BEIRUT: Two people were killed and 10 injured in an Israeli airstrike on Friday near the town of Janta on the Lebanese-Syrian border, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported.
The strike was one of four in the area, which severely damaged a road linking Tfail in Lebanon to Assal Al-Ward in Syria that has been used by Hezbollah as a smuggling route.
Hezbollah paved the road during the Syrian war under the pretext of facilitating the movement of people. Lebanon later asphalted it and installed a security checkpoint.
The airstrikes caused a crater 7 meters deep and 10 meters wide in the road and severed electricity supply lines.
As well as the attacks in Janta, Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes in the Wadi Khaled border area.
These are the latest in a series of breaches of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli warplanes earlier struck targets in Baalbek-Hermel province.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Al-Moussawi condemned Friday’s attacks as “a systematic escalation and a war crime against civilians.”
The Israeli army said the strikes were based on intelligence reports and directed against Hezbollah targets in Bekaa that “pose a threat to Israel and its army.”
“The targets that were struck include a military site containing underground infrastructure used to develop and manufacture weaponry, as well as additional infrastructure sites on the Syrian-Lebanese border used to smuggle weaponry into Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reiterated his country’s “full support for Lebanon and its complete readiness to help the country overcome the repercussions of the recent Israeli war.”
Egypt was willing “to participate in the reconstruction process” and committed to “supporting Lebanese state institutions and the army to ensure its deployment across all Lebanese territories, including the southern regions,” he said.
El-Sisi’s comments were made in a message to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun delivered by Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Ahmed Abdelatty.
Abdelatty’s visit to Beirut coincided with that of Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular and Parliamentary Affairs Vahid Jalalzadeh and at a time when the formation of Lebanon’s new government is facing obstacles related to Hezbollah’s participation.
Abdelatty assured Aoun of “the readiness of Egyptian companies, in coordination with the French side and the international community, to contribute to the reconstruction process and share expertise with Lebanon, particularly in the electricity and gas sectors.”
He also highlighted “the utmost importance of fully implementing Resolution 1701 in all its clauses, wording and spirit without any compromise.”
“Egypt insists on Israel’s complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon without any infringement on Lebanese sovereignty. We welcome the army’s deployment in the south and Egypt is keen on providing full support to the military institution,” he said.
“Furthermore, all displaced individuals must return to their homes in the south and the Bekaa and we condemn the unjustified and illegal targeting of returning civilians.”
Abdelatty said that there were “ongoing communications with the new US administration, the Israeli side and France to stress the importance of fully adhering to the ceasefire agreement, ensuring complete Israeli withdrawal, halting violations and preventing civilian targeting. This is Egypt’s steadfast position.”
“These security-level communications are ongoing to convey this message and our stance will not change,” he said.
The minister also conveyed El-Sisi’s invitation for Aoun to visit Egypt “as soon as possible” and said his government was “looking forward to working on redeveloping and activating the frameworks of bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon, as well as convening the joint higher committee immediately after the formation of the government led by Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam.”
“We look forward to the speedy formation of the new government led by Salam, so Lebanon can fill the vacuum in its institutions,” he said.
“We support Salam’s efforts to form a Lebanese government that does not exclude anyone and reflects all sectarian and religious diversity in brotherly Lebanon. We look forward to the speedy completion of this matter, hoping that it will be a strong Lebanese government that represents everyone.”
Aoun said: “Lebanon holds on to Israel’s withdrawal from the areas it occupied during the last war within the deadline that was extended until Feb. 17” and “rejects the delayed withdrawal under any pretext.”
He also stressed “the necessity to release the Lebanese hostages that were captured by Israel during its war against Lebanon.”
Abdelatty told Salam he hoped for “the formation of the government in the near future.”
“We trust that Lebanon will rise again and fully recover thanks to the presence of patriotic people like President Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam,” he said.
He added that the formation of a government was “a Lebanese matter” and that “no foreign parties should interfere in this.”
After meeting Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Jalalzadeh praised “the special brotherly relations between Lebanon and Iran.”
He said the purpose of his visit was to congratulate Aoun on his election victory and “to congratulate the dear people of Lebanon and the courageous resistance for their remarkable steadfastness during Israel’s unjust war against Lebanon, which led to a ceasefire agreement.”
Jalalzadeh said he and Bou Habib discussed the issue of “Syrians, mostly Shiites, who were forced to flee to Lebanon following the developments in their country.”
“We called for cooperation to provide them with the best essential care,” he said. “We hope that all international forums and organizations will provide them with the same essential and humane care as they did with former Syrian refugees.”
Israel has been threatening to hit Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, claiming that Iran sends cash shipments to Hezbollah through the airport.
