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Israel kills Lebanese man ‘responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas’

Emergency and security service members and residents gather around the carcass of a car at the site of an Israeli strike in al-Khiyara town in Lebanon's Western Bekaa area on June 22, 2024, which killed a member of the Jamaa Islamiya group according to a Lebanese security source. (AFP)
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Emergency and security service members and residents gather around the carcass of a car at the site of an Israeli strike in al-Khiyara town in Lebanon's Western Bekaa area on June 22, 2024, which killed a member of the Jamaa Islamiya group according to a Lebanese security source. (AFP)
Israel kills Lebanese man ‘responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas’
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Emergency and security service members and residents gather around the carcass of a car at the site of an Israeli strike in Al-Khiyara town in Lebanon’s Western Bekaa area on June 22, 2024, which killed a member of the Jamaa Islamiya group according to a Lebanese security source. (AFP)
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Updated 22 June 2024
NAJIA HOUSSARI
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Israel kills Lebanese man ‘responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas’

Israel kills Lebanese man ‘responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas’
  • UN peacekeepers warn against attacks on its sites in Lebanon or along the Blue Line
  • Kuwaiti citizens told by Foreign Ministry to leave Lebanon ‘as soon as possible’
  • Hezbollah tells peace delegations: ‘Don’t tire yourselves out; stop the war in Gaza, and all fronts will calm down’
Updated 22 June 2024
NAJIA HOUSSARI
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BEIRUT: Israel faced accusations of violating the rules of engagement on Saturday after a military drone attacked a car in Khiara village in western Bekaa, killing the Lebanese driver.

Khiara, about 24 km from Shebaa Farms on the border and 58 km from Beirut, was targeted for the first time since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

A Lebanese security source said the drone strike on a SUV killed the driver, Ayman Ghotmeh, from Lala village in Bekaa.

Reports in Bekaa suggested that the victim had links with Hamas or was affiliated with a radical group allied with Hezbollah.

BACKGROUND

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, Hezbollah movement and other groups allied with the Palestinian fighters have traded near-daily fire with Israel across the southern border.

The Israeli army later said that Ghotmeh was a commander in the Islamic Group in Lebanon, and “was in charge of supplying Hamas with weapons.”

According to Israeli media outlets, the army also targeted Hamas commander Raed Saad in a strike inside Gaza.

Israeli shelling reached Khiam, the outskirts of Deir Mimas, and Kfarkila amid continued confrontations with Hezbollah on Saturday, while Israeli warplanes struck Yaroun with two air-to-surface missiles, with no casualties reported.

Hezbollah said it struck a building used by Israeli soldiers in the Manara settlement.

It has also been reported that UNIFIL was fortifying its military positions in the border area.

Candice Ardell, deputy director of the UNIFIL Media Office, said that “the international forces reject the use of UNIFIL locations or nearby areas to carry out attacks through the Blue Line.”

In an official statement, Ardell said: “Since October, we’ve been witnessing many incidents targeting our locations and vehicles from both sides. In some situations, our peacekeepers sustained some injuries, which fortunately weren’t serious.

“We reiterate to all parties that targeting UN locations or using nearby areas to carry out attacks through the Blue Line is unacceptable and constitutes a violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

She added: “We have strong measures in place to ensure peacekeepers’ safety and ability to fulfill their duties. This includes updating our buildings when needed.”

The UNIFIL reaction came as Hezbollah parliamentary bloc member MP Hassan Ezzeddine said all the “pressure and intimidation on Lebanon is aimed at pressuring the resistance.”

Ezzeddine said: “We have faced threats and temptations, the aim of which was to give up our heavy weapons in favor of what we want inside Lebanon, but we refused and continued our path.

“The threats made by the enemy against Lebanon are to stop the front of northern occupied Palestine because this front, by everyone’s admission, especially the enemy’s leaders, is very influential in weakening them, paralyzing their capabilities, and preventing them from defeating Gaza.”

Ezzeddine addressed “all those working behind the scenes, and openly, those delegations coming to Lebanon with various initiatives,” saying: “Do not waste your time and efforts in Lebanon, because they are going in the wrong direction, and do not tire yourselves out.

