BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said it returned Israeli fire for the first time Thursday in nearly a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, after a second soldier was killed by Israeli fire in a day.
“A soldier was killed after the Israeli enemy targeted an army post in the Bint Jbeil area — in the south, and the personnel at the post responded to the sources of fire,” the army said in a statement.
A military official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP this was the first response to Israeli fire since last October because the post had been “directly” hit.
It was the third such killing of a Lebanese soldier since the start of the escalation between the Iran-backed group and Israel on September 23.
Earlier Thursday, the army had said “a soldier was killed and another was wounded as a result of an aggression by the Israeli enemy during an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in Taybeh village.”
The Lebanese Red Cross said four of its volunteers were wounded.
Hezbollah earlier said it fought off three bids by the Israeli army to infiltrate Lebanese territory, including one not far from Taybeh.
The Iran-backed militant group said it “repelled with artillery fire an attempt by enemy Israeli forces to advance at Fatima’s Gate” — a point on the cement and barbed wire wall running along the border.
Hezbollah also said it set off “four explosive devices” against Israeli ground forces attempting to “infiltrate” near the towns of Maroun Al-Ras and Yaroun.
It said it fired a barrage of rockets including at the Israeli city of Tiberias and a base for military industries in the Acre area, in response to the Israeli bombardment of Lebanese “towns, villages and civilians.”
On Monday, a Lebanese soldier was killed in an Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle at a checkpoint in the Wazzani area.
Lebanon army fires at Israel in first after soldier’s death
https://arab.news/mr45n
Lebanon army fires at Israel in first after soldier’s death
- Lebanon says returned Israeli fire for the first time in nearly a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
- Hezbollah says it fought off three bids by Israeli army to infiltrate Lebanese territory, including one near Taybeh
Abbas reiterates opposition to displacement of Palestinians
- During Moscow talks, president calls for immediate halt to Israeli acts of terror
- Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels
MOSCOW: The Palestinian National Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his opposition to all attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land.
Speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the presidential palace in Moscow, Abbas was reported by the Kremlin’s official website as saying that “the Palestinian people are holding on to their land, and we categorically oppose attempts by the Americans and Israelis to expatriate Palestinians beyond Palestinian territory.”
He said the Palestinian people “will not abandon their land, whatever the cost.” Abbas stressed the need to fully implement US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, leading to the withdrawal of occupation forces and the launch of the reconstruction process.
He emphasized that the Palestinian Authority would assume a central role in administering the Gaza Strip, and that the enclave and the West Bank constituted two parts of a single territorial unit, with a unified and undifferentiated system of civilian institutions.
He stressed the need for an immediate halt to “Israeli settler colonialism and Israeli acts of terror in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, along with the release of withheld Palestinian funds and the cessation of all measures that undermined the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to continue the struggle for the realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and of their right to a fully sovereign, independent state based on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while living in security and peace with neighbors.
He told Putin: “What we need is peace, and we hope that with your help and support, we can achieve it — a peace built on the basis of international legal resolutions, decisions of the United Nations, and the principles established following the wars of 1967 and 1973.
“East Jerusalem remains the capital of Palestine, and we know that Russia has always supported — indeed, was the first to support — Palestine, maintaining a firm stance in support of our people.”
Abbas thanked his Russian counterpart for Moscow’s support and commended the bilateral “bonds of friendship” between both countries. He added: “We are friends of Russia and the Russian people. For over 50 years our nations have been bound by a strong friendship that has developed over the decades and continues on the correct path. Russia is a great friend and a nation upon which we rely in many spheres.
“Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels. Your economic and financial support is both significant in scale and crucial in importance.”
Abbas emphasized moving forward with the implementation of a comprehensive national reform program aimed at consolidating the rule of law, strengthening the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability, and ensuring the separation of powers.
Putin affirmed Moscow’s “principled and consistent approach” to the Palestinian question.
He said: “We believe that only the establishment and full functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict.”
