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Israel and Hezbollah set to announce ceasefire agreement

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Israeli media reported Monday that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah is likely to be announced within two days. According to public broadcaster KAN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a US-backed ceasefire deal with Lebanon, giving US envoy Amos Hochstein the greenlight to move forward with negotiations. Sources indicated that the terms of the deal have been finalized, and Netanyahu is now focused on how to present the agreement to the public. The ongoing talks are centered on ensuring Israel’s freedom to operate along its borders with Lebanon and Syria after the ceasefire is in place. KAN also reported that the US has provided assurances to Israel, allowing military action if Hezbollah violates the ceasefire terms. However, there has been no official comment from Hezbollah or Lebanese authorities. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said last week that the group had submitted its feedback on the US proposal and emphasized that the outcome now depends on Netanyahu’s commitment to reaching an agreement. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in recent months, with Israeli airstrikes targeting alleged Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Since the escalation began in October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 3,600 people in Lebanon, injured more than 15,300, and displaced over a million. The situation further escalated in October 2024 when Israel launched a ground assault into southern Lebanon. non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

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US approves potential $100M sale of military equipment to Ukraine

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 The US State Department on Tuesday authorized a potential $100 million sale of military equipment and services to Ukraine. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement. The package includes vehicle refurbishment, technical assistance, training, publications and logistics and support, said the agency. The announcement came amid reports that the Biden administration authorized Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to target deep within Russia. Administration officials have neither confirmed nor denied the reports. The development follows reports of North Korea sending troops to support Moscow’s war effort. A senior US official said the move also aims to deter further North Korean involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine, which was launched in February 2022. On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it intercepted six US-supplied ATACMS missiles over the Bryansk region. If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first use of the long-range missiles since the war began.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not confirm or deny Kyiv’s involvement in the missile strikes. Russian President Vladimir Putin updated Moscow’s nuclear doctrine Tuesday, allowing for potential nuclear weapon use in response to conventional missile attacks backed by a nuclear power. Reports have also indicated that the Biden administration is working to distribute a remaining $6 billion in security aid to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, anticipating that the flow of weapons will cease when Trump assumes office.

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Canada prepares for ‘massive influx’ of migrants after Trump win

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Canada needs to act quickly to secure its borders against a “massive influx” of migrants because of Donald Trump’s US presidential triumph, Quebec Premier Francois Legault warned Wednesday. Quebec borders on four northeast US states, and Trump promised during his election campaign that he would order the mass deportation of millions of migrants living in the country illegally. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the US, and Trump said he could move one million out each year. “We’ll be calling on the federal government to fulfil its responsibility to protect our borders,” Legault said during a press conference in the wake of Trump’s victory. “The problem isn’t immigrants, it’s the number.” But Canada’s national police force said it has contingency plans including increased border surveillance in case of a flood of migrants. “A few months ago, we started working on this contingency plan should he (Donald Trump) win and go ahead with some of their immigration policies,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Charles Poirier told the Globe and Mail newspaper in an interview. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday used words designed to calm the fears of Canadians that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be unable to control the borders. “I do want to assure Canadians that we absolutely recognize the importance to border security and of controlling our own border, of controlling who comes into Canada and who doesn’t,” she said.

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US to deploy additional military assets to Middle East

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 US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East, the Pentagon said Friday. “In keeping with our commitments to the protection of U.S. citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy, the Secretary of Defense ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several U.S. Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region,” spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement. The forces will begin to arrive in the coming months as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group prepares to depart, he added. The statement came amid media reports that claim Iran is preparing to strike Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election on Nov. 5. “These deployments build on the recent decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel as well as DoD’s sustained Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) posture in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Ryder. The US will take “every measure necessary” to defend its people if “Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region,” he said. Israeli carried out a strike last week against Iranian assets, reportedly targeting missile production facilities and air defense systems, in response to Tehran’s missile attacks on Oct. 1. Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,200 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October. As the conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, more than 2,900 people have been killed and over 13,000 injured in Israeli attacks since last year, according to Lebanese authorities.

