Israeli forces kill 22 in southern Lebanon, ignore withdrawal deadline

Update Rescuers in Chaqra carry an injured person shot by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly tried to walk toward Mais Al-Jabal in southern Lebanon on Jan. 26, 2025. (AFP)
Rescuers in Chaqra carry an injured person shot by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly tried to walk toward Mais Al-Jabal in southern Lebanon on Jan. 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 26 January 2025
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Israeli forces kill 22 in southern Lebanon, ignore withdrawal deadline

Rescuers in Chaqra carry an injured person shot by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly tried to walk toward Mais Al-Jabal.
  • President Aoun urges returnees to exercise restraint and trust the army 

BEIRUT: Israeli army fire killed 22 people in south Lebanon on Sunday, including a soldier, health officials said, as residents tried to return home on the day Israel was supposed to withdraw under a truce deal.

Unarmed civilians were targeted by the soldiers’ gunfire and drone bombs.

The return of residents to the border area in southern Lebanon turned into scenes resembling a massacre.

The civilians’ return signaled the end of the 60-day deadline stipulated by the ceasefire agreement for the complete withdrawal of Israel’s forces from the areas they had invaded but failed to vacate.

The 60-day ceasefire deadline officially ended at 4 a.m. on Sunday.

After nine harrowing hours for Lebanon in light of the bloody developments — and despite Lebanese officials approaching the Quintet Committee overseeing the ceasefire implementation — civilians in Borj El-Mlouk and Maroun Al-Ras continued to be targeted.

Residents demanded “the immediate expulsion of Israeli forces from the region by force.”

President Joseph Aoun described “the day following the end of the Israeli withdrawal deadline as a day of victory for Lebanon, a triumph for justice, sovereignty, and national unity.”

He urged “returning citizens to exercise restraint and place their trust in the Lebanese armed forces, who are committed to protecting our sovereignty and security, ensuring your safe return to your homes and towns.”

Aoun emphasized that Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable.

At the entrances to villages in the western and central sectors, hundreds of residents gathered in vehicles, preparing to move toward frontline villages, which are considered supportive environments for Hezbollah and had not been evacuated by the Israeli army.

Despite the Lebanese Army Command’s warning to avoid these villages due to the danger of unexploded ordnance and the invading Israeli forces’ efforts to block civilian access with dirt barriers, residents disembarked from their vehicles at specific points.

After prolonged negotiations with Lebanese army checkpoints they continued on foot toward Mays Al-Jabal, Houla, Markaba, Aitaroun, Maroun Al-Ras, Yarine, Kfarkela, Borj El-Mlouk, Odaisseh, Rab Thalathin, Aita Al-Shaab and Blida.

Protesters chanted slogans demanding the departure of Israeli forces, asserting that these “are their villages, and they intend to return to them by force.”

One woman, who walked from Shaqra to her hometown, Houla, said: “I know that the homes in my town are destroyed, but this is my land, and I have the right to enter it and remain here, even if it’s atop the rubble.”

The Israeli forces responded to those moving into villages where they were still present with machine gun fire and sound and smoke grenades, which led to casualties.

These forces also took into custody people who approached their positions, particularly in the town of Houla.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam contacted President Aoun to express his “full confidence in the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces, primarily the army, in protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring the safe return of our people in the south to their homes and villages.”

Nabi Berri, Lebanon’s parliament speaker, called on the international community and the state sponsors of the ceasefire to “act instantly and compel Israel to withdraw immediately from the territories it continues to occupy in southern Lebanon after occupation soldiers fired live bullets at unarmed civilians.”

Berri negotiated on behalf of Hezbollah to establish the ceasefire agreement.

In an ongoing assessment of the situation, it was reported that 22 people died as a result of Israeli gunfire.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said six women and a soldier were among those killed, and 124 more were wounded, including nine children.

Among the deceased were Abdul Hussein Murad, Hussein Yassin, Nizar Yaqub, Hussein Dahir Said, Jaafar Tawfiq Hamoud, and Tamara Shihimi, whose son was injured and subsequently captured by Israeli forces.

Mohammed Youssef Zahour, a first adjutant in the Lebanese army, was also among the injured.

Among the injured people were Rawia Al-Hujja, a soldier in the Lebanese army who was in her vehicle in the town of Deir Mimmas, and journalist Hussein Khalil, who was wounded in Maroun Al-Ras.

A statement from the Lebanese Army Command indicated that units of the army accompanied the entry of citizens into Aita Al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil, Deir Siriane, Aadchit Al-Qusayr, Taybeh, and Qantara in the Marjeyoun area, as well as other border regions.

