Region

BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities said Saturday that more than 25 people had been arrested following an attack on a United Nations convoy the day before that wounded two peacekeepers, including the force's outgoing deputy commander.

UN and Lebanese officials have condemned Friday's attack, which came as Hizbollah supporters for a second night blocked the road to the country's only international airport over a decision barring two Iranian planes from landing there.

"More than 25 people have been arrested by Lebanese army intelligence", with another person detained by the security services, Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar told reporters after an emergency security meeting Saturday.

"This does not mean these detainees carried out the attack... but the investigations will show who is responsible," he said.

The army and security agencies would bolster measures to "maintain security and stability", Hajjar added, and violations would be treated "with all seriousness".

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL] has demanded an investigation after one of its vehicles was set on fire during the incident, which wounded outgoing deputy force commander Chok Bahadur Dhakal, a Nepalese national who was heading home after ending his mission.

UNIFIL deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel told AFP a second Nepalese peacekeeper was also wounded and hospitalised.

President Joseph Aoun vowed "the attackers will receive their punishment", and said "security forces will not be lenient with any party that tries to upset stability and civil peace", according to a statement from the presidency on X.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam strongly condemned the "criminal attack" and promised to arrest the perpetrators during a conversation with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UNIFIL Commander General Aroldo Lazaro.

SANAA — Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Thursday threatened to launch new attacks if the United States and Israel go ahead with plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza.

"We will take action by firing missiles and drones and launching maritime attacks if the United States and Israel implement their plan to displace" Palestinians from Gaza, rebel leader Abdul Malik Al Huthi said in a televised speech.

US President Donald Trump's plan to move Gaza's inhabitants and redevelop the territory has been widely condemned in the Arab world.

The Huthis have launched scores of attacks on Israeli targets and Red Sea shipping during the Israel-Hamas war.

"I call on the armed forces to be ready to take military action in the event that the criminal Trump carries out his threat," Huthi said on the rebels' Al Masirah TV station.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Hamas said Thursday it was committed to honouring a truce with Israel that is facing its worst crisis since it took effect, and added that mediators were pushing for hostages to be released this weekend as planned.

Palestinian sources reported progress in efforts to salvage the ceasefire which was plunged into uncertainty after Hamas warned it would not release hostages on Saturday, citing Israeli violations.

Israel hit back, saying that if Hamas failed to free captives on schedule, it would resume its war in Gaza.

"We are keen to implement it [the ceasefire] and oblige the occupation to fully abide by it. Mediators are pressuring [Israel] to complete the full implementation of the agreement, oblige the occupation to abide by the humanitarian protocol, and resume the exchange process on Saturday," Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Al Qanou said.

A Palestinian source said mediators had obtained from Israel a "promise... to put in place a humanitarian protocol starting from this morning".

Egyptian state-linked media said construction equipment, including bulldozers and trucks carrying mobile homes, was ready to enter Gaza from Egypt on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump had warned that "hell" would break loose if the Palestinian militant group failed to release "all" the hostages by noon on Saturday.

If fighting resumes, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said, "the new Gaza war... will not end without the defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages."

"It will also allow the realisation of US President Trump's vision for Gaza," he added.

Trump, whose return to the White House has emboldened the Israeli far-right, sparked global outcry with a proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and to move its 2.4 million residents to Egypt or Jordan.

'Power games'

The hints of progress came as mediators Qatar and Egypt pushed to salvage the ceasefire agreement that came into effect last month, while Hamas said its top negotiator was in Cairo.

The truce, currently in its first phase, has seen Israeli captives released in small groups in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

The warring sides, which have yet to agree on the next phases of the truce, have traded accusations of violations, spurring concern that the violence could resume.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and "avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza".

Israel has repeatedly vowed to defeat Hamas and free all the hostages since the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

Analyst Mairav Zonszein of International Crisis Group said despite their public disputes, Israel and Hamas were still interested in maintaining the truce and have not "given up on anything yet".

"They're just playing power games," she told AFP.

