Lebanon files complaint to UN Security Council over killing of Hamas deputy chief in Beirut

 An image grab from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV taken on January 5, 2024, shows the head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised speech, with a picture of killed Hamas's deputy chief Saleh al-Aruri to his left. (AFP)
An image grab from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV taken on January 5, 2024, shows the head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised speech, with a picture of killed Hamas's deputy chief Saleh al-Aruri to his left. (AFP)
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Updated 05 January 2024
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Lebanon files complaint to UN Security Council over killing of Hamas deputy chief in Beirut

Lebanon files complaint to UN Security Council over killing of Hamas deputy chief in Beirut
  • Hezbollah chief warns response to Saleh Al-Arouri killing ‘inevitable’

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN filed a formal complaint before the UN Security Council on Friday, following “the attack on a residential area in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh,” which killed Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri on Tuesday.

The submitted complaint emphasized the severity of the incident, labeling it “the  most dangerous escalation since 2006, as it specifically targeted a densely populated residential zone in Beirut’s southern suburb, constituting a clear violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of its civilian population and aviation.”

It added that the attack could lead to the expansion of conflict and “destabilize regional peace and security.”

Lebanon’s appeal urged the UNSC to “condemn the attack, exert pressure on Israel to cease its escalations, and take decisive action to halt further Israeli aggressions against Lebanon, to prevent further deterioration and the potential entanglement of the region in an extensive and devastating conflict.”

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Friday that Lebanon would be “exposed” to more Israeli operations if his group did not respond to the killing of the Hamas deputy chief.

Hezbollah launched rockets across the border on Oct. 8 in support of Hamas, one day after Hamas carried out the deadly attack on southern Israel that triggered Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah had carried out some 670 operations on the Lebanese-Israeli border since then, destroying a “large number” of Israeli military vehicles and tanks.

He also said that if the Israeli military managed to achieve its goals in Gaza, it would then turn to Lebanon.

Nasrallah said that Hezbollah “struck 494 targets, including 50 border sites that were bombed more than once during the past 90 days.”

Technical and intelligence equipment along the border was also destroyed, he claimed.

He added: “We were targeting military sites, officers and soldiers. If we targeted residences, it was in response to the targeting of civilians on our side.”

Nasrallah said that the ongoing battle in southern Lebanon had “established the balance of deterrence.”

He added that “today we have a historical chance to liberate every inch of our Lebanese territory and prevent the enemy from violating our borders and airspace.”

Nasrallah reaffirmed that “the violation that took place in Beirut’s southern suburb will not go unanswered and unpunished,” adding that the decision was now “in the hands of the battlefield.”

Nasrallah believes that the US “does not want the war to expand in the region because it is preoccupied with the Ukrainian front and is preparing for a strategic defeat against Russia.”

To avoid the expansion of conflict in the region, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell was in talks with Lebanese officials on Friday.

Borrell’s visit will last for two days, according to the EU delegation to Lebanon.

It will focus on “all aspects of the situation in and around Gaza, including its impact on the region, especially the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border, as well as the importance of avoiding regional escalation and sustaining the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians, which the EU has quadrupled to €100 million ($109 million).”

Borrell will meet with Speaker Nabih Berri, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib, and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun.

He will also exchange views with Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, UNIFIL’s head of mission and force commander.

The commission had previously clarified that Borrell would “re-emphasize the need to advance diplomatic efforts with regional leaders to create the conditions to reach a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the region.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is set to visit Lebanon as part of a trip to the Middle East this Sunday that includes Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fisher said that “the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the situation in the West Bank, and the extremely volatile position on the Israeli-Lebanese border will be at the center of the talks, in addition to the attempts to free hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”

Fears of widening conflict between Israel and Hamas grew following Al-Arouri’s assassination in one of the neighborhoods located in Hezbollah’s security square in Beirut’s southern suburb.

Fisher said: “We are following the situation on the Lebanese border, and the risk of escalation in the Middle East is very real.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, Germany called on all Germans in Lebanon “to leave the country as quickly as possible.”

Also on Friday, Israeli drones shelled a house on the outskirts of the Mhaibib village and a house on the outskirts of Blida in the central part of southern Lebanon.

