November 30, 2024

Daily News Brief

*) Lebanon reports new ceasefire violations by Israel The Israeli army violated the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon seven more times, including shelling towns in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese state news agency. The reported violations were concentrated in the Marjayoun district of Nabatieh Governorate and the Tyre district. The army also shelled the outskirts of Markaba, Talloussa, Odaisseh, Taybeh and Houla towns and sent four tanks into the western part of Khiyam. *) ICC prosecutor says Israel’s appeal of arrest warrants should be dismissed The International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, has called for Israel’s appeal against arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to be thrown out. In a document shared on the ICC’s website, Khan explained that the current decision isn’t up for appeal just yet — though Israel might be able to challenge it later in the legal process. Khan pointed out that the court’s ruling makes it clear: Israel can’t contest jurisdiction until the ICC makes a decision under Article 58 of the Rome Statute. *) Zelenskyy hints at truce in exchange for NATO membership Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a ceasefire deal could be reached if the Ukrainian territory under Kiev’s control was put “under the NATO umbrella” in a bid to stop the “hot stage of the war”. Zelenskyy told Sky News that no one has proposed NATO membership for only part of Ukraine, explaining that granting NATO membership to the areas currently under Ukrainian control could be a solution to end the active phase of the war. *) Opposition groups take control of Syria's Aleppo city centre The opposition groups have broken through to the centre of Aleppo, one of Syria’s two largest cities, local sources said. The anti-regime armed groups, which had been advancing towards Aleppo from the west after clashing with regime forces for three days, broke through the defence lines in the Hamdaniyya, New Aleppo and Zahra axes in Aleppo’s western countryside and entered the city centre. After three days of fighting in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces, opposition groups are said to have taken control of over 400 square kilometres of territory. *) Top UN court to open unprecedented climate hearings The world’s top court will next week start unprecedented hearings aimed at finding a “legal blueprint” for how countries should protect the environment from damaging greenhouse gases — and what the consequences are if they do not. From Monday, lawyers and representatives from more than 100 countries and organisations will make submissions before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But others fear the UN-backed request for a non-binding advisory opinion will have limited impact and it could take the UN’s top court months, or even years, to deliver.