In response to the threats, Jalalzadeh said: “Lebanon is a free and independent state that makes its own decisions and decides what relations to establish with different countries of the world and with Iran.
“I affirm that Iranian nationals residing in Lebanese territory are subject to all the laws and customs adopted in Lebanon and therefore we condemn and reject these Israeli threats.”
Lebanese media reported on Friday that Lebanese officials had been pressured by the US to prevent the appointment of figures from Hezbollah or its allies to the new government.
Israeli airstrikes kill 2 in Lebanon
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Israeli airstrikes kill 2 in Lebanon
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- 10 people injured as attacks damage road, bring down power lines
- Egypt reiterates support as Lebanon seeks to ‘overcome repercussions’ of war.
Who are the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages?
- Hamas handed over the remains of four hostages overnight without any public display, and Israel released the 600 prisoners
They were supposed to have been released last weekend after Hamas freed six living hostages. But Israel delayed the release to protest Hamas’ practice of parading the captives before crowds during handovers. Hamas handed over the remains of four hostages overnight without any public display.
Israel released the 600 prisoners, but the Palestinian prisoners club, a group representing current and former prisoners, said Israel held back the release of 24 Palestinians detained in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that sparked the war. They include 23 teenagers and men aged 15 to 19 and a woman who is 35. The group were set to be released later on Thursday, along with 22 more minors and one woman whose names were subsequently added to the list.
Israel views the prisoners as terrorists. Palestinians often see them as freedom fighters resisting a decades-long Israeli military occupation.
Nearly every Palestinian has a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel for militant attacks or lesser offenses such as rock-throwing. Most are convicted in military trials that rights advocates say often lack due process. Some are incarcerated for months or years without trial in what is known as administrative detention. Israel says it’s needed to prevent attacks and avoid sharing sensitive intelligence.
Among those being released overnight into Thursday, 151 had been sentenced to life or long sentences for involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis. Forty-three were to be returned to the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, while 97 were to be sent into exile.
Around 500 others had been detained in Gaza after Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war.
Israeli forces have arrested hundreds of people in Gaza and held them without trial. As part of the ceasefire, Israel committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees who hadn’t participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
A look at some prominent prisoners released since the truce took effect on Jan. 19:
Nael Barghouti, 68
Barghouti, 68, from the West Bank village of Kobar, has spent over 45 years in Israeli prison and was serving a life sentence. Guinness World Records has called him the world’s longest-serving political prisoner. Israel says he is affiliated with Hamas.
First arrested in 1978 for his role in an attack that killed an Israeli bus driver, he was among more than 1,000 prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Hamas in Gaza. Israel re-arrested Barghouti in 2014 and says his offenses include intentional manslaughter, membership in an illegal organization, producing a bomb, possessing explosives and conspiracy. He will be deported.
Bilal Abu Ghanem, 31
Ghanem, 31, from east Jerusalem, was serving three life sentences and 60 years for a bus attack in 2015 that killed three Israelis. One of those killed was Richard Lakin, an American educator who marched for civil rights and coexistence between Muslims and Jews.
Ghanem, who Israel says is affiliated with Hamas, will be deported. Israel says his offenses include intentional manslaughter, membership in an illegal organization, building a bomb, possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Ammar Al-Ziben, 50
Al-Ziben, 50, is from Nablus, in the West Bank. He was sentenced to 27 life terms for planning a bombing in a Jerusalem market in 1997 that killed 16 people, including a US citizen.
Israel says he is affiliated with Hamas and his offenses include possession of firearms, incitement, forgery, throwing firebombs and attempted murder. He will be deported.
Ahmed Barghouti, 48
He is a close aide of militant leader and political figure Marwan Barghouti, who is still imprisoned. The two aren’t closely related.
Ahmed Barghouti was given 13 life sentences for dispatching assailants to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians during the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s. As a commander in Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah Party, he was also convicted of possession of firearms and attempted murder.
He was sent to Egypt.
The Sarahneh brothers
Three brothers from east Jerusalem were released after more than 22 years in prison for their involvement in suicide bombings that killed Israelis during the second intifada. Israeli authorities brought Ibrahim, 55, and Musa, 63, to their homes in the West Bank.
The third brother, Khalil, 45, who was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in 2002, was sent to Egypt.
Ibrahim Sarahneh’s Ukrainian wife, Irena, had been sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for organizing with her husband a suicide bombing that killed two people in the Israeli city of Rishon Lezion. She was released in 2011 as part of a swap for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas.
The Aweis brothers
Hassan Aweis, 47, and Abdel Karim Aweis, 54, from the occupied West Bank, were released on Saturday after nearly 23 years in prison.
