logo
Hamas in Lebanon says it fully supports Israel-Lebanon ceasefire

Hamas in Lebanon says it fully supports Israel-Lebanon ceasefire

Yahoo08-05-2025

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Lebanon reaffirmed on Thursday its full commitment to the ceasefire along the Lebanese-Israeli border, following a recent rocket-launching incident that raised tensions there.
In a statement, Ahmad Abdel Hadi, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, said the group had informed Lebanese authorities of its stance and was cooperating with the state to address the matter.
He described the rocket fire as an unauthorized act carried out by individuals reacting emotionally to Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza. Hamas, he emphasized, had no prior knowledge of the launch and did not approve it.
In response to a formal request by Lebanese authorities, Hamas handed over three of the four individuals allegedly involved and is continuing coordination with Lebanese security services.
Despite a ceasefire agreement reached in November between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli airstrikes and intermittent rocket fire from Lebanese territory have continued, including two unclaimed attacks on March 22 and 28. Israel has said it reserves the right to continue targeting militant groups in Lebanon. On Wednesday, another Hamas commander was killed in such an attack.
In April, the Lebanese Army arrested several Lebanese and Palestinian individuals reportedly connected to those attacks, including three members of Hamas, according to security sources.
Abdel Hadi called his recent meetings with senior Lebanese officials 'positive and constructive,' and denied rumors of tension with the state.
He stressed Hamas's respect for Lebanese sovereignty, stability, and laws.
The statement also said Jordan had not raised any concerns about Hamas's presence in Lebanon, following claims by Jordan's Intelligence Department that it foiled plots linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group ideologically close to Hamas.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move
Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

By Humeyra Pamuk, Stephanie van den Berg WASHINGTON/THE HAGUE (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court, an unprecedented retaliation over the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Washington designated Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia, according to a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel. The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies," Rubio said. The ICC slammed the move, saying it was an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution that provides hope and justice to millions of victims of "unimaginable atrocities." Both judges Bossa and Ibanez Carranza have been on the ICC bench since 2018. In 2020 they were involved in an appeals chamber decision that allowed the ICC prosecutor to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan. Since 2021, the court had deprioritized the investigation into American troops in Afghanistan and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and the Taliban forces. ICC judges also issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. Alapini Gansou and Hohler ruled to authorize the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Gallant, Rubio said. The move deepens the administration's animosity toward the court. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the court's work on Afghanistan. The measures also follow a January vote at the U.S. House of Representatives to punish the ICC in protest over its Netanyahu arrest warrant. The move underscored strong support among Trump's fellow Republicans for Israel's government. DIFFICULT TIME FOR ICC The measures triggered uproar among human-rights advocates. Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the punitive measures were a "flagrant attack on the rule of law at the same time as President Trump is working to undercut it at home." Sanctions severely hamper individuals' abilities to carry out even routine financial transactions as any banks with ties to the United States, or that conduct transactions in dollars, are expected to have to comply with the restrictions. But the Treasury Department also issued general licenses, including one allowing the wind-down of any existing transactions involving those targeted on Thursday until July 8, as long as any payment to them is made to a blocked, interest-bearing account located in the U.S. The new sanctions come at a difficult time for the ICC, which is already reeling from earlier U.S. sanctions against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who last month stepped aside temporarily amid a United Nations investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct. The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council. The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members. It has high-profile war crimes investigations under way into the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia's war in Ukraine as well as in Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Venezuela and Afghanistan. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine, and for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Neither country is a member of the court and both deny the accusations and reject ICC jurisdiction.

Rocket fire from Syria meets recalibrated Israeli deterrence
Rocket fire from Syria meets recalibrated Israeli deterrence

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Rocket fire from Syria meets recalibrated Israeli deterrence

