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UN Rights Official Says Gaza Detainees Ill-Treated, Humiliated by Israel 

Palestinians are silhouetted at sunset as they walk at a damaged section of the Al-Rashid coast road after crossing from northern to southern Gaza, Gaza Strip, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians are silhouetted at sunset as they walk at a damaged section of the Al-Rashid coast road after crossing from northern to southern Gaza, Gaza Strip, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
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UN Rights Official Says Gaza Detainees Ill-Treated, Humiliated by Israel 

Palestinians are silhouetted at sunset as they walk at a damaged section of the Al-Rashid coast road after crossing from northern to southern Gaza, Gaza Strip, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians are silhouetted at sunset as they walk at a damaged section of the Al-Rashid coast road after crossing from northern to southern Gaza, Gaza Strip, 18 January 2024. (EPA)

A UN human rights official on Friday called for an end to Israel's ill treatment of Palestinian detainees in Gaza, saying he had met men who had been held for weeks, beaten and blindfolded, with some released in diapers.

"These are men who were detained by the Israeli security forces in unknown locations for between 30 to 55 days," said Ajith Sunghay, a UN human rights representative told reporters by video link from Gaza, who met with released detainees in the enclave.

"There are reports of men who are subsequently released, but only in diapers without any adequate clothing in this cold weather."

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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)
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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.