27/01/2025

MONDAY | JAN 27, 2025

9

Three killed in south Lebanon

BEIRUT: Israeli forces killed three people and wounded 31 others trying to return to homes in south Lebanon where Israeli troops remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed yesterday. Israel has said it intended to keep troops in the south beyond the deadline stipulated in the US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war with Hezbollah, and on Saturday ordered residents not to return until further notice. The deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from the south as Hezbollah’s weapons and fighters were removed from the area and the Lebanese army deployed, within a 60-day period which ended yesterday morning. Israel has, however, said the terms have not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, while Lebanon’s US backed military on Saturday accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal. Hezbollah’s al-Manar television, broadcasting from several locations in the south, showed footage of residents moving towards villages in defiance of Israeli orders, some holding the group’s flag and images of fighters killed in the war. The Lebanese Health Ministry said one person was killed in the village of Houla, another in Aitaroun, and a third in Blida as a result of what it described as Israeli attacks on citizens while they were trying to enter their still-occupied towns. An Israeli military spokesperson, in a post on X addressed to the people of south Lebanon, accused Hezbollah of trying to “heat up the situation” and said the army would inform them of places to which they can return. – Reuters

Palestinian gunmen overseeing aid trucks moving along a road in Rafah on Saturday. – REUTERSPIC

Trump floats plan to ‘just clean out’ Gaza

GAZA STRIP: US President Donald Trump floated a plan to “just clean out” Gaza, and said he wants Egypt and Jordan to take Palestinians from the territory, as a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas aimed at permanently ending the war entered its second week yesterday. The truce deal that came into effect on Jan 19 saw four Israeli hostages and around 200 Palestinian prisoners released to joyful scenes on Saturday, in the second such exchange so far. But after 15 months of war, Trump called Gaza a “demolition site” and said he had spoken to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of the territory. “I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding he expected to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Most Gazans are Palestinian refugees or their descendants. For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark historical memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba” or catastrophe – the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation 75 years ago. Egypt has previously warned against any “forced displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai desert, which Sisi said could jeopardise the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979. Jordan is already home to around TEL AVIV: Israeli army doctors said on Saturday that the health of four freed female soldiers is “excellent” and that the servicewomen had not received stimulants or drugs during their captivity in the Gaza Strip. The assessments by the doctors refute official Israeli claims that Hamas gave the captives stimulants in the form of vitamins and sedatives to make them appear happy before they were released. Israel’s official public broadcaster, KAN, said military doctors reported

had ordered the Pentagon to release a shipment of 2,000lb (907kg) bombs for Israel which was blocked by his predecessor Joe Biden. While Israel and Hamas completed their second hostage prisoner swap under the ceasefire deal on Saturday, a last-minute dispute blocked the expected return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to the Gaza Strip’s devastated north. Israel announced it would block Palestinians’ passage to the north until a civilian woman hostage who the prime minister’s office said “was supposed to be released” on Saturday walks free. A Hamas source said the woman, Arbel Yehud, will be “released as part of the third swap set for next Saturday”. After a 42-day initial phase, the deal’s second phase is to see negotiations for a permanent end to the war, but analysts have warned it risks collapsing because of the deal’s multi-phase nature and deep distrust between Israel and Hamas. During the first phase, 33 Israeli airstrikes had caused the deaths of dozens of prisoners in its custody and nearly resulted in the deaths of several others. Family members of the released soldiers told Israel’s Channel 12 that the captives had informed them that they were held in locations very close to the bombings, which targeted areas across Gaza for more than 15 months. The soldiers expressed feeling “extreme terror” during the bombings, according to statements.

hostages should be freed in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. A total of seven hostages and 289 Palestinians have so far been released under the deal, as well as one Jordanian prisoner. In Gaza, Palestinian police prevented hundreds of displaced people from reaching the Israeli controlled passage to the north, where Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles were blocking the road. Rafiqa Subh, waiting to return to Beit Lahia, said: “We want to go back, even though our houses are destroyed.” The Israeli military’s Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee said Gazans were not allowed to approach the Netzarim Corridor, through which they have to pass to reach their homes in the north, “until it is announced open”. The truce has brought a surge of food, fuel, medicines and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but the UN says “the humanitarian situation remains dire”. – AFP They also noted that they were frequently moved between houses and tunnels during their detention, amid airstrikes, to ensure their safety. Hamas handed over the four female soldiers earlier on Saturday under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. Some 200 Palestinian prisoners were also released in exchange for the soldiers. Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor. – Bernama

2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations. “You’re talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said of Gaza, whose population is about 2.4 million, adding that “something has to happen”. “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump said, adding that moving Gaza’s inhabitants could be “temporarily or could be long term”. The vast majority of Gaza’s people have been displaced, often multiple times, by the Gaza war. Trump’s new administration has promised “unwavering support” for Israel, without yet laying out details of its Middle East policy. He confirmed on Saturday he o Fragile truce enters second week that the soldiers were found to be “in good and stable health” after conducting examinations. The doctors said the soldiers confirmed they had not received stimulants or drugs while in captivity. The female soldiers later confirmed that their lives were under threat and they experienced “extreme terror” due to the heavy bombardment by the Israeli army near their places of detention. Their accounts align with earlier warnings by the group which said

MACRON’S POPULARITY DIPS TO NEW LOW PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron’s popularity dropped to a new low in a poll published yesterday. Just 21% of respondents to the Ifop poll published in the Journal de Dimanche newspaper expressed satisfaction with Macron. His popularity has sunk even lower than it did during the 2019 standoff with the “yellow vests” movement that saw weekly protests that lasted more than a year. His popularity in yesterday’s poll was marginally lower than his 22% score in November. Those expressing dissatisfaction (35%) and great dissatisfaction (44%) with Macron made up 79% of respondents. The poll was conducted among 2,001 people aged over 18 online between Jan 15 and 23. – AFP ABUJA: A fuel tanker explosion killed 18 people in Nigeria’s southeastern Enugu state on Saturday, the national road safety agency said, a week after another incident left about 100 residents dead in the north of the country. The truck suffered brake failure and the driver lost control, crashing into more than a dozen vehicles on an expressway, Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps said. He said 10 people were rescued with injuries and another three were unharmed. “Unfortunately, the remaining 18 victims were burnt beyond recognition,” said Ogungbemide. – Reuters FUEL TANKER BLAST KILLS 18 IN NIGERIA

BR I E F S

Freed Israeli female soldiers in excellent health