Israeli Drone Strike Wounds 5 in South Lebanon as Residents Demand to Return to Their Land

Destroyed houses are pictured in the southern village of Marwahin as families return with the Lebanese army to the area, on January 28, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed houses are pictured in the southern village of Marwahin as families return with the Lebanese army to the area, on January 28, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Israeli Drone Strike Wounds 5 in South Lebanon as Residents Demand to Return to Their Land

Destroyed houses are pictured in the southern village of Marwahin as families return with the Lebanese army to the area, on January 28, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed houses are pictured in the southern village of Marwahin as families return with the Lebanese army to the area, on January 28, 2025. (AFP)

An Israeli drone strike wounded five people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the country's Heath Ministry, in a village where civilians were protesting for Israeli soldiers to let them access their lands.

The Health Ministry said the strike in Majdal Selm hit “families,” a term it uses for civilians trying to reenter their villages. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.

Despite a Sunday deadline, Israel's military did not withdraw from southern Lebanon under the terms of its ceasefire with the Hezbollah group.

Protests have since been held daily, and the Israeli military has sometimes responded with gunfire, killing 26 people. The US and Lebanon announced a ceasefire extension until Feb. 18.

Two Israeli strikes on Tuesday wounded 36 people, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted “a Hezbollah truck and an additional vehicle that transferred weapons.”

The strikes were north of the Litani River. The ceasefire prohibits Hezbollah from having a military presence south of the river.

One of the strikes hit an amusement park, leaving it in ruins with shattered bumper cars, a twisted Ferris wheel and carousel. “This city is meant as an entertainment facility for children,” said Haitham Alam, the park's manager.



Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.  

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on March 4 in response to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and permanently move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, and then redevelop the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".  

Speaking in Madrid ahead of the gathering, Sisi called for the "international community's support and adoption of a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the Palestinian people -- I repeat, without displacing the Palestinian people -- from their land, which they cling to, and their homeland, which they do not agree to relinquish".

Sanchez, one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the European Union, agreed, saying "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of the future Palestinian state".

"Their expulsion would not only be immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations resolutions, but would also have a destabilizing effect," the Socialist premier added.  

The two leaders also signed a declaration upgrading Egypt-Spain relations to a "strategic partnership", as well as several memorandums of understanding in various fields including illegal migration and defense.  

Trump's plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.