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
https://arab.news/cfhtg
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.
Egypt rejects proposal for it to run Gaza as ‘unacceptable’: foreign ministry
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“Any notions or proposals that circumvent the constants of the Egyptian and Arab stance (on Gaza)... are rejected and unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim Khalaf was quoted as saying by the state news agency MENA, a day after Israel’s Yair Lapid floated the idea.
United Arab stance allows us to face region’s challenges, Aoun tells Omani minister
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- Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi: This visit proves that the sultan puts Lebanon as a priority
- Macron expresses readiness to support Lebanon’s reconstruction through trust fund
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope that “the upcoming extraordinary Arab Summit, scheduled to be held next week in Cairo, would yield a unified Arab position to address the region’s current challenges, especially since it targets the joint interests of the brotherly Arab countries.”
Aoun received on Wednesday Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, who was accompanied by a diplomatic delegation.
He said that “amid the developments in southern Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, the challenges are significant and ongoing and require a unified Arab stance to face them.”
He added: “The presence of a unified (front) is enough to strengthen the Arab stance and allow it to impact the sequence of events.”
Aoun thanked Oman for “the assistance provided to Lebanon, including medicines, medical support, organizing training courses, and offering university scholarships.”
He also hoped that “the Omani airline would resume flights to Lebanon as soon as possible.”
The Omani minister conveyed Sultan Haitham bin Tariq’s greetings to Aoun “on his election as president” and highlighted “the strong relations between Lebanon and Oman.”
He also extended to Aoun “an official invitation to visit Oman and discuss ways to develop and activate bilateral relations in the interest of the two brotherly countries.”
Al-Busaidi said: “This visit proves that the sultan puts Lebanon as a priority and emphasizes the solidarity of the Omani people with the brotherly Lebanese people.”
He affirmed that “Oman is looking into activating the work of the joint committee between the two countries, signing agreements and memoranda of understanding, and exchanging delegations, especially cultural and economic ones.”
Meanwhile, discussion sessions on the ministerial statement of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government resumed in parliament. MPs are expected to give a vote of confidence to the government by a significant majority.
MP Ibrahim Mneimneh called for “opening the books to examine the reasons behind the losses and who benefited from them. The rule of accountability is the only standard capable of addressing the crisis.”
MP Ghassan Skaff said the government is required to function as a “foundational body” during a transitional period. “While we understand that the government’s term may not allow it to accomplish all that was outlined in its ministerial statement, it is imperative that we begin the challenging journey ahead,” he added.
MP Wael Abu Faour called for “the lifting of immunities, the liberation of the judiciary from political influence, sectarianism, and corruption, as well as a reevaluation of the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers.”
MP Halima Kaakour said she hopes that the ministerial statement does not “cater to certain influential parties and interests,” while MP Adib Abdel Massih hopes that it includes “an economic vision to raise the GDP.”
Herve Magro, French ambassador to Lebanon, conveyed to Yassine Jaber, Lebanon’s finance minister, the readiness of his country to provide unwavering technical and political support to the government and its reform approach.
According to the finance minister’s office, Magro discussed with Jaber “the reform steps adopted by the ministry and the support projects existing between the ministry and the Agence Francaise de Developpement in the context of preparing the 2026 budget.”
The French diplomat revealed “the interest and intention of French President Emmanuel Macron to help establish a fund to support the reconstruction process, especially since Lebanon has declared its determination to show transparency in its reforms.”
Meanwhile, Israeli reconnaissance planes flew intensively over Beirut and its suburbs throughout the day.
Israeli airstrikes were carried out before noon on Jabal Al-Rayhan in the Jezzine district. The warplanes carried out mock raids over the villages and towns of Tyre district and the border villages.
On Tuesday night, Israeli airstrikes targeted the town of Janta in the Baalbek district, “killing two people and injuring three others,” according to the Ministry of Health.
The victims were traveling in a transport vehicle in Shaara in the Janta region when they were targeted by an Israeli drone. This is a border area where illegal crossings abound.
Hamas official says no public ceremony for handover of bodies
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- “The handover will take place without public presence to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction,” the official said
- Hamas has handed over 25 hostages alive in public ceremonies
GAZA CITY: A senior Hamas official told AFP that the Palestinian movement will not hold a public ceremony for the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday.
“The handover will take place without public presence to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction,” the official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the matter.
Since the first stage of the ceasefire took effect last month, Hamas has handed over 25 hostages alive in public ceremonies at various locations in Gaza, drawing widespread condemnation, including from the United Nations.
