In a First, Israel Strikes Syrian, Hezbollah Positions in Idlib

An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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In a First, Israel Strikes Syrian, Hezbollah Positions in Idlib

An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Israeli jets carried out on Saturday strikes against joint positions held by Syrian forces and Hezbollah in the Saraqeb region in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

This is the first time that Israel targets regions held by the regime and opposition factions.

Israel also struck a scientific research center in the vicinity of the city of Al-Safira near Aleppo.

The Syrian Defense Ministry confirmed the strikes that took place overnight on Friday.

It said the attacks left several military personnel wounded and caused material damage.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli jets flew over the international coalition base in the al-Tanf region on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border after flying over Syria’s Sweida and Daraa regions.

Syrian government radars detected the jets without intercepting them, added the rights monitor.

Local media sources said the strikes on Saraqeb targeted positions held by Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Seven people were killed and 15 injured in the attack.

The attack took place hours after a meeting between Turkish and Russian officials at a position held by Russian forces in the village of al-Tronba near Saraqeb.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by armed group Hamas on Israeli territory.



France Highlights Its Role in Brokering Lebanon Ceasefire Deal

 Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
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France Highlights Its Role in Brokering Lebanon Ceasefire Deal

 Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)

France’s foreign minister underlined his country’s role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group alongside the US, saying the deal wouldn’t have been possible without France’s special relationship with its former protectorate.

“It’s a success for French diplomacy and we can be proud,” said the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking hours after the ceasefire went into effect Wednesday.

“It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it’s France that has very old ties, very close ties,” the minister added. “It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line.”

France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, Barrot noted, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years.

The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn’t specify what that might include.