Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 14 despite truce

Summary

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Sunday killed 14 people, the deadliest day since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war came into force more than a week ago. It came as Israel and the Iran-backed group traded fresh accusations of breaching the fragile truce, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was “vigorously” targeting Hezbollah and the group vowing to keep responding to “violations.” Israel’s military has carried out repeated strikes in Lebanon since the April 17 ceasefire, which on Thursday last week was extended for three weeks, after six weeks of war in which Israel also invaded the nation’s south. Photo: Reuters Israeli troops are operating inside an Israeli-announced “yellow line,” which demarcates a ribbon of Lebanese territory about 10km deep along the length of the border, where residents have been warned not to return. The ministry on Sunday said that the dead included two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded. Israeli strikes have killed at least 36 people since the truce began, according to a tally of ministry figures. Israel’s military on Sunday said that one of its soldiers was killed “during combat” in southern Lebanon and six were wounded, four of them severely. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes in multiple locations in the south, both in areas where Israel issued an evacuation warning and elsewhere. Correspondents reported heavy traffic heading north as people fled following the warning and intensified raids. “Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” Netanyahu told a weekly Cabinet meeting. Tehran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by firing rockets at Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes. “We are acting vigorously in accordance with arrangements agreed with the United States and, incidentally, also with Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. Under the truce, which came after a landmark meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials that angered Hezbollah, Israel reserves the right to respond to “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” “This means freedom of action not only to respond to attacks ... but also to pre-empt immediate threats and even emerging threats,” Netanyahu said. Hezbollah said that Israel’s “continued ceasefire violations ... and above all its continued occupation of Lebanese territory and violations of its sovereignty will be met with a response” It said its fighters targeted Israeli troops and positions in south Lebanon in response to ceasefire violations and attacks on Lebanese villages. Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for residents of seven towns and villages in the south on Sunday. Shortly afterward, the NNA said Israeli warplanes struck in Kfar Tibnit, causing casualties, while a raid on Zawtar al-Sharqiyah destroyed a mosque and another religious building. The NNA also reported Israeli shelling in several border villages. Correspondents saw clouds of gray smoke rise over Nabatieh al-Fawqa and several other locations after Israeli strikes. LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves ESWATINI TRIP: The ‘irresponsible actions’ of three African nations set a dangerous precedent and they should be held accountable, a US representative said The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday urged Washington not to normalize Chinese pressure, while a US lawmaker called on the US government to hold countries accountable for yielding to Beijing’s pressure to block President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned trip to Eswatini. Lai had been scheduled to visit Eswatini to attend birthday events for King Mswati III of Eswatini this week, but on Tuesday, the eve of his planned departure on Wednesday, the Presidential Office said the trip was “suspended” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly withdrew overflight permission. “China reportedly pressured Mauritius, Seychelles, and Madagascar to deny airspace access