“There is only one way, and that is to go to Israeli leaders and pressure them to stop their aggression on Gaza. Then, all fronts will calm down.

“But if this enemy continues its aggression and expands the scope of this war, the resistance is ready to fight a battle that may ultimately be decisive.”

The Hezbollah MP’s remarks came as the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised all its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon due to security developments in the region.

The ministry asked “Kuwaiti citizens already in Lebanon, with no pressing reasons to remain, to leave the country as soon as possible. Those unable to leave must contact the Kuwaiti Embassy in Lebanon immediately via the embassy’s emergency phone number: 0096171171441.”

Kuwait Airways announced an increase in the capacity of its planes heading to Beirut to accommodate passengers wishing to return to Kuwait.

In a statement on its X account, the airline said: “These measures come in coordination with the Foreign Ministry in light of the current circumstances in the region.”

 

 

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Lebanon Hezbollah Jamaa Islamiya

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Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience

The bright red truck has transformed parking lots into pop-up theaters. (AFP)
The bright red truck has transformed parking lots into pop-up theaters. (AFP)
Updated 16 sec ago
AFP
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Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience

The bright red truck has transformed parking lots into pop-up theaters. (AFP)
  • Mobile cinemas have long existed in other countries, but Heraghi said CinemaTdour was “unique” for turning a truck into a full-fledged theater
Updated 16 sec ago
AFP

DJEMMAL, Tunisia: Like many of his fellow Tunisians, 23-year-old Amine Elhani has never been to the cinema, but now, thanks to a mobile theater touring the country, he can finally enjoy the big screen.
The bright red truck of CinemaTdour, or “moving cinema,” has transformed parking lots and factory grounds in underserved towns and neighborhoods across the North African country into pop-up theaters.
In the central town of Djemmal, dozens of workers unloaded the expandable truck, easily setting up a fully equipped outdoor movie theater with 100 seats.
“The screen is huge, and the sound effects are amazing,” said Elhani, who had so far only watched films on his phone or computer.
He had “never had the chance to go to a movie theater,” he told AFP.
“It’s a fantastic experience, especially because I’m watching with friends.”
Movie theaters are scarce in Tunisia, numbering at just 15 and largely concentrated in major urban hubs.
Recognizing this gap, CinemaTdour was launched in May by private cultural network Agora and nonprofit Focus Gabes, with funding from private donors.
“We wanted a way to reach as many viewers as possible, in a short time and on a limited budget, while offering them an authentic cinematic experience,” project director Ghofrane Heraghi told AFP.
Mobile cinemas have long existed in other countries, but Heraghi said CinemaTdour was “unique” for turning a truck into a full-fledged theater.
Without government funding, CinemaTdour relies heavily on partnerships with private companies to cover costs like film rights, maintenance and staffing.
The truck itself was purchased on credit for about one million Tunisian dinars ($315,000), Heraghi said, with annual operating expenses of around 500,000 dinars.
For 10 days in Djemmal, residents could watch films for free thanks to a partnership with German car parts manufacturer Draxlmaier, which has a factory in the town.
Jihene Ben Amor, Draxlmaier’s communications manager in Tunisia, said the company wanted to “contribute to the development” of remote and underserved regions where it operates.
For many workers, earning up to 1,000 dinars a month, the cost of tickets and the journey to a main city with a movie theater can be prohibitive.
“Having this cinema right outside their workplace also gives workers a sense of pride and belonging,” said Ben Amor.

After Djemmal, CinemaTdour set up in Hay Hlel, an impoverished neighborhood of the capital Tunis.
Many children gathered around the pop-up theater, eager for their turn.
Yomna Warhani, 11, was beaming with excitement, anticipating her first ever movie screening.
“I can’t wait to see what it’s like inside and what films they’ll show,” she said.
Nejiba El Hadji, a 47-year-old mother of four, said: “It’s not just the kids who are thrilled, believe me.”
To her, the mobile cinema was a rare source of joy in an otherwise bleak environment.
“We have nothing here, no cultural centers and no entertainment, just the streets,” said Hadji.
“People say our kids are lost, but no one does anything about it.”
CinemaTdour’s two-week stay in Hay Hlel was funded by the World Health Organization, with screenings themed on mental health, smoking and drug abuse, and violence against women.
The shows were tailored for younger audiences as well as for viewers with hearing or visual impairments.
Heraghi, the project head, said that “what drives us is the social impact of culture.”
“We want to break stereotypes, shift mindsets, and promote values like social cohesion and community spirit.”
In just a few months, CinemaTdour has reached more than 15,000 people, including 7,500 in the southern oasis town of Nefta where a month of free screenings was sponsored by a date exporter.
The project now hopes to secure funding for additional trucks to expand its activities across the country.
But Heraghli has even bigger aspirations, she said, “taking it to Algeria, Libya, and maybe even across Africa.”
 

