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Bodies of Lebanese Shepherds Shot at by Israeli Forces Found

An Israeli army battle tank moves at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 1, 2023 amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
An Israeli army battle tank moves at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 1, 2023 amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
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Bodies of Lebanese Shepherds Shot at by Israeli Forces Found

An Israeli army battle tank moves at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 1, 2023 amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
An Israeli army battle tank moves at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 1, 2023 amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The bodies of two Lebanese shepherds who had been shot at by Israeli forces were found in an area near the border on Thursday, the Lebanese state National News Agency (NNA) reported.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army said it was looking into the report.
The NNA, which gave no source for its report, said they had been tending to their flock near the Wazzani river when they were shot at.
Lebanese security sources told Reuters the shepherds from the Lebanese border village of Wazzani were aged 20 and 21.
UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force operating in south Lebanon, said on Wednesday the Lebanese army had asked for its assistance to evacuate two people who had been injured in the Wazzani area.
It said the Israeli army suspended fire to allow the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to conduct a search, but this had been called off until Thursday morning due to darkness and the presence of landmines in the area.
The Lebanese army has no official spokesperson and did not immediately publish a statement.
Israeli forces and the heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire along the border since the eruption of the conflict between Hamas - a Hezbollah ally - and Israel on Oct. 7.

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Palestinian Central Council Demands that Hamas Cede Control of Gaza

Officials are seen at the meeting in Ramallah. (EPA)
Officials are seen at the meeting in Ramallah. (EPA)
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Palestinian Central Council Demands that Hamas Cede Control of Gaza

Officials are seen at the meeting in Ramallah. (EPA)
Officials are seen at the meeting in Ramallah. (EPA)

The Palestinian Central Committee called on Hamas on Friday to cede control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority.

The council held its 32nd meeting in Ramallah that created the position of vice president in a first since 1964.

In a closing statement, the council stressed that decisions of war and peace and negotiations cannot be held by a faction or party, but these affairs are national concerns, reported the Palestinian official news agency (WAFA).

Moreover, it said that “peaceful popular resistance is the only way to achieve national goals.”

It underlined the need to unify Palestinian territories and their political, administrative and judicial systems.

Priority now, however, lies in “ending the Israeli aggression and genocide against our people in Gaza... and in rejecting the displacement of the Palestinians and attempt to annex their territories,” it added.

“Our people are committed to just and permanent peace based on the relevant international resolutions,” continued the council.

It tasked the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to follow up on every regional and international effort to that end.

It also tasked the committee with launching a national dialogue that would reach national consensus that would establish the PLO as the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people.

The dialogue must prioritize a political solution that calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The council also stressed the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland from where they were forcibly displaced in 1948, which is in line with United Nations General Assembly resolution 194.

For its part, Hamas slammed the council decision to establish the position of vice president, saying it only deepens the Palestinian division and promotes unilateral decision-making.

It described the council meeting as “disappointing” and that it “had not met its aspirations to achieve real unity that is needed to confront the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israeli escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”

Hamas noted that main factions boycotted the meeting in rejection of attempts to monopolize decisions and the “coup against the spirit of national partnership.”

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine boycotted the meeting.

Hamas called for the “rebuilding” of the PLO and holding comprehensive elections, saying they were the “only means to restore unity.”