(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Israeli soldier killed**
The Israeli army said one of its troops was killed “during combat” in south Lebanon, where a ceasefire has been in place since mid-April. Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have accused each other of breaching the truce.
– **Hezbollah accuses Israel**
Hezbollah rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that it was jeopardising a ceasefire, saying in a statement that its attacks on Israeli targets in southern Lebanon and northern Israel were “a legitimate response to the enemy’s persistent violations of the ceasefire since the first day of the announcement of the temporary truce.”
– **Iran FM to meet Putin**
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow on Monday, the ISNA news agency reported.
– **Iran FM back in Pakistan**
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Pakistan following a brief visit to Oman, Iranian state news agency IRNA said. Araghchi had left Islamabad the day before, leading US President Donald Trump to cancel a planned trip to Pakistan by his own envoys, leaving the prospect of talks in limbo.
– **Netanyahu accuses Hezbollah**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah’s actions were threatening the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, as he pledged to “vigorously” target the Iran-backed group. “It must be understood that Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” he said.
– **Israeli strikes**
Lebanese official media said Israel’s military began striking the country’s south on Sunday after issuing an evacuation warning for seven locations, despite a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. “Israeli warplanes launched a strike” in Kfar Tibnit — one of the locations included in the warning — the state-run National News Agency said, adding that there were reports of casualties.
– **Trump undeterred by shooting**
Trump said a shooting at a Washington media dinner on Saturday would not divert him from the Iran war. “It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters at the White House after the incident.
– **Iran executions**
Iran on Sunday executed a man convicted of membership in the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl and involvement in attacks on security forces in the southeast, the judiciary said. On Saturday, it announced the execution of a man accused of passing intelligence to Israel.
© 2024 AFP
