Israel criticized for ‘provocative actions’ in Lebanon despite ceasefire agreement

General Joseph Aoun (R), the Lebanese Army Chief of Staff, arrives to attend a handover ceremony organised by the Lebanese Armed Forces of four A-29 Super Tucano aircraft given by the US at Hamat airbase, north of Beirut on June 12, 2018. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 29 November 2024
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Israel criticized for ‘provocative actions’ in Lebanon despite ceasefire agreement

  • US general in discussions over implementation of ceasefire
  • Municipality warns returning residents about ‘landmines, explosives, unexploded shells’

BEIRUT: Israel was criticized on Friday for provocative actions in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire agreement currently in force.

The Israeli military said Lebanese residents were prohibited from moving south to a line of villages and their surroundings until further notice.

The army continued its operations in the border area it had advanced into and where it is still present, continuing actions which included uprooting olive trees, damaging structures, and even firing on mourners at a funeral.

On the third day of the ceasefire, security reports — primarily from the Iran-backed Hezbollah — highlighted what were described as “provocative Israeli violations.”

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Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem pledged on Friday to coordinate closely with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire deal with Israel.

The US general tasked with leading the ceasefire monitoring committee and its members began meetings in Beirut on Friday with the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Gen. Joseph Aoun to discuss the implementation of the agreement.

Meanwhile, Al-Manar TV reported that Israeli forces “advanced into the town square of Markaba … and began bulldozing operations and blocking roads.”

The Israeli army also opened fire on residents in Khiam, who said that they had obtained permission from the Lebanese military, in coordination with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, to enter the town for a funeral.

Footage captured by the mourners, who numbered no more than five or six, showed two of them injured in their legs by Israeli gunfire.

The mourners said that they left a woman’s body on the ground after an artillery shell struck nearby. The incident forced them to flee.

They also reported that the Israeli army seized the vehicles they had traveled in.

Israelis fired machine guns toward Aitaroun and demolished a playground in Kfarkela.

The army claimed on Thursday that the areas it had moved into in southern Lebanon were not included in the ceasefire agreement.

The deal, which was approved by both Lebanon and Israel on Tuesday, went into effect on Wednesday morning.

The Israeli army called on the Lebanese “not to cross into a line of towns specified by name to enter the border area, extending from Shebaa through Habbariyeh, Arnoun, Yohmor, Qantara, Shaqra, Baraashit, Yater, and Mansouri,” as anyone crossing these towns would endanger themselves.

The Israeli army said that it had 60 days to accomplish a “complete withdrawal from these areas” under the agreement.

The Israeli army has advanced into settlements extending 3 km from the border, an area which includes about 20 villages and Bint Jbeil.

Israeli forces have also prohibited Lebanese residents in the restricted area from moving around between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Eyewitnesses spoke of attacks on “olive groves in Kfarkela, where bulldozers are uprooting olive trees near the Al-Abbara area.”

Meanwhile, four Israeli tanks ventured into the western neighborhood of the town of Khiam. An artillery shell fell on the town and the Israeli army conducted occasional sweeping operations with machine guns.

Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the outskirts of the towns of Markaba and Tallousa in the Marjayoun district while Israeli drones continued to fly over the western and central sectors.

The Lebanese army, which continues to deploy in the areas south of the Litani River and away from the Israeli incursion, blocked the roads leading to the restricted area.

Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party, said that “Hezbollah’s war in support of Gaza destroyed both Gaza and Lebanon,” and criticized the “unity of battlefields that Hezbollah called for.”

He was speaking after a meeting held by the Lebanese Forces’ parliamentary bloc and executive body.

Geagea added: “Hezbollah usurped the Lebanese people by starting this war and took Lebanon to war while the majority of the people were against it.

“Hezbollah committed a great crime against the Lebanese people. We could have avoided the martyrdom of 4,000 people and all the displacement and destruction.

“(But) despite all these disasters, Hezbollah MPs are still claiming victory, which is a strange and completely unrealistic logic.”

Geagea said that the ceasefire approved by Hezbollah “is the biggest proof of the illegitimacy of the party’s weapons,” and called on Hezbollah to “meet with the army command and develop a plan to dismantle its military presence north of the Litani River.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Mays Al-Jabal has warned residents returning to their town of the presence of “landmines, explosives and unexploded shells.”

