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    • Top Iranian official pledges support for Lebanon in Israel-Hezbollah war as US pushes for ceasefire
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    Top Iranian official pledges support for Lebanon in Israel-Hezbollah war as US pushes for ceasefire

    Online Niel Posted on

    Bassem Mroue and David Rising
    | Associated Press

    Beirut — A senior Iranian official pledged his country’s unwavering support for Lebanon after talks Friday with Lebanese leaders on the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah, which came as the United States continued to actively push both sides to agree on a new ceasefire agreement.

    Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said he hoped circumstances would soon improve in Lebanon so displaced people could return home.

    “The main purpose of our visit is to say loudly that we will support the government and people of Lebanon,” Larijani told reporters after separate meetings with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri and interim prime minister Najib Mikati.

    The US has been trying to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which took place as the 13-month Israel-Hamas war expanded in September into southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut.

    Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran, and Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’s surprise attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the Gaza War.

    According to Lebanese media reports, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson handed over a draft of a proposed agreement to end the Israel-Hezbollah war to Berri, who led the talks representing Hezbollah.

    A Lebanese official confirmed on Friday that Johnson had visited Berri, but declined to say whether a project had been handed over.

    Another Lebanese official confirmed that Beirut has received a copy of a draft proposal that the US sees fit to end the Israel-Hezbollah war, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the summer war of 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.

    The official did not provide details other than to say that Israel is insisting that some safeguards be included.

    Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media about ongoing discussions.

    The US Embassy declined to either confirm or deny the reports.

    Larijani flew in on Friday from neighboring Syria, where he held similar talks a day earlier with President Bashar Assad. Syria’s state news agency said Assad and Larijani discussed “the ongoing aggression against Palestine and Lebanon and the need to stop it.”

    In addition to supporting Hamas, Iran is a major backer of Hezbollah and has been funding and arming the Lebanese militant group for decades.

    Asked if he was visiting to try to thwart US efforts to end the Israel-Hezbollah war, Larijani said: “We are not trying to blow up any effort, but we want to solve the problem and we will stand with Lebanon no matter what circumstances. .”

    Mikati, who in recent weeks has become more critical of Iran’s role in Lebanon and has called on Tehran not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs, told Larijani that Lebanon wants an end to the ongoing war and that work is underway to to come to an end. fire, according to comments made by his office.

    “Contacts are ongoing in this framework with the aim of reaching an agreement,” Mikati said.

    He added that Lebanon wants to see the UN resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war implemented “in all its details.” That resolution says there should be no armed presence in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel, other than the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

    Larijani’s visit to the Lebanese capital was punctuated by a new Israeli airstrike on the southeastern outskirts of the city.

    An image captured by an Associated Press photographer showed what appeared to be an 11-story residential building in the Tayouneh area, several kilometers or miles from central Beirut, about to be hit by a bomb, then burst into flames .

    No casualties were immediately reported, but the bomb struck a lower level of the building, reducing much of it to rubble. The Israeli military issued a warning before the attack, saying it was a facility that belonged to Hezbollah.

    Funerals were held on Friday for 11 people killed on Thursday in a series of Israeli airstrikes in and around the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah.

    The wounded and dead were all taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where they were seen by an AP reporter. Among the dead were two children.

    The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Friday that a total of 28 people had been killed and another 120 wounded in the past 24 hours.

    On Thursday, the 10 elected members of the UN Security Council circulated a draft resolution calling for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza as well.

    The draft resolution, which has been sent to the council’s five permanent members, reiterates the council’s demand “for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” captured during Hamas’ assault on southern Israel in 2023. Israel says about 100 are still being held, though not all are believed to be alive.

    The US, Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the UN Security Council passes the resolution. The other four permanent members – Russia, China, Britain and France – are expected to support it or abstain.

    The draft, obtained Thursday by the AP, also calls for immediate access for Gaza’s civilian population to humanitarian aid and services essential to their survival.

    The draft resolution would also express the council’s “deep alarm at the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the lack of adequate medical services and food insecurity, which creates a risk of famine, particularly in the north “.

    It would deplore all attacks against civilians and “good civilians” and all acts of terrorism.

    The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants entered Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting another 250.

    Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. Officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.

    Hezbollah began firing into Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the outbreak of the conflict, more than 3,200 people have been killed and more than 14,000 injured in Lebanon, the Ministry of Health reported.

    Lebanon also suffered physical damage and economic losses of around $8.5 billion, according to a World Bank report released Thursday.

    In the town of Douris, near the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, rescue teams continued to search through rubble Friday at the site of an Israeli strike that hit a civil defense center the night before.

    The Lebanese Civil Defense said in a statement that 13 bodies, all employees and volunteers of the emergency services agency, had been recovered, as well as other remains that will require DNA testing.

    In a statement, the General Directorate of Civil Defense expressed its “deep regret over this direct attack on its members” and said its centers “will continue to respond to requests for help and continue their humanitarian mission, no matter how great would be the challenges and sacrifices. I am.”

    Reported pickup from Bangkok. Abby Sewell in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

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