Category: World News

…Ceasefire after more than a year of fighting

…Tank fire hits 3 Lebanese towns one day after truce

Israeli tank fire hit six areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday and the Israeli military said its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone.

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

The Israeli military had urged residents of towns along the border strip not to return yet for their own safety.

On Thursday morning, Israeli tank fire hit six areas within that border strip, state media and Lebanese security sources said.

The rounds struck Markaba, Wazzani and Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe and the agricultural plains around Marjayoun, all of which lie within two kilometres of the Blue Line demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel. One of the security sources said two people were wounded in Markaba.

Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties. But Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon.

There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, who had been fighting for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.

Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.

Hezbollah has said its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy.” Its forces will monitor Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon “with their hands on the trigger”.

The group has been weakened by casualties and the killing of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders by Israel.

Reuters

Israel issued evacuation orders for parts of Beirut four hours before the ceasefire deadline, striking around an hour before. Hezbollah also fired drones into Israel in the hours before fighting stopped.

Within minutes of the ceasefire starting, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned residents of southern Lebanon against “heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area”.

The IDF’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X the IDF would “inform you when it is safe to return home”.

Still, dozens of vehicles were seen heading south shortly after the ceasefire began by reporters for the Reuters news agency, some packed with personal belongings.

Fighting had been ongoing for nearly a year when, in late September, Israel intensified bombardments and launched a ground invasion against Hezbollah.

The war has been Lebanon’s deadliest in decades, killing more than 3,823 people, according to local officials.

Under the deal announced on Tuesday and brokered by the US, Israel will gradually withdraw its troops from Lebanon’s south over a 60-day period.

Over the same timeframe, Hezbollah fighters and weapons will be removed from the area south of the Litani River, a boundary established at the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. They will be replaced by Lebanese government forces.

“This announcement will create the conditions to restore lasting calm and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes,” said a joint statement from the US and France, both of which will join an existing mechanism tasked with enforcing the UN resolution previously set at the end of the 2006 war.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire deal, calling it a “fundamental step towards restoring calm and stability” in the country and allowing citizens to return home.

But he also demanded Israel “fully comply” with the deal, leave sites it currently occupies and to respect the UN resolution.

Lebanese environment minister Nasser Yassin, meanwhile, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that given Hezbollah remains an “active party” the Lebanese parliament, his country now needed to focus on restoring the political process and facilitate “dialogue” between “different communities”.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not hesitate to strike if Hezbollah breaks any part of the agreed deal.

“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack,” he said.

Biden said Israel “retains the right to self defence consistent with international law”.

A snap poll for Israeli TV showed 37% of Israelis in favour of the ceasefire, 32% against and 31% saying they didn’t know.

Netanyahu also said ending the fighting in Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbour, would allow the IDF to focus on “the Iranian threat”.

Hezbollah had long been seen as Iran’s first line of defence. But with much of the group’s missile arsenal now destroyed, the military balance between Iran and Israel appears to have tilted in Israel’s favour.

Hezbollah’s “weakness” following the conflict concerns Iran, which wants to “preserve” the force’s domestic standing in Lebanon, according to former US envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross.

Having lost its entire leadership, the group “will take a long time to recover”, Mr Ross told the BBC on Wednesday.

He said he anticipated the ceasefire will last beyond 60 days because both sides have an interest in extending it: Hezbollah because it needs time to recover, and Israel, which Mr Ross said “does not want to get stuck” fighting in Lebanon.

The past 13 months of violence began when Hezbollah started firing rockets into Israel a day after its ally Hamas carried out a brutal attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.

Netanyahu said ending the fighting in Lebanon would also increase pressure on Hamas.

“From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own,” Netanyahu said.

President Joe Biden will meet with President-elect, Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday after the US leader pledged an orderly transfer of power back to the Republican he beat in elections just four years ago.

Trump, who never conceded his 2020 loss, sealed a historic comeback to the presidency in the November 5 vote, cementing what is set to be more than a decade of US politics overshadowed by his hardline right-wing stance.

Biden will join the tiny club of US presidents to return power to their White House predecessor — with a previous instance coming when president Benjamin Harrison handed back to Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.

The Democrat will meet Trump at the Oval Office at 11:00 am (1600 GMT), the White House said Saturday, with the clock ticking down to the ex-president’s return to power in January.

The 78-year-old ex-reality TV star won wider margins than before, despite a criminal conviction, two impeachments while in office and warnings from his former chief of staff that he is a “fascist.”

Exit polls showed that voters’ top concern remained the economy and inflation that spiked under Biden in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Biden, who dropped out of the race in July over concerns about his ability to continue at the age of 81, called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him after his election win.

The Democratic leader urged Americans in a solemn televised address to “bring down the temperature,” in stark contrast to Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 election defeat.

Trump has begun to assemble his second administration, naming campaign manager Susie Wiles to serve as his White House chief of staff.

She is the first woman to be named to the high-profile role and the Republican’s first appointment to his incoming administration.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected,” Trump said of the steely 67-year-old Florida native. “Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again.”