 

Topics: Tunis cinema

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2024 Year in Review: How outrage at Israel’s actions in Gaza fueled global solidarity with Palestine

2024 Year in Review: How outrage at Israel’s actions in Gaza fueled global solidarity with Palestine
Updated 5 min 49 sec ago
Jonathan Gornall
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2024 Year in Review: How outrage at Israel’s actions in Gaza fueled global solidarity with Palestine

2024 Year in Review: How outrage at Israel’s actions in Gaza fueled global solidarity with Palestine
  • Mass protests took place in cities around the globe in 2024, with demonstrators accusing Israel of genocide
  • Several nations recognized Palestine as a sovereign state, challenging Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank
Updated 5 min 49 sec ago
Jonathan Gornall

LONDON: When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the world was appalled by the savagery of an assault that left more than 1,200 Israelis and people of other nationalities dead, and saw some 250 taken hostage.

At that moment, Israel had the unbridled sympathy of the Western world. But within days that sympathy had all but evaporated, swept away by rising disgust at the slaughter unleashed in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces.

By Oct. 24, 2023, just 17 days after the Hamas-led attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was urging the UN Security Council to rein in Israel. He had “condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.”

But now, he said, “those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people” being meted out by Israel in Gaza. “Even war has rules,” he added.



By then, more than a million Palestinians had already been displaced and 5,000 had been killed, according to Gaza’s health authorities, including more than 1,100 women and 2,000 children, along with journalists, medics, and first responders.

Even before Guterres spoke out, thousands appalled by Israel’s behavior had already begun to take to the streets in Western capitals to express their horror and offer their moral support to the Palestinian people.

Some of the first protests took place in the UK, on Oct. 15, just a week after the Hamas-led attack. In London, thousands rallied in response to a plea by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and marched on Downing Street, home of the British prime minister.

Many carried Palestinian flags and banners with messages including “Free Palestine — end Israeli occupation” and “Stop bombing Gaza.”

The BBC’s headquarters in Portland Place, central London, was daubed in red paint, symbolising what activists called the broadcaster’s “complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people through biased reporting.”

In Parliament and in some sections of the media, the protestors were immediately accused of antisemitism and of supporting Hamas. One protestor, interviewed in London by Reuters, made the purpose of the protests crystal clear.



“This is not about Hamas,” she said. “This is about protecting Palestinian lives.”

The protests spread like wildfire to other cities and campuses throughout the UK and then to Europe, the Middle East and Asia. By the end of October, demonstrations had erupted in Copenhagen, Rome, Stockholm, and Wellington.

In France, despite a ban on pro-Palestinian rallies, protests still braved arrest to make their voices heard in Paris and Marseille.

The protests were no flash in the pan, either. Into the new year and up until today, they have kept on coming.



As the death toll in Gaza mounted, reaching 30,000 by March 2024, it was not long before the outrage spread to the US, where on March 20 NBC reported that “in cities across the country, highways have been blocked, trains have been delayed and sections of college campuses have been shut down by hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets … protesting Israel’s invasion of Gaza.”

A week later, on March 27, a Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans opposed Israel’s military action in Gaza.



During a speech on the election campaign trail in North Carolina, President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters demanding a US intervention to end the suffering of the Palestinians. Their shouts turned to cheers when the president heard them out and then said: “They have a point. We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.”

Dismay at the administration’s failure to rein in Israel, especially among the influential Arab American community in some key swing states, may well have cost Biden’s VP Kamala Harris the presidency.

