Hamas delegation holds talks in Beirut with Hezbollah

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets with top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on July 5, 2024, Lebanon. (REUTERS)
1 / 2
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets with top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on July 5, 2024, Lebanon. (REUTERS)
Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, have exchanged near daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, stoking fears of an escalation into all-out war. (File/AFP)
2 / 2
Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, have exchanged near daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, stoking fears of an escalation into all-out war. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 06 July 2024
Follow

Hamas delegation holds talks in Beirut with Hezbollah

Hamas delegation holds talks in Beirut with Hezbollah
  • Naim Qassem: ‘Prospects of war expansion are unlikely, but Hezbollah is prepared for worst possibilities’
  • Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Hayya for the meeting, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip

BEIRUT: Hezbollah and Hamas leaders discussed the latest developments in ceasefire negotiations with Israel at a meeting in Beirut on Friday

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, received a Hamas delegation headed by Khalil Al-Hayya, and both sides discussed “the developments of the ongoing negotiations and the proposals aiming to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

A statement issued by Hezbollah and Hamas affirmed that both parties “emphasized continued field and political coordination at all levels to achieve the desired goals.”

The Hamas delegation also met with the leaders of the Islamic Group in Lebanon, which is an ally of Hezbollah.

BACKGROUND

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October across the Lebanese-Israeli border in a conflict that has run in parallel to the Gaza war, raising fears of a bigger conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.

The group said the discussion focused on “indirect negotiations and the implications of these developments for Palestine, Lebanon, and the region.”

The talks also tackled ways to face the “challenges of the next phase, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and the mobilization of the nation’s capabilities in this pivotal battle,” the statement added.

The talks came as Israel continued its raids on Lebanese border villages, with a drone raiding Markaba, injuring a paramedic next to an aid station for the Islamic Risala Scout.

Israeli media outlets said that five missiles were launched from Lebanon toward western Galilee without triggering local sirens.

Talks took place in Paris on Friday as part of efforts to de-escalate the situation along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

A White House official said Amos Hochstein, a senior US official at the heart of the discussions, spoke about efforts to restore calm in meetings with French officials.

Reuters quoted a White House source as saying that France and the US shared the goal of diplomatically resolving the current conflict.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan expressed the Kingdom’s “concern over the risk of the war expanding in Lebanon.”

In a statement, he said: “We do not see any political horizon,” noting that “a ceasefire in Gaza could help stop the tension in southern Lebanon.”

Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem commented on the diplomatic efforts to Russian Sputnik Radio.

Qassem said foreign delegates, including from the US and French, wanted to separate the Lebanese front from the war in Gaza, and are trying to appease Israel to allow Jewish settlers to return to their homes.

“There’s no discussion without a ceasefire, which will then be followed by the necessary political discussion and a review of the latest developments,” he warned.

Qassem said that “the chances of an expanded war are not likely soon, but Hezbollah is prepared for the worst possibilities.”

Qassem said Israel’s “only option is to accept Hamas’ conditions because it won’t stop its resistance as long as the aggression and the targeting of civilians continue.”

He also wondered “whether the Israeli Army can tolerate (Hezbollah’s) attrition operations.”

Qassem said the party had not built its military position based on political analysis but on information and field results.

He said: “Reaching an agreement is the strongest option today, especially amid the upheaval inside Israel, in addition to the Israeli opposition and its ability to pressure (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu).”

He added that he expected Hamas to play a major role in Palestine after the war ended, contrary to Israeli aims.

This came as the UN said the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon reached 98 as of June 28, including 31 women, 12 children, 21 health workers and three journalists.

A renewed report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or OCHA said that “IDPs and host communities were experiencing “escalating fatigue, heightening the risk of intra-Lebanese tensions.”

It said internally displaced people were grappling with extended displacement and uncertain living conditions, while host communities were beginning to feel the pressure on local resources and, in some instances, competition for jobs.

According to the International Organization for Migration, around 96,829 people from border towns have been displaced mostly to relatives’ homes, while 16 shelters are housing around 1,498 displaced people.

The Ministry of Agriculture observed that more than 1,240 hectares of land had been destroyed, while around 72 percent of farmers had lost their sources of income in the south, with 340,000 livestock and a significant number of beehives destroyed as a result of Israeli bombing.

The National Council for Scientific Research documented “more than 175 Israeli attacks with phosphorus bombs and more than 196 attacks with incendiary bombs.”

It said that 10 water facilities had been destroyed, and more than 100,000 residents had been affected by water shortage.

The clashes have caused the closure of around six healthcare centers in Marjayoun and Bint Jbeil and the partial or complete closure of 72 private and public schools in the affected towns.

 


Iran slams US deployment of B-52 bombers as ‘destabilising’

Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Iran slams US deployment of B-52 bombers as ‘destabilising’

Iran slams US deployment of B-52 bombers as ‘destabilising’
  • The US military announced on Saturday the deployment of B-52 bombers to the Middle East as a warning to Iran which has vowed to respond to Israeli strikes on its military sites on October 26
Tehran: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday criticized what he called the United States’ “destabilizing presence” after the deployment of B-52 bombers in the region.
“We have always believed that the presence of America in the region is a destabilising presence,” said Baghaei told a news conference in response to a question about the deployment, adding that it “will not deter (Iran’s) resolve to defend itself.”
The US military announced on Saturday the deployment of B-52 bombers to the Middle East as a warning to Iran which has vowed to respond to Israeli strikes on its military sites on October 26.
Israel’s attack was in retaliation for an October 1 Iranian missile barrage, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.
At least four soldiers were killed in the strikes which also caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems, officials said at the time. Iranian media also reported that a civilian was killed.
Baghaei said Iran’s response would be “definite and decisive.”
He added that Iran supported “all initiatives and efforts” to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is at war with the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah armed groups, respectively.
Israel said its October 26 attack targeted Iran’s defense capabilities and missile production, but Tehran said its missile production remained intact.
On Monday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had missiles so Israel “wouldn’t dare attack us.”
During the news conference, Baghaei said Iran’s official position against changing the nuclear doctrine and pursuing atomic weapons remained the same.
Citing a recent speech by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Baghaei said the Islamic republic would be “equipped with everything necessary to defend” itself.

