Israeli Strike Kills Senior Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon

Smoke billows on the village of Meiss El-Jabal, along Lebanon's southern border with northern Israel following Israeli bombardment on December 20, 2023, with the Israeli Manara Kibbutz seen on the background, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows on the village of Meiss El-Jabal, along Lebanon's southern border with northern Israel following Israeli bombardment on December 20, 2023, with the Israeli Manara Kibbutz seen on the background, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)
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Israeli Strike Kills Senior Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon

Smoke billows on the village of Meiss El-Jabal, along Lebanon's southern border with northern Israel following Israeli bombardment on December 20, 2023, with the Israeli Manara Kibbutz seen on the background, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows on the village of Meiss El-Jabal, along Lebanon's southern border with northern Israel following Israeli bombardment on December 20, 2023, with the Israeli Manara Kibbutz seen on the background, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday, the Iran-backed militant group said.

It named the commander as Sami Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, born in 1969, in a statement reporting his death.

A Lebanese military source said the commander was "the most important in Hezbollah to be killed up to now since the start of the war" between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which has fuelled violence on the Lebanon-Israel border, AFP reported.

The source said the strike hit the town of Jouaiyya, 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Israeli border, and also killed three other people.

Hezbollah later announced the death of a second fighter, with a source close to the movement identifying him as Mohammad Hussein Sabra, also known as Baqer.

Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces since the Gaza war began, triggered by Hamas's October 7 attack.

Exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have intensified over recent days, causing multiple brush fires on both sides of the border.

On Tuesday night, Israel's army said a barrage of "50 launches" had been fired by Hezbollah at the Golan Heights, sparking fires.

More than eight months of cross-border violence has killed at least 467 people in Lebanon, including almost 90 civilians, according to an AFP count.

Israeli authorities say at least 15 Israeli soldiers have been killed in that fighting.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.