It said that the entry took place during Israel’s ongoing breaches of Lebanese sovereignty, which caused civilian casualties, and its refusal to comply with the ceasefire agreement and withdraw from the Lebanese territories it recently occupied.

In the afternoon hours, the Lebanese army dispatched military reinforcements to its positions, and UNIFIL tanks could be seen separating the residents from the Israeli tanks in Kfar Kila.

Also on Sunday, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the UNIFIL mission, Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, issued a joint statement.

They noted that the deadlines specified in the November ceasefire agreement had not yet been met.

“We witnessed a tragic event this morning, indicating that the conditions are not yet conducive for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line.

“Displaced communities, facing a long road to recovery, are urged to exercise caution. Violations of UN Resolution 1701 continue to be reported daily,” the statement added.

The two UN officials emphasized that the only way to move beyond the recent troubling chapter of the conflict is for both parties to adhere to their commitments outlined in the November ceasefire agreement and to fully implement UN Resolution 1701. The UN intended to maintain ongoing communication with all parties involved to achieve this objective, they said.

In a statement, the military leadership reiterated its “call for citizens to exercise restraint and adhere to the directives of military units to ensure their safety.”

The UNIFIL force, in a statement, urged the Israeli army to “refrain from firing on civilians within Lebanese territory. ” I

It called on the residents of the south to adhere to the directives of the Lebanese army. 

For his part, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that Hezbollah placed its narrow interests above those of the Lebanese state and was trying to escalate tension despite being the primary cause of destruction in southern Lebanon.

He also addressed the returnees and said: “Do not allow Hezbollah to exploit you in its attempt to cover up the devastating consequences of its irresponsible decisions at the expense of Lebanon's security.”

A Hezbollah MP denied the party having any influence on the civilians who returned to their villages.

Hezbollah legislator Ali Fayyad, who accompanied civilians back to Kfar Kila, said: “What we are witnessing is an initiative taken by the people; Hezbollah had nothing to do with it.

“The Israelis have adopted a treacherous stance.”

In a later statement, Hezbollah addressed the returnees: “Today, you have once again surprised the world and demonstrated that you are a proud, loyal, and courageous people.”


Jordan, Norway urge immediate ceasefire and renew push for two-state solution

Jordan, Norway urge immediate ceasefire and renew push for two-state solution
Updated 51 sec ago
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Jordan, Norway urge immediate ceasefire and renew push for two-state solution

Jordan, Norway urge immediate ceasefire and renew push for two-state solution
  • In separate meeting, FM Safadi and Eide stressed urgency of ending humanitarian crisis in Gaza

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II met Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in Amman on Monday, with the two sides calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and renewed efforts toward a two-state solution.

The meeting was also attended by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, the Jordan News Agency reported.

King Abdullah highlighted the need to end the war on Gaza, ensure the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid, and work toward a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state framework.

Discussions also covered rising tensions in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as developments in the Syrian Arab Republic.

In a separate meeting, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Eide stressed the urgency of ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, warning that failure to act risks further destabilizing the region.

Safadi and Eide also both condemned Israeli military actions and settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling them violations of international law. (Jordan News Agency)

Both ministers condemned Israeli military actions and settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling them violations of international law.

Safadi praised Norway’s leadership in supporting Palestinian statehood and economic development, particularly through its role in the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee.

He also welcomed Norway’s stance at the recent Madrid Group meeting, where it reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The two ministers discussed broader regional issues, including the need for a political resolution in Syria, and voiced support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ UN80 reform initiative aimed at strengthening global multilateralism.

At a joint press conference, Safadi condemned the use of starvation as a weapon in Gaza, calling it a “war crime,” and warned of the destabilizing impact of Israeli policies aimed at displacing Palestinians.

Eide echoed these concerns and called the situation in Gaza a stark reminder of the need to implement the two-state solution.

Both sides pledged to continue working together and with international partners to advance peace, uphold international law and support Palestinian rights.


Scuffles, insults as Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day under shadow of Gaza war

Israeli law enforcement officers scuffle with Israelis, on Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli law enforcement officers scuffle with Israelis, on Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Updated 24 min 45 sec ago
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Scuffles, insults as Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day under shadow of Gaza war

Israeli law enforcement officers scuffle with Israelis, on Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)
  • Groups of Israeli youths were seen confronting Palestinian shopkeepers, passersby and schoolchildren
  • Some chanted “death to Arabs,” “may your village burn” and “Gaza belongs to us”

