countries.
The International Commission of Jurists on Friday condemned the “recent collective expulsions, arrests, violent attacks and the surge of hate speech, including that which constitutes incitement to violence, against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya.”
The organization noted that the Libyan interior ministry has pledged “the deportation of 100,000 migrants every four months.”
Lebanese officials discuss south Lebanon with visiting US envoy
- President Joseph Aoun and Ortagus discussed “south Lebanon, the work of the international monitoring committee and the Israeli withdrawal”
- Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office, in a statement, also said the discussions with the envoy were “positive”
BEIRUT: Senior Lebanese officials said Saturday’s talks with visiting US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus were positive, focusing on south Lebanon amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah.
President Joseph Aoun and Ortagus discussed “south Lebanon, the work of the international monitoring committee and the Israeli withdrawal” from Lebanese territory, a statement from the presidency said, characterising the talks as constructive.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office, in a statement, also said the discussions with the envoy were “positive.”
Ortagus’s second visit to Lebanon after her appointment by US President Donald Trump comes as Israel continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon despite a November 27 ceasefire with Hezbollah, and as its troops remain in several points in the country’s south.
The United States chairs a committee, which also includes France, that is tasked with overseeing the ceasefire that ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to redeploy its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel was due to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems “strategic.”
Lebanon’s army has been deploying in areas the Israeli military has withdrawn from.
Ortagus and Salam discussed the Lebanese army’s work in implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and formed the basis of the November truce, his office said.
The resolution says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and called for the disarmament of all non-state armed groups.
Ortagus also met on Saturday with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, and army chief Rodolphe Haykal.
On her first visit in February, Ortagus sparked anger among Hezbollah supporters by saying the group had been “defeated by Israel,” declaring “the end of Hezbollah’s reign of terror.”
The Iran-backed group was heavily weakened during the war with Israel, but remains active.
Last month, Ortagus told Lebanese TV channel Al-Jadeed that the US and France had set up working groups that would address the border disputes between the two countries, as well as Israel’s continued presence south Lebanon.
“We want to get a political resolution, finally, to the border disputes,” Ortagus had said.
Israel is trying to destabilize Lebanon and Syria, Arab League chief laments
- Aboul Gheit says targeted assassinations in Lebanon an unacceptable breach of the ceasefire agreement Israel signed late last year
- Israel’s actions were driven by narrow domestic agendas at the expense of civilian lives and regional peace, Arab League chief adds
CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Saturday accused Israel of trying to destabilize Syria and Lebanon through military provocations, in “flagrant disregard for international legal norms.”
In a statement, Aboul Gheit said that global inaction had further emboldened Israel.
“(T)he wars waged by Israel on the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria have entered a new phase of complete recklessness, deliberately violating signed agreements, invading countries and killing more civilians,” said the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
He said that Israel’s resumption of targeted assassinations in Lebanon was an unacceptable and condemnable breach of the ceasefire agreement it signed with Lebanon late last year.
Aboul Gheit said that Israel’s actions were driven by narrow domestic agendas at the expense of civilian lives and regional peace.
“It seems that the Israeli war machine does not want to stop as long as the occupation leaders insist on facing their internal crises by exporting them abroad, and this situation has become clear to everyone,” he said.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health’s count last week, more than 50,000 people have been killed and more than 113,200 wounded in Israeli attacks on Palestinian territories in retaliation against the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.
In Lebanon, war monitors have said that at least 3,961 people were killed and 16,520 wounded in Israel’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement from Oct. 8, 2023 to Nov. 26, 2024.
Syria’s new government accused Israel on April 3 of mounting a deadly destabilization campaign after a wave of strikes on military targets, including an airport, and a ground incursion that killed 13 people in the southern province of Daraa.
Video shows last moments for slain Gaza aid workers, Red Crescent says
- Video appears to contradict the Israeli military’s claims, showing ambulances traveling with their headlights and emergency lights clearly flashing
GAZA: A video recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers shows their final moments, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, with clearly marked ambulances and emergency lights flashing as heavy gunfire erupts.
