Trump announced that he will be inviting indicted war criminal Netanyahu and the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House. As’ad AbuKhalil commented: “So this is the price for Lebanon for a 10-day ceasefire — the terms of which are still unknown.” AbuKhalil stresses the Iranian government’s role in insisting a ceasefire in Lebanon.
AntiWar.com reports: “U.S. Statement on Lebanon Ceasefire Leaves Major Loophole That Israel May Exploit To Continue Attacks.” Following a November 2024 “ceasefire” announced by the Biden administration, Israel committed thousandsof violations.
Drop Site News reports Friday: “The Israeli military violated the ceasefire hours after it went into place when it struck an ambulance in the town of Kounine close to the border with Israel on Friday, according to the National News Agency, with reported casualties among the targeted medical workers. Over 90 medical workers have been killed in Israel attacks since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.”
Just before the ceasefire was announced the outlet reported: “Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi Says ‘We Will Be Respecting the Ceasefire.’” It also reported: “Israel destroys last bridge to southern Lebanon.” Dave DeCamp comments that destroying all the bridges over the Litani River is in part an attempt by Israel to prevent Lebanese it has ethnically cleansed from going back to their homes in the south. He also notes that Israeli soldiers are still on Lebanese territory.
Expanding to the Litani River has long been a goal of Israel. Livia Rokach noted in her 1985 book Israel’s Sacred Terrorism: A Study Based on Moshe Sharett’s Personal Diary and Other Documents that the reformist Sharett, who was a prime minister of Israel in the 1950’s, wrote of how Moshe Dayan argued in meetings that “territory from the Litani southward will be totally annexed to Israel.”
Courtney Bonneau reported Thursday: “This afternoon the young man seen running from the vehicle received a call from the Israeli army telling him he could die alone or die with his family in the car. He ran from the vehicle into a field and was struck and killed by an Israeli drone. This is not the first time that the Israeli army has used this tactic. It is pure barbarism. Abject terrorism.”
The following Lebanese and Lebanese-Americans are available for interviews:
RANIA MASRI, [email protected], @rania_masri
Masri is co-director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (click on link for full bio). She was recently interviewed by Radio 786 in Cape Town, South Africa: “U.S.-Israeli violations in Iran and Lebanon.” She is among the signers of a recent statement from international scholars on the U.S. war on Iran.
HANADY SALMAN, [email protected]
Salman is a journalist based in Beirut. She was recently featured on IPA news releases: “Israel Kills 1,000, Striking Over 100 Medical Facilities in Lebanon,” and “Israel Expands War, Executes Mass Expulsion in Lebanon.”
SAREEMAKDISI, sareemakdisi@
Makdisi is professor of English at UCLA. He was featured on the IPA news release “The War in Lebanon is Existential,” and argues that the Lebanese government is effectively giving up the country’s sovereignty for an illusory peace with Israel.