Everywhere, alarmed by the strength of global feeling provoked by the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, the pro-Israel lobby rallied. Unable to defend Israel’s actions in Gaza, instead it went on the attack.

The protests, they said, were not pro-Palestinian or even anti-Israel, but antisemitic — an allegation that is frequently leveled at anyone who has criticised Israel’s behavior in Gaza and the West Bank.

In the UK, the lengths to which the pro-Israel lobby was prepared to go to distract attention away from the cause of the protests became evident after an extraordinary episode in April.



The media rushed to report the claims of Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, that he had accidentally stumbled into the path of a pro-Palestinian protest and had then been threatened with arrest because his “openly Jewish” appearance was antagonising the marchers.

The incident was filmed, and selectively edited, by the CAA. But when the full footage later emerged it became clear that Falter had deliberately tried to provoke demonstrators by pushing past police officers and walking in the path of the demonstration.

In the US, wealthy Jewish donors banded together to attack universities for allowing pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses. According to a report by CNBC, even as protests were taking off in the US in late October 2023, billionaire supporters of Ivy League schools including Harvard, Yale, and Penn threatened to withdraw funding.


By January 2024, the wealthy donors had successfully hounded out of office two high-profile leaders, Harvard president Claudine Gay and Penn president Liz Magill, both of whom resigned.

In an op-ed published in the Guardian in January 2024, Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, wrote that “as a Jew, I also cannot help but worry that the actions of these donors — many of them Jewish, many from Wall Street — could fuel the very antisemitism they claim to oppose, based on the age-old stereotype of wealthy Jewish bankers controlling the world.”



The determined assault on the defenders of Palestine by the Jewish lobby has continued unabated. In the UK last week, the head of the British Medical Association was accused by campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism of creating “a hostile environment” for Jewish doctors, and is now under investigation by her own organization.

Dr. Mary McCarthy’s “offense” was to have reposted a message on her X account that described the conflict in Gaza as “a holocaust.”

Over in Ireland, it was reported last week that Israel is to close its embassy in Dublin, accusing the Irish government of “extreme anti-Israel policies” and “crossing every red line.” In May, Ireland, followed quickly by Spain, Norway, and Slovenia, had recognized Palestine as an independent, sovereign state.

In July, the Israeli historian Ilan Pappe wrote of his alarm that “nine months into the Israeli genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip,” Israel’s “parallel attack on freedom of speech on Palestine is continuing with intensity, making it difficult for the general public to appreciate the reality in Palestine beyond the manipulated and distorted coverage offered by mainstream media.”



All over the Global North, universities had “ousted students simply for being members of outfits such as Students for Justice in Palestine. They even disinvited academics or authors who dared to criticize Israel.

“Similar actions were taken against journalists and people in public services, even those who accompanied their criticism with a condemnation of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.”

It was, he added in an article published in the Palestine Chronicle, “clear that we are facing a coordinated campaign led by the pro-Israeli lobby and aimed at continuing the historical denial of the ongoing Nakba.”

That denial, however, appears to be falling on deaf ears.

In recent weeks, thousands have continued to protest on the streets of London and other Western capitals. The UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign has even announced plans for its first national demonstration of 2025.



On Jan. 18, it said, “we will march through London once again to demand an end to Israel’s genocide in Palestine.”



It added: “It is vital we continue to take to the streets in huge numbers to demand an end to British complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid, including through an end to all arms trade with Israel.”

As 2024 has seen an extraordinary outpouring of global outrage at the death and destruction being wrought by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, so 2025 will see no let-up in the calls for Israel to be held to account.

 

Topics: War on Gaza Editor’s Choice

Emirati foreign minister discusses developments in Syria with his new counterpart in the country

Emirati foreign minister discusses developments in Syria with his new counterpart in the country
Updated 38 min 12 sec ago
Arab News
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Emirati foreign minister discusses developments in Syria with his new counterpart in the country

Emirati foreign minister discusses developments in Syria with his new counterpart in the country
  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed says UAE supports inclusive and comprehensive transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people
Updated 38 min 12 sec ago
Arab News

LONDON: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Emirati minister of foreign affairs, spoke on Monday with his newly appointed counterpart in Syria’s interim government about the latest developments in the country following the fall of the Assad regime in early December.