Hassan Aweis was sentenced to life in 2002 on charges of voluntary manslaughter, planting an explosive device and attempted murder. He was involved in planning attacks during the second intifada for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade.
Abdel Karim Aweis — sentenced to the equivalent of six life sentences for throwing an explosive device, attempted murder and assault, among other charges — was transferred to Egypt.
Iyad Abu Shakhdam, 49
Abu Shakhdam was sentenced to the equivalent of 18 life sentences over his involvement in Hamas attacks that killed dozens of Israelis during the second intifada. They included a suicide bombing that blew up two buses in Beersheba in 2004, killing 16 Israelis, including a 4-year-old.
Abu Shakhdam was arrested in the West Bank in 2004 following a gunfight with Israeli security forces in which he was shot 10 times.
During 21 years in prison, his family said, he finished high school and earned a certificate for psychology courses. He was released on Feb. 8.
Jamal Al-Tawil, 61
Al-Tawil, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank, spent nearly two decades in and out of Israeli prisons, in part over allegations that he helped plot suicide bombings.
Most recently, the Israeli military arrested Al-Tawil in 2021, saying he had participated in riots and mobilized Hamas political activists in Ramallah, the seat of the semiautonomous Palestinian Authority, Hamas’ main rival. He was held without charge or trial.
Too weak to walk, Al-Tawil was taken to a hospital after his release in Ramallah on Feb. 8.
Mohammed el-Halabi, 47
The Palestinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a Christian aid organization, was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to Hamas in a case that drew criticism from rights groups. He was freed on Feb. 1.
El-Halabi and World Vision denied the allegations and independent investigations found no proof of wrongdoing.
Zakaria Zubeidi, 49
A prominent militant leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade during the second intifada, Zubeidi later became a theater director in the Jenin refugee camp, where he promoted what he described as cultural resistance to Israel.
His jailbreak in 2021 — when he and five others used spoons to tunnel out of one of Israel’s most secure prisons and remained at large for days before being caught — thrilled Palestinians and stunned the Israeli security establishment.
In 2019, after Zubeidi had served years in prison for attacks in the early 2000s, Israel arrested him again, accusing him of being involved in shooting attacks that targeted buses of Israeli settlers but caused no injuries.
Zubeidi had been awaiting trial when he was sentenced to five years in prison for his jailbreak. He was released on Jan. 30 into the West Bank.
Mohammed Odeh, 52, Wael Qassim, 54, and Wissam Abbasi, 48
They hail from east Jerusalem and rose within the ranks of Hamas. Held responsible for deadly attacks during the second intifada, they were handed multiple life sentences in 2002.
They were accused of plotting a suicide bombing at a pool hall near Tel Aviv in 2002 that killed 15 people. Later that year, they were found to have orchestrated a bombing at Hebrew University that killed nine people, including five American students.
All were transferred to Egypt on Jan. 25.
Mohammad Al-Tous, 67
Al-Tous held the title of longest continuously held prisoner in Israel until his release on Jan. 25, Palestinian authorities said.
First arrested in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces along the Jordanian border, the Fatah party activist spent a total of 39 years behind bars. Originally from the West Bank, he was sent into exile.
UAE president to release hundreds of inmates in Ramadan pardon
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- Nearly 1300 inmates receive Ramadan pardon from UAE president
RIYADH: The UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has ordered the release of 1,295 inmates from the nation’s correctional institutions, state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.
Sheikh Mohamed has also pledged to settle any financial obligations of the inmates in a gesture to mark Ramadan.
The UAE president wants to ensure those released can have a fresh start in life, and alleviate any hardship faced by their families.
The aim is to foster stability within their households and the local community, especially during Ramadan, WAM reported.
Israeli official says the army won’t withdraw from a Gaza corridor in potential jolt to truce
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- Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight
- Israel delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas’ practice of parading hostages
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Israel will not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for by the ceasefire, an official said Thursday. Israel’s refusal could spark a crisis with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Israeli forces needed to remain in the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, to prevent weapons smuggling.
The official spoke hours after Hamas released the remains of four hostages in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire's first phase, which ends this weekend. Talks over the second and more difficult stage have yet to begin.
Israel was supposed to begin withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor on Saturday, the last day of the first phase, and complete it within eight days.
Much could hinge on a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is expected in the region in the coming days.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas or Egypt. But in a statement earlier on Thursday, the militant group said the only way for Israel to secure the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza was through negotiations and adhering to the ceasefire agreement.
Remains of 4 hostages are identified
The remains released Thursday were confirmed to be those of Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of the captives.