It confirmed that it “is following up with the Lebanese army and relevant authorities to facilitate the safe return of people on time.”

The municipality warned that “entering the town at present is dangerous as the enemy is firing and launching artillery shells into the town’s neighborhoods and streets to target any civilian movement in the area.”

It added: “Due to the presence of landmines, explosives, and unexploded shells in homes and neighborhoods, and given that some houses are still rigged with explosives and might detonate at any moment, as well as the town’s streets being blocked with rubble and obstacles, we urge you and rely on your awareness to refrain from heading to our town at this time, and await further instructions.”

The Israeli army published a summary and data on Friday about the military operations carried out in the last two months against Hezbollah on the northern front.

It added that “orders preventing the return of residents to open areas north of Western Galilee and Upper Galilee remain in effect."

The Israeli army claimed that more than 12,500 targets were attacked, including more than 1,600 military headquarters and more than 1,000 ammunition depots.

The Israeli operations included “more than 14,000 flight hours for fighter jets and about 11,000 targets for attacks.”

The army’s statement claimed that “more than 1,500 offensive infrastructures, about 160 military headquarters, and about 150 ammunition depots were destroyed in the operation against the Radwan Force.

“About 2,500 high-ranking fighters were eliminated, causing significant damage to Hezbollah’s force.”

The Israeli army added that it estimated that Hezbollah had less than 30 percent of the drones it had possessed on the eve of the conflict.

 


UAE’s highest court approves extraditing notorious trafficker Mehdi Charafa to France

Updated 17 sec ago
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UAE’s highest court approves extraditing notorious trafficker Mehdi Charafa to France

  • Charafa appealed the decision to the Federal Supreme Court, which dismissed his appeal and upheld the extradition
  • The accused is described as “a notoriously wanted narco bandit” by France’s Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin

ABU DHABI: The UAE’s highest court has approved an extradition request lodged by the French authorities to repatriate Frenchman Mehdi Charafa, a notorious drug trafficker, the Emirates News Agency reported on Friday.
The UAE Federal Supreme Court has approved the extradition of Charafa to the authorities in France following an extradition request filed with the UAE government on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, WAM’s report said.
After the completion of all relevant legal procedures by the accused and in alignment with the extradition treaty signed between both countries on May 2, 2007, the court made its decision to repatriate Charafa.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal Court issued a decision approving the accused’s extradition. Consequently, Charafa appealed the decision to the Federal Supreme Court, which dismissed his appeal and upheld the extradition on Jan. 14, 2025.
WAM said that the procedures reflected the UAE’s commitment to continued collaboration with international partners in the pursuit of international justice.
According to The Pinnacle Gazette, on Jan. 23 France’s Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that the UAE had accepted the extradition of an individual (without naming Charafa) wanted by France, during a visit to Agen, Lot-et-Garonne while inspecting the National School for Prison Administration.
Charafa is described as “a notoriously wanted narco bandit” by Darmanin, particularly pursued by the Interregional Specialized Jurisdiction of Bordeaux, which focuses on organized crime.
The nature of his criminal activities includes the use of the “go-fast” methodology — a high-speed transport method commonly employed by drug traffickers to evade law enforcement.
The extradition agreement with France is one of more than 45 agreements signed in recent years with several countries, with the UAE committed to pursuing further accords, WAM reported.
These agreements demonstrate the keenness of the UAE to enhance cooperation in legal and judicial matters according to the best international practices in this field, aiming to reinforce efforts that combat global crimes.


France confident Lebanon can form government representing the country’s diversity

Updated 07 February 2025
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France confident Lebanon can form government representing the country’s diversity

  • The spokesman said that France hopes the Lebanese prime minister will find a formula to resolve the impasse

PARIS: France has full confidence that Lebanese authorities can form a government that can bring together the Lebanese people in all their diversity, a French foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.
Asked about US red lines over Hezbollah’s presence in the Lebanese government, he said that France hopes the Lebanese prime minister will find a formula to resolve the impasse.
The United States has set a “red line” that Shiite armed group Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon’s next government after its military defeat by Israel last year, USdeputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said in Lebanon on Friday.


