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Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill four in south

A man douses the flames of a car hit by an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese village of Burj Al-Muluk on March 15, 2025, in which one person was reportedly killed. (AFP)
A man douses the flames of a car hit by an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese village of Burj Al-Muluk on March 15, 2025, in which one person was reportedly killed. (AFP)
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Updated 16 March 2025

Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill four in south

A man douses the flames of a car hit by an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese village of Burj Al-Muluk on March 15, 2025.
  • “The Israeli enemy strike this evening on the town of Ainata led to the death of two people,” NNA said
  • Earlier, health ministry confirmed one person was killed in an Israeli strike on Mais Al-Jabal and NNA reported one other fatality in Bint Jbeil

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed four people on Sunday, Lebanese state media and the health ministry said, as Israel’s military said it had killed two Hezbollah militants.
“The Israeli enemy strike this evening on the town of Ainata led to the death of two people,” Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said, citing the health ministry’s emergency service.
Earlier, the health ministry confirmed one person was killed in an Israeli strike on Mais Al-Jabal and NNA reported one other fatality in Bint Jbeil.
The agency reported that an Israeli drone carried out “a strike on a vehicle in the town of Mais Al-Jabal, resulting in one fatality.”
The NNA said it was the third Israeli strike on southern Lebanon within 24 hours.
Earlier on Sunday, the health ministry said an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded another when it targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am, the NNA reported.
“The Israeli enemy’s air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yater resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen and the injury of another,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the news agency.
Israel’s military said that it killed two Hezbollah militants Sunday in two separate strikes on Lebanon.
“Earlier today, the IDF struck and eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists who were surveillance operatives and took part in directing terror attacks in the area of Yatar and Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
It comes a day after Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern border town of Burj Al-Muluk.
Following that raid, the Israeli military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist who took part in terrorist activity in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.”
And on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon that killed a senior Hezbollah militant.
That came as Lebanon received four detainees who had been taken to Israel during fighting with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with a fifth detainee, a soldier, released on Thursday after he was taken earlier this month.
A November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel has continued to carry out periodic strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Israel had been due to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems “strategic.”
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.


US says it has regional support for Gaza peace resolution and proposed UN stabilization force

US says it has regional support for Gaza peace resolution and proposed UN stabilization force
Updated 36 min 39 sec ago

US says it has regional support for Gaza peace resolution and proposed UN stabilization force

US says it has regional support for Gaza peace resolution and proposed UN stabilization force
  • Under the draft proposal, governance of Gaza would be transferred away from Hamas and demilitarization imposed on the group
  • A copy of the draft resolution was circulated Wednesday night for formal consideration by Security Council

NEW YORK CITY: The US mission to the UN on Wednesday said that key regional partners, including ֱ, Qatar and the UAE, have thrown their weight behind its draft resolution for Gaza.

The development signals a diplomatic push within the UN Security Council to advance a two-year transitional mandate for the war-torn enclave, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.

During a meeting convened by the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, the 10 elected, non-permanent members of the council (Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia), joined by regional states including ֱ, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the UAE, expressed support for the Washington-led initiative, a spokesperson for the US mission said.

The draft resolution endorses the creation of a transitional governance body, a so-called “Board of Peace.” Control of Gaza would therefore be transferred out of the hands of Hamas, and demilitarization would be imposed on the group.

The draft resolution also authorizes the deployment of an “International Stabilization Force” in Gaza that would operate under a two-year UN mandate. It would have the authority to use “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, oversee flows of humanitarian aid, secure zones along the borders with Israel and Egypt, demilitarize non-state actors, and train a new Palestinian police force.

A copy of the draft resolution was circulated Wednesday night for formal consideration by all 15 members of the Security Council. 

The regional buy-in to the draft reflects the “historic opportunity” to end decades of bloodshed in the Middle East and transform Gaza into a safer, more prosperous territory, the spokesperson continued, and underlines the intent of the US to translate the resolution into results rather than “endless talk.”

The backing of major regional actors is significant because their participation is widely viewed as a prerequisite for authorization of any multinational stabilization force to operate in Gaza, and gain international legitimacy.

The US spokesperson stressed that no US troops would be deployed in Gaza. Instead, Washington has engaged in talks with states including Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and Azerbaijan about contributing troops to an international stabilization force.

The draft text reportedly stipulates that such a force would operate under a unified command, as agreed by the Board of Peace, Egypt and Israel once status-of-mission agreements are reached.

It further outlines a sequence of events through which the force will stabilize the security situation in Gaza, demilitarize non-state armed groups, decommission weapons, and oversee training and support for the newly vetted Palestinian police force.