The Guardian view on Lebanon’s suffering: the ‘ceasefire’ didn’t stop Israeli attacks. Now they’re intensifying again | Editorial
Center Left
Civilians including children are among the thousands to have died in this war, yet the world is paying remarkably little attentionLebanon was an afterthought when Israel and the US were bombing Iran, and remained one when they stopped. It still appears to be one even as Washington and Tehran speak of peace. The US has suggested that a deal is within reach, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that a return to war was unlikely, though profound differences remain evident. Tehran says that Lebanon must be part of any agreement.Yet this week, Lebanon’s supposed ceasefire looks more threadbare than ever, with Israel intensifying its offensive as Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hezbollah. Israeli strikes killed 31 people on Tuesday alone, and on Wednesday the military ordered the evacuation of the entire city of Tyre. Its troops have pushed out of the buffer zone that it established in the south, which far-right ministers want to annex. Israel may be intensifying attacks before the US reins it in, or in the hope of destabilising the talks. War allows Mr Netanyahu to dodge accountability at home. Domestic demands for continued attacks on Hezbollah are also growing, given the mounting threat from its drones to soldiers in Lebanon and residents of Israel’s north.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
‘Vova’ is again asking for help from the US.
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Right-wing podcaster Katie Miller was brutally mocked on Wednesday after she attacked the social media manager for the Democrats online. Miller lashed out at Paulina Mangubat, a 30-year-old who runs "The Democrats" account on X, after the account posted a nasty reply to one of Miller's husband's posts. Earlier in the day, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller claimed that the Democrats were running a "transgender" candidate in Texas, an allusion to candidate James Talarico. The Democrats account posted "shut up, you ugly f---" in response to Stephen Miller's claims. "She’s 30, unmarried, with no kids," Katie Miller wrote on X. "Put your name on it next time. This is what a sad, unhappy, female Liberal looks like. It’s why Pew reports 50% of them have been diagnosed with a mental condition." Political analysts and observers wasted no time clapping back at Katie Miller. "Ms. Miller, I wouldn’t get in a debate about looks here. That’s a losing effort for you and your Adonis-like husband. You’d be better off questioning Paulina’s non-use of a comma while accurately describing Stephen," Luis Moreno, a former U.S. ambassador, posted on X. "Imagine the audacity to say anyone is sad, lonely, and has a mental condition when you're literally married to Stephen Miller," political commentator Adam Cochran posted on X. "I have a mad crush now," political writer Jim Stewartson posted on X. "Thanks, Magda!"
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won over voters Tuesday when he defeated Sen. John Cornyn in a historically expensive primary runoff, but now he’s working to convince K Street he’s a candidate worth investing in.
As Israel launched a new bombardment of Lebanon on Tuesday, its far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, suggested that it was trying to derail ongoing peace negotiations between US President Donald Trump and Iran.During a press briefing on Tuesday, the influential politician railed against the possibility of a deal to end the war as it neared the three-month mark and said the whole Israeli Cabinet was in agreement.“I know that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and all of us members of the Cabinet... as the government of Israel, cannot allow this to happen,” Ben-Gvir said in Hebrew. “This is an agreement that can harm the state of Israel, and we will not allow this to happen.”Ben-Gvir’s remarks came as Trump engaged in what he has suggested was another promising round of ceasefire talks with the Iranians—talks that did not include Israel.Despite its foreign ministry condemning recent US attacks as signs of “bad faith” and “definitive violations” of the ceasefire on Tuesday, Iran has not yet pulled away from the table.Citing Iranian state TV, Reuters reported on Wednesday that Tehran has received an unofficial framework from the US that would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels for a month in exchange for the US withdrawing troops from Iran’s vicinity and lifting its naval blockade. The US has disputed this account.Trump has previously attempted to force Iran to accept major concessions on its nuclear program upfront, but nuclear-related talks appear to have been shifted to future negotiations.While it has not been at the center of the latest round of negotiations, Iran still considers ending Israel’s assault on Lebanon to be an essential part of a durable peace.As it has during previous peace negotiations between Iran and the US, Israel launched another major bombardment against Lebanon on Tuesday, violating the 45-day ceasefire that went into effect last month.Israeli forces conducted more than 120 airstrikes across southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley against what they said were Hezbollah targets, according to The Guardian, as Netanyahu said Israel would “intensify” its military campaign.According to Lebanon’s health ministry, 31 people were killed, and 40 were wounded. In the southern town of Burj al-Shamali, 14 people were killed, including two children and three women, the ministry said.Since Israel’s offensive began in early March, more than 3,200 people have been killed and over 9,700 wounded, according to the ministry. More than 600 people have been killed since the April truce began.Sources also told Reuters that Israel had expanded its occupation of southern Lebanon, past its so-called “security zone.” Israeli forces ordered the residents of dozens of Lebanese villages not to return to their homes in the occupation zone, which Israel is trying to expand to between 5 and 10 kilometers inside Lebanon.In what Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has described as a renewal of its “Gaza model,” Israel had demolished or damaged more than 40,000 homes in southern Lebanon before last month’s truce went into effect, though destruction has continued since then. More than 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced as a result of forced evacuation orders and bombardments by Israel.Hezbollah has responded on Tuesday with drone attacks on Israel, which it had already been launching for weeks in response to what it said were persistent ceasefire violations.Another far-right Israeli Cabinet member, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said Israel should respond to each drone by destroying 10 buildings in Beirut. If there are no buildings left in Beirut, he said, Israel should expand the demolitions to other areas such as Tyre, Sidon, and the Bekaa Valley.Ben-Gvir, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that Israel should “cut off the electricity in Lebanon,” “occupy” the area up to the Zahrani River, and “return to a massive war.”The timing of Israel’s renewed assault on Lebanon has been met with accusations that it is attempting to sabotage ceasefire talks between the US and Iran.Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, a former diplomat with the Israeli Foreign Ministry who has since become a prominent critic of the country, said that by moving deeper into Lebanon, Israel was “moving to bury not only the supposed ceasefire in Lebanon but also talks on Iran” because its policy “is an endless and wide regional war.”Responding to Ben-Gvir’s remarks, he said, “Israel forced the US into war and won’t let us end it.”
Former President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department to prevent the release of audio from interviews that he conducted with a ghostwriter of his memoir. NBC News’ Monica Alba reports on how President Donald Trump reacted to the lawsuit.