Israeli victims will continue to work with ICC after US sanctions, says lawyer

Updated 07 February 2025
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Israeli victims will continue to work with ICC after US sanctions, says lawyer

  • Israeli families want to continue engaging with it as part of efforts to seek justice, said lawyer Yael Vias Gvirsman
  • “Victims are ever more committed to have direct contact with the court and to pursue the justice they deserve“

THE HAGUE: Israeli victims of the Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war will still work with the International Criminal Court even after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the tribunal, a lawyer for victims and victims’ families said on Friday.
The sanctions are in retaliation for the court’s issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ICC’s prosecutor is also investigating the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Prosecutors sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders for the crimes, but they were all killed in the past 16 months of war in Gaza, according to Israel and Hamas.
While sanctions will complicate dealings with the ICC, the Israeli families want to continue engaging with it as part of efforts to seek justice, said Yael Vias Gvirsman, a lawyer who represents over 350 victims and families of victims.
“Sanctions could complicate the communications channels between Israeli citizens and the court, but victims are ever more committed to have direct contact with the court and to pursue the justice they deserve,” Gvirsman said in an interview with Reuters.
The Gaza conflict has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians since October 2023, the Gaza health ministry says.
The US sanctions, which focus on punishing the court for investigating Israeli officials, can also affect the prosecution’s probe into crimes committed by Hamas, says Vias Gvirsman.
“It will be a dilemma for the court how to engage with Israeli citizens and assess if contact with the court endangers them,” she said.


US has set ‘red line’ that Hezbollah not join Lebanese govt, envoy says

Updated 07 February 2025
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US has set ‘red line’ that Hezbollah not join Lebanese govt, envoy says

  • Morgan Ortagus first senior US official to visit Lebanon since US President Donald Trump took office

Beirut: The United States has set a “red line” that Shiite armed group Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon’s next government after its military defeat by Israel last year, US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said in Lebanon on Friday.
Ortagus is the first senior US official to visit Lebanon since US President Donald Trump took office and since Joseph Aoun was elected president in Lebanon.
Her visit comes amid a stalled cabinet formation process in Lebanon, where government posts are apportioned on sectarian lines. Hezbollah’s ally Amal has insisted on approving all Shiite Muslim ministers, keeping the process in deadlock.
Speaking to reporters after meeting President Aoun, Ortagus said she was “not afraid” of Iran-backed Hezbollah “because they’ve been defeated militarily,” referring to last year’s war between the group and Israel.
“And we have set clear red lines from the United States that they won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” she said.
Ortagus had been widely expected to deliver a tough message to Lebanese officials about Hezbollah, which was battered by months of Israeli air strikes and ground operations in southern Lebanon last year.
Fighting ended in late November with a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France that set a deadline of 60 days for Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah to pull out its fighters and arms and Lebanese troops to deploy to the area.
That deadline was extended to Feb. 18. Ortagus referred to the new date on Friday but did not explicitly say the Israeli army (IDF) would withdraw from Lebanese territory.
“February 18 will be the date for redeployment, when the IDF troops will finish their redeployment, and of course, the (Lebanese) troops will come in behind them, so we are very committed to that firm date,” she said.
Ortagus is expected to meet Lebanese prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri — who also heads Amal — and make a trip to southern Lebanon with the Lebanese army


Al-Qaeda in Yemen says senior official killed in blast

Updated 07 February 2025
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Al-Qaeda in Yemen says senior official killed in blast

  • Abu Yusuf Al-Muhammadi Al-Hadrami died when a motorcycle packed with explosives detonated near where he worked in Marib

Dubai: A senior member of Al-Qaeda in Yemen has been killed in a bomb blast, according to a statement from the extremist group behind a string of high-profile attacks.
Abu Yusuf Al-Muhammadi Al-Hadrami died when a motorcycle packed with explosives detonated near where he worked in Marib, east of the rebel-held capital Sanaa.
Washington regards the group, known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as most dangerous branch of group
Born in 2009, AQAP grew and developed in the chaos of Yemen’s war.
It has been responsible for multiple attacks, including the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Aden, which killed 17 US military personnel.
In 2015, AQAP claimed that two French gunmen who massacred 12 people in an attack on the Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine were acting on its behalf.