14 Jul 2025 12:59 PM Ben-Gvir says humanitarian city plan is ‘spin' for ceasefire deal
Over the past week, Israel and Hamas have been negotiating, through mediators, to secure a ceasefire deal. According to reports, the main issue being discussed is the Israeli army's withdrawal from the enclave during the ceasefire.
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Nahar Net
24 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
Israeli strikes kill 30 in Gaza
by Naharnet Newsdesk 14 July 2025, 17:43 Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Monday killed at least 30 people, according to local hospitals. The Israeli military meanwhile said it killed a senior Hamas militant last month who had held a hostage in his home. The 21-month war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack is raging on after two days of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended last week with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release. Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital's director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia. Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza reported six killed and eight wounded in strikes in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. The military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, who it said had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war. There was no comment from Hamas nor independent confirmation. Thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. Israel's air and ground war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
L'Orient-Le Jour
2 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Samy Gemayel files complaint against Sheikh Faisal Shukur
BEIRUT — MP Samy Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb Party filed a legal complaint Monday against a Shiite cleric from the Bekaa Valley with close ties to Hezbollah, Faisal Shukur, who, about a week earlier, had delivered a speech threatening any official who called for the disarmament of the group. The Shukur's statement sparked controversy over the weekend after a video of the speech circulated online. The sheikh made the comments on July 6 during a ceremony marking the 10th day of Ashura. "To those inside the country who keep repeating the words 'disarmament,' we have two words for you: we will tear out your souls. Because everything can be the subject of joking, discussion or dialogue — except weapons," Shukur said. Gemayel, a vocal critic of Hezbollah, filed the complaint through his lawyer, Bachir Mourad, with the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassations. The complaint also targets any individuals identified by the investigation as perpetrators, accomplices, instigators or participants. According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), the complaint denounces "death threats, incitement to violence and murder, stoking sectarian tensions, as well as endangering the security, sovereignty, unity or borders of the state." A copy of the video was submitted as evidence, along with a detailed list of relevant articles from the Penal Code, including Articles 574, 575, 317, 308, 329, 217 and 218, which relate to threats, incitement to violence and the provocation of sectarian tensions. Comments 'go beyond the scope of freedom of expression' According to the complaint, the remarks made by Shukur "go beyond the scope of freedom of expression." The excerpt from Shukur's speech drew widespread reactions online on Saturday. Journalist Rami Naim, who is close to the Lebanese Forces (LF), called for Shukur's arrest. "Hezbollah is a danger to Lebanon and its leaders have lost their minds after their defeat, act now before it's too late," he wrote on X. Mohammad Barakat, editor-in-chief of the news site Asas Media and also a known critic of Hezbollah, said Shukur's statement should be treated by the judiciary as "a threat to eliminate the entire Lebanese people, including the presidency and the government." By contrast, dozens of internet users supportive of Hezbollah praised the position taken by the Bekaa cleric. The controversy comes amid mounting pressure — both domestic and international — on Lebanese authorities to dismantle Hezbollah's weapons arsenal, an issue that continues to polarize the country's political landscape. Hezbollah has maintained that it will not give up its arms as long as Israeli forces continue their airstrikes, near-daily shelling, and occupation in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the United States is keeping steady political pressure on the Lebanese government, urging it to accelerate disarmament efforts led by the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) south of the Litani River. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has repeatedly stressed the importance of the state's exclusive control over weapons, appears to be pursuing dialogue with Hezbollah — apparently in an effort to avoid a wider security fallout.
Nahar Net
3 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Jumblat on Sweida clashes: We reject calls for external and Israeli intervention
by Naharnet Newsdesk 14 July 2025, 14:38 Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat urged Monday the Syrian government to find a political solution, after dozens of people were killed in fighting between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters in Syria's Sweida province. "We reject calls for external protection and Israeli intervention," Jumblat stated, as he hoped for the return of security and stability to Sweida. "We are in contact with the Syrian government," the Druze leader told local Annahar newspaper. Clashes initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze religious minority and Sunni Bedouin clans, with some members of the government security forces "actively participating" in support of the Bedouins. The Israeli army later attacked several tanks in Sweida Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings. - Loyal minority - Israel has previously intervened in Syria in defense of the Druze religious minority. In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters earlier this year in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement at the time that Israel 'will not allow the deployment of (Syrian government) forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.' Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. In Israel, Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Factions from the Druze minority have been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus after former President Bashar Assad fled the country in December during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions. - 'Like unwrapping an onion' - The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. In Syria, they largely live in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south. The Druze developed their own militias during the country's nearly 14-year civil war, during which they sometimes faced attacks by the Islamic State and other Islamist militant groups. Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since Assad's fall, saying it does not want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces earlier seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and have launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. The Trump administration has been pushing for the new Syrian government to move toward normalization with Israel. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to attempt to defuse tensions, but have not responded to reports that the two sides have also held direct talks. U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack told The Associated Press last week that he believes normalizing ties will happen 'like unwrapping an onion, slowly.'
