On the evening of this Saturday, January 25, Emmanuel Macron called on Israel and Lebanon to respect the terms of the truce “as soon as possible”, while Israel had postponed its departure from the southern zone of the country. This Sunday morning, the Israeli army fired on civilians in South Lebanon, injuring 17, while thousands of Lebanese people tried to return to their villages. In the morning, Israel also accused Hamas of two truce violations, while the United States resumed its bomb deliveries.
Information to remember
⇒ Donald Trump announces the resumption of bomb deliveries to Israel
⇒ Emmanuel Macron calls on the parties to respect their commitment in Lebanon
⇒ Israeli fire leaves two dead and 32 injured in southern Lebanon
12:15 p.m.
Lebanon: the army announces the death of one of its soldiers
The Lebanese army announced this Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon, while hundreds of people tried to enter border towns still occupied by Israeli forces. “A soldier died as a martyr […] and another was injured” after being “targeted by Israeli enemy fire, as part of its continued aggression against citizens and soldiers in the southern border areas,” the army said in a statement. a press release.
12:10 p.m.
Lebanon: conditions “not yet met” for the return of residents
“The conditions are not yet met for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line” in southern Lebanon, the UN representative for Lebanon said in a joint statement this Sunday. , Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and General Aroldo Lazaro, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). “Displaced communities […] are therefore once again called for caution”, they added, while the Israeli army remains deployed in the sector despite the expiration of the deadline set for its withdrawal by the ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah.
11:15 a.m.
Hamas also accuses Israel of “violating” the agreement
Hamas in turn accused Israel this Sunday of violating the truce agreement, by preventing the return of residents of the north of the Gaza Strip, who had been forced to flee the bombings and fighting towards the south of the territory. The Palestinian Islamist movement indicated that it was “following up the matter with the mediators” and “holding Israel responsible for the delay in implementing the agreement”, while thousands of Palestinians crowded near the “Netzarim corridor”, which cuts the Gaza Strip in two, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Israeli border.
10:00 a.m.
Donald Trump’s idea to “clean up” Gaza
President Trump’s proposal to “clean up” in the Gaza Strip and send the Palestinians from this territory to countries in the region – such as Egypt and Jordan – is “an excellent idea”, said this Sunday, a far-right minister in the Israeli government. “After years of glorifying terrorism, (the Palestinians) will be able to establish a new and beautiful life elsewhere,” added in a press release Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose party is essential to the coalition of Benyamin Netanyahu’s government.
9:10 a.m.
Donald Trump unblocks bomb convoy bound for Israel
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that he had released a delivery of 2,000 pounds (907 kg) bombs to Israel, suspended last year by the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden. “They paid for it and they have been waiting for it for a long time,” he explained. “A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but not sent by Biden, are now on their way!” added the 47th President of the United States on his Truth Social platform.
The administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden last year suspended deliveries to Israel of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs intended to bomb Rafah, in the northern Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million Palestinians had found refuge. Joe Biden then estimated that the use of this type of bomb in such areas would cause a “great human tragedy”.
8:30 a.m.
Israel accuses Hamas of two truce violations
Israel accused Hamas this Sunday of two violations of the truce agreement, thus justifying its refusal to let displaced people in the south of the Gaza Strip return to the North. Arbel Yehuda, a civilian woman whose release Israel demanded on Saturday, “was not released and the list of the status” of the hostages – dead or alive – “was not submitted” by the Palestinian movement, the office denounced of the Prime Minister in a press release.
7:45 a.m.
Lebanon: Emmanuel Macron called on the parties to honor their commitment
During a telephone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday evening the parties involved in the ceasefire in Lebanon to honor their commitments “as quickly as possible”, while Lebanon accuses Israel to “procrastinate” in its withdrawal from the south of the country.
“The President of the Republic recalled that the commitments made by the parties must be honored as quickly as possible, so that Lebanon regains its sovereignty over the entire territory. The President of the Republic reiterated the constant commitment of France in this sense,” reported the Elysée.
7:30 a.m.
Two dead and 32 injured in southern Lebanon
The Israeli army opened fire this Sunday on residents of southern Lebanon who were trying to return to their villages, killing two and wounding 32, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Hundreds of residents of southern Lebanon were trying to return to their villages. Convoys of dozens of cars, according to AFP, brandished the yellow flags of Lebanese Hezbollah. The Israeli army was due to complete its withdrawal from the south of the country on Sunday under a ceasefire agreement ending its war with the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah, but it postponed this deadline.
7:00 a.m.
Benyamin Netanyahu hails “a very happy moment”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday hailed as a “very happy moment” the return to Israel of four female soldiers captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023, after their release in exchange for some 200 Palestinian prisoners. “This is a moment that we have been waiting for for a long time,” he said by telephone to the parents of one of the four young women, Liri Albag, according to a press release from his office.