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Hemedti Announces Backing for Political Settlement in Sudan

Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council in Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Asharq Al-Awsat
Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council in Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Hemedti Announces Backing for Political Settlement in Sudan

Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council in Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Asharq Al-Awsat
Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council in Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Asharq Al-Awsat

Sudan's Vice President of the Sovereign Council Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, announced Sunday his support for the ongoing political process between civilians and the military to end the crisis that hit the country more than a year ago.

Hemedti also strongly criticized the authorities’ handling of the opposition demonstrations, accusing them of suppressing opponents and closing bridges to hinder their passage.

Addressing a civil gathering in Khartoum, the Vice-President affirmed his support for the ongoing political settlement and everything that would maintain the rule of law and achieve security and stability in the country. He stressed the need to put an end to fighting and conflicts in Sudan.

He also expressed his support for the youth who are demonstrating in the streets demanding a change and civil rule.

“We support change and political settlement. We are with the youths, even those who insult us in the streets,” Hemedti said, referring to the resistance committees demanding the disbanding of the Rapid Support Forces.

Hemedti admitted that the situation in Sudan has worsened after October 2021 and that the circle of crises widened.

“The problems increased …. It is better for us to reach a solution,” he affirmed in a hint at the supporters of the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir who have re-emerged with a desire to return to power.

“Whoever attempts to take the country back to before 2019 is delusional. That cannot happen at all,” the Vice President added.

“We support a political solution and settlement because it secures equality between citizens. Those calling for a settlement are also calling for the development and stability of Sudan, therefore we support them,” he stressed.

Hemedti then called on the armed groups that declined calls to join the 2006 Juba peace accord, especially the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) led by Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu and the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW), to stop their attacks on civilians, abide by the ceasefire and join the peace process.

Regarding the accusations leveled against him and the Rapid Support Forces of participating in local conflicts, Hemedti expressed his willingness to be held accountable and to meet the investigation committees.

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Arab World

Lebanon’s Aoun Says Will Not Meet Netanyahu Before Reaching Agreement to End War

17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)
17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)
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Lebanon’s Aoun Says Will Not Meet Netanyahu Before Reaching Agreement to End War

17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)
17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made a rare direct appeal to the Israeli government and its people to come to the negotiating table to end the war, warning in a CNN interview aired Monday that a military solution "will never provide you with security and safety."

"We are ready, we are willing, we are committed. Are you? If you are, let's sit and talk," said Aoun.

The Lebanese government is in direct talks with Israel, mediated by ‌Washington, to reach ‌a full cessation of hostilities, despite opposition by Iran-backed ‌group ⁠Hezbollah, which is fighting ⁠Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Aoun said he would not meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before reaching an agreement to end the war.

He said any deal would be a non-aggression pact and not a full peace deal.

"We need to end the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel. Forever. And this (pact) could be a path forward for a just and lasting peace," Aoun said.

Aoun said ⁠Lebanon would move in line with the 2002 Arab ‌Peace Initiative, which offers normalization with Israel across ‌the Arab world in exchange for Palestinian statehood and Israel's withdrawal from occupied territories.

"But we ‌cannot jump from A to B directly. We have to go ‌through different steps," Aoun said.

LEBANESE DYING FOR IRAN'S INTERESTS, AOUN SAYS

The war erupted on March 2 when Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of its ally Tehran. Israel responded with an air campaign and ground operations that have left swathes of southern Lebanon occupied.

More ‌than 3,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon and more than one million Lebanese are displaced. ⁠

The US declared ⁠a ceasefire on April 16, but fighting has continued, and Lebanon says Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 strikes since the truce was announced.

Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday in retaliation for Hezbollah fire on northern Israel, triggering a 24-hour direct exchange of fire between Iran and Israel that threatened to wreck Washington's efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran to end their more than three-month-old war.

Aoun told CNN that Lebanon sought a good relationship with Iran based on mutual respect and non-interference, and said Lebanon's people were being killed to serve Iran's interests.

