Israeli forces carried out a “first withdrawal” from a locality in southern Lebanon and were replaced by Lebanese soldiers, the American Central Command for the Middle East (Centcom) announced Wednesday evening. At the same time, the UN General Assembly voted by a large majority a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In Syria, the Baath party of the deposed power announces the suspension of its activities, after the rebel offensive which led to the fall of the power of Bashar al-Assad.
Information to remember:
⇒ First Israeli withdrawal in southern Lebanon
⇒ The UN General Assembly calls for an immediate and “unconditional” ceasefire in Gaza
⇒ In Syria, the Baath party of deposed power announces the suspension of its activities
11:35 a.m.
Antony Blinken in Jordan for talks on Syria
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed this Thursday in Jordan where he is to have talks on Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, noted an AFP journalist on board his plane. The top US diplomat will meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan and the foreign minister in the Red Sea city of Aqaba to discuss the need for an “inclusive, Syrian-led transition to responsible government.” and representative,” according to U.S. officials.
11:25 a.m.
Iran must face new ‘realities’ in Syria, Revolutionary Guards say
Iran must face new “realities” in Syria after the fall of power, said this Thursday the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, whose country was a close ally of President Bashar al-Assad who fled to Russia.
Syria was for decades the keystone of the land bridge between Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, a member of its anti-Israeli “axis of resistance”, through which weapons and fighters could pass. The seizure of power in Syria by a coalition of rebels, dominated by radical Sunni Islamists, threatens the interests of Iran, a Shiite country.
Iran “tried day and night to provide assistance by all possible means” to the government of Bashar al-Assad, said Thursday the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, who supervises the ideological army of the Islamic Republic. After the change of power in Damascus, “we must live with (new) realities in Syria” and Iran must “adapt its strategy accordingly”, he said, quoted by the official Irna news agency. .
08:45
Gaza: 12 agents responsible for securing aid trucks killed in Israeli strikes
Gaza Civil Defense said 12 officers responsible for securing aid trucks in the devastated Palestinian territory were killed Thursday morning in Israeli strikes. Seven security officers were killed in a strike in Rafah and five others in a strike in Khan Younes, two towns in the south of the Gaza Strip, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud told AFP. Bassal. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately respond.
Gaza Civil Defense also indicated that 21 people, including several children, were killed in an Israeli strike on Wednesday evening, shortly after the United Nations General Assembly called for an immediate ceasefire in the territory. devastated Palestinian.
08:00
Fifty-four journalists killed in 2024, a third of them by Israel, according to RSF
Fifty-four journalists were killed in the exercise or because of their profession across the world in 2024, including a third by the Israeli army, mainly in Gaza, according to the annual report from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published Thursday . According to the press defense NGO, “the Israeli armed forces are responsible for the deaths” of eighteen journalists this year, sixteen in Gaza and two in Lebanon. “Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, recording a death toll higher than any other country for 5 years,” assures RSF in its annual report, the count of which is finalized on December 1. In total, “more than 145 journalists” have been killed by the Israeli army since October 2023 in Gaza, including “at least 35 in the exercise of their duties”, according to the NGO, which deplores “an unprecedented massacre” .
07:45
New Israeli strikes on military sites in Syria, according to OSDH
Israeli airstrikes targeted military sites in Syria belonging to the army of ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartous, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said on Wednesday.
“Israeli fighter planes launched airstrikes” targeting “military sites” including “the port of Latakia” as well as warehouses in the neighboring province of Tartous, the OSDH said, adding that “Israeli fighter planes continue to destroy what remains of the Syrian military arsenal for the fourth consecutive day since the fall of the old regime.
07:20
First Israeli withdrawal in southern Lebanon
Israeli forces carried out a “first withdrawal” from a locality in southern Lebanon and were replaced by Lebanese soldiers, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. The head of Centcom (US Central Command for the Middle East), General Erik Kurilla was “present at the implementation and monitoring headquarters during the still ongoing first withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces and their replacement by the Lebanese armed forces in Khiam, Lebanon, as part of the ceasefire agreement, Centcom said in a statement. “This is an important first step in implementing a lasting cessation of hostilities,” General Kurilla was quoted as saying in the press release.
The Israeli army said for its part on X that it had “completed (its) mission in Khiam in southern Lebanon”. “In accordance with the terms of the ceasefire and in coordination with the United States, soldiers of the Lebanese armed forces are being deployed in the area” at the same time as the peacekeepers of the Security Maintenance Force. peace of the UN (UNIFIL), she said.
07:15
UN General Assembly calls for immediate and “unconditional” ceasefire in Gaza
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday evening called by a very large majority for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, a symbolic call rejected by Israel and the United States. “We are grateful for this overwhelming support,” responded Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour. “We will continue to knock on the door of the Security Council and the Assembly until a ceasefire is put in place,” added the diplomat, who during the debates had called on the international community to put an end to the “nightmare” of the inhabitants of Gaza.
The resolution, adopted to applause by 158 votes in favor, 9 against and 13 abstentions, demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” as well as “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”, a wording similar to the text blocked a few weeks ago in the Security Council by an American veto.
The Americans, like Israel, insist on making the truce conditional on the release of the hostages. The resolution “risks sending Hamas the dangerous message that there is no need to negotiate or release the hostages,” Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood said before the vote.
07:00
Syria: the Baath party of the deposed power announces the suspension of its activities until further notice
The Baath party, which was in power in Syria for more than 50 years, announced on Wednesday the suspension of its activities “until further notice”, three days after the fall of President Bashar el-Assad, ousted by rebels. The central leadership of the party decided to “suspend all party activities […] until further notice”, and to “hand over all equipment, vehicles and weapons” to the Ministry of the Interior, said the party’s deputy secretary general, Ibrahim al-Hadid, in a statement. In addition, “all “Party property and funds will be placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, and their income will be deposited in the Central Bank of Syria,” he added.