Sheikh Abdullah and Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani also discussed ways in which the relationship between Syria and the UAE might be enhanced, the Emirates News Agency reported.

During their telephone conversation Sheikh Abdullah emphasized the need to maintain Syria’s unity, integrity and sovereignty. He said the UAE supports an inclusive and comprehensive transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people for security, development, a dignified life and a prosperous future.

Al-Shaibani, 37, was appointed Syria’s foreign minister on Saturday by the country’s General Command, the new de facto rulers of the country.

Topics: UAE Syria Fall of Assad

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Lebanon’s prime minister urges US, France to help expedite Israeli withdrawal

Lebanon’s prime minister urges US, France to help expedite Israeli withdrawal
Updated 53 min 26 sec ago
NAJIA HOUSSARI
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Lebanon’s prime minister urges US, France to help expedite Israeli withdrawal

Lebanon’s prime minister urges US, France to help expedite Israeli withdrawal
  • Najib Mikati visits war-torn Khiam to assess extent of destruction in the town
Updated 53 min 26 sec ago
NAJIA HOUSSARI

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday called on the US and France to help speed up the withdrawal of Israeli forces from his country nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Mikati emphasized his commitment to “resolving all disputes related to the Blue Line — the UN-demarcated boundary between Lebanon and Israel — to eliminate any justification for the Israeli occupation of Lebanese land.”

Mikati was on his first visit to the southern frontlines, where Lebanese soldiers under the US-brokered ceasefire deal are expected to gradually deploy, with Hezbollah and Israeli troops expected to withdraw by the end of next month.

Speaking from the border town of Khiam, Mikati said he was working with “the World Bank, the European Union, Arab countries, and our international partners to create a trust fund” for reconstruction efforts.

FASTFACTS

• PM Mikati is working with ‘the World Bank, the European Union, Arab countries, and our international partners to create a trust fund’ for reconstruction efforts.

• The World Bank estimated in October that the fighting had caused physical damage amounting to ‘at least $3.4 billion’ in Lebanon.

• Mikati is the first Lebanese official to enter Khiam after the withdrawal of the Israeli army and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area.

The World Bank estimated in October that the fighting had caused physical damage amounting to “at least $3.4 billion” in Lebanon.

Mikati is the first Lebanese official to enter Khiam after the withdrawal of the Israeli army and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area.

He assessed the extensive and systematic destruction in the town after the Israeli forces’ demolition of homes and facilities.

Mikati expressed “profound pain over the destruction.”

He underlined the need for “an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the Lebanese territories that the Israeli army has penetrated.”

He said: “These are essential issues for the Lebanese army to be ready to carry out its duties in full. The measures related to UN Resolution 1701 will take their natural course and be fully implemented by the army, with American and French guarantees.”

He said no obstacles must prevent the army from fulfilling its duties.

Mikati said that “the delay and procrastination in implementing the international resolution did not originate from the military, but rather the issue lies with the Israeli side, which is exhibiting a reluctance to proceed.”

He continued: “We must consult the parties to the ceasefire agreement, namely the French and the Americans, to put an end to this Israeli procrastination and to expedite the process as much as possible before the end of the 60 days stipulated in the ceasefire agreement for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Lebanese territories.”

Mikati said the Lebanese government “is responsible for implementing measures in line with international law. It is also fully committed to enforcing UN Security Council resolutions.

“This is the current scope of our work. I say to all skeptics: ‘Hope for the best, and you shall find it.’”

Regarding reconstruction, Mikati said: “We will develop a plan and conduct studies within the necessary timeframe and with complete transparency.”

The truce in southern Lebanon went into force on Nov. 27 after more than a year of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that began with the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

During his first visit to the border region since the implementation of the ceasefire, under the auspices of the US and France, Mikati traveled from Beirut to the Marjayoun barracks in the eastern sector to inspect the army units stationed at the front lines.

Awaiting his arrival was the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Gen. Joseph Aoun.

Mikati saluted “the souls of the army martyrs who fell defending the land,” praising “the high morale of the soldiers and their insistence on defending the land despite all the difficulties.”

The prime minister said: “The army has never faltered in its duties, and we are facing a challenging test.

