Civilians Injured in South Lebanon… 3 Hezbollah Members Killed

The funeral of a Hezbollah member killed in confrontations in the south (EPA)
The funeral of a Hezbollah member killed in confrontations in the south (EPA)
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Civilians Injured in South Lebanon… 3 Hezbollah Members Killed

The funeral of a Hezbollah member killed in confrontations in the south (EPA)
The funeral of a Hezbollah member killed in confrontations in the south (EPA)

Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade fire on Thursday while the Lebanese party said it carried out a number of attacks targeting military sites and several gatherings of Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah mourned three of its members who were killed "while carrying out their jihadist duty," the party said in a statement.
However, it did not state that they were killed "on the road to Jerusalem," a phrase listed in their previous statements symbolizing their solidarity and support for Hamas in its conflict with Israel in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while visiting troops near the border with Lebanon, “If Hezbollah chooses to start an all-out war then it will by its own hand turn Beirut and southern Lebanon, not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Younis.”
Several students were injured after Israeli shelling on Thursday struck an educational institution in the southern Lebanese town of Qunin.
As a result of the Israeli aggression against southern Lebanon between October 8 and December 5, the Lebanon Disaster Risk Management Unit said it registered 20,000 displaced people from villages in Tyre district, south Lebanon, Lebanon state-run NNA news said.
Thousands were displaced to other areas and were not registered within the Disaster Risk Management Unit, NNA added.
The unit spoke about a lack of resources to provide services, saying nearly 40 villages on the border with Israel are still not safe for civilians to return.
Later in separate statements, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted the Bayad Blida and Al-Jerdah areas, in addition to several gatherings of Israeli soldiers near the Mitat barracks and the Jal Al-Allam site.
Hezbollah said that among the 11 attacks carried out on Thursday, the party targeted Al-Marj Site and Ramim Forest in the occupied Lebanese Hounin village, in addition to an Israeli barracks in Matat, a village abutting the Lebanese border.
Villages adjacent to the Blue Line in the western and central sectors experienced a cautious calm at night on Wednesday, disturbed by flare bombs, reconnaissance flights, and a shell that landed in the sea off the Bab Al-Tem area in the locality of Qassimiya.
In Marjayoun, NNA said one person was wounded by Israeli shelling that targeted the Tallet Hamames in Serda.
The man was transferred to the Marjayoun Governmental Hospital. NNA’s correspondent also reported that the Marjayoun plain was subject to Israeli artillery shelling on Thursday.
Meanwhile, an Israeli civilian was killed after Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile from the Lebanese border Thursday.
In response, the Israeli Army said it struck the source of the fire with attack helicopters, tanks, and artillery.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.