Lebanon accuses Israel of refusing ceasefire after new strikes

The Lebanese Prime Minister accused Israel on Friday refused to agree to any ceasefire with Hezbollah, after a series of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the first since the beginning of the week on this stronghold of the Islamist movement.

The Lebanese news agency Ani reported at least 10 strikes, preceded by 'calls to evacuate, which caused loud explosions and thick clouds of smoke.

The strikes reduced entire buildings to rubble, a few hours after a visit to Jerusalem by two American emissaries to try to find a way out of the war that has pitted Israel against Hezbollah, supported by Iran, since September.

“The extension, once again, of the aggression of the Israeli enemy (…) and the fact that it has once again targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut with destructive raids, are all indicators that confirm its refusal of all efforts to obtain a ceasefire,” declared Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

The Israeli army claimed to have struck Hezbollah targets in the Beirut and Nabatiyeh areas in the south.

– Ancient cities “in danger” –

Night strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, November 1, 2024 © AFP – –

Bombings also targeted the city of Baalbeck, in eastern Lebanon, as well as the regions of Aley, east of Beirut, and Bint Jbeil, in the south, according to the Ani.

After repeated strikes on Baalbeck and Tyre in southern Lebanon, two cities listed by UNESCO as world heritage sites, a UN official said Friday that she feared the war was endangering the country's ancient sites.

“Ancient Phoenician cities, steeped in history, are in great danger of being left in ruins,” wrote the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, on X, adding that “Lebanon's cultural heritage must not be another victim” of the war.

Israel is also continuing its offensive against Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, in the Gaza Strip, whose north and center were targeted by deadly strikes on Friday.

Vehicle covered in dust after airstrikes that targeted the village of Abbassiyeh, in southern Lebanon, on October 31, 2024 © AFP – KAWNAT HAJU

The war that has been raging since October 7, 2023 in the Palestinian territory has spread to Lebanon, where Israel launched a campaign of airstrikes on September 23 massive.

At least 1,829 people have been killed since that date across the country, according to an AFP count based on official data.

The World Health Organization said Friday it was “deeply concerned about the increase in attacks on health facilities” and stressed “that health care is not a target.”

– American plan –

Southern Lebanon © AFP – Omar KAMAL

Israel says it wants to neutralize Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to allow the return of 60,000 residents of the north of its territory, displaced by incessant rocket fire since the start of the war in Gaza.

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A few days before the presidential election in the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Thursday in Jerusalem with American emissaries Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, who then left for Washington.

According to Israeli media quoting government sources, the emissaries were carrying a plan for a withdrawal of Hezbollah from the border areas of southern Lebanon, as well as the withdrawal of the Israeli army from this region, control of which would fall to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

Screenshot of the new leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, during his speech to the Islamist movement's al-Manar TV channel from an undisclosed location, October 30, 2024 © Al-Manar – –

But Israeli officials have said the troops, engaged in a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since September 30, will not withdraw until an agreement is reached that meets Israel's security demands.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said he “appreciates” Washington's support, while refusing to give in to pressure from his ally.

“Terrorist armies will no longer be on our borders. Hamas will no longer control Gaza and Hezbollah will not set up positions on our northern border that would allow it to invade” Israel, he insisted.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah's new leader, Naim Qassem, said he was ready for a ceasefire “under conditions,” without specifying which.

– “The morgue is full” –

In the Gaza Strip, overnight strikes on homes killed nine people in Jabalia, in the north, and Nusseirat, in the center of the territory, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.

“The morgue at Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah,” in central Gaza, “is full of bodies, mostly children and women,” after the strikes in Nusseirat, said the director of field hospitals for the ministry, Marwan al-Hams.

Palestinians gather around a person killed in a strike, outside a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, on October 31, 2024 © AFP – Omar AL-QATTAA

The army announced that it had killed “dozens of terrorists” in the Jabalia sector and central Gaza, and had targeted “more than 200 targets” of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

A leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Taher al-Nounou, had reiterated on Wednesday the refusal of a “temporary truce”, after the announcement by an informed source that the mediating countries, Egypt, the United States and Qatar, were preparing to propose a truce “of less than a month” in the territory.

The WHO also announced that polio vaccinations, interrupted in the north due to the bombings, would resume on Saturday.

The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered on October 7, 2023 by the unprecedented attack led by Hamas against Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or died in captivity.

Of the 251 people kidnapped, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli army.

The retaliatory offensive led by Israel in Gaza has resulted in the death of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or died in captivity.

Of the 251 people kidnapped, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli army.

The offensive led in retaliation … 43,259 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas government's Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN.

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