Israeli Army Intercepts Target from Lebanon, Israel Says

This picture taken from Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel on November 27, 2023, shows the southern Lebanon village of Hula. (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP)
This picture taken from Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel on November 27, 2023, shows the southern Lebanon village of Hula. (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP)
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Israeli Army Intercepts Target from Lebanon, Israel Says

This picture taken from Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel on November 27, 2023, shows the southern Lebanon village of Hula. (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP)
This picture taken from Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel on November 27, 2023, shows the southern Lebanon village of Hula. (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP)

The Israeli military said it intercepted an "aerial target" that crossed from Lebanon on Thursday, in an incident that jolted the calm prevailing at the frontier since the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel agreed a temporary truce.
Reuters witnesses heard blasts along the southeastern Lebanese frontier. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for any attacks from Lebanon.
Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, had been trading fire across the border for weeks following the eruption of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7, in their worst fighting since a 2006 war.
Other groups, including Hamas and the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, also launched attacks from Lebanon against Israel during the conflict.
The Israeli army said on Thursday it had "successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory".
A spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told Reuters a launch was detected from Lebanon towards Israel, followed by Israeli retaliation.
Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire for a seventh day, and Washington said it hoped the truce could be extended further to free more hostages and let aid reach Gaza.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.