G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Foreign Ministers from the G7 democracies on Tuesday upped the pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

In a draft statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Italy, the G7 ministers urged Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Palestinians, and condemned increasing settler violence in the West Bank, Reuters reported.

The ministers also condemned recent attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and expressed their support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying it plays a "vital role."



Lebanese Army Says Israeli Drone Targets Military Bulldozer at Army Base

Destroyed buildings in an area of the village of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, located next to the Israeli-Lebanese border, as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP)
Destroyed buildings in an area of the village of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, located next to the Israeli-Lebanese border, as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP)
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Lebanese Army Says Israeli Drone Targets Military Bulldozer at Army Base

Destroyed buildings in an area of the village of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, located next to the Israeli-Lebanese border, as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP)
Destroyed buildings in an area of the village of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, located next to the Israeli-Lebanese border, as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP)

An Israeli drone targeted a Lebanese military bulldozer while it was carrying out fortification work inside the Al-Abbara military base near Lebanon's border with Syria, the Lebanese army said on Monday.

One soldier was wounded, it said.

Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah started implementing a ceasefire last Wednesday as part of a US-proposed deal for a 60-day truce to end more than a year of hostilities.

The accord cleared the way for an end to a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year.