Page 4 - Hezbollah

Israeli strike in Gaza kills WCK workers; Israel says 1 was Oct 7 attacker

An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people including employees of World Central Kitchen, and the charity said it was urgently seeking more details after Israel's military said it targeted a WCK worker who was part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war. WCK said it was heartbroken by the airstrike and that it had no knowledge anyone in the car had alleged ties to the Oct 7, 2023 attack, saying it was working with incomplete information. It said it was pausing operations in Gaza. The charity's work in Gaza was temporarily suspended earlier this year after an Israeli strike killed seven of its workers, most of them foreigners. The Israeli military in a statement said the alleged Oct 7 attacker had taken part in the assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz, and it asked senior officials from the international community and the WCK administration to clarify" how he had come to work for the charity. The violence in Gaza raged even as a ceasefire between Isr

Israel strikes Hezbollah smuggling sites in Syria, testing ceasefire

Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites along Syria's border with Lebanon, the Israeli military said Saturday, testing a fragile, days-old ceasefire that halted months of fighting between the sides but has seen continued sporadic fire. The military said it struck sites that had been used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect, which the military said was a violation of its terms. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or activists monitoring the conflict in that country. Hezbollah also did not immediately comment. The Israeli strike, the latest of several since the ceasefire began on Wednesday, came as unrest spread to other areas of the Middle East, with Syrian insurgents breaching the country's largest city, Aleppo, in a shock offensive that added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars. The truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, brokered by the United States and France, calls for an

Lebanese fishers hope ceasefire with Israel means a return to normal life

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn. During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishers at this ancient Phoenician port on shore, upending their lives and the industry. While less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many people off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh fish and rice boiled in fish sauce or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips such as hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads. The loss of fish damaged a deep association with home, but now the possibility of renewed Lebanese fishing on the country's southern coast is helping fuel hope for a brighter future. On Friday, a few boats went out close to the shore as fishers in the port worked on the

Israelis wary of returning to north, don't trust ceasefire with Hezbollah

Dean Sweetland casts his gaze over a forlorn street in the Israeli community of Kibbutz Malkiya. Perched on a hill overlooking the border with Lebanon, the town stands mostly empty after being abandoned a year ago. The daycare is closed. The homes are unkempt. Parts of the landscape are ashen from fires sparked by fallen Hezbollah rockets. Even after a tenuous Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire designed to let Israelis return to the north, the mood here is far from celebratory. The ceasefire is rubbish, said Sweetland, a gardener and member of the kibbutz's civilian security squad. Do you expect me to ring around my friends and say, All the families should come home?' No." Across the border, Lebanese civilians have jammed roads in a rush to return to homes in the country's south, but most residents of northern Israel have met the ceasefire with suspicion and apprehension. Hezbollah could still come back to the border, and who will protect us when they do? Sweetland asked. Israel's governm

Lebanese displaced by war return home after Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants returned home on Wednesday as a ceasefire took hold, driving cars stacked with personal belongings and defying warnings from Lebanese and Israeli troops to avoid some areas. If it endures, the ceasefire would end nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah's patron, Iran, and Israel's closest ally, the United States, into a broader conflagration. The deal does not address the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes overnight on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, according to hospital officials. Israel said one strike targeted a Hamas sniper and the other targeted militants hiding among civilians. The truce in Lebanon could give reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the ...

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire after 14-month clash: All you need to know

The US and France have managed to mediate a 60-day ceasefire between Israel-Hezbollah. Here's all you need to know about the conflict, casualties, and terms

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holds as Lebanese residents return to homes

A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah appeared to be holding Wednesday, as residents in cars heaped with belongings streamed back toward southern Lebanon despite warnings from the Israeli and Lebanese military that they stay away from certain areas. If it holds, the ceasefire would bring an end to nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah's patron Iran and Israel into a broader conflagration. It could give some reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the border with Lebanon. The US- and France-brokered deal, approved by Israel late Tuesday, calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN ..

Israel, Hezbollah start a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting

Israel has approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah that would end nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the war in the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire agreed on Tuesday would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable. Hours before the ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signalled it aims to pummel Hezbollah before the ceasefire takes hold at 4 am local time on Wednesday. Another huge airstrike shook Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced. There appea

UK PM Keir Starmer welcomes ceasefire deal between Israel, Hezbollah

Keir Starmer said that the UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East

Israel-Hezbollah peace deal designed to ensure end of hostilities: Biden

President Joe Biden has announced that Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah have accepted a US-brokered peace deal that is designed to be a "permanent cessation" of hostilities between the two sides. As part of the ceasefire, Israel will gradually withdraw its troops from Lebanon over the next 60 days, Biden said in his address to the nation from the White House on Tuesday, shortly after Israel's Security Cabinet approved the accord. According to reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to the Security Cabinet the agreement aimed at ending months-long fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah which was ignited by the Gaza conflict and has killed and displaced thousands. Biden said he spoke with Netanyahu and Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati. "I'm pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United States' proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. I want to thank President Macron of France for his partnership in ...

