Kosovo Lawmakers Approve Proposed Gaza Troop Deployment
Kosovo Security Forces parade during celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of independence, in Pristina, Kosovo, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)
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Kosovo Lawmakers Approve Proposed Gaza Troop Deployment
Kosovo Security Forces parade during celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of independence, in Pristina, Kosovo, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)
Kosovo's parliament on Friday passed a law authorizing the potential deployment of a small number of troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force proposed by US President Donald Trump.
According to local media, the government intends to send 22 members of the Kosovo Security Force if the plan goes ahead, although the number has not been officially confirmed.
"The Republic of Kosovo proves that it is a reliable partner and ready to act alongside allies in support of peace, security, protection of civilians and implementation of international mandates," Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci said before the parliament unanimously approved the law.
Announced as part of a ceasefire agreement that halted two years of devastating war, the planned International Stabilization Force was proposed by the "Board of Peace", which is led by Trump.
Kosovo joined several other countries in Washington for the Board's first meeting earlier this year to discuss funding for rebuilding Gaza and the potential deployment of thousands of foreign troops.
Under US command, the hypothetical force could include up to 20,000 soldiers, with Indonesia so far pledging 8,000 troops.
In March, Kosovo's prime minister Albin Kurti said his country was willing to take part due to the role international forces, particularly NATO peacekeepers, have played in his country after its 1998-1999 war of independence with Serbia.
So far, the future of Trump's plan remains unclear, with Israel and Hamas maintaining contradictory demands in ongoing negotiations amid accusations of ceasefire breaches on both sides.
The ceasefire followed more than two years of war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023, cross-border attack on Israel.
At least 766 Palestinians have been killed since the October 10 ceasefire was announced, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
Aoun Says Future Deal Will Not Cede Lebanese Territory, Country No Longer ‘Arena for Anyone’s Wars’https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5263622-aoun-says-future-deal-will-not-cede-lebanese-territory-country-no-longer-%E2%80%98arena
A photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency on April 17, 2026, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun delivering a televised address to the Lebanese people from the Baabda Presidential Palace, east of the capital Beirut. (Lebanese Presidency)
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Aoun Says Future Deal Will Not Cede Lebanese Territory, Country No Longer ‘Arena for Anyone’s Wars’
A photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency on April 17, 2026, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun delivering a televised address to the Lebanese people from the Baabda Presidential Palace, east of the capital Beirut. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that any future deal reached by the government would not cede any territory or undermine Lebanon's national rights, without saying whether he was referring to prospective talks with Israel.
The televised address was his first speech since the US brokered a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah on Thursday.
The text of the deal says Israel and Lebanon would hold direct talks to produce a "peace between the two countries".
Aoun said Lebanon was on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements."
"Now, we all stand before a new phase," he added, stressing "it is the phase of transition from working on a ceasefire to working on permanent agreements that preserve the rights of our people, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation."
He added that direct talks with Israel were "not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation."
Moreover, Aoun stressed that Lebanon was no longer an "arena" for anyone's wars.
"We are confident that we will save Lebanon... we have reclaimed Lebanon and Lebanon's decision-making power for the first time in nearly half a century," he declared, adding that "today, we negotiate for ourselves... we are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor an arena for anyone's wars, and we never will be again."
"I hereby affirm... that there will be no agreement that infringes upon our national rights, diminishes the dignity of our steadfast people, or relinquishes an iota of this nation's soil."
Hezbollah Tallies Its Dead from Israel War, Estimates Exceed 1,000https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5263615-hezbollah-tallies-its-dead-israel-war-estimates-exceed-1000
A woman walks next to an ambulance at the site of an Israeli strike carried out before a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Hezbollah Tallies Its Dead from Israel War, Estimates Exceed 1,000
A woman walks next to an ambulance at the site of an Israeli strike carried out before a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Hezbollah said its fighters would “keep their fingers on the trigger” hours after a ceasefire took effect between Lebanon and Israel, warning it would not stay silent over any Israeli violations and would not repeat its past restraint under the October 2024 ceasefire, when Israel continued attacks and assassinations against its members and commanders.
In recent hours, the Iran-backed party focused on helping large numbers of displaced people return to their homes, while tracking Israeli movements in occupied areas and preparing for a possible new confrontation at any moment.
Death toll unclear
People closely following Hezbollah said it was still counting its dead, with no final toll yet, as many fighters remain under rubble in villages and towns that saw fierce clashes, including the southern towns of Khiam and Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces are deployed, complicating search efforts.
Some bodies are difficult to identify, while others have been taken captive.
Sources said Hezbollah would not, for now or in the near future, announce casualty figures, as it did in the previous war.
It stopped issuing official death notices after the toll passed 500 and is maintaining that approach, they said, with estimates suggesting the number is high and may exceed 1,000, particularly after heavy fighting in Khiam and Bint Jbeil.
Hezbollah statement
In a statement after the ceasefire, Hezbollah said it carried out 2,184 military operations during the 45-day battle from March 2 to April 16.
