BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s older brother broke his silence Wednesday over the premier’s mysterious resignation, saying he supports his brother’s decision to step down over the “growing demands and actions of Hezbollah.”
In his first public statement, sent to The Associated Press, Bahaa Hariri blasted Iran and accused its militant Lebanese proxy of seeking “to take control of Lebanon.” He also expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for “decades of support” for Lebanon’s national institutions.
Bahaa Hariri’s name has been mentioned in Lebanese media reports as a possible candidate to replace his brother, who announced his resignation from the Saudi capital on Nov. 4.
In a follow-up phone call from Monaco with the AP, Bahaa Hariri declined to comment further.
Saad Hariri, who headed a year-old coalition government that included Hezbollah, cited Iran and Hezbollah’s meddling in the region for his decision to step down. He has not returned to Lebanon since, and the Lebanese president has refused to accept his resignation before he returns to the country to explain the circumstances of his decision.
“I support my brother Saad’s decision to resign as prime minister of Lebanon in the face of the growing demands and actions of Hezbollah, Iran’s surrogate party, in Lebanon,” the statement by Bahaa Hariri said.
It said the Hariri family has always stood for the principles that make Lebanon unique in the world, including its mosaic of different confessions and political backgrounds.
“Only a pernicious outside actor, such as Iran and its surrogate, Hezbollah, can upset the balance as this group now seeks to take control of Lebanon.”
Lebanese PM’s brother breaks silence
Lebanese PM’s brother breaks silence
Houthi missile strikes cargo ship off Yemen, says maritime security firm Ambrey
- Ambrey said one of the missiles hit the ship's forward station, causing fire, but the fire was "neutralized"
- Small boats in the vicinity also reportedly opened fire on the ship, causing it to change direction to port
LONDON: An Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship caught fire after it was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Saturday night, maritime security firm Ambrey said.
“The ship was heading southwest along the Gulf of Aden at a speed of 8.2kts when the forward station was struck by a missile. A fire started but was neutralized,” Ambrey said in a statement.
A second missile missed and “small boats in the vicinity opened fire on the ship” causing it to change direction to port.
“No injuries were reported,” the security firm added.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said in a separate statement that it was informed of an incident southeast of Aden on Saturday night, and that authorities were investigating.
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution,” it said.
The attack comes amid a campaign of drone and missile strikes against Israeli-linked shipping by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The rebels’ attacks, which they say are in support of Palestinians, have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a route that normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.
Since January, the United States and Britain have launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the attacks on shipping.
The strikes have done little to deter the Houthis, who have vowed to target US and British vessels as well as all ships heading to Israeli ports.
Aid is delivered to Gaza from newly repaired US-built pier, US official says
- Israeli restrictions on land crossings, and fighting, have greatly limited the flow of food and other vital supplies into the territory
WASHINGTON: Badly needed aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier, a US official said Saturday, following problems that had plagued the effort to bring supplies to Palestinians by sea.
The pier constructed by the American military was only operational for about a week before it was blown apart in high winds and heavy seas on May 25. The damaged section was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday after undergoing repairs at an Israeli port.
Crews delivered about 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of humanitarian aid to Gaza via the pier on Saturday, the US official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement of the delivery.
It came the same day that Israel mounted a heavy air and ground assault that rescued four hostages, who had been taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 assault that launched the war in Gaza. At least 210 Palestinians, including children, were killed, a Gaza health official said.
It brings back online one way to get desperately needed food and other emergency supplies to Palestinians trapped by the eight-month-old Israel-Hamas war. Israeli restrictions on land crossings, and fighting, have greatly limited the flow of food and other vital supplies into the territory.
The damage to the pier was the latest stumbling block for the project and the persistent struggle to get food to starving Palestinians. Three US service members were injured, one critically, and four vessels were beached due to heavy seas.
Early efforts to get aid from the pier into the Gaza Strip were disrupted as crowds overran a convoy of trucks that aid agencies were using to transport the food, stripping the cargo from many of them before they could reach a UN warehouse. Officials responded by altering the travel routes, and aid began reaching those in need.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, told reporters on Friday that the lessons learned from that initial week of operations made him confident greater amounts of aid could be delivered now.
He said the goal was to get to 1 million pounds (500 tons or 450 metric tons) of food and other supplies moving through the pier into Gaza every two days. Before the causeway broke apart in the storm, more than 1,100 tons (1,000 metric tons) of aid were delivered, Pentagon officials said.
The US Agency for International Development is working with the UN World Food Program and their humanitarian partners working in Gaza to distribute food, high-nutrition emergency treatment for starving children, and other aid via the sea route.
Relief agencies have pressed Israel to reopen land routes that could bring in all the needed aid. Israel says it has allowed hundreds of trucks to enter through a southern checkpoint and pointed the finger at the UN for not distributing aid. The UN says it is often unable to retrieve the aid because of the security situation.
UN agencies have warned that over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of next month if hostilities continue.
President Joe Biden’s administration has said from the start that the pier wasn’t meant to be a total solution and that any amount of aid helps.
Biden, a Democrat, announced his plan for the US military to build a pier during his State of the Union address in early March, and the military said it would take about 60 days to get it installed and operational. It took a bit longer than planned, with the first trucks carrying aid for the Gaza Strip rolling down the pier on May 17.