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Valencia devastated by flash floods; death toll reaches 155

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Residents of Valencia awoke Thursday to scenes of devastation after catastrophic flash floods claimed at least 155 lives and destroyed villages. The death toll may rise as search efforts continue for those still missing. This disaster is the worst Spain has faced this century, resembling the aftermath of a hurricane or tsunami. Wrecked vehicles littered highways, and many streets were buried under mud as Spanish military personnel assisted in the cleanup. Over a thousand soldiers joined local emergency workers to search for bodies and survivors. Thousands are without water and electricity, and many areas remain isolated due to blocked roads and disrupted train lines. Spain’s government has declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

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UNICEF: ‘Deeply concerned’ over humanitarian situation in Lebanon

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UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell expressed concern Monday over the killing of children in recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon. “I am deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Lebanon. Over the last week, at least 80 children have reportedly been killed in attacks, while hundreds more have been injured,” Russell said on X. Citing government reports, she said the number of people internally displaced by the violence has spiked to more than one million, including over 300,000 children. “Thousands of children and families are now living in the streets or in shelters; many having fled their homes without essential supplies and belongings. Humanitarian conditions are growing worse by the hour,” Russell said. Stressing that UNICEF and its partners are on the ground in Lebanon, reaching children and families with essential support, she said the teams are delivering drinking water, medical supplies, mattresses and blankets as well as hygiene and baby kits. “We are providing health and nutrition, child protection and psychosocial support services for children. “But as the violence intensifies, so do the humanitarian needs. Any ground offensive or further escalation in Lebanon would make a catastrophic situation for children even worse. Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs,” she said, calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities. UNICEF reiterates its call for all parties to protect children and civilian infrastructure and to ensure that humanitarian actors can safely reach all those in need, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law, she added. Israel’s army on Monday announced that it had established a closed military zone near the borders with Lebanon as part of preparations for its expected ground offensive into southern Lebanon. Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 960 people and injuring over 2,770 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Several Hezbollah leaders have been killed in the assault, including the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October. The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

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Pope says Israel’s bombings in Lebanon, Gaza ‘immoral’

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Pope Francis on Sunday said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon are “immoral” and “disproportionate.” During his flight back from a four-day trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, the pope was asked about Israel’s targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Friday’s strike on Beirut, which led to many casualties and reduced several buildings to rubble. “Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there,” he told journalists. “What you are telling me—I didn’t quite understand how things have been (evolving, ed.)—but defense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he added. The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon against what it called Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 816 people and injuring over 2,500 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The heavy bombardment also targeted senior Hezbollah commanders and forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7. “When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident,” the pope said. “A country that, with its forces, does these things—I’m talking about any country—that does these things in such a “superlative” way, these are immoral actions,” he added. “Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things.”

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Nearly half million people in Lebanon displaced 

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Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Tuesday announced that the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is approaching half a million due to ongoing Israeli strikes, indicating a significant increase in the country’s displacement crisis. The number of IDPs in Lebanon has surged by nearly 500,000 as a result of Israeli military offensives, according to Abdallah Bou Habib, who addressed an event organized by the Carnegie Foundation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He also emphasized the growing humanitarian impact of the conflict. Prior to the recent Israeli attacks, the country was already grappling with 110,000 displaced people. However, Bou Habib highlighted that the current situation is far more severe, with the displaced population now approaching half a million. The Israeli army launched waves of airstrikes in Lebanon since early Monday against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, as the conflict between the two sides escalates. The Israeli army has carried out waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since early Monday, killing nearly 560 people, including 95 women and 50 children, and injuring 1,835 more, according to Health Minister Firas Abiad.

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Gideon Sa’ar rejects Netanyahu’s offer to become defense minister

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Israeli Knesset member Gideon Sa’ar said Saturday he will not take the post of defense minister, which was offered to him by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli media reported early this week that Netanyahu was negotiating with Sa’ar, who is the head of the New Hope Party, to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.Sa’ar told Netanyahu that he was not interested in succeeding Gallant if he were removed, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. Disagreements between Netanyahu and Gallant have surfaced concerning the government’s approach to growing border escalation with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon as Gallant advocates exhausting diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, while Netanyahu is pushing for a large-scale military campaign. Sa’ar, a former member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, was part of the emergency government formed at the start of the war in the Gaza Strip but withdrew in March after he was not included in the War Cabinet. Israel is on high alert amid anticipation of an imminent response from Hezbollah for Friday’s deadly attack that killed at least 38 people, including children and women, and injured dozens in Beirut’s southern suburb. Hezbollah confirmed that at least 16 of its members, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and top commander Ahmed Wahbi, were killed in the Israeli strike. The attack came two days after at least 37 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured in two waves of wireless communication device explosions across Lebanon. While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the explosions, Tel Aviv has not denied or confirmed its involvement. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,400 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

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