Canada, UK, Australia and Japan Call for ‘Urgent End to Hostilities in Lebanon’https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5262490-canada-uk-australia-and-japan-call-%E2%80%98urgent-end-hostilities-lebanon%E2%80%99
Canada, UK, Australia and Japan Call for ‘Urgent End to Hostilities in Lebanon’
Israeli military armored vehicles operate in Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in northern Israel, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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Canada, UK, Australia and Japan Call for ‘Urgent End to Hostilities in Lebanon’
Israeli military armored vehicles operate in Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in northern Israel, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan and six other countries condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Tuesday while calling "for an urgent end to hostilities" in the country where Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people since March.
"Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and the United Kingdom remain deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation and displacement crisis in Lebanon," the countries said in a joint statement without directly mentioning US ally Israel or Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The statement comes after the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers last month. The UN has said preliminary findings from its probe showed one was killed by an Israeli tank projectile and two by an improvised explosive device most likely placed by Hezbollah.
Israel intensified air attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on March 2, three days into the US.-Israeli war on Iran.
Israel has since widened a ground invasion into Lebanon's south, ordering hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to flee villages. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah missile fire has mainly targeted towns near Israel's northern border but has also been aimed at major cities. Two Israelis and 13 soldiers have been killed since March 2, Israel says.
"We condemn in the strongest terms actions that have killed UN peacekeepers and significantly increased the risks faced by humanitarian personnel in southern Lebanon," the 10 countries said in the joint statement, which only noted Israel in the context of the ceasefire in the US and Israel's war against Iran.
"We welcome the ceasefire agreed between the United States, Israel and Iran. We call for an urgent end to hostilities in Lebanon."
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran have killed thousands and displaced millions. A fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran still has a week to run.
Iran says Israel's war in Lebanon must be included in any agreement to end the wider conflict. Israel has ruled out discussing a ceasefire in Lebanon and demanded that Beirut disarm Hezbollah.
Abyan Governor to Asharq Al-Awsat: Forces Ready for ‘Zero Hour’ Against Houthishttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5316650-abyan-governor-asharq-al-awsat-forces-ready-%E2%80%98zero-hour%E2%80%99-against-houthis
Abyan Governor to Asharq Al-Awsat: Forces Ready for ‘Zero Hour’ Against Houthis
Al-Rabash said security and development were top priorities. Photo: Turky Alagili
Maj. Gen. Mukhtar al-Rabash al-Haythami, governor of Abyan and commander of the province’s military axis, said his forces were ready for the “zero hour” to launch an offensive against the Houthis in Yemen.
He disclosed plans and operations being coordinated with other military commands and fronts, as well as the reinforcement of the roughly 76-km (47-mile) front line between Abyan and al-Bayda with advanced weapons.
“The Abyan Military Axis is ready, both commanders and personnel, and is awaiting the zero hour,” al-Rabash told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview.
He said the troops’ morale was “higher than ever” and that preparations were proceeding under a “carefully devised plan” in coordination with the Saudi-led coalition, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and the Defense Ministry.
The Abyan governor said recent battlefield developments had demonstrated the government forces’ “fighting spirit and high morale,” adding that military commanders were united by the goal of “liberating Sanaa and Yemen from the Houthi militia and ending the Iranian project.”
Al-Rabash described cooperation with Saudi Arabia as a key pillar of plans to rehabilitate the province. He said a three-day workshop with the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen had identified eight priority sectors and approved 24 public-service projects.
76-km front line with the Houthis
Abyan’s fronts are spread across several military commands, al-Rabash said. The front line with the Houthis extends for about 76 km along the border with al-Bayda province and sees frequent clashes.
The governor said plans to reinforce the fronts included raising combat readiness, providing them with advanced weapons, and mobilizing local communities and tribes to support government forces.
Al-Rabash said the prospects of a decisive outcome had improved after the Houthis were “given opportunity after opportunity to pursue peace.”
Instead of taking advantage of those opportunities, he said, the group had continued to escalate domestically and threaten international shipping.
Houthi cells and assassination attempts
On security, al-Rabash said Houthi cells had been uncovered in the province, adding that security forces had arrested between 120 and 150 operatives over the past several years.
He said the latest Houthi cell to be uncovered consisted of two operatives who were arrested and four others who escaped.
According to al-Rabash, those detained confessed to preparing four explosive devices to target him personally, as well as plotting to attack Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Damani, commander of the Nation’s Shield Forces in Abyan.
The governor said there was “collusion and coordination” between the Houthis and terrorist organizations. He added that local government officials and security and military commanders had been targeted in attempted attacks, while several security commanders had been killed in confrontations with those groups.
Al-Rabash said Abyan had paid a heavy price through a succession of conflicts, beginning with al-Qaeda’s seizure of parts of the province in 2011, followed by the Houthi advance in 2015 and the 2019 conflict between the internationally recognized government and Southern Transitional Council forces.
The fighting caused extensive damage to infrastructure, the social fabric and the local economy, he said.
Al-Qaeda’s presence in Abyan
Asked about al-Qaeda’s current presence, al-Rabash said the number of ideologically committed members of the organization had become “very small,” according to estimates by the relevant security agencies.
The threat remained, however, through clandestine cells and the recruitment of some misled young people by exploiting poverty and ignorance, he said.
Al-Rabash said some operatives came from other provinces, while others arrived “by sea from certain countries.” Abyan’s coastline, which stretches for more than 300 km (186 miles), poses a security challenge and requires significant surveillance capabilities, he added.
He stressed that security and military measures alone were insufficient and that combating extremism required a parallel approach encompassing education, public awareness, development and job creation, as well as the involvement of tribes and local communities.
