Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Brings Hope Amid Ongoing Devastation in Gaza: Lebanon brings to an end 14 months of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. US President Joe Biden confirmed the agreement on Tuesday, calling it a permanent cessation of hostilities. People forced to flee Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon are eager to return home.
Major routes are full of vehicles heading south. More than a year of bombardment has displaced 1.2 million people across the country, and Lebanese forces are on the move in southern Lebanon to begin their deployment under the ceasefire agreement. They’re planning to be responsible for patrolling the border and reporting complaints to the UN peacekeeping force.
Now, there’s been a reaction to the ceasefire agreement from Hamas. In a statement published on its official Telegram channel, the group praised Hezbollah, saying it had forced Israel to accept a deal before it could achieve its goal and had shattered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s illusions of changing the map of the Middle East.
Hamas also said it hopes the truce will pave the way for an agreement to end the genocide in Gaza. It said it’s open to efforts to secure a ceasefire leading to the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of displaced Palestinians, and a prisoner swap deal.
Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Brings Hope Amid Ongoing Devastation in Gaza: There’s also been a reaction from Palestinians in Gaza. Many are hoping a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will happen soon. “We’re happy because it’s helped ensure that the Lebanese people will live in peace. God willing, the entire Middle East will live in peace. As for this truce in Lebanon, we are suffering. Everyone is living in torn tents without food and completely deprived of the necessities of life.”
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Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to pound northern Gaza. Their siege is on its 55th day. Up to 66,000 people are believed to be trapped there without access to food or aid. A strike in a school sheltering Palestinians in Gaza City killed 12 people early on Wednesday. It’s not the first time the site’s been attacked. An Israeli bombing in August killed more than 100 Palestinians, many of them children.
Israeli forces have also attacked the Kaladan hospital in Bia. At least three people were killed in a drone attack earlier this morning, and 10 more were critically injured. Taboom joins us from outside Alaka Hospital in Deala.
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“So there might be a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but the strikes continue in Gaza, TK?”
“Yeah, that’s right, Ro. The Israeli military is still stepping up military strikes across separate locations in the Gaza Strip. But what we know is that one of the latest barrages of airstrikes took place in the northern part of the city of Kus, in the south of the Strip, where a group of civilians was targeted. At least two people were killed in the strike, and they were transported to Nasor Hospital to be prepared for burial.
The security reality in the central area is escalating. I can count three Israeli drones in the sky of Darl Bwn. You can hear the sound of these drones in the background; they have been hovering for more than an hour. It could be a sign of potential military strikes within the coming hours.
But the brutal reality is that northern Gaza has been under very strict siege by the Israeli military. Their ongoing operations on the ground have created wide-scale devastation for civil infrastructure, including homes, water networks, and roads, making these places no longer recognizable.
We are also getting reports from eyewitnesses that the vicinity of Kamal Edwan Hospital has been bombed in the past couple of hours, where two Palestinians have been confirmed killed. Distressing images and videos have emerged of the bodies of Palestinians killed earlier today, which have been left to the extent that they were eaten by cats and dogs. This is a very devastating reality of what’s going on there in the north of the territory.”