The shelling reached the outskirts of the Mays Al-Jabal and Rachaya Al-Fakhar villages.
Israeli artillery shelling on Friday morning targeted the outskirts of Yaroun village.

Israeli warplanes bombed a region located between Chihine and Majdal Zoun, as well as the outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab.

Rocket fragments reached a Lebanese Army site in the area. The bombing also reached the outskirts of Yarine and Jebbeen.  
Hamas and other pro-Hamas Palestinian factions held the funeral of Samir Findi on Friday in the Al-Rashidieh camp in Tyre, and that of Lebanese national Mohammed Said Bashasha, who was laid to rest in Saida.

Both victims were killed in the Israeli attack that killed Al-Arouri.

 


US, Britain launch raids on Yemeni capital Sanaa, elsewhere, Al-Masirah TV says

US, Britain launch raids on Yemeni capital Sanaa, elsewhere, Al-Masirah TV says
Updated 7 sec ago
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US, Britain launch raids on Yemeni capital Sanaa, elsewhere, Al-Masirah TV says

US, Britain launch raids on Yemeni capital Sanaa, elsewhere, Al-Masirah TV says
  • Houthi media and residents said about nine raids had targeted the Sanaa, its suburbs and Amran governorate
  • Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November last year
CAIRO: The United States and Britain launched raids on the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the Amran governorate and other areas, Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement, reported on Sunday.
Houthi media and residents said about nine raids had targeted the Sanaa, its suburbs and Amran governorate.
Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November last year, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas.
The attacks have drawn US and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold

Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold
Updated 39 min 7 sec ago
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Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold

Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold
  • Thousands rally in Tel Aviv to demand return of Israeli hostages despite 400 days passing
  • Qatar pulls out of Gaza ceasefire mediation efforts till both sides show “willingness and seriousness”

TEL AVIV: Israeli protesters expressed concern for hostages in Gaza Saturday, after Qatar said it was pulling back as a key mediator for a ceasefire that would help bring the captives home.
Thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv holding signs reading “400,” the number of days since the hostages were taken when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year.
Efforts to broker a truce in the ensuing war between Hamas and Israel have proven fruitless, and on Saturday Qatar put its mediation on hold until the two sides showed “willingness and seriousness” in talks.
Protester Ruti Lior said she was unsure how much sway Qatar had, but was still “very, very worried” by their decision to pull back from negotiations.
“This is further proof for me that there really is no seriousness, and these deals are being sabotaged,” the 62-year-old psychotherapist told AFP.
Fellow demonstrator Gal voiced his disappointment with Qatar, saying it was good the Gulf emirate was stepping back because it had done a “lousy” job.
Qatar “failed in the matter of mediation, and not only them, others also failed,” said the HR worker, also putting the blame on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Saturday’s rally featured an installation of masks representing Netanyahu along with signs bearing the word “Guilty.”
Other placards read “Hostage deal now” and “Drop your weapon, stop the war.”
“How many more tears must fall and how much more blood must be shed before someone does what needs to be done and brings our children home?” Niva Wenkert, mother of hostage Omer Wenkert, was quoted as saying in a statement released by campaign group Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
The Hamas attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,552 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israelis have been protesting weekly to pressure their government to do more to secure the captives’ release.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
But the talks, also mediated by Cairo and Washington, have repeatedly hit snags since a one-week truce in November 2023 — the only one so far — with both sides trading blame for the impasse.


Israel army slams soldiers for burning Lebanese flag

Israel army slams soldiers for burning Lebanese flag
Updated 10 November 2024
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Israel army slams soldiers for burning Lebanese flag

Israel army slams soldiers for burning Lebanese flag
  • In the video, some of the soldiers were jumping and singing a religious maxim as one of them sets fire to the flag with a lighter

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military on Saturday accused a group of soldiers of burning a Lebanese flag in southern Lebanon where they are fighting the Hezbollah militant group.
The military spoke after a video circulated on social media showing around half a dozen people dressed in Israeli uniforms jumping and singing a religious maxim as one of them sets fire to the flag with a lighter.
“We view the act of some soldiers burning the Lebanese flag in southern Lebanon as a violation of orders, inconsistent with the values of the defense forces, and misaligned with the goals of our military activities in Lebanon,” said military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
“Our war is against the terrorist Hezbollah, which has never been truly Lebanese in creed, ideology, or identity,” he added in an Arabic-language post on social media platform X.

