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UK, Iraq Sign Security Pact to Target People Smuggling Gangs

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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UK, Iraq Sign Security Pact to Target People Smuggling Gangs

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Britain said on Thursday it had signed a security pact with Iraq to target people smuggling gangs and strengthen border co-operation, the latest in its efforts to crack down on illegal migration.

"There are smuggler gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings whose operations stretch back through Northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond," Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"Organized criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too," she said during a visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Britain will also support Iraqi law enforcement to tackle other serious organised crime, including countering narcotics, the statement added.

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Netanyahu Says he Ordered Military to Prepare for Intense War in Lebanon if Ceasefire Violated

(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Netanyahu Says he Ordered Military to Prepare for Intense War in Lebanon if Ceasefire Violated

(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday during an interview with Israeli Channel 14 that he had ordered the military to be prepared for an intense war in Lebanon if the ceasefire's framework is violated.

The ceasefire was brokered by the United States and France to end the conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fought in parallel with the Gaza war. The truce lasts for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.

The ceasefire deal stipulates that unauthorized military facilities south of the Litani River should be dismantled, but does not mention military facilities north of the river.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520 others since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday.

Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights, and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations.

Netanyahu also said that conditions for reaching a possible deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip have considerably improved.
Asked about a possible hostage deal in the interview, Netanyahu said: "I think the conditions have very much changed for the better."
He did not give specific details.