The massacres took place in the south, with Hamas terrorists invading from Gaza. How is October 7 connected to rockets fired from Syria? At first glance, Defense Minister Israel Katz's reaction to the firing of two rockets from Syria onto the Golan Heights on Tuesday evening seemed incongruous: 'We hold the president of Syria directly responsible for any threat and [rocket] firing toward the State of Israel, and the full response will come soon. We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7.' The first part is understandable. But the second? What October 7 reality was he referring to on the Golan? The massacres took place in the South, with Hamas terrorists invading from Gaza. How is that connected to rockets fired from Syria? Simple. Before October 7, Israel's security doctrine was one of containment, of not rocking the boat, of turning a blind eye at provocations along its borders. Hamas flies incendiary balloons into Israeli territory, setting fields alight? Let it go; it's not worth starting a war. Hezbollah provocatively pitches tents in your sovereign territory, as it did in spring 2023? Let it go; deal with it diplomatically. Don't escalate, don't endanger the tourism season in the North. That changed on October 7. One of the consequences of that day was the collapse of the assumption that small provocations can be safely ignored. Had that mindset still been in place, Israel's reaction to the two rockets from Syria that fell in open fields near Ramat Magshimim might have been: no harm, no foul. No injuries, no damage, no response. But no longer. Though Syria was the one front where Israel took forceful preemptive measures even before October 7 – mainly to stop Iran from turning it into a launchpad – Katz's message signals something broader: Israel will no longer tolerate even minor provocations from any direction. And, so, the IDF responded not only with artillery at the source of the fire near Tasil, about 12 km. from the border, but also with a wide wave of airstrikes across southern Syria. Weapons depots, linked to the new Syrian regime, were hit. The response was far more than perfunctory. And it did so even though US President Donald Trump has signaled that he wants to give Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a chance to stabilize his country. Even though the move risked further international opprobrium. And even though tensions were already high between Israel and Turkey – Sharaa's main patron and a country eager to leave its mark on post-Assad Syria What makes the reaction more striking is the timing. About 20 minutes after the rockets from Syria were launched, sirens sounded across central Israel, triggered by a Houthi missile launched from Yemen. That missile, too, was intercepted, but the convergence of threats from Syria and Yemen within the span of half an hour demonstrated the multi-front security reality Israel remains up against. And yet, while Israel responded swiftly to the rocket fire from Syria, there was no immediate retaliation against the Houthis for their latest launch. This contrast is striking. Over the past few months, Israel has carried out a number of forceful strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen – including hitting the main Houthi sea ports and crippling Sanaa International Airport. Still, the missile fire from Yemen continues. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged this reality, saying publicly that the Houthis' time will also come. For now, however, Israel is choosing its timing carefully. Syria is a particularly sensitive front. The Assad regime collapsed in December 2024. Sharaa has a very checkered past, to say the least: once a senior figure in the Nusra Front, with ties to al-Qaeda and a $10 million US bounty on his head, he is now trying to rebrand himself as a moderate statesman. Trump, seeking post-Assad stability, has embraced him, even removing Syria-related sanctions. Sharaa is now scheduled to address the UN General Assembly this September, marking the first time a Syrian leader has done so in nearly 60 years. His personal story intersects with Israel's strategic concerns. Born in Riyadh to a family originally from the Golan Heights, Sharaa has a stake – both symbolic and possibly political – in that territory. His new government claims it wants calm and is trying to rein in armed groups in southern Syria: the Syrian Foreign Ministry said after Tuesday night's attack that it 'has and will not pose a threat to any party in the region.' Yet, the ministry also said it could not confirm who fired the rockets at Israel, an acknowledgment that reveals a deeper problem: a government still struggling to exert full control. Israel's response signaled to the new government, however, that it better exert control fast, or else it will pay the price for the failure to do so. Israel also made clear it holds the Syrian regime responsible for anything that comes from its territory. That's a strategic decision, and a shift from the past. It says: don't tell us you're not in control – if rockets are fired, you will pay the price. There is also a question of broader strategic messaging. By responding forcefully and quickly, Israel is also speaking to other regional actors watching closely – Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran looking to reassert itself in Syria, and Hamas operatives attempting to regroup. The message is clear: Israeli deterrence is no longer passive or conditional. Every act of aggression, no matter how seemingly limited or small, will be met with real consequences. Katz's statement about not returning to the October 7 reality had nothing to do with geography and everything to do with mindset. The old mindset accepted provocations at the cost of avoiding escalation. The new mindset says the cost of ignoring provocations is far higher. This new doctrine has been evident in Israel's actions on the Lebanese front as well. Since the ceasefire went into effect there in November, the IDF has responded swiftly to Hezbollah violations, no longer relying on useless complaints to UNIFIL or diplomatic protests. A similar shift is now being applied in Syria. That has broader implications. Syria's new regime, despite its public moderation, cannot expect a grace period from Israel if its territory is used to launch attacks. For Sharaa, that presents a dilemma: he needs calm to consolidate power and build international legitimacy, but he does not yet have the ability to deliver that calm. Israel, meanwhile, will not wait. The airstrikes in response to the rocket fire on the Golan were a warning – and a statement of policy. Jerusalem will not allow its enemies to test its restraint. Not anymore. October 7 shattered illusions of deterrence and exposed the consequences of underestimating minor threats. In response, Israel is recalibrating. That recalibration extends everywhere. It's a new game.

France cools expectations of swift Palestinian state recognition
France cools expectations of swift Palestinian state recognition

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

France cools expectations of swift Palestinian state recognition

France on Friday dampened expectations Paris could rapidly recognise a Palestinian state, with the French foreign minister saying while it was "determined" to make such a move, recognition had to be more than "symbolic". France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a UN conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. There had been expectations that France could recognise a Palestinian state during that conference, with President Emmanuel Macron also growing increasingly frustrated with Israel's blocking of aid to the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip. "France could have taken a symbolic decision. But this is not the choice we made because we have a particular responsibility" as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, while saying Paris was still "determined" the make the move. He said France would not recognise a Palestinian state alone, in a possible reference to the eagerness of Paris to see any French recognition matched by Gulf Arab allies -- notably regional kingpin Saudi Arabia -- recognising Israel. Several EU countries including Ireland, Spain and Sweden recognise a Palestinian state. But Germany, while backing a two-state solution, has said recognition now would send the "wrong signal". France is reportedly working closely on the issue with the United Kingdom, which also so far has not recognised a Palestinian state, at a time when French-British diplomatic ties are becoming increasingly tight after Brexit. Macron on Thursday said that he expected the conference in New York would take steps "towards recognising Palestine", without being more specific. He has said he hopes French recognition of a Palestinian state would encourage other governments to do the same and that countries who do not recognise Israel should do so. Barrot meanwhile also stressed the "absolute necessity" to address the issue of the disarmament of Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable. Relations between Israel and France have deteriorated over the last weeks, with Israel's foreign ministry accusing Macron of undertaking a "crusade against the Jewish state" after he called on European countries to harden their stance if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve. dt/ah/sjw/kjm

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store