Israeli army continues operations in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure
The Israeli army says it is continuing its deployment in southern Lebanon, destroying underground infrastructure, killing fighters and eliminating “any threats” in the area. On the military’s Arabic X account, a spokesperson said Israel was acting “in defence” of its citizens while “maintaining the terms of the ceasefire”.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a fragile truce last week after a year of cross-border fire that morphed into all-out war in late September.
According to the agreement, Israel should withdraw from southern Lebanon in the next 60 days to be replaced by the Lebanese army. Meanwhile, Hezbollah should pull its fighters north of the Litani River – about 30km (19 miles) north of the de-facto border between Israel and Lebanon.
Despite last week’s truce, Israeli forces have continued strikes against what they say are Hezbollah fighters, ignoring the agreement to halt attacks.
Israel targets residential building in Lebanon with stun grenades
Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting that Israeli troops launched stun grenades at a residential building in the southern village of Aitaroun, shattering windows and causing a number of injuries.
Israeli military says it is ‘monitoring’ events in Syria
The Israeli army says Defence Minister Israel Katz held a “situational assessment” of the recent developments in Syria as opposition fighters push on with their blistering offensive against al-Assad’s government.
The military “is monitoring the events and is preparing for any scenario, both offensive and defensive. The [military] will not allow a threat near the Syrian-Israeli border and will act to thwart any threat to the citizens of the state of Israel,” it said in a statement.
Syrian rebels capture second major city as army withdraws from Hama
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/middleeast/syria-rebels-hama-government-intl/index.html
Syrian rebels have driven government forces from Hama, a major city that the country’s regime had held over more than a decade of civil war, further weakening President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on the nation.
The Syrian military said on Thursday that it had to withdraw from the strategically important hub of Hama after the rebels “penetrated several parts of the city.”
The rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said they freed hundreds of those “wrongfully detained” from the city’s central prison.
Hama is the second major city the rebels have captured in their week-long offensive, which has thrown the Assad regime’s forces into disarray. After capturing Aleppo last week, the rebels swept south to Hama – and now are setting their sights on Homs, the next city south on the highway to the Syrian capital of Damascus.
“Our heroic people in Homs, your time has come,” a spokesperson for the rebels said Thursday.
The shock offensive delivered a huge blow to Assad and his backers in Iran and Russia, and has reignited a civil war that had been largely dormant for years. More than 300,000 civilians in Syria have been killed since the conflict erupted after Assad’s government tried to stamp out peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.
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