It said its drones and rocket fire struck Israeli settlements and cities from the Lebanese border to beyond Tel Aviv, up to 160 km deep.
It said its fighters conducted about 49 operations a day, adding: “The hands of these fighters will remain on the trigger, on guard against the enemy’s treachery and any violation of its commitments.”
Hezbollah lawmakers on Friday accompanied displaced residents returning to their towns and villages in the south, Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group would accept no surrender or submission.
“This issue is settled for us. If the Americans want to give the Israeli enemy freedom of movement, and if some Lebanese officials submit and make concessions, that will have no application on the ground,” he said, warning that the ceasefire “must not become a tool for the enemy to blackmail the authorities.”
He added: “The Lebanese authorities must withdraw from direct negotiations that will only lead to submission to Israeli dictates. This threatens Lebanon’s future and fate.”
People check destruction behind posters of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem (bottom) and a killed Hezbollah member in Beirut's southern suburbs after a 10-day ceasefire with Israel came into effect on April 17, 2026. (AFP)
‘A major defeat’
While Hezbollah and its supporters frame the outcome as a victory, security and defense analyst Riad Kahwaji told Asharq al Awsat the battlefield suggests otherwise.
“When the war began, the Israelis were in five points, while Hezbollah fighters were active along axes such as Naqoura, Kfar Kila, and Aita al-Shaab. Today, Israeli forces are deeper inside Lebanese territory,” he said.
“Israeli control has reached 10 km, compared with around 2 or 3 km before. Hezbollah lost territory, was forced to retreat, its death toll is in the hundreds, its number of captives has risen, and the scale of destruction in the south, the southern suburbs and the Bekaa is many times greater,” Kahwaji added.
He said tens of thousands have been displaced after their homes were destroyed. “This is defeat, in every sense of the word.”
Kahwaji said that even if Israeli soldiers were killed, their numbers were not comparable to Hezbollah’s losses, and that the scale of damage in Lebanon versus Israel underscored the imbalance.
“Hezbollah considers its survival and ability to fire rockets a victory, even though it has again shown it acts as an Iranian tool and entered the war in support of Iran,” he stressed.
Ready for another round
Political writer Qassem Kassir, who is closely familiar with Hezbollah’s position, offered a sharply different view, saying the group had emerged stronger than after the 2024 war.
“If we do not say it won, what is certain is that Israel failed to achieve its military and security goals. Tel Aviv was unable to target Hezbollah’s leadership. Although some commanders were killed, the number is very small compared with the previous war,” he said.
Kassir said Hezbollah had “managed the battle with precision and success” and was preparing for a possible new confrontation, unless comprehensive solutions are reached, including a full Israeli withdrawal, the return of captives, an end to attacks and launch of reconstruction.
Secret Israeli Ministerial Talks under US Pressure Discuss Vision of ‘New Gaza’https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5263613-secret-israeli-ministerial-talks-under-us-pressure-discuss-vision-%E2%80%98new-gaza%E2%80%99
Secret Israeli Ministerial Talks under US Pressure Discuss Vision of ‘New Gaza’
A satellite image of Gaza port. (Reuters file)
Israeli media sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two secret meetings of senior officials across several ministries, under US pressure, to discuss the future of Gaza, including a possible commercial port and reconstruction plans.
Observers linked the meetings to a military escalation in which Israeli forces struck multiple areas on the margins of operations in Lebanon, in what they said was meant to divert attention from the talks, opposed by far-right ministers.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday that a meeting this week was chaired by acting director general of the prime minister’s office, Drorit Steinmetz, with participation from the finance ministry, the National Security Council, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, and the energy, transport and environmental protection ministries.
Citing five unnamed sources, the channel said the meeting followed US pressure and requests from American officials at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat. It said this was the second government meeting on the issue held in complete secrecy.
Talks focused on managing US forces inside Gaza, as well as control of border crossings and the near-term flow of goods.
Ministries were asked to present positions on establishing a civilian port in Gaza. Israel’s vision was also reviewed alongside proposals from the CMCC, involving foreign representatives and aid groups.
These proposals fall under what US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have called a “new Gaza,” including high-rise buildings, industrial zones, desalination plants, a gas platform, and an airport, the report said.
Representatives from the electricity and water authorities and the transport ministry were asked to provide professional assessments.
The report said Israel’s leadership had issued clear guidance that no reconstruction would move forward unless Gaza is fully demilitarized and the Palestinian Hamas group is disarmed. Israel also said it would not fund any reconstruction.
Despite official statements, Channel 12 said Israel appears to be compelled to engage with external initiatives that contradict its stated position.
Netanyahu’s office said policy remains unchanged, no reconstruction before Hamas is disarmed and Gaza fully demilitarized, a condition it has not been met despite commitments to the US administration and mediators.
It added that professional-level discussions are not meant to advance reconstruction, but to assess international proposals and prevent the establishment of a status quo on the ground that could harm Israel’s interests.
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