Lebanon to File UN Complaint over Israeli Aggression

Prime Minister Najib Mikati meeting yesterday with Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib (Dalati and Nohra)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati meeting yesterday with Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib (Dalati and Nohra)
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Lebanon to File UN Complaint over Israeli Aggression

Prime Minister Najib Mikati meeting yesterday with Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib (Dalati and Nohra)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati meeting yesterday with Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib (Dalati and Nohra)

Lebanon said on Sunday that it intends to file a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel's aggression on Lebanon, following a rocket barrage fired at Israel from southern Lebanon on Thursday.

Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Bou Habib, said the complaint is to be presented by the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the UN, Jean Murad, to both the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Security Council.

The complaint was decided to be filed at the request of Abdullah and after consultations with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Lebanon renewed refusals that its territories be exploited as a platform to destabilize stability but also stressed its legitimate right to self-defense.

It also reaffirmed its commitment to keeping the lines of communication open with the United Nations and UNIFIL forces as the best means to solve problems and maintain calm and stability.

On Friday, Israel unleashed rare airstrikes on southern Lebanon and bombarded the Gaza Strip.

The early morning strikes followed a large rocket barrage fired at Israel from southern Lebanon.

The violence erupted after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem earlier in the week, sparking unrest in the contested capital and outrage across the Arab world.

Voicing alarm over the latest developments in the region, mainly the escalation on its southern border, Lebanon said the Israeli airstrikes on its territory are a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon, endangering the life of people and the safety of the land.

Cautious calm prevails in southern Lebanon after the Israeli response to the missiles. Only material damages were reported in the Lebanese areas hit by the missiles, according to the National News Agency.

The Lebanese army found on Friday a deserted rocket launcher in the Al-Qolayle plains in the south. The launcher, which contained 12 rocket compartments, contained several unlaunched rockets.



Gaza Ceasefire Talks Held Up by Israel Withdrawal Plans

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli army bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli army bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Gaza Ceasefire Talks Held Up by Israel Withdrawal Plans

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli army bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli army bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel's proposals to keep troops in the territory, two Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP on Saturday.

Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached, reported Reuters.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he hoped to clinch a deal "in a few days", which could then lead to talks for a more permanent end to hostilities.

But one Palestinian source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the talks, said Israel's refusal to accept Hamas's demand to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress.

Another said mediators had asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha.

"The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel's insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal," one Palestinian source said.

The source said Israel was proposing to maintain military forces in more than 40 percent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, they added.

"Hamas's delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimize the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement," the source said.

A second Palestinian source accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and "stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination".

- Latest strikes -

The Gaza war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Of the 251 hostages seized, 49 are still being held, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

At least 57,823 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Gaza's civil defense agency said at least 14 Palestinians were killed in the latest wave of Israeli strikes across the territory on Saturday.

More than 30 people were killed on Friday, including 10 people who were waiting for aid handouts, the agency said.

The Israeli military on Saturday said it had attacked "approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in the last 48 hours.

Targets included "terrorists, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional terrorist infrastructure sites", it added.

Two previous ceasefires -- a week-long truce beginning in late November 2023 and a two-month one from mid-January this year -- led to the release of 105 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The second Palestinian source said "some progress" had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza.

Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralizing Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks.

That included the group giving up weapons, he said, warning that failure to do so would mean Israel would have to do so by force.