Egypt, Iran foreign ministers discuss rising Middle East tensions

Egypt, Iran foreign ministers discuss rising Middle East tensions
Updated 04 November 2024
Follow

Egypt, Iran foreign ministers discuss rising Middle East tensions

Egypt, Iran foreign ministers discuss rising Middle East tensions

CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has reiterated to his Iranian counterpart the urgency of de-escalating Middle East tensions in order to avert a regional war.

During a phone call with Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, Abdelatty discussed his country’s concerns about the possibility of a full-scale regional war amid rising tensions.

Araghchi was in Cairo last month for the first visit to Egypt by a key Iranian official in around a decade. His trip was focused on efforts to de-escalate Israel’s conflicts with Gaza and Lebanon.


Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash in province bordering Pakistan

Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash in province bordering Pakistan
Updated 04 November 2024
Follow

Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash in province bordering Pakistan

Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash in province bordering Pakistan
  • “Ultra-light gyroplane” met accident while conducting combat operations in Sistan-Baluchestan
  • Province has experienced recurring clashes between Iranian security forces and Baloch rebels

TEHRAN: An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general and pilot were killed in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in the country’s restive southeast, state media reported on Monday.

The “ultra-light gyroplane” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “had an accident while conducting combat operations” in a border area, IRNA news agency said.

It said the crash happened in Sirkan, a city in Sistan-Baluchistan province, and identified the dead as General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineveh Brigade of Golestan province, and Hamed Jandaghi, a pilot of the IRGC ground forces.

Iran’s armed forces have been mounting an operation in the region since October 26, when 10 police officers were killed in an attack claimed by Sunni Muslim militants.

They have killed several militants and arrested others during the operation, according to Iranian media outlets.

Sistan-Baluchistan borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is one of the most impoverished provinces in the Islamic republic.

It is home to a large number of the Baloch minority, an ethnic group spread between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan who practice Sunni Islam in contrast to the country’s predominantly Shiite population.

The province has experienced recurring clashes between Iranian security forces and rebels from the Baloch minority, radical Sunni groups and drug traffickers.

Helicopter accidents are a rare sight in Iran, but former president Ebrahim Raisi was killed when his helicopter crashed into a mountainside in May, triggering snap elections in the country.

The ultra-conservative president was accompanied by then foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six other people who were all killed.


Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps

Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps
Updated 04 November 2024
Follow

Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps

Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps
  • Israel’s actions against UN workers condemned by Jordan, other officials

AMMAN: Jordan’s Department of Palestinian Affairs and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East held talks on Sunday to address the growing needs and challenges of the displaced and vulnerable in camps across the country.

During the meeting, Department of Palestinian Affairs Director-General Rafiq Khirfan condemned what he described as a “systematic campaign and political assassination” aimed at weakening UNRWA’s role, according to reports.

He pointed to Tel Aviv’s recent actions, including a decision by the Israeli Knesset to restrict UNRWA activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, such as East Jerusalem, and to withdraw diplomatic privileges from its staff.

Khirfan said the measures were a violation of international law and an attempt to undermine UNRWA’s mission of supporting Palestinian refugees, advocating for their right to return, and compensation.

Despite these challenges, Khirfan underscored Jordan’s continued commitment to backing UNRWA at regional and international levels, recognizing the agency’s critical role in providing services and stability for Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA’s Jordan Affairs Director Olaf Becker thanked Amman for the ongoing support of the agency’s work in the refugee camps.


Israel says top Hezbollah commander killed in Lebanon strike

Israel says top Hezbollah commander killed in Lebanon strike
Updated 04 November 2024
Follow

Israel says top Hezbollah commander killed in Lebanon strike

Israel says top Hezbollah commander killed in Lebanon strike
  • Abu Ali Rida, the Hezbollah commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon, was “eliminated” in an air strike
  • Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed

BEIRUT: The Israeli military said on Monday it had killed a top Hezbollah commander it accused of overseeing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
Abu Ali Rida, the Hezbollah commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon, was “eliminated” in an air strike, the military said, without specifying when he was killed.
Rida “was responsible for planning and executing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on IDF (military) troops and oversaw the terrorist activities of Hezbollah operatives in the area,” the military said in a statement.
Israel has continued to pound Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since the war between the two sides broke out in late September.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed on Monday, the latest attack in more than a month of war.
Hezbollah fighters launched a “big rocket salvo” at the city, the group said in a statement.

In recent weeks, Israel has killed several of the movement’s militant commanders and top leaders, including former chief Hassan Nasrallah.
The war began after nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, with the Lebanese group firing rockets into northern Israel almost daily in support of its ally in Gaza, Hamas.
Israel is fighting its deadliest war in Gaza against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.