Israeli drone attack kills civilian in southern Lebanon, several injured

The Lebanese army is redeploying to some of its previous forward positions south of the Litani River under the ceasefire agreement reached on Nov. 26 between Israel and Hezbollah. (X/@LebarmyOfficial)
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Updated 11 December 2024
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Israeli drone attack kills civilian in southern Lebanon, several injured

  • UNIFIL enters border town of Khiam to verify accuracy of Israeli troop pulllout
  • Interior minister: ‘4,886 Syrians left via Beirut Airport abroad, and no member of Syrian regime crossed into Lebanon’

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike in the south killed a Lebanese civilian on Wednesday amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
One resident was killed and another wounded when an Israeli drone launched a raid on a house in the town of Ainata in the Bint Jbeil district, said the ministry.
An Israeli drone targeted a bus in the town of Beit Lif, and initial information indicated that there were injuries among its passengers.
Israel’s violations of the ceasefire continued as UN peacekeepers entered the town of Khiam on Wednesday to “inspect the road and verify the Israeli army’s withdrawal.”
The UNIFIL contingent was assessing the adherence of Israeli forces to their commitment to withdraw from the northern and southern neighborhoods of the city.
The move is in preparation for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and the Engineering Regiment to the northern district, where they will conduct an initial clearance of munitions as part of the first phase of their operation in the area.
The Lebanese army is redeploying to some of its previous forward positions south of the Litani River under the ceasefire agreement reached on Nov. 26 between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ceasefire came into effect on Nov. 27 and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army will deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdraws over 60 days. The Israeli army is expected to withdraw from the frontline areas and the second line of villages it penetrated during the ground operation that started on Oct. 1.
The Lebanese army’s bulldozers awaited orders on Wednesday to enter neighborhoods in Khiam to clear roads and assess the remnants of missiles, shells and unexploded ordnance, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces before the deployment of additional army units assigned to the task.
The Israeli forces remained in these villages, where they demolished homes and facilities to render the area uninhabitable.
A military source anticipated that bulldozers and engineering equipment would require time to clear the debris in areas that experienced devastating explosions.
The Israeli military continued its operations on Wednesday morning, demolishing the remaining houses in Khiam and destroying residences in Kfar Kila up to the very last moment.
During this time, Israeli forces in the border area continued their violations.
A contingent of about 15 Israeli personnel raided a residence belonging to the Al-Jouki family in the town of Burj Al-Muluk, conducting a search of the premises.
They interrogated two people in the house and seized their mobile phones.
The forces instructed them to vacate the residence immediately and not to return until further notice.
Israeli army spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, reiterated a reminder to the residents of Lebanon on his social media account about the prohibition of movement south of the following villages and their surroundings: Shebaa, Habbariyeh, Marjayoun, Arnoun, Yahrun, Al-Qantara, Shaqra, Barashit, Yater and Al-Mansouri, until further notice.
This restricted area covers about 60 towns and villages.
The Israeli army prevented residents who did not leave these areas from moving around, and any movements drew gunfire.
In Chamaa, civil defense personnel — working in coordination with the Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces — retrieved the remains of Hezbollah members from under the rubble.
The town witnessed confrontations between the Israeli army and Hezbollah that lasted for days before the ceasefire.
The Civil Defense has been trying to enter the border areas since the ceasefire took effect.
The bodies of Hezbollah members remain unrecovered at the locations where they died.
According to Hezbollah’s estimates, the number of bodies is believed to be in the hundreds.
Samir Geagea, head of the Christian Lebanese Forces party, questioned Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Wednesday about the lawlessness at the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.
The crossing is the only one open for transit traffic in both directions.
“Is it true that some General Security officers are cooperating with a security group from the remnants of Hezbollah to facilitate the crossing of the Assad regime’s supporters into Lebanon?” Geagea asked.
“If this is not true, we demand that it be officially and explicitly announced, with facts proving that the Lebanese state is controlling its borders. However, if it is true, it is unacceptable.
“The lawlessness the Lebanese people have endured due to de facto policies and the complicity or failure of specific official departments must end.
“Punitive measures are needed against anyone who breaches their duties and responsibilities,” Geagea said.
The head of the Change Movement, Elie Mahfoud, and former Lebanese Forces MP, Eddy Abi Lamaa, filed a complaint with the Lebanese judiciary against Assad and his regime’s officials for the “crime of kidnapping Lebanese nationals and playing a role in their disappearance.”
Mahfoud said in front of Beirut’s Palace of Justice: “We presented documented information in the complaint and testimonies of freed prisoners.
“The main demand is issuing an arrest warrant in absentia against Assad and his accomplices. If this does not happen, we will take other steps,” Mahfoud said.
Besides Assad, Abi Lamaa said that the complaint included the Syrian state, National Security Adviser Ali Mamlouk, and interior and defense ministers.
Also on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mawlawi said that 4,883 Syrians had left from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut since last Sunday after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Mawlawi said that no security personnel affiliated with the regime had crossed into Lebanon.
He said that only people with legal residency in Lebanon or those holding foreign passports or residency permits could enter the country.
The minister also said that nine former Lebanese detainees held in Syrian prisons had returned so far.
The Committee of the Families of Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon has compiled a list of more than 600 people who were arrested either in Lebanon or at the shared border and subsequently taken to Syrian prisons. Some of those names date back to the 1980s.
Syrian authorities have been denying the detention of such people in Syrian prisons for the past two decades.


