Skip next section Lebanon military says Israeli fire killed soldier
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
Lebanon military says Israeli fire killed soldier
Lebanon’s army has said Israeli fire killed one of its soldiers in the south of the country and injured another amid heightened tensions in the area.
The casualties were in two separate incidents on a road in the southern city of Tyre and the town of Mais al-Jabal, the Lebanese army said.
The casualties were the “result of their being targeted by shooting from the Israeli enemy,” it added in an online statement.
https://p.dw.com/p/4pe6b
Skip next section Israeli far-right minister welcomes Trump idea to ‘clean out’ Gaza
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
Israeli far-right minister welcomes Trump idea to ‘clean out’ Gaza
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s idea to “clean out” Gaza by moving Palestinian residents of the territory to and .
Trump said Saturday that he had spoken about moving Palestinians out of Gaza to Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
“I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
He added that he expected to talk with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday.
Smotrich, a strong opponent of stopping the war in Gaza, welcomed the idea.
“I will, with God’s help, work with the prime minister and the cabinet to ensure there is an operational plan to implement this as soon as possible,” Smotrich said.
Any attempt to move people from Gaza would evoke dark historical memories for Palestinians of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba” or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians when Israel was created in 1948.
Egypt has previously warned against any “forced displacement,” which el-Sissi said could jeopardize a 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
According to the United Nations, Jordan is already home to around 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees.
https://p.dw.com/p/4pe5b
Skip next section UN says conditions not yet in place for residents to return to south Lebanon
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
UN says conditions not yet in place for residents to return to south Lebanon
A joint statement from United Nations officials has said conditions are not ready for Lebanese citizens to safely return to southern .
It said the timelines set under the US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah had still not been met.
“As seen tragically this morning, conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line,” said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon, referring to the demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights.
Hennis-Plasschaert made the statement alongside the head of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. They both urged Israel and Lebanon to recommit to the deal.
The statement came after Israeli forces killed three people and wounded 44 others trying to return to homes in south Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israeli troops remained on the ground there after a deadline for their withdrawal passed on Sunday.
https://p.dw.com/p/4pe5M
Skip next section Lebanon says 3 killed by Israeli fire near border
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
Lebanon says 3 killed by Israeli fire near border
The Lebanese Health Ministry has said three people died and more than 30 others were injured as a result of Israeli attacks in the country’s south.
A statement from the ministry said the people were trying to return to their villages near the border with Israel when they came under fire.
It said one person was killed in the village of Houla, another in Aitaroun, and a third in Blida. It added that several people were wounded in Kfar Kila.
Israel had said locals are forbidden from moving back to Kfar Kila and some other border villages until further notice. It did not comment on the reported casualties.
Sunday is the final day for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon under the terms of a ceasefire agreement that ended fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
However, Israel has said it intends to keep its troops on the ground beyond the deadline, without specifying how long they will remain.
According to the truce agreement, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon as removes its weapons and fighters from the area by Sunday morning.
Israel has said Lebanon’s government had not held up its side of the deal, while Lebanon’s military has accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.
https://p.dw.com/p/4pdcT
Skip next section Israel set to miss deadline for troop withdrawal from Lebanon
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
Israel set to miss deadline for troop withdrawal from Lebanon
The Israeli military is highly unlikely to meet Sunday’s deadline to withdraw from southern , as outlined in a ceasefire agreement that ended the fighting with Lebanese militant group two months ago.
In late November, the Lebanese army agreed to deploy its forces with United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon’s south as the Israeli military withdrew.
Under the terms of the deal, Israeli troops were to leave within a 60-day period which ends on Sunday. The deal also stipulates that Hezbollah pull back its forces north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border.
The Lebanese army on Saturday accused Israel of “procrastination” in the pullout.
“There has been a delay at a number of stages as a result of the procrastination in the withdrawal from the Israeli enemy’s side,” the army said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state,” and so the military’s withdrawal would continue beyond the Sunday deadline.
https://p.dw.com/p/4pdSn
Skip next section Trump wants Jordan, Egypt to take more Palestinian refugees
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
Trump wants Jordan, Egypt to take more Palestinian refugees
US President has told reporters aboard Air Force One that Jordan and Egypt should accept more Palestinians from , where the has caused a humanitarian crisis.
“I said to him I’d love you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. I’d like him to take people,” Trump said about his call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II earlier in the day.
Trump said he would also speak with on Sunday, adding: “I’d like Egypt to take people.”
“You’re talking about, probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know it’s over’.”
Before the war in Gaza began, the territory had a population of around 2.4 million people. A majority of them have been displaced by the conflict.
https://p.dw.com/p/4pdSp
Skip next section Trump lifts Biden’s hold on 2,000-pound bombs for Israel
01/26/2025January 26, 2025
Trump lifts Biden’s hold on 2,000-pound bombs for Israel
US President has lifted his predecessor’s hold on the provision of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.
“A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The announcement had been widely expected.
Last year, the administration of halted the delivery of those bombs due to concern about the impact they could have on the civilian population, particularly in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
One 2,000-pound bomb can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
Washington has announced billions of dollars worth of assistance for Israel since the began in October 2023.
A ceasefire went into effect in a week ago, leading to the release of some Israeli hostages held by in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel’s jails.
ess/nm (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
https://p.dw.com/p/4pdSm
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