JERUSALEM: Crowds of Israelis streamed through Jerusalem’s Old City, where some scuffled with residents and hurled insults at Palestinians, as annual celebrations of Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem took place on Monday.
Jerusalem Day, as the celebrations are known, commemorates Israeli forces taking east Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including the annexed Palestinian-majority east, its indivisible capital. The international community, however, does not recognize this, and Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, to mark the occasion, which was being held for a second year under the shadow of the war in Gaza.
“I ascended to the Temple Mount for Jerusalem Day, and prayed for victory in the war” and the return of hostages held in Gaza, said the national security minister, whose past visits to the site have sparked anger among Palestinians and their supporters.
The Al-Aqsa mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.
The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest place, though Jews are forbidden from praying there.
Every year, thousands of Israeli nationalists, many of them religious Jews, march through Jerusalem and its annexed Old City, including in predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods, waving Israeli flags, dancing and sometimes accosting residents.
The route ends at the Western Wall, the last remnant of the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.
“After so many years that the people of Israel were not here in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel, we arrived here and conquered Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall,” said 21-year-old Yeshiva student Yosef Azoulai. “So we celebrate this day in which we won over all our enemies.”
Groups of Israeli youths were seen confronting Palestinian shopkeepers, passersby and schoolchildren, as well as Israeli rights activists and police, at times spitting on people, lobbing insults and trying to force their way into houses.
Some chanted “death to Arabs,” “may your village burn” and “Gaza belongs to us,” drawing the occasional uncomfortable look from families making their way to the Western Wall.
As evening settled in, large crowds had congregated to celebrate at the holy site.
Authorities sometimes order Palestinian shops in the Old City to shut, though business owners this year said they had mostly closed down out of fear of harassment.
Outside the Old City, former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin was advertising his far-right political party Identity.
“Every nation and every religion has its capital... but for some reason, all the nations want a part of our one and only holy city,” he said.
“Jerusalem belongs to the Jews and only to the Jews,” he added.
This year’s Jerusalem Day comes amid renewed calls by some Israeli right-wing figures to annex more Palestinian territory as the war in Gaza rages.
On Monday, the Israeli army said three projectiles were launched from Gaza, two falling inside the territory and one intercepted.
In 2021, Hamas launched rockets toward Jerusalem as marchers approached the Old City, sparking a 12-day war in Gaza and outbreaks of violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel banned the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from operating in east Jerusalem earlier this year over accusations it provided cover for Hamas militants, and on Monday, a group of Israelis forced their way into one its vacated compounds in the city.
“The group asserted they were ‘liberating’” the facility, UNWRA West Bank director Roland Friedrich said on X.
“The group brought flags and erected banners, seeking to claim the compound for the establishment of a new Israeli neighborhood. Israeli police, alerted to the scene, failed to protect the inviolability of the @UN premises.”
The police, who deployed in force, said that over the course of the day “officers have handled numerous cases of suspects involved in public disturbances.”
In the morning, peace activists handed out flowers to challenge what they saw as the main march’s divisive message.
Orly Likhovski of the Israel Religious Action Center said those taking part in the peace event were “not willing to accept that this day is marked by violence and racism,” adding they hoped to represent “a Jewish voice for a different kind of Jerusalem.”
Some Palestinians accepted the flowers, but one elderly man near Damascus Gate politely refused, saying: “Do you see what is happening in Gaza? I’m sorry, but I cannot accept.”
In a rare move, the Israeli cabinet met nearby in the predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, home to an archaeological site known as the City of David — believed to mark the biblical location of Jerusalem.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under Israeli sovereignty.”
Since June 1967, Israeli settlement in the eastern part of the city — considered illegal under international law — has expanded, drawing regular international criticism.


UK surgeon in Gaza says ‘never seen so many blast injuries’

Rescuers place a casualty to transport them on a stretcher, in Khan Younis, Gaza, May 23, 2025, in this screengrab.
Rescuers place a casualty to transport them on a stretcher, in Khan Younis, Gaza, May 23, 2025, in this screengrab.
Updated 26 May 2025
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UK surgeon in Gaza says ‘never seen so many blast injuries’

Rescuers place a casualty to transport them on a stretcher, in Khan Younis, Gaza, May 23, 2025, in this screengrab.
  • “I’ve never seen so many blast injuries in my life and I’ve never seen so many injuries in Gaza in my life,” said Victoria Rose
  • Rose said she had seen a lot of severe burns, typical injuries for people who have been in an explosion

