Israel: There Will be No Ceasefire in Lebanon, We Will Continue to Hit Hezbollah

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER
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Israel: There Will be No Ceasefire in Lebanon, We Will Continue to Hit Hezbollah

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER

Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said on X on Tuesday that during a meeting with military officials, he reiterated that Israel will continue hitting Lebanon’s Hezbollah with full force and that there will be no ceasefire.

His comment came a day after Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said the war against Hezbollah was not yet over. The main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement, he said, though there was "a certain progress" in talks.

Pummeled by Israel's offensive, Hezbollah said political contacts were under way involving its backers in Tehran, Washington and Moscow, while also saying it had enough weapons for a "long war" and keeping up rocket fire into Israel.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and there were reports that US envoy Amos Hochstein might return to the region in the coming days.



Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
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Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)

Iraq's population has risen to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday.
The census, conducted on Nov. 20, was Iraq's first nationwide survey in more than three decades, marking a crucial step for future planning and development.
Prior to the census, the planning ministry estimated the population at 43 million.
The last census, conducted in 1997, did not include the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which has been under Kurdish administration since the 1991 Gulf War.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.