Israeli Shelling Kills Mayor of Lebanese Village

 An Israeli artillery unit fires from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel towards southern Lebanon, on December 11, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP)
An Israeli artillery unit fires from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel towards southern Lebanon, on December 11, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP)
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Israeli Shelling Kills Mayor of Lebanese Village

 An Israeli artillery unit fires from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel towards southern Lebanon, on December 11, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP)
An Israeli artillery unit fires from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel towards southern Lebanon, on December 11, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP)

An Israeli shell killed the mayor of a Lebanese village on Monday, a relative and Lebanon's National News Agency said, as Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah kept up hostilities ignited by the war in Gaza.

Hussein Mansour was killed in his home in the village of Taybeh a few kilometers (miles) from the border with Israel, the relative Mohamed Mansour told Reuters. The shell which struck him did not explode, the National News Agency said.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Violence escalated at Lebanon's border with Israel on Sunday, with the Iran-backed Hezbollah launching explosive drones and powerful missiles at Israeli positions, and Israeli air strikes rocking several towns and villages in south Lebanon.

After a Hezbollah official said on Sunday that Israel had escalated its attacks in Lebanon, an Israeli government spokesperson accused Hezbollah of "escalating its aggression".

"We will respond firmly to any continued aggression and we repeat that Israel is not interested in a two-front war but if Hezbollah decides to drag Israel into a full-scale war, the consequences will be severe for Hezbollah and for the state of Lebanon," government spokesperson Eylon Levy said.



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.