Source: Al Jazeera & News Agencies
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:18:34
G7 Calls For ‘Humanitarian Pauses’ in Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza
Top diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) have called for “humanitarian pauses” in Israel’s bombardment in order to deliver aid to desperate Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The foreign ministers from the leading industrial democracies announced on Wednesday that they have agreed upon a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war, following intensive meetings in Tokyo.
They released a statement that condemned Hamas and supported Israel’s right to self-defence but called for humanitarian pauses in Israel’s shelling of Gaza.
The G7 statement sought to balance criticism of Hamas’s attacks and support for Israel with a push for “urgent action” to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave, who are in desperate need of food, water, medical care and shelter.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy emphasised that they “support humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and release of hostages”.
There was also condemnation of “the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians”, which the ministers said is “unacceptable, undermines security in the West Bank, and threatens prospects for a lasting peace”.
At least 154 Palestinians have been killed and 2,150 arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war broke out a month ago, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
As the diplomats met in central Tokyo, a United Nations agency said thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south on foot in Gaza with only what they can carry after running out of food and water in the north.
Israel said its troops were battling Hamas fighters deep inside Gaza City, which was home to about 650,000 people before the war and where the Israeli military says Hamas has its central command and a vast labyrinth of tunnels.
Since October 7, the Israeli bombardment has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, about 40 percent of them children, according to counts by Gaza’s health officials.
Nearly two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are internally displaced, according to UN figures, with thousands seeking refuge at hospitals, including in makeshift canvas shelters in their car parks.
Hospitals across the enclave have come under fire, with many struggling to continue operating amid shortages of fuel and medical supplies.
The UN says Gaza’s health, sanitation, water and food services are nearing “breaking point”.