At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says

Updated 20 May 2025
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At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says

  • The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days

TRIPOLI: At least 58 unidentified corpses were found on Monday in a hospital in Tripoli that was under the control of a militia whose leader was killed last week, the interior ministry said.
The corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim Accidents Hospital in the densely populated Abu Salim neighborhood, following a report from the hospital, the ministry said in a statement.
Pictures of corpses with numbers and censored faces were posted by the ministry, showing remains in various states of decomposition on steel carriers and beds. Some of the remains were burnt. An investigation was underway to establish the identities of the deceased.
“So far, 23 corpses have been examined, and all necessary legal procedures have been taken, including documenting data and collecting samples,” the ministry said.
Abu Salim was home to a militia known as the Stabilization Support Apparatus, whose chief, Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, was killed in unconfirmed circumstances last Monday.
Kikli’s killing led to the sudden defeat of the SSA by factions aligned to internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
On Tuesday, Dbeibah ordered armed groups to be dismantled, triggering the fiercest clashes Tripoli had seen in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations.
The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days. On Saturday, officials said nine corpses had been found in a morgue refrigerator in Al-Khadra hospital, another SSA-controlled hospital in the Abu Salim neighborhood.
The militia had not reported the corpses to the relevant authorities, the interior ministry said.
Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias was an “ongoing project,” as a ceasefire after last week’s clashes remained in place.
The GNU posted a video on Monday showing bulldozers demolishing the so-called 77 camp, one of the biggest facilities that was under control of SSA. The camp is to be turned into a national park.
Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.


Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

Updated 20 May 2025
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Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hit back at condemnation of his country’s military offensive in Gaza by the leaders of France, Canada and Britain saying they had given a “huge prize” to Hamas.
“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the October 2023 attack that set off the Gaza war.


Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

Updated 20 May 2025
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Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

HELSINKI: An East Jerusalem hospital chief told AFP on Monday that Gaza was in a “catastrophic” state after weeks of a complete blockade of humanitarian aid and called on countries to act to end the suffering of civilians.
Fadi Atrash, chief executive of the Augusta Victoria-Hospital in East Jerusalem — which helps Palestinians from the occupied territories and Gaza — said he could no longer “find the words” to describe the crisis faced by people in war-torn Gaza.
“We are facing a very, very critical and catastrophic situation,” he said, with all components of the health care system destroyed, and health care workers “running out of energy.”
Augusta Victoria, which had a hospital in Gaza that has been destroyed in Israeli bombings now provides health care in Gaza with the limited resources available, Atrash said.
Atrash visited Finland — which has not recognized Palestine as a state — on Monday as part of a tour of the Nordic countries.
“My main message for the Nordic countries is to put pressure to stop the war, to stop the killing.”
Humanitarian food, medical and fuel supplies have been blocked from entering Gaza for 11 weeks, and the World Health Organization has warned that two million people face starvation.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb joined other European leaders on Monday to call on Israel to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Stubb also said “forced displacement of populations is a war crime and cannot form part of any solution,” in a post on X.
Israel this month approved an expanded military offensive in Gaza but has agreed to let limited aid into Gaza.


Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Updated 20 May 2025
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Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.


Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Updated 20 May 2025
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Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.