In an earlier clip from the interview aired on Friday, Aoun accused Iran of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its talks with the United States, in some of his toughest criticism yet of Tehran.

Arab World

Israel Releases Detained Palestinian Woman Footballer

07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)
07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)
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Israel Releases Detained Palestinian Woman Footballer

07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)
07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)

Israeli authorities released a player on the Palestinian national women's football team after six days in detention in Jerusalem, her mother and police told AFP on Monday.

Wissam Halawani said Israeli police released her daughter Rand Halawani, 20, on Sunday evening, with an order to remain under house arrest for five days.

Halawani told AFP that she had "gone through very difficult times over the past few days" following her daughter's detention, and that she now felt "overwhelming joy" after her return home.

An Israeli police spokesperson told AFP that "the court has ordered that the suspect remain under house arrest," and stressed that "this ruling does not indicate or determine the outcome of any future legal proceedings."

Police had said last week that Halawani was arrested along with an 18-year-old man in relation to an incident in Jerusalem in which objects were allegedly thrown from a balcony at demonstrators marching on a street below.

"The investigation remains ongoing, and evidentiary material continues to be collected and assessed," police told AFP.

The Palestinian Football Association celebrated Halawani's release in a statement late Sunday.

"Rand Halawani breathes freedom," the association said in a social media post, accompanied by an image showing her wearing the Palestinian national team's red kit.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, the main rights group for Palestinian prisoners, said Monday that that the number of women in Israeli prisons and detention camps has risen to around 95.

The number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons stands at around 9,500, according to figures released by the organization last week.

Arab World

Lebanon Reports Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Claims Attacks Against Troops in South

Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanon Reports Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Claims Attacks Against Troops in South

Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli strike hit a vehicle in the city of Tyre, south Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese state media reported, as Israel vowed to press attacks on Hezbollah despite Iranian warnings.

Hezbollah meanwhile said it targeted Israeli troops in Lebanon, but did not claim any attacks on Israeli territory.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "an enemy airstrike targeted a car with a missile in the city of Tyre, near the Lebanese Red Cross building".

An AFP photographer in Tyre saw flames erupting from a car on a coastal road as residents gathered at the scene and an ambulance and paramedics headed towards it.

Reporting airstrikes from the early morning, the NNA said Israeli raids hit more than a dozen locations in the south, including Burj al-Shemali near Tyre.

A Lebanese culture ministry official said Israeli bombardment on the city a day earlier damaged a UNESCO World Heritage site there, and AFP correspondents saw dust and debris at the site.

The NNA said some of Monday's strikes caused casualties, though Lebanon's health ministry has not yet released any tolls.

Iran's military command on Monday afternoon said it was halting its operation against Israel after the two sides exchanged fire for the first time since a truce in the Middle East war took effect in April.

Iran had delivered a "painful response" to Israel and "accordingly, the cessation of armed forces operations is hereby announced", the Khatam al-Anbiya central command said in a statement carried by state television.

"However, it is emphasized that should acts of aggression and hostility continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow," it added.

But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz later vowed that the military would "continue to operate in Lebanon against the terrorist organization Hezbollah".

He added that Israel would strike Beirut's southern suburbs in retaliation for every attack on northern Israel.

"We categorically reject Iran's threats. Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday," Katz said.

Iran insists a halt to the broader Middle East conflict must include a ceasefire in Lebanon, and on Sunday fired missiles at Israel in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day.

On Monday, Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops who have invaded south Lebanon.

Israel's military intercepted three projectiles fired from Lebanon, an AFP correspondent near the border reported, as Israel's military said the munitions had targeted its forces operating in Lebanon's south.

Lebanon says Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,600 people since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader.

After an April 17 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began, Israel announced a so-called Yellow Line inside Lebanese territory about a dozen kilometers from its northern border where its ground troops are operating.