The aid worker was among 15 humanitarian personnel who were killed on March 23 in an attack by Israeli forces, according to the United Nations and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
The Israeli military has said its soldiers “did not randomly attack” any ambulances, insisting they fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles.”
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said that troops opened fire on vehicles that had no prior clearance from Israeli authorities and had their lights off.
But the video released by PRCS on Saturday appears to contradict the Israeli military’s claims, showing ambulances traveling with their headlights and emergency lights clearly flashing.
The video, apparently filmed from inside a moving vehicle, captures a red firetruck and ambulances driving through the night.
The vehicles stop beside another on the roadside, and two uniformed men exit. Moments later, intense gunfire erupts.
In the video, the voices of two medics are heard — one saying, “the vehicle, the vehicle,” and another responding: “It seems to be an accident.”
Seconds later, a volley of gunfire breaks out, and the screen goes black.
PRCS said it had found the video on the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the deceased aid workers.
“This video unequivocally refutes the occupation’s claims that Israeli forces did not randomly target ambulances, and that some vehicles had approached suspiciously without lights or emergency markings,” PRCS said in a statement.
“The footage exposes the truth and dismantles this false narrative.”
Those killed included eight PRCS staff, six members of the Gaza civil defense agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA.
Their bodies were found buried near Rafah in what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described as a mass grave.
ATTACK ON AID WORKERS
OCHA has said that the first team was targeted by Israeli forces at dawn on that day. In the hours that followed, additional rescue and aid teams searching for their colleagues were also struck in a series of successive attacks.
According to the PRCS, the convoy had been dispatched in response to emergency calls from civilians trapped under bombardment in Rafah.
In the video, a medic recording the scene can be heard reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, which Muslims traditionally say in the face of death.
“There is no God but God, Mohammed is his messenger,” he says repeatedly, his voice trembling with fear as intense gunfire continues in the background.
He is also heard saying: “Forgive me mother because I chose this way, the way of helping people.”
He then says, “accept my martyrdom, God, and forgive me.” Just before the footage ends, he is heard saying, “The Jews are coming, the Jews are coming,” referring to Israeli soldiers.
The deaths of the aid workers has sparked international condemnation.
Jonathan Whittall, the head of OCHA in the Palestinian territories, said the bodies of the humanitarian workers were “in their uniforms, still wearing gloves” when they were found.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned the attack, raising concerns over possible “war crimes” by the Israeli military.
“I am appalled by the recent killings of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military,” Volker Turk told the UN Security Council on Thursday.
Turk called for an “independent, prompt and thorough investigation” into the attack.
An Israeli military official said the bodies had been covered “in sand and cloth” to avoid damage until coordination with international organizations could be arranged for their retrieval.
The military said it was investigating the attack.
Iran president fires deputy over pricey Antarctica trip
- A photo shared on social media showed Dabiri posing near the Plancius cruise ship
- The government faced strong criticism after the photo was published
TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday dismissed his deputy for parliamentary affairs over a costly trip to Antarctica, as the country grapples with hyperinflation amid a biting economic crisis.
A photo shared on social media in recent days showed the now former vice president, Shahram Dabiri, alongside a woman identified as his wife, posing near the Plancius cruise ship.
The Dutch-flagged vessel has offered luxury expeditions to Antarctica since 2009, with one agency pricing an eight-day trip at 3,885 euros per person.
“In a context where economic pressure on the population remains high... expensive leisure trips by officials, even if paid out of their own pocket, are neither defensible nor justifiable,” the Iranian president wrote in a letter published Saturday by the official IRNA news agency, which noted that Dabiri was dismissed.
Dabiri, a 64-year-old physician by profession and a close confidant of Pezeshkian, had been appointed to the post in August.
The government faced strong criticism after the photo was published, and several of Pezeshkian’s supporters urged him to remove the official.
IRNA late last month cited a source in Dabiri’s office as saying that he had made the trip before he held a governmental position.
The controversy is another major blow for Pezeshkian, who was elected last year on a promise to revive the economy and improve the daily lives of his fellow citizens.
In early March, his Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati was dismissed by parliament amid a sharp depreciation of the national currency against the dollar and soaring inflation.