 

The post did not mention any possible sanctions against the soldiers.
It did include a video allegedly showing a Hezbollah militant tearing a Lebanese flag off its pole and replacing it with the group’s banner.
Israel has been at war with Hezbollah since late September, when it broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border, even as the Gaza war continues.
Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israel in support of Hamas following its ally’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the Gaza war.
 


Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold

Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold
Updated 10 November 2024
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Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold

Israelis fear for hostages as Qatar says Gaza mediation on hold
  • Israel has killed 43,552 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable
  • Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead

TEL AVIV: Israeli protesters expressed concern for hostages in Gaza Saturday, after Qatar said it was pulling back as a key mediator for a ceasefire that would help bring the captives home.
Thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv holding signs reading “400,” the number of days since the hostages were taken when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year.
Efforts to broker a truce in the ensuing war between Hamas and Israel have proven fruitless, and on Saturday Qatar put its mediation on hold until the two sides showed “willingness and seriousness” in talks.
Protester Ruti Lior said she was unsure how much sway Qatar had, but was still “very, very worried” by their decision to pull back from negotiations.
“This is further proof for me that there really is no seriousness, and these deals are being sabotaged,” the 62-year-old psychotherapist told AFP.
Fellow demonstrator Gal voiced his disappointment with Qatar, saying it was good the Gulf emirate was stepping back because it had done a “lousy” job.
Qatar “failed in the matter of mediation, and not only them, others also failed,” said the HR worker, also putting the blame on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Saturday’s rally featured an installation of masks representing Netanyahu along with signs bearing the word “Guilty.”
Other placards read “Hostage deal now” and “Drop your weapon, stop the war.”
“How many more tears must fall and how much more blood must be shed before someone does what needs to be done and brings our children home?” Niva Wenkert, mother of hostage Omer Wenkert, was quoted as saying in a statement released by campaign group Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
The Hamas attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,552 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israelis have been protesting weekly to pressure their government to do more to secure the captives’ release.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
But the talks, also mediated by Cairo and Washington, have repeatedly hit snags since a one-week truce in November 2023 — the only one so far — with both sides trading blame for the impasse.
 

 


At least 64 attacks against schools reported in Gaza last month, says UNICEF

At least 64 attacks against schools reported in Gaza last month, says UNICEF
Updated 09 November 2024
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At least 64 attacks against schools reported in Gaza last month, says UNICEF

At least 64 attacks against schools reported in Gaza last month, says UNICEF
  • Strikes in October led to estimated 128 deaths, many children, said UN body

LONDON: At least 64 attacks targeting schools were reported in the Gaza Strip last month, averaging nearly two incidents per day, according to data from UNICEF and its partners released on Saturday.

The strikes in October led to an estimated 128 deaths, many of whom were children, the report added.

These schools, which often double as shelters for displaced families and children fleeing violence, have seen 226 attacks since the conflict began on Oct. 7 last year. Over one million children have been displaced in the past 14 months, facing unimaginable hardship and trauma, UNICEF said.

Schools should never be on the frontlines of war, and children should never be indiscriminately attacked while seeking shelter,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“The horrors we are seeing in Gaza are setting a dark precedent for humanity, one where children are hit with bombs at record numbers while looking for safety inside classrooms. Trauma and loss have become their daily norm.”

Nearly half of the attacks in October – 25 in total – were concentrated in northern Gaza, an area experiencing relentless bombardment, widespread displacement, and limited humanitarian aid.

Many of these schools also serve as critical malnutrition treatment points, providing essential services to those in need.

International Humanitarian Law designates schools as protected spaces. However, since the renewed hostilities in October 2023, more than 95 percent of Gaza’s schools have been partially or completely destroyed. UNICEF reports that 87 percent will need extensive reconstruction before they can be used again.

The plight of children in Gaza underscores the urgent need for adherence to international laws protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly in conflict zones where the most vulnerable bear the brunt of violence and devastation, UNICEF added.