Israel’s ambassador to the US says a Hezbollah ceasefire deal could come ‘within days’

Israel’s ambassador to Washington says a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.”

Ambassador Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio on Monday that “items still need to be finalized” and that any deal would require government approval. But he said “we are close to a deal” and that “it could happen within days.”

Among the remaining issues is Israel’s demand to reserve the right to act if Hezbollah violates its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal is intended to drive Hezbollah and Israeli forces out of southern Lebanon.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of failing to comply with a UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between the parties that had made similar provisions, and Israel worries that Hezbollah could launch a Hamas-style cross-border attack from southern Lebanon can organize if it maintains a strong presence there. Lebanon says Israel has also violated the 2006 resolution. Lebanon complains about military aircraft and naval ships entering Lebanese territory even when there is no active conflict.

It is not clear whether Lebanon would agree to the demand.

The optimism around a deal comes after a top US envoy held talks between the sides last week in an attempt to strike a deal.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, marking the start of over a year of fighting. That escalated into an all-out war in September with massive Israeli air strikes on Lebanon and later an Israeli ground invasion in the south of the country.

Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and villages, including around 250 on Sunday.

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Palestinian officials say Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank have killed two people, including a 13-year-old

JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed two people, including a 13-year-old, in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said the two threw explosives at forces near the Palestinian town of Yabad overnight and that the forces responded by opening fire.

The Health Ministry identified the two as Mohammed Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Zayd, 20. It did not release details of the circumstances behind their deaths.

It was the latest bloodshed in the West Bank, which has seen a wave of violence during the 13-month war in Gaza. The Health Ministry says almost 800 people have died, including more than 160 aged 18 and under.

Many have been killed during clashes with the Israeli army, but Palestinians throwing stones and others not involved in clashes have also been killed. Since the start of the war in Gaza, there has also been an increase in Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank.

The Israeli government orders public entities to stop advertising in the Haaretz newspaper

JERUSALEM – The Israeli government has ordered all public entities to stop advertising in the Haaretz newspaper, known for its critical reporting on Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Sunday that the government had approved his proposal after the Haaretz publisher called for sanctions against Israel and called Palestinian militants “freedom fighters.”

“We advocate a free press and freedom of expression, but also the freedom of the government to decide not to finance incitement against the State of Israel,” Karhi wrote on the social platform X.

Noa Landau, Haaretz’s deputy editor-in-chief, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “working to silence independent and critical media,” comparing him to autocratic leaders in other countries.

Haaretz regularly publishes investigative journalism and critical columns Israel’s continued half-century occupation of the lands the Palestinians need for a future state.

The group has also been critical of Israeli war behavior in Gaza, at a time when most local media support the war and largely ignore the suffering of Palestinian civilians.

Speaking in London last month, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said Israel has imposed “a cruel apartheid regime” over the Palestinians and fought against “Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls ‘terrorists’.”

He later issued a statement saying he had reconsidered his comments.

“For the record: Hamas is not a freedom fighter,” he posted on X. “I should have said: the use of terrorism is illegal. It was wrong for me not to say that.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Netanyahu ‘Should Be Sentenced to Death’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader has suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be “sentenced to death” for his role in the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and in Lebanon.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comments Monday during an event in which he spoke to members of the Basij, the all-volunteer branch of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards.

Khamenei was referring to the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“What the Zionist regime has done in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime. Now they have issued an arrest warrant for them. This is not enough!” Khamenei said, according to comments published by state news agency IRNA. “Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime must be sentenced to death.”

The International Criminal Court in The Hague does not issue death sentences.

Khamenei also emphasized that those part of Iran’s self-styled “Axis of Resistance”, such as the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah, would be stronger after the war.

“The idiots should not think that bombing houses and hospitals in Gaza and Lebanon is a victory,” he said. “The enemy has not and will not become a winner in Gaza and Lebanon.”