 'Lives depend on it'

In Israel, dozens of relatives of hostages held in Gaza blocked a highway near commercial hub Tel Aviv, waving banners and demanding the terms of the ceasefire be respected, an AFP photographer said.

Israeli student Mali Abramovitch, 28, said that it was "terrible to think" that the next group of hostages would not be released "because Israel allegedly violated the conditions, which is nonsense".

Last week's hostage release sparked anger in Israel and beyond after Hamas paraded three emaciated hostages before a crowd and forced them to speak. Hamas, meanwhile, has accused Israel of failing to meet its aid commitments under the agreement.

In southern Gaza's Khan Yunis, 48-year-old Saleh Awad told AFP he felt "anxiety and fear", saying that "Israel is seeking any pretext to reignite the war... and displace" the territory's inhabitants.

Hamas has insisted it remains "committed to the ceasefire", and said its chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayya was in Cairo on Wednesday for meetings and to monitor "the implementation of the ceasefire agreement".

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the hostage-prisoner swaps, urged the parties to maintain the truce.

"Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on it," including "all of the remaining hostages" and Gazans who "need respite from violence and access to life-saving humanitarian aid", the ICRC said.

Trump reaffirmed his Saturday deadline for the hostage release.

DAMASCUS — Syria said Wednesday a new government would take over next month from the interim cabinet formed following Bashar Assad's overthrow, and announced a preparatory body for a national dialogue conference.

The new authorities need to rebuild Syria's institutions after more than 50 years of Assad family rule and revive an economy smashed by nearly 14 years of war.

Weighed down by Assad-era sanctions, the government will also need to persuade Western capitals that the Islamist-led rebels who seized power have abandoned their jihadist origins, amid concerns for minorities in the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country.

"The government that will be launched March 1 will represent the Syrian people as much as possible and take its diversity into account," Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in the United Arab Emirates.

The Syrian people will be "partners in change", he said, adding that "changes and adjustments we made over the past two months on the political roadmap were derived and inspired by consultations with the diaspora and civil society".

A caretaker government headed by Mohammad al-Bashir is steering the country until March 1.

Last month Sharaa, leader of Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) which spearheaded Assad's overthrow, was appointed interim president, and the new authorities are set to form a transitional legislature.

The Assad-era parliament has been dissolved, along with the Baath party which ruled Syria for decades. Sharaa has said organising elections could take up to five years.

Sharaa's office announced Wednesday the formation of a seven-member preparatory committee for a national dialogue conference "to meet the requirements of this historic phase and guarantee the aspirations of the Syrian people".

Former exiled opposition

The committee includes two women, according to the decree, and its work will end "once the conference's final declaration is issued".

No date was set for the event.

Sharaa said last month the national dialogue would be "a direct platform for discussions, to listen to different points of view on our future political programme", in a country wracked by divisions.

Activists have expressed concern about the rights and representation of women, while officials have insisted they will be a part of the new Syria.

On Tuesday, the presidency said Syria's main civilian opposition bodies, formerly in exile, had transferred files they had been handling to Damascus amid efforts to "dissolve" civilian and military institutions formed during the conflict.

Sharaa met in Damascus with the head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) Bader Jamous and the head of the National Coalition Hadi Albahra.

Responding to a question about whether the move meant the dissolution of the bodies, Jamous told AFP: "Yes, but there are legal procedures that need to be worked out and that will take some time".

Jamous said members of the commission and affiliated experts will be "part of the Syrian state and support its construction".

The Istanbul-based Coalition was established in November 2012 after opposition groups and figures met in Qatar.

The Coalition is the main component of the SNC, which emerged after a meeting in Riyadh in 2015, and represented the Syrian opposition during UN-sponsored talks with the Assad government in Geneva that failed to produce any results.

HTS and other armed factions have officially been dissolved, with their fighters to be integrated into a future national force.

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Ahmed Al Sharaa held their first phone call since the fall of Moscow-ally Bashar Al Assad last year, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

Moscow has been keen to secure its two military bases in the war-torn country, both of which were left vulnerable after Assad was ousted by rebels in a major setback for Russia's foreign policy.