The initial cost was estimated at $320 million, but the Pentagon said this past week that the price had dropped to $230 million, due to contributions from Britain and because the cost of contracting trucks and other equipment was less than expected.
Israeli hostage Noa Argamani freed in time to see her terminally ill mother
- Argamani, 26, was one of the most recognized faces among the hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7
- Argamani was rescued on Saturday, along with three other hostages, in an operation by Israeli special forces from an apartment building in central Gaza
TEL AVIV: Hours after being rescued from eight months captivity in Gaza, freed hostage Noa Argamani arrived at a hospital in Tel Aviv to see her terminally ill mother.
Argamani, 26, was one of the most recognized faces among the hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7. Harrowing footage of her being taken into Gaza on the back of a motorcycle, pleading for her life and reaching desperately toward her boyfriend being marched alongside her on foot circulated across the globe.
Argamani’s boyfriend Avinatan Or is still in captivity.
Argamani was rescued on Saturday, along with three other hostages, in an operation by Israeli special forces from an apartment building in central Gaza.
“I’m so happy to be here,” she said in a phone call with Israel’s president upon her return, smiling and surrounded by friends and family.
She was later met with cheers upon arrival at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center where her mother, Liora, was being treated for terminal brain cancer.
Back in October, shortly after her daughter was abducted from a music festival turned killing field in southern Israel, Liora, sitting in a wheelchair, was asked in an interview with a local television station how she imagined their reunion.
“At least to be able to hug her,” Liora answered.
Hospital CEO Ronni Gamzu said the mother’s condition was “complicated and tough.” He said Argamani was able to communicate with her mother, who they believe understood that her daughter had come home.
“For the last eight months we are trying to keep her in a status that she can communicate,” Gamzu said.
Argamani’s father, Yaakov, first met her after a military helicopter carried her back to Israel.
“Today is my birthday, and a gift like this I never believed I would get,” he said.
More than 360 people were killed during the rampage at the Nova dance festival, and another 40 were taken hostage by Hamas, according to Israeli tallies.
Nearby the hospital in central Tel Aviv, at what has become known as hostage square, thousands of Israelis rallied to commemorate the rescue of the four hostages and to demand the release of more than 115 that remain in Gaza.
GCC to hold 160th ministerial council in Doha on Sunday
RIYADH: The 160th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council will convene in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Sunday in the presence of the foreign ministers of the Gulf countries.
Two joint ministerial meetings will also be held on the sidelines, the first between the GCC and Turkiye with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and the second with Yemen Yemen, represented by Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsin Zindani, the GCC said in a statement.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said that the ministerial council will discuss a number of reports on the implementation of the decisions of the Supreme Council that were issued at the 44th summit in Doha in December 2023, as well as memorandums and reports submitted by ministerial and technical committees and the General Secretariat, related to joint Gulf action.
He said that the session will also discuss dialogues and strategic relations between the GCC countries and other countries and blocs around the world, and regional and international developments.
Albudaiwi said that, out of the keenness of the GCC countries to intensify and strengthen their relations and partnerships with countries, allies, and regional and international organizations, the Gulf-Turkish meeting will be held where several topics will be discussed, the most important of which is the joint action plan and ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries.
The GCC-Yemeni meeting will discuss and the bloc’s firm position “in support of the legitimate government in Yemen and the resolution of the Yemeni crisis through a political solution in accordance with the three references, represented in the GCC Initiative, the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and Security Council Resolution 2216,” he said.
The meeting will also look at ways tostrengthen the joint GCC efforts to assist the Yemeni people to ensure their stability and security, he added.
Israel PM asks war cabinet minister Gantz not to quit after ultimatum
- Gantz said last month he would resign from the emergency body if Netanyahu did not approve a post-war plan for Gaza
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday asked war cabinet minister Benny Gantz not to resign after threats to quit over the lack of post-war strategy for the Gaza Strip.
Gantz said last month he would resign from the emergency body if Netanyahu did not approve a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8.
“I call on Benny Gantz — do not leave the emergency government. Don’t give up on unity,” Netanyahu said on social media platform X.
Gantz canceled a news conference that was scheduled for Saturday, his office said, after the Israeli military said security forces had rescued four hostages alive from Gaza earlier in the day.
Without directly addressing speculations he had been planning to resign, Gantz appeared on Israeli television on Saturday evening after the captives were freed.
“Alongside the justified joy over this achievement, it should not be forgotten that all the challenges Israel is facing... have remained as they were,” Gantz said.
“Therefore, I say to the prime minister and the entire leadership — today, too, we must look responsibly at what is right and how we can continue from here.”
His centrist National Union Party submitted a bill last week to dissolve the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and hold early elections.
Gantz has been seen as a favorite to form a coalition in the event that Netanyahu’s government is brought down and early elections are called.
The former army chief, one of Netanyahu’s main rivals before he joined the war cabinet, had said this week that returning hostages from Gaza was a “priority.”
The army said Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were rescued from central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday.
All four had been kidnapped by Hamas militants from the Nova music festival on October 7, the military said in a statement, adding the four had been taken to hospital and were in “good medical condition.”
During their October 7 attack on southern Israel, militants took 251 hostages, 116 of whom now remain in the Palestinian territory, including 41 the army says are dead.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory bombardments and ground offensive on Gaza have killed 36,801 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
