Lebanon official media says two wounded in Israeli strikes in south
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese official media said two people were wounded Wednesday when Israeli drones struck a vehicle in the south, a day after a deadly raid and despite an Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire.
"Israeli drones carried out more than one strike on a vehicle in Ras Naqura, near a rubbish dump" south of a United Nations peacekeeping position, the National News Agency (NNA) said.
"Two siblings who were collecting scrap metal" were wounded and taken to hospital, it added.
The strikes come a day after Israel's military said it killed a Hizbollah navy commander in the south, accusing the slain militant of violating the November 27 ceasefire.
The truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Israel was due withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems "strategic".
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Last week, defence minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in what he called a "buffer zone" in south Lebanon.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Jordan Times
an hour ago
- Jordan Times
Death toll rises in Thai-Cambodian clashes despite ceasefire call
SAMRAONG, Cambodia — Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day on Saturday, as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose to 33 and Phnom Penh called for an "immediate ceasefire". A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. AFP journalists in the Cambodian town of Samraong, near the border that has seen the bulk of the fighting, heard the thump of artillery early Saturday afternoon. A Thai villager reached by phone as he sheltered in a bunker in Sisaket province, just 10 kilometres from the frontier, also reported hearing artillery. "I just want this to end as soon as possible," Sutian Phiewchan told AFP. Tensions initially flared over long-contested ancient temple sites, but fighting has spread along the neighbours' rural frontier region, marked by a ridge of forest-clad hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice. Both sides reported a clash on the coastline about 250 kilometres southwest of the main front lines at around 5:00 am Saturday, with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing "five heavy artillery shells" into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand's Trat province. Cambodia's defence ministry said 13 people have been confirmed killed in the fighting since Thursday, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded. Thai authorities say 13 civilians and seven soldiers have been killed on their side, taking the toll across both nations higher than it was in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011. The conflict has also forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia. After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire. "Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire, unconditionally, and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," he told reporters. Border row Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that for any ceasefire or talks to precede, Cambodia needed to show "genuine sincerity in ending the conflict". "I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue," Maris told reporters. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said Friday, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia. Malaysia currently holds the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members. Both sides have blamed the other for firing first. And Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station struck by at least one rocket. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, still an influential figure in the kingdom, visited shelters on Saturday to meet evacuees. "The military needs to complete its operations before any dialogue can take place," Thaksin told reporters. The 76-year-old said he had no plans to contact Hun Sen, Cambodia's powerful ex-prime minister who was long a close ally. "His actions reflect a disturbed mindset. He should reflect on his conduct," Thaksin said of Hun Sen. The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours, both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists, over their shared 800-kilometre border. Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash on the border. Relations between the two countries soured dramatically when Hun Sen last month released a recording of a call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the border row. The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn , Thaksin's daughter , was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army. She was suspended from office by a court order.
Jordan News
3 hours ago
- Jordan News
London and Ottawa Reject Macron's Palestinian Statehood Initiative over U.S. Concerns - Jordan News
French President Emmanuel Macron has spearheaded a broad diplomatic initiative aimed at recognizing the State of Palestine, working closely with Saudi Arabia and attempting to bring the United Kingdom and Canada on board. اضافة اعلان However, according to a Reuters report citing three informed diplomats, both London and Ottawa declined to join the effort, citing fears of political friction with Washington. In response to the lack of consensus, Macron has decided to proceed unilaterally, with France set to formally recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session in September. A French diplomat confirmed to Reuters that Paris is continuing to mobilize broader international support ahead of the UN meeting, aiming to build momentum for a collective recognition, despite international complexities and pressure from major global powers. Macron officially announced on July 24 that France will recognize Palestine as a sovereign state at the upcoming UN assembly. In reaction, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply condemned the French move. A statement from his office said: "Such a step rewards terrorism and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza has become." The statement warned that under current conditions, a Palestinian state would be "a launching pad for the destruction of Israel."
Jordan Times
3 hours ago
- Jordan Times
Trump says Hamas 'didn't want' Gaza deal as talks break down
JERUSALEM — US President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza as Israel said it would explore "alternative options" to rescue hostages after negotiations collapsed. An Israeli official meanwhile told AFP air drops of aid would resume soon over the Gaza Strip, where aid groups warned of surging numbers of malnourished children as international concern mounted over the deepening humanitarian crisis after more than 21 months of war. After US and Israeli negotiators quit indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, Trump said that "it was was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die." The US president argued that the Palestinian militant group, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war, was not ready to hand over the remaining captives held in Gaza because "they know what happens after you get the final hostages". His special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not "acting in good faith" in the negotiations that ended on Thursday. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim in turn accused Witkoff of distorting the reality of the talks and walking back on agreements that had been reached between the parties. Witkoff was looking to "serve the Israeli position", Naim told AFP. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace." Witkoff similarly said Washington would "consider alternative options" on Gaza, without elaborating on what they could entail. Netanyahu's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called to reinstate a complete aid blockade, occupy the entirety of Gaza, "encourage" its people to leave and re-establish Israeli settlements there. Mediators Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement that the talks could still resume, describing their suspension as "normal in the context of these complex negotiations" and vowing to carry on with "intensive efforts" to secure an elusive breakthrough. 'Carnage and famine' More than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders [MSF] said that a quarter of the young children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers it had screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, a day after the United Nations said one in five children in Gaza City were suffering from malnutrition. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany, in a joint statement Friday, said the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza "must end now". "We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid" and facilitate the "urgent" work of UN agencies and humanitarian groups, the European leaders said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of starving Palestinians, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience". Guterres said while he had repeatedly condemned Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, "nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction since." Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for the deepening crisis in Gaza, which the World Health Organisation has called "man-made". An Israeli official said Friday that air drops of aid would resume "in the upcoming days" and "will be managed by the UAE and Jordan". Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly said that parachuting aid parcels, which began in early 2024, was ineffective and cannot replace land access. Numerous Palestinians had been killed by falling crates, in stampedes or drowned trying to retrieve packages from the sea, before the operations ended after several months. 'It's a trap' Israel placed the Gaza Strip under an aid blockade in March, which it only partially eased two months later while sidelining the longstanding UN-led distribution system. Aid groups have refused to work with the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing it of aiding Israeli military goals. The GHF system, in which Gazans have to join huge queues to reach one of just four sites, has often proved deadly, with the UN saying that more than 750 Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed by Israeli forces near GHF centres since late May. In Khan Yunis, in Gaza's south, Fatima al-Shawaf mourned a relative she said was killed while seeking aid. "I would rather we die of hunger than have anyone go to this trap that is killing our youth. It is a trap," she told AFP. The World Food Programme said almost a third of people in Gaza are "not eating for days", with tens of thousands "in urgent need of treatment". Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