It also handed over the bodies of four hostages, after first displaying the coffins on stage in front of a large crowd.
However, after Saturday’s handover of six living hostages, Israel suspended the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, insisting it would free them only after Hamas halted these “humiliating ceremonies.”
Earlier on Wednesday, two Hamas officials said the militants would hand over the four bodies on Thursday in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.
UN food agency pauses aid to famine-hit Sudan displacement camp of half a million people
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- “Without immediate assistance, thousands of desperate families in Zamzam could starve in the coming weeks,” said WFP’s regional director, Laurent Bukera
- Bukera urged the warring sides to stop fighting and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid
CAIRO: The United Nations’ food agency says it has temporarily paused aid distribution in Sudan’s famine-hit Zamzam displacement camp of a half-million people as fighting intensifies between the country’s warring sides, and it warns that thousands could now starve.
The World Food Program said Wednesday that fighting in the past two weeks between the military and a paramilitary group in Sudan’s civil war has forced its partners to leave the camp in western Darfur for safety.
“Without immediate assistance, thousands of desperate families in Zamzam could starve in the coming weeks,” said the agency’s regional director, Laurent Bukera.
Bukera urged the warring sides to stop fighting and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. “We must resume the delivery of life-saving aid in and around Zamzam safely, quickly and at scale,” she said.
WFP has been feeding about 300,000 camp residents, but it and partners reached only 60,000 people this month amid intensified shelling. One attack destroyed the camp’s central open market, pushing residents farther from essential food and supplies, the agency said.
Earlier this week, the Doctors Without Borders medical charity said it paused its operations, including its field hospital, in the camp due to intensified attacks.
Famine was announced in the Zamzam camp in August and spread to two other camps for displaced people in Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains.
The camp is 12 kilometers (6.5 miles) south of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, or RSF, has been trying for months to take.
The RSF has been at war with the Sudanese military since April 2023. The conflict has been marked by atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the UN and rights groups. The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Aid groups have made pleas for access for months in Zamzam and elsewhere, with little success. The UN’s top humanitarian official in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, has accused the RSF of preventing life-saving aid from reaching many in Darfur. The RSF and allied militias control most of that region.
Graffiti left by Israeli soldiers turn south Lebanon homes into a canvas of war
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- One yellow wall had written on it signs of preparedness: the cardinal directions in red
- On another is what appears to be a battle plan: a hand-drawn map, a list of soldiers slated for a task and supplies — a drone, a stretcher
KHIAM, Lebanon: Residents of southern Lebanon have been gradually returning to their villages to find their homes heavily damaged by the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
As they scour what remains, they are discovering that the battle-scarred walls of their houses served as a canvas for Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah supporters that tell the story of the war.
The scrawled messages give insight into the battles that erupted after Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon in October 2024, months after Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A ceasefire in November allowed Lebanese residents to begin returning to their homes, which had been occupied by Israeli troops.
One yellow wall had written on it signs of preparedness: the cardinal directions in red. On another is what appears to be a battle plan: a hand-drawn map, a list of soldiers slated for a task and supplies — a drone, a stretcher.
“Wake up Kochuk every hour on the hour from 20:00,” reads one instruction, apparently referring to a soldier.
Elsewhere, a warning to the returnees: “We will be back,” scribbled in English, in gray spray paint, with a Star of David; the word Lebanon in red, with a large X crossing it out. One message reads cynically, “Thanks for the hospitality,” with a heart.
Others reveal moments of boredom — the rules of a card game spelled out in meticulous detail in Hebrew, along with sketches of most of the suit of hearts; a drawing of SpongeBob SquarePants, a dog, a ninja.
And still other messages appear intended to leave a personal mark: “Congratulations, mom,” scrawled in dark red on a bright pink bedroom wall, above a bed piled with belongings and near a photo of a local couple.
In another room, with windows blacked out by tarps and littered with garbage, a Bible verse. In a kitchen, inside an empty refrigerator alcove, a drawing of a blue menorah.
But not just messages from Israeli soldiers were left behind. Peppered throughout homes in the village of Khiam are notes in Arabic written by Hezbollah fighters or their supporters after Israeli forces withdrew earlier this month.
They underscore the continued allegiance to Hezbollah despite the hard blows it endured during the war. “Wish we lost everything and you stayed, Sayyed,” referring to Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli strikes in southern Beirut in September.
“Khiam is Golani’s graveyard,” reads a warning on one wall, referring to an Israeli military unit. On another, a message of defiance: “Our flag will not fall. ... We will not drop our weapons.”