Current:Home > MarketsLebanon’s prime minister visits troops at the country’s tense southern border with Israel-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Lebanon’s prime minister visits troops at the country’s tense southern border with Israel
View Date:2024-12-23 20:46:05
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Tuesday visited troops deployed near the border with Israel and U.N. peacekeepers, as Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops clash for a third week.
The visit by Prime Minister Najib Mikati to the tense southern province is his first since clashes erupted along the border following a surprise attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7. It also came two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops along the border on Sunday.
Mikati and international governments have been scrambling to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding to Lebanon, where the powerful Hezbollah group warned Israel about a ground incursion into the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said the group is in the “heart” of the war to “defend Gaza and confront the occupation.”
“Its finger is on the trigger to whatever extent it deems necessary for the confrontation,” Kassem tweeted.
Clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military thus far have been mostly limited to several towns along the border.
Journalists from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television reported that an Israeli helicopter attack struck an empty position near the border town of Houla, after a missile fired from Lebanon hit an Israeli military position. The Israeli military said the anti-missile attack hit a position in Manara with no casualties. They added that they struck a group of militants in Mount Dov, a disputed territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s top Druze political leader Walid Jumblatt, said that he along with Mikati and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri, who is Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker, are in agreement that the war shouldn’t further expand into the tiny Mediterranean country. Jumblatt said that he held calls with top Hezbollah security officials on the matter.
“But the matter is not up to Hezbollah alone ... Israel could have hostile intentions,” Jumblatt said after meeting with Druze religious officials and clergymen in Beirut. “We must expect the worst.”
Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Israel sees Iran-backed Hezbollah as its most serious threat, estimating it has around 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Israel on Tuesday, where he reaffirmed calls to prevent the war from expanding into Lebanon and the wider Arab world, and called for a “decisive” political process with the Palestinians for a viable peace.
Macron warned Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups against opening a new front in the ongoing war, and that Paris had expressed those concerns in direct communication with Hezbollah.
“To do so would be to open the door to a regional inferno from which everyone would come out the loser,” he said.
veryGood! (9764)
Related
- Florida Man Arrested for Cold Case Double Murder Almost 50 Years Later
- The eight best college football games to watch in Week 13 starts with Ohio State-Michigan
- Paris Hilton and Carter Reum Welcome Baby No. 2: Look Back at Their Fairytale Romance
- South Carolina basketball sets program record in 101-19 rout of Mississippi Valley State
- More than 150 pronghorns hit, killed on Colorado roads as animals sought shelter from snow
- Best ways to shop on Black Friday? Experts break down credit, cash and 'pay later' methods
- How algorithms determine what you'll buy for the holidays — and beyond
- New Zealand’s new government promises tax cuts, more police and less bureaucracy
- Louisiana man kills himself and his 1-year-old daughter after a pursuit
- Ohio voters just passed abortion protections. Whether they take effect is now up to the courts
Ranking
- Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
- Georgia high school baseball player in coma after batting cage accident
- Happy Thanksgiving with Adam Savage, Jane Curtin, and more!
- Beyoncé shares Renaissance Tour movie trailer in Thanksgiving surprise: Watch
- The charming Russian scene-stealers of 'Anora' are also real-life best friends
- Black Friday and Beyond
- Russian lawmaker disputes report saying he adopted a child taken from a Ukrainian children’s home
- Russia launches largest drone attack on Ukraine since start of invasion, says Ukrainian military
Recommendation
-
Dozens indicted over NYC gang warfare that led to the deaths of four bystanders
-
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of sexual abuse by two more women
-
The Excerpt podcast: Israel-Hamas truce deal delayed, won't start before Friday
-
Police warn residents to stay indoors after extremely venomous green mamba snake escapes in the Netherlands
-
The 10 Best Cashmere Sweaters and Tops That Feel Luxuriously Soft and Are *Most Importantly* Affordable
-
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade marches on after interruption from protesters
-
Putin’s first prime minister and later his opponent has been added to Russia’s ‘foreign agent’ list
-
Sam Hunt and Wife Hannah Lee Fowler Welcome Baby No. 2