Latest news with #Israel-Hizbollah
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Lebanon seeks guarantees that Israel withdraw from territory
Lebanon seeks guarantees that Israeli forces fully withdraw from Lebanese territory in response to a US demand that Beirut formally commit to disarming Hizbollah, a Lebanese official said on Monday. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hizbollah last year have repeatedly vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire that ended the fighting. The Lebanese government official told the media that in a recent visit, US envoy Tom Barrack had presented the demand for Beirut to officially commit to start disarming the Iran-backed group as stipulated in the November agreement, along with a full Israeli withdrawal. President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and parliament speaker Nabih Berri -- who is a key Hizbollah ally -- "are preparing a response", said the official on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media. With Barrack, Washington's ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, expected back in Beirut by mid-July, the Lebanese leaders "will demand a halt to Israeli violations of the ceasefire, Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the release of prisoners (detained during the war) and the demarcation of the border", said the official. According to the official, Barrack in his June 19 visit also asked that Lebanon work on securing its border with Syria and pursue economic reforms demanded by international creditors. Aoun and Salam took power early this year as the balance of power shifted following the Israel-Hizbollah war that left the group -- long an important player in Lebanese politics -- severely weakened. Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hizbollah's military infrastructure in the south, near the Israeli border. Israel has continued to strike Lebanon despite the November ceasefire, claiming to hit Hizbollah targets and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group. According to the ceasefire agreement, Hizbollah is to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier. Israel was to withdraw its troops from all of Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five points it deemed strategic. Meanwhile Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that his government was "interested" in normalising ties with Lebanon and neighbouring Syria, which both do not recognise Israel and have been technically at war with it since its creation in 1948. There was no comment from Beirut or Damascus, but the Lebanese government official told AFP normalisation was not among the US envoy's demands. Agence France-Presse
Gulf Today
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Israeli jets strike Beirut's southern suburbs for third time since ceasefire
Israeli jets struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday after issuing a warning about an hour earlier, marking the third Israeli strike on the area since a ceasefire took effect in late November. A huge plume of smoke billowed over the area after the strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties. In the warning, the Israeli military said that it was targeting Hizbollah facilities in the Hadath area and urged residents to move at least 300 meters from the site before the strike. Two warning strikes followed. Fighter jets were heard over parts of the Lebanese capital before the strike near the Al Jamous neighbourhood, where gunfire was shot into the air to warn residents and urge them to evacuate, as families fled in panic. During the last Israel-Hizbollah war, Israeli drones and fighter jets regularly pounded the southern suburbs, where Hizbollah has wide influence and support. Israel views the area, where it has assassinated several of Hizbollah's top leaders, including chief Hassan Nasrallah, as group's stronghold and accuses the group of storing weapons there. Sunday's strike follows two earlier attacks on the capital's southern suburbs, the first taking place on March 28, when Israel also issued a warning, and the second on April 1, when an unannounced strike killed four people, including a Hizbollah official. The leader of Lebanon's Hizbollah group, Sheikh Naim Kassem, has recently warned that if Israel's attacks on Lebanon continued and if Lebanon's government doesn't act to stop them, the group would eventually resort to other alternatives. Kassem also said that Hizbollah's fighters won't disarm as long as Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon and the Israeli air force regularly violates Lebanese airspace. Under the US-brokered ceasefire that ended the 14-month Israel-Hizbollah war, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January, while Hizbollah had to end its armed presence south of the Litani River along the border with Israel. Earlier on Sunday, a drone strike killed a man in the southern Lebanese village of Halta, according to the Health Ministry. In a post on X that included footage of the strike, the Israeli military said that it had targeted a Hizbollah member, "where he was working to rebuild Hezbollah's terrorist capabilities in the area.' Israel's near-daily airstrikes have killed scores of people, including civilians and Hezbollah members, in southern and eastern Lebanon since the US-brokered ceasefire went into effect, saying it targets Hizbollah officials and infrastructure. Israel says it's targeting Hizbollah holdouts in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese military has gradually deployed in the country's southern region, and Beirut has urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop attacks and withdraw its forces still present on five hilltops in Lebanese territory. Associated Press
Jordan Times
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Lebanon official media says two wounded in Israeli strikes in south
Smoke billows from a site targeted by the Israeli military in the southern Lebanese border village of Kafr Kila on July 29, 2024 (AFP photo) BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese official media said two people were wounded Wednesday when Israeli drones struck a vehicle in the south, a day after a deadly raid and despite an Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire. "Israeli drones carried out more than one strike on a vehicle in Ras Naqura, near a rubbish dump" south of a United Nations peacekeeping position, the National News Agency (NNA) said. "Two siblings who were collecting scrap metal" were wounded and taken to hospital, it added. The strikes come a day after Israel's military said it killed a Hizbollah navy commander in the south, accusing the slain militant of violating the November 27 ceasefire. The truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in ground troops. Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect. Israel was due withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems "strategic". The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. Last week, defence minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in what he called a "buffer zone" in south Lebanon.
Jordan Times
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Lebanon concerned Israel won't meet withdrawal deadline
BEIRUT — Lebanon's president voiced concern Monday that Israel may not fully withdraw its forces by the deadline the following day, as Israel said it killed a Hamas commander in south Lebanon. Officials in Lebanon have demanded Israel's full withdrawal by Tuesday, after Israeli forces missed an earlier January cut-off under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah. "We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow," President Joseph Aoun said in a statement from his office. "The Lebanese response will be through a unified, comprehensive national position," he added. The Israeli military said it killed "the head of Hamas' operations department in Lebanon" in an air strike, after Lebanon's official National News Agency said a raid targeted a vehicle in the coastal city of Sidon. In a statement, it said Mohammed Shahine "was eliminated after recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the state of Israel". An AFP photographer saw soldiers and first responders inspecting the mangled, burnt-out wreckage of the vehicle. Israel has repeatedly targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 and Hizbollah initiated cross-border hostilities with Israel over the conflict. The Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire has been in effect since November 27, after more than two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations. Ceasefire sponsors Under the deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18. Hizbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. "We are continuing contacts on several levels to push Israel to respect the agreement and to withdraw on the scheduled date, and return the prisoners," Aoun said earlier Monday. "The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us," he added. A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with. Hizbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday said it was the government's responsibility to ensure the Israeli army fully withdraws by Tuesday's deadline. Last week, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hizbollah ally, said Washington had told him that while Israel would withdraw on February 18, "it will remain in five locations". Lebanon has rejected the demand. Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po University in Paris, said "it appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period". "The most likely scenario is that Israel would maintain control over four or five hills that basically oversee most of south Lebanon's villages," he said.
Jordan Times
09-02-2025
- Business
- Jordan Times
Lebanon government named after two-year caretaker cabinet
This handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows designate Prime Minister Nawaf Salam delivering a statement to the press at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on February 8, 2025 (AFP photo) BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon's presidency announced on Saturday that a new government had been formed, after more than two years in which an interim cabinet had led the crisis-hit country. President Joseph Aoun signed a decree "to form a government of 24 ministers", the presidency said in a post on X. It also announced two other decrees, in which the newly appointed president "accepted the resignation of [caretaker] prime minister Najib Mikati's government" and formally appointed "Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to form the government". After more than two years of political stalemate, the weakening of armed group Hezbollah in war with Israel has allowed former army chief Aoun to be elected president and Salam approved as premier. The new government faces the daunting task of implementing reforms needed to unlock billions of dollars from international donors after years of economic crisis, overseeing a fragile Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire and rebuilding a war-scarred country. It will also have to review agreements including with the International Monetary Fund and prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.
