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US Follows France in Warning Israel Over Ceasefire Violations

US special envoy Amos Hochstein speaks to the media after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 19, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

JNS.org — Washington has backed up Paris’ assertions that Israel is violating the terms of last week’s ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, that formally ended 14 months of hostilities with the Hezbollah terrorist group.

US presidential envoy Amos Hochstein, who played a pivotal role in brokering the deal, conveyed a message to officials in Jerusalem that they are not abiding by the truce terms, Ynet reported on Monday.

Sources told the Hebrew news outlet that the Americans believe that there have been violations on the Israeli side, primarily its use of surveillance drones over the skies of Beirut.

The sources stressed that for the ceasefire to hold, “restraint is required from all sides.”

Paris, a member of the Washington-led monitoring mechanism overseeing the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement, had accused Jerusalem of committing 52 ceasefire violations, according to Hebrew media reports on Sunday that cited French diplomatic sources.

The sources alleged that Israel had bypassed the established channels for reporting violations before taking action.

The reports also claim that three Lebanese civilians were killed and highlight an increase in Israeli drone activity, claiming that low-altitude flights over Beirut had resumed.

Paris is reportedly in ongoing communication with Lebanese Army Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to address these developments.

“The Lebanese are fully committed to upholding the ceasefire and preventing Hezbollah from reestablishing its presence in southern Lebanon, but they need time to demonstrate their efforts,” a French official told Ynet on Sunday.

According to a separate report by i24NEWS on Sunday, Jerusalem stated that the agreement’s implementation mechanism “will begin to accelerate” on Monday and Tuesday. An Israeli diplomatic source emphasized that “any violation will be met with a significant response, as is already happening on the ground.”

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar emphasized to his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot that Hezbollah terrorists must relocate north of the Litani River. Sa’ar warned that Jerusalem would continue to act against what he described as a “fundamental” breach of the ceasefire agreement.

In a tweet, Sa’ar stated that he had told Barrot during a telephone conversation that “Israel is not violating the ceasefire understandings but is instead enforcing them in response to Hezbollah’s violations.”

He reiterated Jerusalem’s commitment to fully implementing the agreement and made it clear that Israel “will not return to the reality of October 6, 2023,” the day before the Hamas-led massacre in the northwestern Negev which triggered the war in Gaza.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Monday that Israel “is committed to the ceasefire. Sixty days is a gradual phase to ensure that Hezbollah does not harm us or violate the agreement, as happened in 2006. UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese government must fulfill their roles — this is also in their interest. We need this period to ensure there are no terror bases there.”

He also emphasized that the Lebanese people and government must ensure that “Beirut and southern Lebanon are free of weapons — not in homes, not in yards and not in children’s rooms.”

Hagari said that he had just returned from Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, and had observed Bint Jbeil.

“The message being conveyed is to Iran, to the militias in Iraq, and to other Iranian militias to learn from what happened. We will not allow what occurred on Oct. 7 to happen again,” he said.

Hagari also discussed the Syrian front, where the IDF has been busy thwarting Iranian smuggling operations to resupply Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Israel is closely monitoring developments in Syria and observes that the Iranian regime is sending reinforcements to Syria. Syria belongs to the Syrians, and we will ensure that Iran does not smuggle weapons to Lebanon and Hezbollah. We will act to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Lebanon and Hezbollah through Syria,” he said.

“Hezbollah has been defeated in the campaign. What happens in Syria concerns Syria, not Israel. We need to ensure that we are not threatened — we are a sovereign state, and we will ensure that Iranian weapons are not smuggled to Hezbollah. If they attempt to do so, we will act accordingly,” he concluded.

The Israel Defense Force struck three sites in Southern Lebanon on Monday where Hezbollah activity was detected, with a hit confirmed in Marjayoun. Additionally, warning shots were fired at Lebanese individuals approaching areas near the Israeli border.

The post US Follows France in Warning Israel Over Ceasefire Violations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.

The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.

They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.

Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.

Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.

The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.

The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.

Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.

He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.

The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.

Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.

Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.

Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.

Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.

The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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