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Israeli Sources Warn Against Delaying Qatari Grant to Gaza

A child watches the removal of the rubble of Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes (AFP)
A child watches the removal of the rubble of Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes (AFP)
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Israeli Sources Warn Against Delaying Qatari Grant to Gaza

A child watches the removal of the rubble of Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes (AFP)
A child watches the removal of the rubble of Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes (AFP)

Several Israeli sources warned that delaying the Qatari grant to the Gaza Strip and freezing the funds for any reason will deepen the economic crisis, which may lead to a new tension and security escalation.

The Hebrew "Israel Defense" website stated in a report that Hamas is running out of patience, noting that the conditions set by Israel and the logistical obstacles complicate the situation.

The report indicated that a quick solution is required, perhaps transferring the money in bags as was the case in the past, because Israel is not interested in a military escalation with Hamas at this stage.

Qatar had agreed to provide the Gaza Strip with $30 million a month, $100 to be paid to about 100,000 families, in addition to the salaries of government employees.

Israel prevented the arrival of these funds and requested that another mechanism be found through the Palestinian Authority (PA). However, Hamas rejected the proposal, so another suggestion was put forward to transfer the funds through the United Nations, but Israel refused.

Tel Aviv suggested that Qatar assume responsibility for distributing these funds according to the prepared lists of names which include 160,000 Gazan families.

However, the PA banking and humanitarian systems are refusing to participate in an outline to facilitate the transfer of Qatari aid into the Strip, fearing such cooperation would expose them to legal actions on the grounds of supporting and funding terrorism.

Feras Milhem, governor and chairman of the PMA, alluded to this legal issue when he clarified that the organization is committed to international standards of practice.

On Tuesday, Israeli sources revealed that successful negotiations took place in recent weeks between Qatar and the Authority regarding this grant and ways to distribute it.

The two sides agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to transfer Qatari funds through banks subject to the supervision of the Palestinian Monetary Fund according to a list of names compiled by the Qatari side.

The delay in the arrival of the funds to the Palestinian families creates severe tension in Gaza, and sources in Tel Aviv suggest that Israel is likely to agree to distribute the money through bags, and the lists of citizens eligible for support pass through the Israeli intelligence.

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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.