“When citizens feel the state’s presence through schools, public services and job opportunities, they become less receptive to ideas that bring nothing but death and bloodshed,” he said.
24 Saudi-backed projects
On development, al-Rabash described cooperation with Saudi Arabia as a key pillar of plans to rehabilitate the province. He said a three-day workshop with the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen had identified eight priority sectors and approved 24 public-service projects.
The governor stated the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen approved 24 projects in Abyan (Local Authority)
The projects cover electricity, water, healthcare, education and roads, alongside larger strategic projects that are being developed, he said.
The governor placed the strategic Wadi Hassan dam at the top of Abyan’s priority projects, saying it would help replenish groundwater and the wells that supply Aden with water. The dam was also expected to help revive the agricultural sector.
Al-Rabash said Wadi Hassan had historically contributed to Abyan’s agricultural standing, which earned the province its reputation as “Yemen’s breadbasket.” Investment in modern agricultural technologies could restore that role and expand the province’s productive capacity, he added.
He praised Saudi support for Abyan and Yemen more broadly, particularly in hospitals, schools, electricity and roads, saying the projects “directly affect people’s lives.”
“We extend our thanks and appreciation to our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — its king, crown prince, government and people — for their countless efforts across various fields,” al-Rabash said.
He said Saudi support included “building hospitals and schools, rehabilitating roads, supporting the electricity sector and everything that helps improve the lives of the Yemeni people.”
The governor contrasted Saudi Arabia’s role with that of the Houthis.
“Our brothers in Saudi Arabia build hospitals, schools and roads, while the Houthis come with missiles to destroy them,” he said. “They kill and destroy but do not build, and their attacks have struck mosques, schools and hospitals.”
“Our Saudi neighbor and brother, with whom we share ties of blood, religion, tribe and geography, comes to help build and improve people’s lives,” he added. “That is the difference evident to anyone with insight.”
Al-Rabash said security and development were inseparable tracks, prompting the local authorities to adopt the slogan: “Abyan First — Authority Upheld, Development Built.” Photo: Turky Alagili
‘Abyan First’
Al-Rabash said security and development were inseparable tracks, prompting the local authorities to adopt the slogan: “Abyan First — Authority Upheld, Development Built.”
He said priorities were focused on five main sectors — electricity, water, healthcare, education and roads — alongside efforts to consolidate security, combat terrorism and crime, and raise combat readiness along the fronts.
The local authorities had also expanded outreach to tribes, religious scholars, journalists, young people, women, and social and sporting groups to build a community partnership, he said. The public’s response was among the most important factors in the success of the new phase.
Al-Rabash concluded with a message urging Abyan’s residents to “stand together and work as one,” saying the province’s stability and reconstruction “cannot be achieved without a genuine partnership between the community and the local authorities.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Says No Plans to Deport Palestinians from Gazahttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5316498-israeli-foreign-minister-says-no-plans-deport-palestinians-gaza
Palestinians look on from the street at the damage to a house that was hit by an Israeli strike following an evacuation warning in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on September 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Foreign Minister Says No Plans to Deport Palestinians from Gaza
Palestinians look on from the street at the damage to a house that was hit by an Israeli strike following an evacuation warning in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on September 8, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that the government does not plan to deport Palestinians from Gaza, after two Israeli ministers this month floated proposals for the mass removal of Palestinians from the coastal territory.
"We are not planning to expel or to deport anyone from (the) Gaza Strip," Saar told a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
"If someone wants to immigrate (on) his own will, and there is a country which is ready to accept him .... we will not oppose that, but we will (also) not enforce anyone against (their) will," he said.
Saar is in Slovenia to open the Israeli embassy in Ljubljana.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said on September 2 there was "no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration" of Palestinians.
Far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on September 3 outlined a seven-year plan for removing Gaza's population through what he described as "voluntary emigration."
The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has said that Israel has no plans to force Palestinians to leave Gaza.
Israel is to hold a general election on October 27.
Lebanon Says One Dead in Israeli Drone Strikehttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5316496-lebanon-says-one-dead-israeli-drone-strike
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese village of al-Hanniyeh shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the al-Mansouri village, on September 9, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanon Says One Dead in Israeli Drone Strike
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese village of al-Hanniyeh shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the al-Mansouri village, on September 9, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli strike killed one person in Lebanon's south, the Lebanese state news agency said on Wednesday, in a region where Israel has intensified attacks despite a ceasefire.
An Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in Zebdine in the Nabatieh region, killing a man, Lebanon's National News Agency said.
Since announcing last week the capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge, a strategic Hezbollah position in Nabatieh, the Israeli army has stepped up its strikes in the area.
The attacks have killed at least 29 people since Friday, including 12 members of the same family, according to Lebanese authorities and official media.
Fighting in Lebanon had calmed since a US-Iran memorandum of understanding and a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon were reached in June.
But Beirut still reports recurring Israeli strikes, which it says have killed more than 4,300 people in total since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy a so-called occupied "security zone" in the south.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed concern about the Israeli "escalation" in southern Lebanon, according to his spokesperson.
In an online petition posted this week, nearly 400 Lebanese public figures, including legal experts and human rights advocates, called for Lebanon's army to be deployed in Nabatieh.
They also voiced concern over a possible "expansion of the Israeli occupation" toward the city, which is about 11 kilometers (seven miles) from the Israeli border.
"This city does not belong to any political group," added the signatories, referring to Hezbollah, which is well established in Nabatieh.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Lebanese army said its units were "deployed in all areas that Israel does not occupy, particularly in the Nabatieh region".
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