UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – During this shot targeting an “enemy” car, three people died and three others were injured.
In Lebanon, peacekeepers were injured in a strike during their patrol while the southern suburbs of Beirut were targeted last night by numerous Israeli shots. Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
An Israeli drone targeted a car on Thursday on a major road linking Beirut to the Bekaa plain and Syria, the official National News Agency (ANI) said.
“An enemy drone targeted a car in Araya”the agency said, adding that the road had been cut. Last week, two vehicles were targeted by Israeli strikes on the same road, including a van loaded with Hezbollah ammunition.
Peacekeepers injured in strike as their patrol passes through Lebanon
This Thursday, an Israeli strike left three dead and three injured, according to the Ministry of Health. The shooting targeted a car at the entrance to the town of Saida, in southern Lebanon, according to state media, and four peacekeepers whose patrol was passing through the area were injured, noted a correspondent from the AFP.
“A raid by the Israeli enemy on a car in Saida left three dead and three injured”specified the ministry.
Gaza: Civil Defense announces 12 dead in strike on school transformed into refuge in the north
At least 12 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school transformed into a shelter in a camp housing displaced families, near the city of Gaza, in the north of the Palestinian territory, Civil Defense announced.
The strike which targeted an elementary school in the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, also left many injured, Civil Defense said in a statement.
Israeli strikes on Beirut suburbs, including one near the airport
Violent Israeli strikes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut during the night, including one near Beirut international airport which, however, continues to operate normally, the Lebanese Minister of Transport assured Thursday. An AFP photographer saw a hangar adjoining the airport wall, hit by a strike and badly damaged. The Minister of Transport, Ali Hamié, assured on “the airport was operating normally”. “Planes take off and land” without problem, he told AFP. The strike caused “minor damage” in airport buildings, “but not in the terminal”told AFP an airport official who requested anonymity. He said the damage had affected “Middle East Airlines premises” (MEA), the Lebanese national airline, and in particular those of the company responsible for aircraft maintenance.
The strike near the airport came after Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had targeted a military base near Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel's main airport. Air traffic was not affected. The nighttime strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut were preceded by a call from the Israeli army to evacuate four neighborhoods in southern Beirut, including a site located near the airport, the only one in the country.
West Bank: Israeli strike leaves one dead
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that one person was killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, shortly after the Israeli army said it struck the town. “A martyr shot by (Israeli) forces arrived at Tulkarem government hospital from Tulkarem camp”in the northern West Bank, the ministry said in a statement. A few hours earlier, the Israeli army announced in a statement that“an air force plane targeted a group of armed terrorists in Tulkarem”. The Red Crescent said a 57-year-old woman was also injured by shrapnel in the Tulkarem camp. The city is a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the target of frequent Israeli army operations. The Health Ministry announced that Israeli gunfire killed another Palestinian shortly after midnight Thursday in the neighboring town of Jenin. A Palestinian security source told AFP that it was a retired officer from the Palestinian intelligence services, Abdallah Saadi, killed late Wednesday.
France sees “prospect” to stop wars in the Middle East after Trump’s election
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared in Jerusalem that he saw a «perspective» to stop the wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
“I believe that a perspective has opened up to put an end to the tragedy in which Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region have been plunged since October 7”he declared after his meeting with outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, citing “the very significant tactical successes obtained by Israel” including the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and the election of a “new American president” who has the “desire to put an end to the endless wars in the Middle East”.
French Foreign Minister meets Israel Katz in Jerusalem
The head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot met Thursday in Jerusalem with Israel Katz, outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose country has been at war for more than a year on several fronts. The head of diplomacy declared on his X account to come to Israel “to continue a demanding dialogue on Lebanon and Gaza”where the army is fighting Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, two allies of Iran.
Wearing the yellow ribbon on the lapel of his jacket, the symbol of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, he met earlier in Tel Aviv with relatives of two Franco-Israeli hostages, Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon. They are among 97 Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, 34 of whom are considered dead by the Israeli army.
According to his services, Jean-Noël Barrot should also meet with Ron Dermer, member of the government and close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The minister will then go to the Mount of Olives, in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967. He will go to the French national domain of Eleona, within which there is a Benedictine monastery. The head of French diplomacy said Tuesday on France 2 that he was making this trip to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. “respect for international humanitarian law” in the Palestinian territory besieged and ravaged by more than a year of war.
More than 100 Lebanese MPs call on UNESCO to protect historic sites from Israeli strikes
More than 100 Lebanese deputies called on UNESCO on Thursday to protect the country's historic sites, subject to a campaign of Israeli strikes which particularly affects the ancient cities of Baalbeck and Tyre.
“During the devastating war against Lebanon, Israel committed serious human rights violations and atrocities”write the deputies in a letter to the director general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay. “We draw your attention to an urgent need: the protection of Lebanon's history, in Baalbeck, Tyre, Saida and other invaluable sites currently under threat”they emphasized.
Israel announces purchase of 25 “next generation” F-15 fighter jets from Boeing
The Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Thursday the signing of an agreement with Boeing to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets “new generation”financed by American military aid to Israel. The agreement, worth $5.2 billion, which includes an option for 25 other aircraft, provides for the fighter jets to be delivered in batches of four to six per year, starting in 2031, the ministry said. in a press release. The new fighter jets, F-15IA, will be “equipped with cutting-edge weapons systems, including the integration of cutting-edge Israeli technologies”specifies the text.
Since the start of the war with Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israel has concluded arms purchase agreements worth nearly $40 billion, said Eyal Zamir, Director General from the Ministry of Defense, cited in the press release.
