Lebanese PM Believes Ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah Possible

Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati addresses the United Nations Security Council during an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2024. EPA/STEPHANI SPINDEL
Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati addresses the United Nations Security Council during an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2024. EPA/STEPHANI SPINDEL
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Lebanese PM Believes Ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah Possible

Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati addresses the United Nations Security Council during an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2024. EPA/STEPHANI SPINDEL
Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati addresses the United Nations Security Council during an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2024. EPA/STEPHANI SPINDEL

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has expressed hope that a ceasefire can be reached soon to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The United States, France and several allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border while also expressing support for a ceasefire in Gaza following intense discussions at the United Nations on Wednesday.

Mikati welcomed the call for a truce but said the key to its implementation was whether Israel, which has been moving troops closer to Lebanon, is committed to enforcing international resolutions.

Asked if a ceasefire could be secured soon, Mikati told Reuters: "Hopefully, yes."

The ceasefire would apply to the Israel-Lebanon "Blue Line," the demarcation line between the countries, and would allow the parties to negotiate towards a potential diplomatic resolution of the conflict, a senior Biden administration official said.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Thursday welcomed the call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire to allow the space for diplomacy to succeed.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”