KHAN YUNIS: A British surgeon visiting a Gaza hospital said Monday she had “never seen so many blast injuries” as Israel ramps up operations in the coastal Palestinian territory ravaged by 20 months of war.
“I’ve never seen so many blast injuries in my life and I’ve never seen so many injuries in Gaza in my life,” said Victoria Rose, a part of a British medical delegation to Nasser Hospital in south Gaza’s Khan Yunis.
Rose, who has previously visited Gaza to work, said she had seen a lot of severe burns, typical injuries for people who have been in an explosion.
“We’re seeing these injuries in really small children as well,” Rose said from Nasser Hospital’s paediatric wing.
With Israel conducting dozens of air strikes every day in Gaza since restarting bombardments on March 18, humanitarians have said that nowhere is safe in Gaza.
The surgeon added that the large burns she had witnessed during her visit “are very difficult to survive from even in the Western countries where there is no war, and we have functioning hospitals and all the medical supplies at our fingertips.”
“So, here, most of these burns are going to be unsurvivable.”
Rose said the other type of injuries from blasts occurred when “whatever is around you gets whipped up in the explosion and ejected at very high force, and that then hits the civilians and it causes penetrating injuries.”
Often, the victims suffer partial or complete amputations in the bombings, Rose said, and because they are living in tents they turn up with large amounts of dirt in their wounds.
“Our first course of action is to try and clean the wounds, and then to try and cover them and salvage as much of the body part as we can.”
These challenges are compounded by the dwindling number of functional medical facilities in Gaza, Rose said, including Nasser Hospital.
“On the second floor, one of the wards has been blown up, and also on the fourth floor the burns unit was blown up.”
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week that “94 percent of the hospitals in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed, and half of them are no longer operational.”
Rescuers said Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 52 people on Monday, 33 of them in a school turned shelter.


Sweden to summon Israeli ambassador over Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage at school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit by Israeli military strike.
Palestinians inspect the damage at school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit by Israeli military strike.
Updated 26 May 2025
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Sweden to summon Israeli ambassador over Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage at school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit by Israeli military strike.
  • Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT that the EU should impose sanctions and exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza

COPENHAGEN: Sweden’s foreign ministry will summon Israel’s ambassador in Stockholm to protest against a lack of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Monday.
Last week, under growing international pressure, Israeli authorities allowed a trickle of aid into the Palestinian enclave but the few hundred trucks carried only a tiny fraction of the food needed by a population of 2 million at risk of famine after nearly three months of blockade.
Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT that the European Union should impose sanctions and exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“We have been incredibly clear about that, ourselves and together with many other European countries,” Kristersson told TT.
“That pressure is now increasing, no doubt, and for very good reasons,” he said.
The Swedish prime minister’s office confirmed to Reuters that Kristersson had made the statement.
Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas militants’ cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza.
The Israeli campaign has since killed more than 53,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip. Aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.


World Food Programme chief rejects Israeli claims of Hamas stealing aid

World Food Programme chief rejects Israeli claims of Hamas stealing aid
Updated 26 May 2025
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World Food Programme chief rejects Israeli claims of Hamas stealing aid

World Food Programme chief rejects Israeli claims of Hamas stealing aid
  • ‘No evidence’ militant group is involved in truck hijackings, Cindy McCain tells CBS
  • Aid vehicles being swarmed by ‘desperate’ people after months-long blockade

LONDON: UN World Food Programme chief Cindy McCain has rejected Israeli government claims that Hamas is looting aid trucks arriving in Gaza, The Independent reported.

The widow of late US Sen. John McCain has repeatedly advocated for Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian enclave, which was placed under a months-long blockade in March.

The first aid trucks began arriving in the territory last week, but the Israeli government accused Hamas of disrupting the distribution process, claiming to have killed six people affiliated with the group near an aid point at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Friday. Hamas said the armed men were guarding against looting.

An Israeli military spokesperson told Reuters: “Hamas constantly calls the looters ‘guards’ or protectors’ to mask the fact that they’re disturbing the aid process.”

Speaking to “Face the Nation” on CBS on Sunday, McCain was asked by host Margaret Brennan: “Have you seen evidence that it is Hamas stealing the food?”

McCain replied: “No. Not at all. Not in this round. Listen, these people are desperate, and they see a World Food Programme truck coming in, and they run for it. This doesn’t have anything to do with Hamas or any kind of organized crime, or anything.”

She described the situation in Gaza as a “catastrophe,” and said the WFP would continue work urgently to transport food and fresh water into the enclave.

So far, the aid trucks that have entered Gaza are “a drop in the bucket as to what’s needed,” she told CBS.

“Right now, we have 500,000 people inside of Gaza that are extremely food insecure, and could be on the verge of famine if we don’t help bring them back from that.”

Contrary to Israeli claims that many of the aid trucks entering Gaza are being hijacked, McCain said they are being swarmed by “desperate” people. “Having been in a food riot myself some years ago, I understand the desperation,” she added.