Latest news with #IsraeliStrikes
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanon: Hezbollah Links National Security Strategy Talks to Reconstruction Efforts
Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah officials continued in southern Lebanon as the party maintains that discussions of its arsenal or the national security strategy hinge on several key issues, mainly the reconstruction efforts. Hezbollah continues to link any discussion of its weapons to a set of conditions, hindering the government's process for reform. Hezbollah MP Hasan Fadlallah accused the government of shunning its responsibilities, although the international community has made it clear that aid for reconstruction after Israel's war on Lebanon is contingent on the country implementing political and economic reforms, as well as ensuring that weapons are solely in the hands of the state. 'Positions made by some in the government are not only outside the bounds of the ministerial statement, but also contradict it entirely, shunning the responsibilities the government has vowed to the Lebanese people', said Fadlallah at a ceremony held by the party. He added that the parliament granted the government its vote of confidence based on the vows the government made in the ministerial statement, 'but it seems some are trying to be selective in these commitments based on personal wishes, preferences, or even foreign dictates', said the MP. Fadlallah went on to say 'the first clause of the ministerial statement commits the government to expediting the reconstruction of what the Israeli enemy has destroyed. The second clause tasks the government with bearing full responsibility for national security, protecting Lebanon's borders and entry points, and deterring aggression. The third calls for all necessary measures to liberate occupied Lebanese territories'. He questioned the government's performance and priorities saying: 'What have they done regarding these three clauses?..Has the government fulfilled its commitment to reconstruction? There are five or six provisions that need to be implemented first, after which the discussion about Lebanon's defense, that requires a comprehensive national security strategy, can be addressed.' He underscored that 'once these clauses are implemented, only then we can discuss other matters." Also, Hezbollah officials have escalated criticisms towards Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after the latter's 'decisive' statements regarding the party's disarmament. 'The relations between Hezbollah and PM Nawaf Salam remain based on what is left of goodwill and has not been severed. Channels of communication are still active', said Hezbollah bloc member Amin Sherri. Regarding the atmosphere surrounding last week's meeting between Hezbollah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc and President Joseph Aoun, Sherri said in a radio interview that it was 'excellent and positive,' with discussions focused on key agreed-upon issues.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Israeli strikes target Syria's Latakia, Tartous
CAIRO, May 30 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes targeted Syria's coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous, killing one person, the Syrian state news agency reported on Friday, despite recent talks between Israel and Syria's interim government. The Israeli military confirmed shortly after it struck what it described as weapon storage facilities containing missiles that "posed a threat to international and Israeli maritime freedom of navigation" in Latakia. One civilian was killed in the strike on Latakia, the Syrian state news agency reported. Israel has for years waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that destroyed much of the country's military infrastructure and this ramped up since the Israeli war in Gaza. But the strikes have largely stopped in recent weeks as the two sides engaged in direct talks aimed at avoiding conflict.
LBCI
4 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Gaza civil defense says 44 killed in recent Israel strikes
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed 44 people on Thursday, including 23 in an attack on a home in the center of the Palestinian territory. "Forty-four people have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip," civil defense official Mohammad Al-Mughayyir told AFP. "Twenty-three people were killed, others injured, and several (are) missing following an Israeli air strike on the Qreinawi family's home east of Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza." AFP
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as concern grows over humanitarian aid
At least 52 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials, after a day of heavy Israeli strikes in Gaza. Some aid has begun to trickle into the territory after a nearly three-month Israeli blockade, but experts say it isn't enough. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has the latest.
Asharq Al-Awsat
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Strikes Kill 52 in Gaza, Including 36 in a School-turned Shelter
Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in the Gaza Strip on Monday, including 36 in a school-turned-shelter that was struck as people slept, igniting their belongings, according to local health officials. The military said it targeted militants operating from the school. Israel renewed its offensive in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas. It has vowed to seize control of Gaza and keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed, and until it returns the remaining 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Israel began allowing a trickle of humanitarian aid into Gaza last week after blocking all food, medicine, fuel or other goods from entering for 2 1/2 months. Aid groups have warned of famine and say the aid that has come in is nowhere near enough to meeting mounting needs. A new aid system supported by Israel and the United States but rejected by UN agencies and aid groups is expected to begin operations as soon as Monday, despite the resignation of the American leading the effort, who said it would not be able to operate independently. Israel says it plans to seize full control of Gaza and facilitate what it describes as the voluntary migration of its over 2 million population, a plan rejected by Palestinians and much of the international community. Israel's military campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and internally displaced some 90% of its population. Many have fled multiple times. Rescuers recover charred remains The strike on the school in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City also wounded dozens of people, said Fahmy Awad, head of the ministry's emergency service. He said a father and his five children were among the dead. The Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals in Gaza City confirmed the overall toll. Awad said the school was hit three times while people slept, setting their belongings ablaze. Footage circulating online showed rescuers struggling to extinguish fires and recovering charred remains. The military said it targeted a militant command and control center inside the school that Hamas and Islamic Jihad used to gather intelligence for attacks. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in residential areas. A separate strike on a home in Jabalya in northern Gaza killed 16 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies. The Palestinian Hamas meanwhile fired three projectiles from Gaza, two of which fell short within the territory and a third that was intercepted, according to the Israeli military. Plans to control aid hit another obstacle Israel plans to roll out a new aid distribution system run by a group known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, made up of former humanitarian, government and military officials, that would set up distribution points guarded by private security firms. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off assistance, without providing evidence. The foundation said in a statement that it would begin delivering aid Monday and would reach a million Palestinians — around half of Gaza's population — by the end of the week. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the planned US-backed system, saying it would force even more displacement, fail to meet local needs and violate humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance. They also say there is no evidence of systematic diversion of aid by Hamas. Jake Wood, the American heading the foundation, unexpectedly resigned Sunday, saying it had become clear that the foundation would not be allowed to operate independently. It's not clear who is funding the group. The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the 2023 attack. More than half the hostages have been returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals, eight have been rescued, and Israeli forces have recovered the remains of dozens more. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, rendering entire neighborhoods uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to shelter in schools and squalid tent camps for well over a year. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It says more than half the dead are women and children but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
