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Hezbollah Official Says Response to Top Commander’s Killing was 'Delayed by Political Considerations'

Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights
Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights
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Hezbollah Official Says Response to Top Commander’s Killing was 'Delayed by Political Considerations'

Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights
Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights

A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the group's rocket and drone attack against Israel on Sunday in retaliation for a top commander's killing last month had been delayed by "political considerations," chiefly among them the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

The official, in written comments shared with media outlets, said the group had "worked" to make sure its response to the killing of Fuad Shukr on July 30 would not trigger a full-scale war.

Also on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel took pre-emptive action against Hezbollah in Lebanon and that all drones launched against a strategic target in central Israel were intercepted.
He said that the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran should know that the response was "another step towards changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes" and that "this is not the end of the story".

 

 

 

 

 

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Assad Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Türkiye Have Yielded No Results

File photo of a previous meeting between Bashar Assad and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Damascus in May 2008 (The AP)
File photo of a previous meeting between Bashar Assad and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Damascus in May 2008 (The AP)
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Assad Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Türkiye Have Yielded No Results

File photo of a previous meeting between Bashar Assad and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Damascus in May 2008 (The AP)
File photo of a previous meeting between Bashar Assad and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Damascus in May 2008 (The AP)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Türkiye had so far brought no tangible results.

"The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators," Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.

Türkiye severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported opposition seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the opposition as terrorists, according to Reuters.

"The solution is openness," Assad said. "Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction."

The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad "any time" for possible talks to restore relations.

A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.

Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.