Israel’s military has accused Hamas of using Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya for “military” purposes and said “dozens of terrorists” have been hiding there. Health officials and Hamas deny the charge.
Israel is ‘violator’ of international law, UN membership of state should be suspended: UN’s Francesca Albanese
US envoys in Israel to seek Lebanon truce plan
Senior US officials were to meet their Israeli counterparts Thursday to discuss a possible deal to end the conflict in Lebanon and secure Israel’s northern border from Hezbollah attacks.
The US visit came as Hamas rejected separate truce plans proposed for the fighting in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continued overnight.
Less than a week before the US presidential election, Washington’s envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk were expected in Israel and Israeli forces continued their fierce ground and air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed optimism about a ceasefire in “the coming hours or days” and Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem said the group would accept a truce under certain conditions.
According to Israeli media reports citing government sources, the plan brokered by the US team would see Hezbollah forces retreat around 20 miles (30 kilometres) from the border, north of the Litani river.
Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and the Lebanese army would then take charge of the border, alongside UN peacekeepers.
Lebanon would be responsible for preventing Hezbollah from rearming itself with imported weapons, and Israel would retain its rights under international law to act in self-defence.
Hamas official says group rejects short-term Gaza truce
A senior Hamas official said Thursday that the group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza and insists on a lasting ceasefire.
“The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior leader of the movement, told AFP.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah claims attacks on Israeli soldiers
The Lebanese armed group said it fired a barrage of rockets and artillery shells at a group of Israeli soldiers in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam in the early hours of this morning, reported Al Jazeera.