EU asks Israel for ceasefire with Hezbollah as 'all concerns addressed'

The European Union's top diplomat said Tuesday there were no excuses for Israel to refuse to implement a ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying all its security concerns had been addressed in the US-French-brokered deal. Josep Borrell, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief, called for increased pressure on Israel to blunt extremists in the government who are refusing to accept the deal. Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Italy, Borrell warned that if a ceasefire is not implemented, Lebanon will fall apart. Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security Cabinet was set to convene Tuesday to discuss a proposed ceasefire. Among the issues that remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. Borrell said the US would chair a ceasefire implementation committee, but France would participate at the request of Lebanon. On the proposal agreement brokered

What's blocking ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah: All you need to know

Diplomats and other officials say there have been several sticking points in ceasefire talks to end the war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, even as conditions for an agreement appear to be ripe. Israel's military has killed nearly all of the militant group's top leaders, but it continues to fire missiles into Israel. Tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from the border months ago are pressuring their government to help them go home. And the world wants to stop regional conflict from spreading after more than a year of fighting. Following the latest visit to the region by a US mediator, Israel hit central Beirut over the weekend, and Hezbollah responded with its biggest barrage in weeks as each applied pressure to reach a deal. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since the day after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, setting off the war in Gaza. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months

Oil falls more than 2% after reports of possible West Asia peace deal

Israel said on Monday it is moving toward a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah but there are still issues to address

Israel-Hezbollah close to ceasefire deal: Israeli envoy to Washington

On Sunday, Hezbollah fired at least 250 rockets and drones into Israel, wounding several people

Israeli strikes kill dozens across Lebanon, 29 dead in Beirut attack

The Beirut airstrike is just one of several across the country as Israel continues its aggressive military campaign against Hezbollah

Hezbollah fires over 250 rockets into Israel, wounding at least 7

Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in the militant group's heaviest barrage in several days, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army centre killed one soldier and wounded 18 others on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said. Israel's military expressed regret and said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah, adding that its operations are directed solely against the militants. The strike was under review. Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a direct, bloody messa

Israel strikes central Beirut, 20 killed as diplomats push for ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire. Lebanon's Health Ministry said 66 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week. The escalation comes after US envoy Amos Hochstein travelled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war. Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon's population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting. An eight-storey building is turned to rubble The 4 am strikes destroyed an eight-storey building in central Beirut. Hezbollah ..

UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops, Hezbollah in south Lebanon

Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of UN peacekeepers. A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring heavy clashes in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast. UNIFIL's headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon's southern edge close to the border with Israel. We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases, UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: Yes for the moment. Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on October 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded. The fighting came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and a

Israel insists on right to act against Hezbollah in any deal to end fight

Israel's defence minister says his country insists on the right to act militarily against Hezbollah in any agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon. Lebanon's government is likely to view any such demand as an infringement on its sovereignty, complicating efforts to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that erupted into all-out war in September. Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Wednesday that the condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the (Israeli military's) right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah. Lebanese officials mediating between Israel and Hezbollah have called for a return to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between the sides. It calls for Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces to withdraw from a buffer zone in southern Lebanon patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops. U.S. e

Israel-Hezbollah truce 'within grasp' as Gaza food crisis worsens: US envoy

A US envoy said an agreement to end the Israel-Hezbollah war is "within our grasp" after talks in Lebanon on Tuesday. However, there was no such optimism in the Gaza Strip, where the looting of nearly 100 aid trucks by armed men worsened an already severe food crisis. Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration's pointsman on Israel and Lebanon, arrived as Hezbollah's allies in the Lebanese government said the militant group had responded positively to the proposal, which would entail both its fighters and Israeli ground forces withdrawing from a UN buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The buffer zone would be policed by thousands of additional UN peacekeepers and Lebanese troops. Israel has called for a stronger enforcement mechanism, potentially including the ability to conduct military operations against any Hezbollah threats, something Lebanon is likely to oppose. An Israeli airstrike on Tuesday hit a Lebanese army base in the southern town of Sarafand, killing three soldiers, the arm