Israel’s ambassador to Washington says a cease-fire agreement to end hostilities between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “in a few days.”
Ambassador Mike Herzog told Israel Military Radio on Monday that there are still “points to conclude” and that any agreement would require agreement from the government. But he said “we are close to an agreement” and that “it could happen within days.”
Among the remaining issues is Israel’s desire to retain the right to act if Hezbollah violates its obligations under the emerging agreement. The deal aims to push Hezbollah and the Israeli army out of southern Lebanon.
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Israel accuses Hezbollah of not complying with a UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between the two sides, and Israel is concerned that Hezbollah could carry out attacks by Hamas across the border from southern Lebanon if it continues. Lebanon says Israel has also violated the 2006 agreement. Lebanon complains about military jets and naval vessels entering Lebanese territory despite no active objections.
It is not clear whether Lebanon would agree to this proposal.
The prospect of a deal comes after the top US envoy held talks between the two sides last week in an attempt to strike a deal.
Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, beginning a war that lasted more than a year. It escalated into an all-out war in September with a major Israeli offensive in Lebanon and later an Israeli attack down south.
Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israeli cities and towns, including 250 on Sunday.
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Palestinian officials say Israeli forces killed two people, including a 13-year-old, in the West Bank.
JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Ministry of Health says that Israeli forces killed two people, including a 13-year-old, in the West Bank.
The Israeli army said the pair threw explosives at soldiers overnight near the Palestinian city of Yabad and that the army responded by opening fire.
The Health Ministry identified the couple as Mohammed Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Zayd, 20. It did not reveal details about the circumstances of their death.
It was the latest bloodbath in the West Bank, which has faced increasing violence in the 13-month war in Gaza. The Ministry of Health says that around 800 people were killed, and more than 160 of them were under the age of 18.
Many have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, but Palestinians throwing stones and others who are not fighting have also died. There has also been an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza.
The Israeli government orders public organizations to stop advertising in the Haaretz newspaper
JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has ordered all public organizations to stop advertising in the Haaretz newspaper, which is known for its extensive coverage of Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said on Sunday that the government approved his statement after a Haaretz publisher called for Israeli sanctions and called Palestinian fighters “freedom fighters.”
“We stand for a free press and freedom of speech, but also the freedom of the government to decide not to withdraw funding for the promotion of the state of Israel,” Karhi wrote on the social platform X.
Noa Landau, deputy editor of Haaretz, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “working to silence independent media and critics,” comparing him to independent leaders in other countries.
Haaretz regularly publishes investigative stories and opinion pieces critical of Israel’s continued half-century of annexation of lands the Palestinians want for the future.
It has been criticizing the conduct of the Israeli war in Gaza at a time when most of the local media supports the war and largely ignores the suffering of the Palestinian population.
In a speech in London last month, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said Israel had imposed a “brutal apartheid regime” on Palestinians and was attacking “Palestinian freedom fighters whom Israel calls ‘terrorists.’
They also released a document saying that they had rehearsed their words.
“For the record, Hamas are not freedom fighters,” he wrote on X. “I should have said: using terrorism is illegal. I failed to say so.”
Iran’s top leader says Netanyahu should be ‘sentenced to death’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran’s top leader has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be “sentenced to death” for his role in the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and Lebanon.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comments on Monday at an event where he spoke to members of the Basij, the volunteer arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Khamenei spoke about the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“What the Zionist government did in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime. Now they have issued a warrant for their arrest. This is not enough!” Khamenei said, according to a statement released by the government-run IRNA news agency. “Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this government should be sentenced to death.”
The International Criminal Court in The Hague does not issue death sentences.
Khamenei also insisted that those in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance,” such as the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, would be stronger after the war.
“Fools should not think that bombing houses and hospitals in Gaza and Lebanon is a victory,” he said. “The enemy has not won in Gaza and Lebanon, and it will not win.”