International
Israeli incendiary weapons leave trail of destruction in southern Lebanon
Israeli incendiary weapons leave trail of destruction in southern Lebanon
BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Thursday ignited fires across orchards and forests on the Lebanese border using internationally banned incendiary weapons.
Hezbollah carried out an aerial attack in response, using drones to target the new headquarters of the artillery battalion of Israel’s 146th division.
The strike, south of Kabri, “achieved a direct hit” and led to deaths and injuries on the Israeli side, Hezbollah said.
The group also targeted Israeli soldiers near Hanita, claiming in a statement that the attack left “one dead and two wounded.”
Hezbollah’s drone strikes had “very harsh consequences” for their intended targets, Israel’s Channel 13 said.
In a statement, the Israeli army said: “Following warning sirens that were activated in the Upper Galilee region in the morning, drones were observed crossing the Lebanese territory and landing in the Upper Galilee area.”
Air defense systems intercepted several targets heading toward Israel, the army added.
Meanwhile, Israeli phosphorus artillery targeted Mays Al-Jabal, and the remains of an interceptor missile fell on the roof of an inhabited home in Shaqra.
The shelling of Naqoura and Alma Al-Shaab resulted in fires erupting in forests and olive groves. Lebanese civil defense teams worked to extinguish the blazes.
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Israeli heavy artillery pounded several border areas — Houla, Wadi Al-Saluki, Aitaroun, Naqoura, Alma Al-Shaab and Dhayra — some of which have been frequent targets since clashes began nine months ago.
Israeli jets violated the southern Lebanese airspace, flying at very low altitudes.
The Progressive Socialist Party on Thursday called for urgent action in response to a reported Israeli interception of phone calls in Lebanon.
The Lebanese An-Nahar newspaper had reported the breach, which saw Israel accessing data, such as phone calls, through the submarine cable that connects Lebanon to Cyprus.
The party questioned Lebanon’s 2022 approval of the CADMOS-2 cable, which is linked to the Israeli cable Ariel connecting Haifa and Tel Aviv to Cyprus.
Lebanon had “failed to take any precautionary measures to prevent such a major breach,” the party warned.
In response, Hezbollah said it urged members to avoid phone calls and internet usage, and to disconnect surveillance cameras across the south.
The directive follows the assassinations of high-ranking Hezbollah members.
“We are not on the verge of any full-scale or open war. Neither the Israelis nor the Lebanese want that. Even the regional and international powers do not want that,” said Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussaoui.
Moussaoui told CNN: “Since the beginning of the hostilities, we set a modus operandi under which any escalation provoked by the Israeli enemy will be faced by an escalation of the same intensity if not more.
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“This is how things are going around so far. However, I do not believe a full-scale war favors any party.”
In his speech on Wednesday evening, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah referred to the ceasefire negotiations in Doha between Hamas and Israel, with Egypt, Qatar and the US present.
Nasrallah said that his movement would accept any Hamas decision on Gaza truce negotiations, adding that Hezbollah would end its cross-border attacks on Israel if a ceasefire were reached.
“Whatever Hamas accepts, everyone accepts and is satisfied with,” he said.
“This is our commitment as a support front. We have been clear about this from the beginning, and it should go without saying.
“Our brothers in Hamas know better. We are not asking anyone to listen to our opinion. We stand by their side and support them in any position or decision they take until the end.”
A political observer described Nasrallah’s announcement as “a position that tends toward de-escalation and meets the ongoing negotiations held in Doha.”
They added: “Iran is not far from taking the same position.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials ramped up their threats against Hezbollah, warning of the possibility of a two-front war.
During his tour of Galilee, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said: “We must be able to confront two fronts simultaneously, and we should realize that these wars are going to last long.”
He added: “Iran is closer than ever to obtaining nuclear weapons. We may face repeated confrontations with Iran.”
Israeli incendiary weapons leave trail of destruction in southern Lebanon
ARAB NEWS
International
Relief as Israel agrees to ceasefire with Lebanon
Relief as Israel agrees to ceasefire with Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will bring a US-brokered proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon to his government for approval as soon as Tuesday evening.
He said in a televised address that he would put “a ceasefire outline” to ministers “this evening”.
He however did not say how long the truce would last, noting “the length of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon”.
But it later learnt that the ceasefire would is for 60 days.
During the period, Hezbollah fighters are expected to retreat 40 kilometres from Israel’s border, with Israeli ground forces withdrawing from Lebanese territory.
“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike,” Netanyahu warned.
Key Israel backer the United States has led ceasefire efforts for Lebanon alongside France.
US President Joe Biden is optimistic the deal will lead to a “permanent cessation of hostilities”.
Biden added that the US would lead another push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“In full coordination with the United States, we are maintaining full military freedom of action,” Netanyahu said, outlining the seven-front war Israel says it faces in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran.
Even as Netanyahu spoke about the ceasefire, the Israeli military carried out multiple strikes on heart of Beirut while the army said some 15 projectiles had entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.
Demonstrators raise placards and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the Israeli Defence Ministry in the coastal city Tel Aviv on November 26, 2024, against a possible ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. – Israel’s security cabinet has started discussing a proposed ceasefire deal in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, an Israeli official confirmed to AFP on November 26. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
The war in Lebanon escalated after nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah, which said it was acting in support of Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
The war has killed at least 3,823 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
Netanyahu said the ceasefire would allow Israel to focus on “the Iranian threat” and ramp up its fight against Hamas in Gaza.
“With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own,” he said.
“We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages.”
During last year’s Hamas attack, militants took 251 hostages, of whom 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the army has declared dead.
International
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
BEIRUT: Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
A strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning and killed at least one person, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a preliminary toll.
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Minutes later, at least 10 Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs. They began approximately 30 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, the largest such warning yet.
As the strikes were under way, Israel’s military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
ARAB NEWS
International
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the legal cases brought against him, calling them “empty and lawless”.
He accused Democrats of weaponising the judicial system to target him as a political opponent.
In a strongly worded statement, Trump alleged that over $100 million in taxpayer money had been wasted in what he described as a politically driven effort to undermine his influence.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” he said, pointing to high-profile prosecutors, including Georgia’s Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as key figures in what he called a “political hijacking.”
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Trump also accused Willis of colluding with Nathan Wade, whom he described as “her lover” and lacking the experience to handle such cases.
He claimed Wade was paid “millions,” allegedly enabling lavish trips and cruises.
Letitia James, who is pursuing a civil fraud case against Trump, was also criticised.
He claimed she had campaigned on a promise to “get Trump” in her bid for office, an action he labelled “unethical” and “probably illegal.”
Trump also mentioned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, alleging that Bragg initially resisted prosecuting him but was pressured into action by the Justice Department and the Democratic Party.
Describing the series of legal actions as a “low point in the history of our Country,” Trump maintained his resolve, declaring: “I persevered, against all odds, and WON.”
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
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