2024-03-03 01:40:16
The Lebanese Hezbollah movement is ready to stop attacks against Israel if a ceasefire is established in the Gaza Strip, a senior representative of the movement, Hassan Fadlallah, said, Day.Az reports with reference to Interfax.
“The war in southern Lebanon, on the one hand, is connected with the aggression in Gaza, and on the other, it ensures the protection of our country. When Israel stops the aggression in Gaza, there will be a calm on this front, because it plays a supporting role,” the TV channel cites. Al Jazeera” in his words.
He also mentioned comments made by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last Sunday: Gallant spoke of Israel’s readiness to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a truce in Gaza, although at the same time the minister allowed for the possibility of a diplomatic settlement of the situation on Israel’s northern border. In turn, Fadlallah declared his readiness to repel any acts of aggression against Lebanon.
Earlier on Thursday, it became known that up to 112 Palestinians died in line for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip: Israel claims that the tragedy was the result of a stampede, and Palestinian medical services blame the Israeli military. Thus, the Ynet portal notes, an initial check by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed that the stampede occurred after a group of Palestinians opened fire on trucks carrying humanitarian aid. At the same time, the Israeli military, which was approached by another group of Palestinians at the scene, opened warning fire in the air and at the legs of those approaching. As a result, according to The Times of Israel, 10 Palestinians were injured.
After the incident, Hamas threatened to stop negotiations on a new hostage deal. US President Joe Biden said the incident would complicate dialogue on a ceasefire, and he now doubts that a ceasefire agreement can be reached by this coming Monday, as he had hoped. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir noted that the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip puts the lives of IDF personnel at risk and that such practices must be stopped.
On Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said all parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip were committing war crimes and called for all those involved in such acts to be held accountable. In particular, he noted that there are indications of indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli military; Israel has previously assured that it is trying to minimize damage to civilians. At the same time, according to Turk, the Palestinians are launching random missiles into southern Israel, and the fact that they are holding hostages also violates international humanitarian law.
The head of the Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Filippe Lazzarini, said UNRWA may have to scale back its operations at the end of March if it does not receive new funding. Previously, a number of UNRWA employees were accused of participating in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023; Israeli officials noted that the agency did not do enough to prevent Hamas members from infiltrating its ranks. Lazzarini noted that Israel demanded that UNRWA headquarters be removed from Jerusalem and froze its bank account. He clarified that donor countries have blocked a total of $450 million in agency funds, but it is negotiating with the European Commission to allocate $89 million. He clarified that interruptions in funding will interfere with UNRWA operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
On Thursday, Norway’s government said the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) had received $114 million in tax revenue previously collected by Israel, with more tranches of those funds expected to flow to the PNA in the coming days. Previously, an agreement was reached according to which funds that Israel was previously supposed to transfer to the Gaza Strip, but which are still frozen, will be deposited with Norway; at the same time, the PNA will receive the remaining funds due. “The money sent is absolutely necessary to prevent the collapse of the PNA, to ensure that the Palestinians have essential life support services, that their teachers and doctors are paid,” explained Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Earlier, Minister Ben-Gvir said that the Israeli authorities would limit the presence of Muslims at prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. However, the day before there was information that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may reject such an idea. On Thursday, Prime Minister Avi Hyman, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, explained that the cabinet was still discussing the situation with religious rites on the Temple Mount, and that the decision on this matter would take into account both security issues and religious freedom.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a number of groups in the Middle East stepping up attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, in turn, began shelling ships in the Red Sea. The rebels vowed Thursday that they did not use their full arsenal in the attacks. “Our military operations will continue, they will develop; we have surprises that the enemy does not expect at all,” said Houthi spokesman Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
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