This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here
My colleagues, Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem, and Oliver Holmes have produced this explainer on what the terms of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire are. You can read more at the link below:
Here is a video report on families returning to homes in Lebanon and northern Israel after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire took effect:
Continue reading...PM says previous government ‘deliberately liberalised’ post-Brexit immigration as he announces deal with Iraq
Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of running an “open borders experiment” after new figures showed that net migration to the UK hit a record high of nearly 1 million in a period covering Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s administrations.
The prime minister announced a deal with Iraq to tackle people-smugglers and a white paper to overhaul the visa system, before demanding “an explanation” from Kemi Badenoch for her party’s decision to “deliberately liberalise immigration” after the Brexit vote.
Continue reading...Lebanese given conflicting information about whether they can return home, as Israeli army strikes cars and areas along boundary
Hezbollah has vowed to continue resisting Israel and is monitoring its army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon “with their hands on the trigger”, said the militia in its first comments since a ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday.
The Iran-allied Shia group did not directly mention the truce, but said its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy”. Hezbollah also remained committed to the Palestinian cause, said the statement from its operations centre late on Wednesday.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Behind the celebratory scenes on the streets of Beirut lies a battered, divided country teetering on the brink of becoming a failed state
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Good morning. At 4am local time on Wednesday, a ceasefire began between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. By that time, some displaced residents of Lebanon’s devastated south were already on their way back, many of them wondering as they travelled whether the homes they had fled were still there.
The pause in hostilities has been broadly welcomed in Lebanon, Israel and beyond, both for those who have been exiled on either side of the border and as a step towards regional stability. There are even some optimistic claims that it might help bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. But as the Lebanon ceasefire begins, a formidable task remains: the reconstruction of a shattered region of a country that is perilously close to being a failed state.
Assisted dying | The former president of the supreme court, who ruled on the most high-profile assisted dying cases, has declared his support for the law change. David Neuberger’s intervention came as MPs backing the bill say they believe they have the numbers for Friday’s historic vote to pass.
UK news | Police believe Mohamed Al Fayed may have raped and abused more than 111 women over nearly four decades, with his youngest victim said to have been 13 years old. The Metropolitan police said that five unnamed individuals were being investigated for facilitating the offences.
Ukraine | Ukraine’s power infrastructure was “under massive enemy attack” on Thursday, the country’s energy minister said, after a nationwide air raid alert was declared due to incoming missiles.
Weather | The third named storm of the autumn, Conall, has brought more disruption to the UK, with trains cancelled in parts of southern England on Wednesday and the Met Office warning of delays on roads and potential power cuts.
Trade | Canada’s federal government and the premiers of the 10 provinces have agreed to work together against a threat by US president-elect Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports. Possible retaliatory measures are under consideration after Trump said one of his first executive orders would be a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico.
Continue reading...Comments made after nuclear inspectorate board passed motion censuring Iran for building uranium stockpile
The nuclear debate inside Iran is likely to shift towards the possession of its own weapons if the west goes ahead with a threat to reimpose all UN sanctions, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in an interview that Iran already had the capability and knowledge to create nuclear weapons, but said they did not form part of its security strategy. He also said Tehran was prepared to keep supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Continue reading...Displaced people make their way home despite volatile situation and warnings from Israeli military
Thousands of people displaced from war-torn southern Lebanon have begun returning home after a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday, amid fears on both sides of the border about whether the truce would hold.
Israel heavily bombed the capital, Beirut, and the south of the country throughout Tuesday, killing 42 people, until the truce began at 4am local time, while Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, triggering air raid sirens.
Continue reading...Peace is shaky at best, as Israel will still strike targets in Lebanon and a power transition looms in the US
The Biden administration has claimed the long-awaited ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel as a diplomatic triumph achieved under tremendous pressure during a lame-duck period with a hostile Donald Trump administration waiting in the wings.
Speaking from a lectern in the Rose Garden of the White House, Joe Biden called the result “historic” and said that it “reminds us that peace is possible”. It would return civilians to their homes, he said, and had “determined this conflict will not be just another cycle of violence”.
Continue reading...Claim comes after Paris signalled it would fulfil obligations as signatory to Rome statute after arrest warrant issued
The French government has claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu has immunity from arrest warrants issued by the international criminal court for war crimes on the grounds that Israel is not an ICC member.
The claim came soon after Netanyahu’s cabinet agreed to a French-backed ceasefire in Lebanon and is in contrast to Paris’s attitude towards last year’s ICC war crimes warrant issued against Vladimir Putin, another leader of a non-member country.
Continue reading...Joe Biden may have revived diplomatic efforts, but after compromising in Lebanon, Netanyahu has even less leeway in Gaza
Joe Biden has revived diplomatic efforts to achieve a truce in Gaza with the hope of building on momentum generated by the newly agreed ceasefire in Lebanon.