The other frontrunners for a place in the Trump 2.0 administration reflect the significant changes it is likely to implement.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement for whom Trump has pledged a “big role” in health care, told NBC News on Wednesday that “I’m not going to take away anybody’s vaccines.”

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for a job auditing government waste after the right-wing SpaceX, Tesla and X boss enthusiastically backed Trump.

Trump is expected to wield the axe on many of Biden’s signature policies. He returns to the White House as a climate change denier, poised to take apart Biden’s green policies with his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, ostracised by the west and labeled a potential war criminal by the International criminal court, has played host to 36 world leaders from nations including China, India and Iran as part of a summit of the Brics group designed to display Moscow as anything but isolated.

It was unclear if the UN secretary general is willing to defy the west and Ukraine by attending the summit, as Moscow claims he intends. António Guterres’s spokesman was equivocal about his plans on Monday.

The ICC has issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest over the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Moscow said the representatives from 36 countries would attend parts of the three-day meeting, making it the largest international gathering hosted by Putin since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin will meet one-on-one with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, as well as holding 15 other bilateral meetings.

Russia claims the group represents the global majority that can make up a substantial element of a coming new global order.

The BRICS group has already expanded from its five members South Africa, Russia, China, Brazil and India to a broader group including Egypt, United Arab Emirates. Ethiopia and Iran. Argentina applied and then withdrew after its Presidential elections.

New applicants, often known as hedging states, that are in various stages of seeking membership include Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Others due to attend the event, apart from the wavering Guterres, include the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as well as leaders from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Indonesia and Mexico.

A key purpose of the group is to act as a counterweight to the main western economies, especially the dominance of the dollar, seen increasingly as a US weapon to impose its political will through sanctions. Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, said on the way to the summit in Kazan “Brics can be a way out of American totalitarianism and create a path of multilateralism. Brics can be a solution to deal with the dominance of the dollar and deal with the economic sanctions of countries.”

But with expansion of Brics membership comes the risk of a loss of clear ideological cohesion.

India and Brazil share some of the desire to be freed of the dollar’s dominance, but not to the same extent as China or Russia. Despite the anti-western language in summit communiques, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for instance has insisted that Brics is “not against anyone”.

Alex Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre in Berlin, said overall the Brics summit is already a gift to Putin.

Writing in Foreign Affairs, he said the message of the gathering will be: “Not only is [Russia] far from being an international pariah but also is now a pivotal member of a dynamic group that will shape the future of the international order. That message is not mere rhetorical posturing, nor is it simply a testament to the Kremlin’s skilful diplomacy with non-western countries or to those countries’ self-interested, pragmatic engagement with Russia”.

Putin was unable to risk attending the last Brics summit in Johannesburg because he did not want to embarrass his hosts, who would have been obliged to arrest him on the ICC warrant since South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute.

Putin may be hoping more generally that world events are swinging in his direction, with the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House next month a and the possibility of favourable result in the elections in Georgia this weekend.

The future of the Ukraine conflict in the short term rests on Trump’s election, but even if he loses, a war fatigue in Europe is leading all sides to conclude that Ukraine will at least have to open talks with Putin while Russian troops still occupy a large part of eastern Ukraine. A decision by Guterres to attend the summit would have international consequences.

In 2014, Brazil, China, India and South Africa abstained from voting on a UN general assembly resolution in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Their unity was muffled after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, where India, China and South Africa abstained, and Brazil condemned Russia’s actions.

But the Brics+ founding purpose is not security but a means to develop economic and tech platforms that are immune to US pressure and sanctions, in part by circumventing the dollar and pushing the internationalisation of the yuan.

Despite Brics+ group having a larger combined GDP than either the G7 or the EU, its capital share and subsequent voting influence within institutions such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) remain significantly smaller, because each member country’s voting power is weighted on the basis of its financial contribution to the World Bank.

Participants received cards loaded with 500 rubles, which can be used at selected points in the World Trade Centre for purchases like coffee and souvenirs. This marks the first official preview of the much-anticipated payment system.

The demonstration comes just days before the BRICS 2024 Summit, scheduled for October 22-24 in Kazan, Russia. During the summit, more details are expected to be revealed about the BRICS Pay system.

As of 2024, BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

These nations has collectively been working towards increased financial autonomy. Some speculate the new payment system could evolve into a blockchain-based network, and the bloc could introduce a new gold-backed currency.

The unveiling aligns with the BRICS nations’ long-term goal of de-dollarization, especially after reports that non-dollar currencies accounted for about one-fifth of oil trades in 2023. The upcoming summit is expected to shed more light on these developments and their impact on global financial dynamics.

…Explosions heard in Jerusalem

…Missile seen shot down over Jordan

…Biden says United States prepared to help Israel defend itself

Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley after Israelis piled into bomb shelters. Reporters on state television lay flat on the ground during live broadcasts.

Reuters journalists saw missiles intercepted in the airspace of neighbouring Jordan. Israeli media reports said as many as 100 missiles had been launched.

Earlier, the military had announced that any ballistic missile strike from Iran was expected to be widespread and told the public to shelter in safe rooms in the event of an attack.