“It has consistently proven to be a symbol of national unity and carries out its responsibilities, with all Lebanese standing by its side in support.”

Mikati expressed the hope that the meeting he has requested on Tuesday with the US, French, and Lebanese military representatives in the oversight committee for monitoring the ceasefire “will address issues related to the deployment of the Lebanese army in light of Israel’s withdrawal from all territories it penetrated during its recent aggression so that the army can carry out its duties in full.”

Gen. Aoun said that “despite all the limited resources, the army remained steadfast in its positions and protected civilians. We will continue our mission because we believe in our actions.”

The second stop for Mikati and Gen. Aoun on the tour was the UNIFIL Eastern Sector Command in the town of Ebel El-Saqi.

UNIFIL Force Commander Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro and the commander of the eastern sector, Gen. Fernando Ruiz, received them.

The audience listened to an explanation of the field situation in the operations room.

Gen. Lazaro highlighted the tasks carried out by UNIFIL in coordination with the army.

He confirmed “the continuation of the meetings of the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee to carry out the required tasks.”

Mikati praised UNIFIL’s “role and close cooperation with the army.”

He emphasized that “our priority is the full implementation of Resolution 1701, Israel’s withdrawal from the territories it has penetrated, and stopping the systematic destruction of villages and halting violations. We look forward to long-term stability in the south through the army carrying out its duties in full cooperation with UNIFIL.”

On his way back, Mikati was warmly welcomed by residents of Qlayaa and Marjayoun in the towns’ squares, where he praised “the steadfastness of the people and their attachment to their land.”

Also on Monday, in a provocative move, the Israeli army raised the Israeli flag at the entrance of the southern Lebanese border town of Naqoura. UNIFIL’s headquarters are in Naqoura.

The Israeli forces also blocked the Bint Jbeil–Maroun El-Ras road with earth mounds and concrete blocks, preventing vehicle access to Maroun El-Ras.

Israel reconnaissance planes continued to violate Lebanese airspace in the south.

Israeli forces shelled Kafr Kila and Bani Hayyan and destroyed houses in Naqoura, as well as in Al-Bustan and Al-Zalloutiyeh in Tyre, south Lebanon.

The Israeli army again warned residents of southern Lebanon not to move south to a line of villages stretching from Mansouri on the coast to Shebaa in the east until further notice.

 

 

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Palestine Gaza Lebanon

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Israel’s Netanyahu orders military to ‘destroy’ Houthis

Israel’s Netanyahu orders military to ‘destroy’ Houthis
Updated 23 December 2024
Reuters
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Israel’s Netanyahu orders military to ‘destroy’ Houthis

Israel’s Netanyahu orders military to ‘destroy’ Houthis
  • Also said Israel had solidified its stance as “regional power”
  • Added he planned to expand Abraham Accords with Israel’s “American ally”
Updated 23 December 2024
Reuters

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister on Monday said that he had ordered the country’s military to destroy the infrastructure of Iran-backed Houthis, after the Yemeni group fired missiles at Israel last week.

“I have instructed our forces to destroy the infrastructure of Houthis because anyone who tries to harm us will be struck with full force. We will continue to crush the forces of evil with strength and ingenuity, even if it takes time,” Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament.

He added that progress had been made in ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas in Gaza but that he did not know how much longer it would take to see the results.

During a speech in Israel’s Knesset, Netanyahu said Israel had made “great achievements” militarily on several fronts and that military pressure on Hamas had led its leaders to soften their previous demands.

The prime minister, in between heckles from opposition members, said Israel had solidified its stance as a “regional power” and that he planned to expand the Abraham Accords together with Israel’s “American ally.”

He said the war in Gaza had offered opportunities to sign new peace accords with Arab nations and “dramatically change the face of” the Middle East.

“Moderate Arab countries view Israel as a regional power and a potential ally. I intend to seize this opportunity to the fullest. Together with our American friends, I plan to expand the Abraham Accords... and thus change even more dramatically the face of the Middle East,” he said in parliament, referring to agreements which normalized ties between Israel and some Arab states during Donald Trump’s first term as US president.

Netanyahu said Israel’s economy was strong and encouraged foreign investors to invest.
 

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Palestine Gaza Hamas Gaza hostages

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