Middle East latest: UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon

Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of U.N. peacekeepers.

A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast.

UNIFIL’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel.

“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment.”

Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.

The fighting came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively.

The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.

Israel’s war has caused heavy destruction across Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel has also launched airstrikes against Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ attack last October. A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.

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German official suggests Germany would be reluctant to arrest Netanyahu on ICC warrant

BERLIN — A German official has suggested that his country would be reluctant to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

The ICC’s warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant put Germany, a staunch ally of Israel, in an awkward position. The government said in a statement Friday that it is one of the ICC’s biggest supporters, but “at the same time, it is a consequence of German history that unique relations and a great responsibility connect us with Israel.”

The government said it takes note of the arrest warrants and that “we will examine conscientiously the domestic steps.” It said that any further steps would only be an issue if a visit by Netanyahu or Gallant were “foreseeable.”

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit was pressed repeatedly at a regular news conference on whether it would be conceivable to arrest an Israeli prime minister. He replied: "It’s hard for me to imagine that we would carry out arrests in Germany on this basis.”

Kremlin calls ICC warrant decision ‘insignificant’ for Russia

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday refused to comment on the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, saying that the court's rulings are “insignificant” for Russia, which doesn’t recognizes the court’s jurisdiction.

The ICC last year issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of other top Russian officials, accusing them of war crimes in Ukraine. The Kremlin has brushed off the warrants, saying that in Moscow’s eyes they’re “null and void.”

Asked if the ICC warrants for Netanyahu and others can help resolve the tensions in the Middle East, Peskov said: “Well, in general, the actions of the ICC are unlikely to help anything. That’s the first thing. And secondly, we don’t see any point in commenting on this in any way, because for us these rulings are insignificant.”

Crowds desperate for bread amid food shortages and huge price hikes in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, The Gaza Strip — Large crowds of displaced people crammed themselves in front of a bakery in the Gaza Strip for the second day in a row, desperate to get their share of bread after bakeries closed for five days due to a flour shortage and the lack of aid.

“I am a 61-year-old man. This is the third day that I have come to Zadna Bakery and I still cannot get bread … I have children to feed,” said Majdi Yaghi, a displaced man from Gaza City.

The price of a small bag of pita bread increased to $16 by Friday, a stark increase from about 80 cents last month. A bag of pasta now costs $4 and a small bag of sugar costs nearly $14.

That has left many Palestinian families surviving on one meal a day and reliant on charitable kitchens to survive.

In Khan Younis, women and children lined up at the al-Dalu charitable kitchen for bulgur, the only food available at the makeshift charity.

One of the workers there, Anas al-Dalu, told the AP that they cook ten pots every day of either rice, beans, or bulgur. But that hardly fills the need for the thousands of people displaced in the area.

“The charity here is in a difficult situation. It is a drop in the ocean, and there is no aid or charities. There is nothing," said Nour Kanani, a displaced man from Khan Younis. “It is a crisis in every sense of the word. There is no flour, no charities, and no food.”

UN monitoring heavy clashes in south Lebanon locations

BEIRUT — Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of U.N. peacekeepers.

A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast.

UNIFIL’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel.

“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment.”

Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.