Hamas armed wing says it fires rockets from southern Lebanon
The Qassam Brigades says it has targeted an Israeli military position with a salvo of missiles from southern Lebanon, according to a post on its Telegram channel.
US official mediating Israel-Hezbollah tensions
The latest salvo of rockets to be fired into Israel from Lebanon are claimed to have been launched by the Lebanon wing of Hamas.
Hezbollah has repeatedly said it would halt the fighting once there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has said it will not stop the fighting until Hezbollah withdraws from its border with Lebanon. And that is why US special envoy Amos Hochstein, who has been mediating in this conflict, is now in Israel. Every time there is some sort of progress in Gaza talks, he is in Israel … so that he can travel to Lebanon to try to broker a cessation of hostilities if and when a ceasefire is agreed in Gaza.
Western nations are talking about the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 after the last war between Hezbollah and Israel. That resolution calls for a zone close to the border, free of arms and fighters outside the state’s control as well as Lebanon’s army, which operates alongside UN peacekeepers, to ensure some sort of demilitarised zone.
Now what will Hezbollah agree? It is still unclear. It repeatedly has said it understands UN Resolution 1701 to mean that no arms and fighters will be visible along the border – so tough negotiations ahead.
But it is clear that the US has been trying to prevent this from escalating into a full-blown conflict.
UK maritime body receives report of incident near Yemen’s Mokha
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it has received a report of an incident 54 nautical miles (100km) northwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mokha.
It said authorities are investigating and vessels are advised to transit cautiously and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.
UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 069 ATTACKhttps://t.co/fX3hWupi7g#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/PvZhXhFaFf
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) April 29, 2024
Equity firms pause funding after boycott campaigns over Gaza war
The Financial Times reports that equity firms General Atlantic and CVC are pausing a multimillion-dollar stake in sales in US fast food brands in Indonesia and Malaysia due to boycotts over Israel’s war on Gaza.
In Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, consumers have boycotted US brands, including Starbucks, KFC and Pizza Hut, over Washington’s support for Israel and as part of a wider campaign of boycotts over brands that support Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
In December, General Atlantic, a US equity investor, paused the sale of its 20 percent stake in Starbucks operator Map Boga Adiperkasa, according to two people familiar with the situation.
According to two other people with knowledge of the decision, CVC Capital Partners, one of Europe’s biggest private equity firms, also cancelled the sale of its 21 percent stake in Malaysia’s QSR Brands, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut, due to the boycotts.
