Arab League Calls on Int’l Community to End Israeli Assault on Gaza

 A youth walks past a building which was destroyed in previous Israeli bombardments in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A youth walks past a building which was destroyed in previous Israeli bombardments in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Arab League Calls on Int’l Community to End Israeli Assault on Gaza

 A youth walks past a building which was destroyed in previous Israeli bombardments in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A youth walks past a building which was destroyed in previous Israeli bombardments in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The Arab League Secretariat General called on Monday the international community to take action to end the Israeli occupation and its assault on Gaza, as well as to stop attacks on holy sites, carried out with the aim of Judaizing Jerusalem.

In a statement issued in Cairo on the occasion of Land Day, the league expressed its support for the Palestinian people's noble goal of establishing its independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

It also commended the Palestinian people’s steadfastness and sacrifices of its martyrs, the injured and the prisoners, toward establishing their own state and denounced the policies of the Israeli authorities against Palestinians.



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.