Mantzur, 85, was killed in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war, and his body was taken into the territory. The other three were abducted alive and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were not known.
“Our hearts ache upon receiving the bitter news,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “In this painful moment, there is some solace in knowing that they will be laid to rest in dignity in Israel.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said he shared the “immense pain” of the family and loved ones of Yahalomi, who had French citizenship.
Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the Oct. 7 attack and held without charge on security suspicions.
A joyful return for released prisoners
Some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers.
The released prisoners wore shirts issued by the Israeli prison service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing one's enemies. Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the ground or set them on fire.
Israel delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas' practice of parading hostages before crowds and cameras during their release. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
Hamas released the four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza overnight without a public ceremony.
The prisoners released Thursday included 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages. Only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round, while dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis were exiled.
The truce is in peril
The latest handover was the final one planned under the ceasefire’s first six-week phase, which expires this weekend. Hamas has returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Trump's envoy, Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase. Those talks were supposed to begin the first week of February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals.
But it's unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage.
If the identities of the four bodies are confirmed, then 59 captives will remain in Gaza, 32 of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly 150 have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals, while dozens of bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces and eight captives have been rescued alive.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don't differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over half the dead have been women and children.
The fighting displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system.
Turkiye’s pro-Kurd party teases ‘historic’ news from PKK leader
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- Ocalan, 75, has been serving life without parole on Imrali prison island since his 1999 arrest in Kenya
Istanbul: Turkiye’s leading pro-Kurd party said it was expecting a “historic declaration” Thursday from the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, amid efforts to end a decades-long conflict with Ankara.
The pro-Kurdish DEM party will send a delegation Thursday to meet Ocalan at his prison on an island off Istanbul, it said in a statement.
The visit, the third in the past few months, comes as Ankara seeks to reset ties with the PKK, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
“If everything goes smoothly, tomorrow, we expect Ocalan to make a historic declaration,” said DEM, whose visit to the jailed PKK leader was approved by the justice ministry on Wednesday.
It said there would be a statement to the press following the visit, at about 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT).
The seven-person delegation, which includes Ocalan’s lawyer, Faik Ozgur Erol, would like the PKK leader to make his expected peace appeal in a video message instead of by writing, but the justice ministry has not yet agreed, Turkish media reported.
Ocalan, 75, has been serving life without parole on Imrali prison island since his 1999 arrest in Kenya.
But starting in late December, he has been twice visited by two DEM lawmakers who then briefed the parliamentary parties on the content of their talks.
The dialogue with Ocalan is an initiative of ultra-nationalist political leader Devlet Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and has led to growing anticipation that Ocalan will soon issue a public call to his fighters to lay down their arms, in exchange for concessions for the country’s Kurdish minority.
PKK leaders, who are mostly based in the mountains of northern Iraq, could then relay Ocalan’s message, Turkish media said.
But the extent of Ocalan’s appeal is uncertain.
Thursday’s delegation includes DEM co-chairs Tulay Hatimogullari and Tuncer Bakirhan, and veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk, 82, who has a long history of involvement in efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue.
Deputy speaker Sirri Sureyya Onder and lawmaker Pervin Buldan, who were both part of the earlier delegations, will also go, as will another DEM lawmaker.
The conflict between PKK rebels and the Turkish state, which erupted in 1984, has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
A previous round of peace talks collapsed in a storm of violence in 2015, after which the Turkish government cut off all contact.
Turkish police detain opposition mayor over alleged collusion, NTV says
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- An Istanbul prosecutor ordered the detention of Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Koseler and three others over the alleged collusion
ANKARA: Turkish police on Thursday detained an Istanbul district mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), along with 20 others, over alleged collusive tendering, broadcaster NTV reported, amid a widening government crackdown on opposition figures.
An Istanbul prosecutor ordered the detention of Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Koseler and three others over the alleged collusion, as well as 17 others for establishing, joining, and aiding an organization with criminal intent, according to NTV.
The state-owned Anadolu news agency had said on Tuesday that prosecutors had launched an investigation into three concerts by the Beykoz Municipality last year over irregularities, and added that the municipality’s cultural and social matters representative was detained as part of the probe.
The move is the latest in a wave of arrests, detentions, and investigations carried out by authorities in recent months into opposition politicians, mayors and journalists. Critics say the crackdown aims to silence the opposition and weaken President Tayyip Erdogan’s rivals’ electoral prospects.
Earlier this month, the crackdown expanded to the country’s top business group, after two of its executives criticized the legal measures, prompting Erdogan to accuse them of meddling in politics.
The government dismisses the accusations that the moves are aimed at muzzling dissent and says the judiciary is independent.