"Vladimir Putin wished success to Ahmed Al Sharaa in solving the tasks facing the new leadership of the country for the benefit of the Syrian people," the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.

"The Russian side emphasised its principled position in support of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state," it added.

Moscow helped keep Assad in power when it intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015, launching devastating aerial strikes on rebel-held areas.

When rebels swept into Damascus in a lightning offensive in December, Russia granted Al Assad asylum, angering many Syrians including the country's new rulers.

Syria's new leadership last month urged Moscow to "address past mistakes" during talks with Russian officials, which they said had touched on "the brutal war waged by the Assad regime".

CAIRO/GAZA CITY — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza "without displacing Palestinians".

During a phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Sisi "stressed the necessity of starting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip... without displacing Palestinians and in a way that ensures the preservation of their rights... to live on their land", according to a statement from his office.

Hamas said on Tuesday that it was committed to the ceasefire deal in Gaza but said Israel had failed to "abide by its commitments" under the agreement.

"Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement that the [Israeli] occupation also committed to," the Palestinian group said in a statement, adding that "we affirm that the occupation is the party that did not abide by its commitments and is responsible for any complications or delays".

The UN chief called on Hamas Tuesday to proceed with planned releases of Israeli hostages, after the Palestinian group threatened to postpone further hostage-prisoner exchanges agreed under a fragile Gaza ceasefire.

“We must avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to immense tragedy,” Antonio Guterres said on X, appealing “to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages”.

“Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations.”

The ceasefire that went into effect on January 19 largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip and saw five groups of Israeli hostages freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody.

But on Monday, Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, said the next hostage release due to take place on Saturday would be “postponed until further notice”.

It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans on Sunday.

Hamas later said it announced the delay five days in advance to give mediators time to push Israel to comply.

Following the statement, Israel said its military was readying for “any possible scenario”.

The pressure rose further after US President Donald Trump said he would call for an end to the ceasefire if all Israeli hostages were not freed by noon on Saturday.

The truce, in place since January 19, largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza but has come under strain in recent days.

Tensions, which initially spiked after Trump proposed last month taking over Gaza and removing its more than 2 million inhabitants, have grown since his latest comments.

“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock — I think it’s an appropriate time — I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said on Monday.

The ceasefire agreement calls for staggered releases over the 42-day first phase of the deal.

He had already hiked tensions with a proposal to take over Gaza and remove its more than 2 million inhabitants.

Meanwhile, the leader of Yemen’s Huthi rebels said on Tuesday that the Hamas-allied group was “ready to launch a military intervention” should Israel resume its attacks in the Gaza Strip.

“We are ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza,” Abdul Malik Al Huthi, leader of the Iran-backed group which has launched attacks throughout the Gaza war in stated solidarity with the Palestinians, said a televised speech.

TEHRAN — Iranian authorities on Tuesday granted pardons to two journalists jailed after covering the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests, official media said.

Elaheh Mohammadi, 37, and Niloufar Hamedi, 32, were jailed in September 2022, days after producing media coverage of Amini’s death. The two journalists, both women, had spent more than a year behind bars before their release on bail.

“The cases of Ms Mohammadi and Ms Hamedi have been included in the list of pardons presented on Tuesday and have been awarded amnesty,” said the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website.

Mohammadi, a reporter for the reformist Ham Mihan daily, was arrested after going to Amini’s hometown of Saqez, in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, to cover her funeral which turned into a demonstration.

Hamedi, a photographer for Shargh daily, was arrested less than a week after Amini’s death after posting a picture of the young woman’s grieving family on social media.

They had both received jail terms for collaboration with the United States, conspiring against state security and propaganda against the Islamic republic.

In August, the lawyers of the two journalists said they had been acquitted of the charge of collaboration with the United States.

Shargh reported on Tuesday that the cases of both journalists were now “closed”.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, had been arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women, in place since shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.