Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Drone targets car in southern Lebanon

The attack took place on a road near Lebanon’s Deir al-Zahrani, the National News Agency reports. Lebanon’s an-Nahar newspaper reported one casualty from the attack.

Footage shared by Lebanese media shows a car in flames on the side of a road.

PM office says Israel agrees to discuss Lebanon border, release 5 Lebanese

A statement by Netanyahu’s office says Israel has agreed to hold talks to demarcate its border with Lebanon. It added it would release five Lebanese detainees held by the Israeli military in what it called a “gesture to the Lebanese president”.

Israel had agreed with Lebanon, the US and France to establish working groups to discuss the demarcation line between the two countries.

Despite a ceasefire agreement reached with Hezbollah last year, Israel has refused to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon while its forces have been regularly carrying out attacks in different parts of Lebanon.

Lebanon says four prisoners have been released by Israel

The Lebanese presidency says the country has received four prisoners formerly held by Israel after the recent talks between the sides in southern Lebanon. A fifth prisoner is to be handed over tomorrow.

They had been detained by Israeli forces during the war between Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and Israel, which paused after a November ceasefire deal. The country’s official National News Agency said earlier that five prisoners were handed over to Lebanon, citing the Lebanese Red Cross.

Delegation monitoring Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire meets in south Lebanon

For the sixth time, a joint statement from the US and French embassies in Beirut reads, the “Cessation of Hostilities Implementation ‘Mechanism'” met today in Naquoara, near Israel’s border with Lebanon.

The meeting was hosted by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, a special taskforce of peacekeepers.

“The attendees discussed advancing the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the full implementation of the November 26, 2024, Cessation of Hostilities arrangement, and next steps for addressing outstanding issues between Israel and Lebanon”, the statement reads.

Israel has, as recently as today, continued to bomb locations in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, drawing condemnation from countries such as France. It also let more than one deadline to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon lapse, and responded vaguely about when its soldiers would be pulled back.

“After the meeting and at the request of the United States, Israel returned five Lebanese citizens being held in Israeli custody to Lebanon”, the joint statement added.

Moments ago, the Lebanese presidency said that four of the five had been returned to Lebanon, and that the fifth is expected tomorrow.

Israeli captives are also ‘hostages of Netanyahu’: Golan

Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats Party in Israel, says the resumption of talks with Lebanon “is the right diplomatic move, but the fact that [Prime Minister] Netanyahu is promoting it while refusing to move forward with a deal to release the hostages reveals his opaqueness and cynicism”.

He said on X: “The kidnapped are not just in the hands of Hamas – they are hostages of Netanyahu, who continues to delay their release.”

“It is inconceivable that Netanyahu is willing to return territories to Lebanon before he returns the kidnapped to Israel,” the politician said.

Israel said on Tuesday it had agreed to hold talks to demarcate its border with Lebanon, adding it would release five Lebanese held by the Israeli military in what it called a “gesture to the Lebanese president”.