There are doubts, however, that such momentum exists outside the Biden administration, which is anxious to use its last few weeks to salvage scraps of diplomatic honour after the bloody past 14 months in the Middle East.
Continue reading...People are relieved to be home but face having to rebuild lives among destroyed homes and villages
Before the ceasefire had even come into effect, Zeinab and Dina were already driving south. The two sisters had been forced to flee to Tripoli, northern Lebanon, for 64 days – they had counted – and they could not bear another day without seeing home.
“We were laughing and crying at the same time when we heard the news of the ceasefire. We were packing our stuff and still we didn’t believe it was happening, it was like a dream,” said Zeinab, 28, a resident of the town of Zibqeen in south Lebanon.
Continue reading...Laila Soueif is to meet the foreign secretary, who in opposition called for the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah
The British-born mother of an Egyptian political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 58 days is preparing to meet the foreign secretary, David Lammy, to urge him to secure her son’s release.
Laila Soueif’s son Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British and Egyptian dual citizen who wrote eloquently about the Arab spring and its aftermath, was jailed for five years for “spreading false news”. He was due to be released in September, but has not been freed.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest full report here:
Down to the final half-hour before the ceasefire comes into effect and AFP is reporting strikes on south Beirut after the Israel army’s evacuation warning.
“Urgent warning to residents of the Beirut area,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee had earlier said in a post on X, telling people in the Bachoura area in the city centre to leave, as well as “all residents in the southern suburb area”, specifically in Ghobeiry.
Continue reading...Reports of cars heading south inside Lebanon despite Israeli army warning displaced residents not to return home immediately
A highly anticipated ceasefire aimed at ending the 14-month-old war between Israel and Hezbollah officially came into effect early on Wednesday morning, hours after Joe Biden hailed the “historic” moment.
The ceasefire officially began at 0200 GMT – 4am in Lebanon – after the heaviest day of raids on Beirut, including a series of strikes in the city’s centre, since Israel stepped up its air campaign in Lebanon in late September before sending in ground troops.
Continue reading...Airstrikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon some of the war’s heaviest to date, killing at least three people
Israel has launched some of the heaviest airstrikes to date on Beirut, the Lebanese capital, before an expected ceasefire in its war with Hezbollah.
The Israeli military began attacking areas of Beirut dominated by the Lebanese militia early on Tuesday before issuing a flurry of 20 evacuation calls – its widest warning to civilians since hostilities escalated into full-blown war in late September.
Continue reading...Five more rescued and seven still missing from the Sea Story, which was carrying 30 tourists and 14 crew
Egyptian naval forces recovered four bodies and rescued five more people from the Red Sea a day after a large tourist boat sank in rough waters, officials have said. Seven people are still missing.
The Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafi, said the yacht, called Sea Story, had been struck by high waves on Monday and sank in less than 7 minutes.
Continue reading...A truce between Israel and the Lebanese militant group has come into effect after 14 months of fighting
A ceasefire to end 14 months of fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah has come into effect, with Lebanese civilians already returning to the devastated south of the country.
Continue reading...A trade union organisation that represents 18 million African workers has submitted a complaint to the United Nations against labour practices in Saudi Arabia. It has called for “immediate and decisive action” with the country poised to be granted World Cup hosting rights next month.
In an account that collates claims of malpractice and abuse alongside testimonies from migrant workers, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) argues that “the relentless cycle of abuse and exploitation mark the daily existence of African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
Continue reading...IDF would withdraw entirely from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah pull back its heavy weapons under agreement
Israel’s security cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday to decide on a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon after more than a year of fighting between Israeli forces and the Shia militia Hezbollah.
Under the deal being considered, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would reportedly withdraw entirely from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah would pull its heavy weapons north of the Litani River, about 16 miles (25km) north of the Israeli border, and the Lebanese army would move in to provide security in the border zone alongside an existing UN peacekeeping force, during an initial 60-day transition phase.
Continue reading...Sea Story was on diving trip with 31 tourists and 14 crew when it sent distress signal
Two Britons are reported to be among 16 people missing after a tourist boat on a diving trip capsized in the Red Sea.
The Sea Story was carrying 30 tourists from several countries and 14 crew when it sent a distress signal at 5.30am local time (0330 GMT), according to Egypt’s Red Sea governorate.
Continue reading...Some who live close to the border with Lebanon believe a deal would allow them to raise their children in safety, but others say communities are split
There is a crack, a boom and a siren, all more or less simultaneously. Sergio Helman has not quite reached the concrete shelter a dozen metres away from his hummus restaurant, off highway 99, which marks the northernmost limit of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
The 60-year-old shrugs and explains that Hezbollah fires the rockets from so close that Israeli air defence systems can give only 15 seconds warning at best.
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