Iran has vowed to retaliate following attacks that killed the top leadership of its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

The firing of missiles came after Israel said its troops had launched ground raids into Lebanon, though describing them as limited. The Israeli campaign in Lebanon is the biggest escalation of regional warfare since fighting erupted in Gaza a year ago.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks.

“We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region,” Biden said on X about a meeting held with Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House national security team earlier in the day.

Reuters

• Israel says it kills another top Hezbollah figure
• Israel keeps up strikes after killing Hezbollah’s Nasrallah
• Hezbollah has announced it will keep firing
• Families camp out in Beirut streets after fleeing airstrikes

Israel struck more targets in Lebanon on Sunday, pressing Hezbollah with new attacks after killing the Iran-backed group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and a string of its other top commanders in an escalating military campaign.

The attacks have dealt a stunning succession of blows to Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border fire, killing much of its leadership and revealing gaping security holes. Israel’s defence minister is now discussing widening the offensive.

Following the death of Nasrallah – killed in a massive airstrike in Beirut on Friday – Hezbollah launched new fusillades of rockets into Israel, while Iran said his death would be avenged.

Israel’s intensifying bombardment has increased fears the conflict could spin out of control, potentially drawing in Iran as well as the United States, Israel’s closest ally.

Nasrallah had not only made Hezbollah into a powerful domestic force in Lebanon during his 32 years as leader, but helped turn it into the linchpin of Iran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.

Nasrallah’s body was recovered intact from the site of Friday’s strike, a medical source and a security source told Reuters on Sunday. Hezbollah has not yet said when his funeral will be held.

Supporters of the group and other Lebanese who hailed its role fighting Israel, which occupied south Lebanon for years, mourned him on Sunday.

“We lost the leader who gave us all the strength and faith that we, this small country that we love, could turn it into a paradise,” said Lebanese Christian woman Sophia Blanche Rouillard, carrying a black flag to work in Beirut.

The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, their latest round of warfare in four decades of on-off conflict, has been waged in parallel with Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas since the Iran-backed Palestinian group’s attack on Israel last Oct. 7.

Israel’s stated goal is to make its northern areas safe from Hezbollah rocket fire and allow thousands of displaced residents to return, but its strikes have also had a devastating impact on civilians in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed and 6,000 wounded in the past two weeks, without saying how many were civilians. The government said a million people – a fifth of the population – had fled their homes.

In Beirut, some displaced families spent the night on the benches at Zaitunay Bay, a string of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront. On Sunday morning, families with nothing more than a duffle bag of clothes had rolled out mats to sleep on and made tea for themselves.

“You won’t be able to destroy us, whatever you do, however much you bomb, however much you displace people – we will stay here. We won’t leave. This is our country and we’re staying,” said Francoise Azori, a Beirut resident jogging through the area.

The U.N. World Food Programme said it had launched an emergency operation to provide food for those affected by the conflict.

MILITARY ACTION

On Sunday Israel’s military said the air force had struck dozens of targets including launchers and weapons stores while its navy said it had intercepted eight projectiles coming from the direction of Lebanon and one from the Red Sea.

Drones could be heard flying over all parts of the Lebanese capital overnight and throughout the day on Sunday.

Nasrallah’s death capped a traumatic fortnight for Hezbollah, starting with the detonation of thousands of communications devices used by its members. Israel was widely assumed to have carried out that action but has not confirmed or denied it did.

Israeli airstrikes across Hezbollah strongholds in south Lebanon, the Bekaa valley near the Syrian border, and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, have meanwhile killed a string of the group’s other most senior commanders.

On Sunday Israel said it had killed Nabil Kaouk, a prominent Hezbollah leader. Hezbollah confirmed his death.

ESCALATION RISKS

Concerns have grown about the prospect of a wider conflict. Israel has mobilized reserve brigades and says it is ready for all options, including a ground operation.

Hezbollah has said it will cease fire only when Israel’s offensive in Gaza ends. Hamas and other Hezbollah allies issued statements mourning his death.

Diplomatic efforts have shown little sign of progress. Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday that efforts for a ceasefire were still underway.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday “It’s time for a ceasefire” when asked about the possibility of an Israeli ground offensive, but he also praised the killing of Nasrallah as a measure of justice for victims of Hezbollah attacks.

In Iran, which helped create Hezbollah in the early 1980s, senior figures mourned the death of a senior Revolutionary Guards member killed alongside Nasrallah, and Tehran called for a U.N. Security Council meeting on Israel’s actions.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was moved to a secure location in Iran after Nasrallah’s killing, sources told Reuters.

Hezbollah’s arsenal has long been a point of contention in Lebanon, a country with a history of civil conflict. Hezbollah’s Lebanese critics say the group has unilaterally pulled the country into conflicts and undermined the state.

However, Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said Nasrallah’s killing had “opened a wound in the heart of the Lebanese”. Rai has previously voiced criticism of the Shi’ite Islamist Hezbollah, accusing it of dragging Lebanon into regional conflicts.

Reuters