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LONDON: Israeli forces demolished two homes belonging to Palestinians in a town in Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, as part of an ongoing policy of settlement expansion in the area.

The two homes of 100 sq. meters each and belonging to the Abu Sharkh family, housed 12 people and were in the town of Al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron.

Israeli forces stormed Al-Tayaran neighborhood in the town before proceeding with the demolition. Akram Abu Sharkh, a resident, said that Al-Dhahiriya has been targeted by Israeli settlers, who have destroyed water and electricity networks and prevented pupils from getting to their schools.

He said that settlers conduct nightly “provocative patrols” near the town, use drones that emit loud noises and blare Jewish horns to instill fear among the residents, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces have installed a metal gate at the town’s northern entrance, one of four that separate the villages from Hebron, restricting Palestinians’ movement and their ability to tend crops and graze sheep, the Wafa added.

On the eastern side of Route 60, which divides the West Bank, Israeli settlers have continued the expansion of an illegal outpost. Activist Osama Makhamreh told Wafa that settlers established the outpost in mid-August, and that it consists of three tents pitched on Palestinian private land plots in the Huwara area, east of Yatta.

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on the eastern city of Baalbek killed at least two people late on Wednesday night, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that the strike was carried out by “an Israeli drone.” Israel frequently launches strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire that brought its most recent war with the group to a halt in November.
Baalbek, a millennia-old city and home to a set of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Roman temples, sits in the Bekaa Valley, which is close to the Syrian border and has been a stronghold for Hezbollah.
Under pressure from the United States and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government is now moving to disarm Hezbollah.
The group, which previously dominated Lebanese politics and was thought to be better armed than the military, was severely weakened by the war with Israel.
According to Beirut, the Lebanese army must complete its disarmament of Hezbollah in areas near the Israeli border within three months.