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Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon tested by intensifying cross-border strikes as both sides claim breaches
Israel unleashed its largest wave of airstrikes across Lebanon since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week, killing at least 11 people on Monday after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were Israeli truce violations.
The projectiles were apparently the first time that Hezbollah took aim at Israeli forces after the 60-day ceasefire went into effect last Wednesday. The increasingly fragile truce aimed to end more than a year of war between Hezbollah and Israel – part of a wider regional conflict sparked by the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In a possible sign of the ceasefire’s frailty — and a clear warning of the implications for Lebanon of it failing — Israeli Defense Minister Israeli Katz was cited by the country’s Army Radio network on Tuesday as warning that if the truce “collapses, we will act strongly and stop separating Hezbollah from the state of Lebanon.”
Airstrikes, missile launches test shaky Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Haris killed five people and wounded two while another airstrike on the village of Tallousa killed four and also wounded two.
Israel’s military carried out a string of airstrikes late Monday against what it said were Hezbollah fighters, infrastructure and rocket launchers across Lebanon. The strikes were a response to Hezbollah firing two projectiles toward Mount Dov — a disputed Israeli-held territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon where the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel meet. Israel said the projectiles fell in open areas and no injuries were reported.
Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired on an Israeli military position in the area as a “defensive and warning response” after what it called “repeated violations” of the ceasefire deal by Israel. It said complaints to mediators tasked with monitoring the ceasefire “were futile in stopping these violations.”
Thaier Al-Sudani/REUTERS
Before the Hezbollah projectiles, Israeli carried out at least four airstrikes and an artillery barrage in southern Lebanon, including a drone strike that killed a person on a motorcycle, according to Lebanese state media. Another strike killed a corporal in the Lebanese security services.
Israel has said its strikes are in response to unspecified Hezbollah violations, and that under the ceasefire deal it reserves the right to retaliate.
Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes near the border and violating Lebanon’s airspace.
Officials in the U.S. — which along with France helped broker the truce and heads a commission meant to monitor adherence to the deal — played down the significance of Israeli strikes. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, “Largely speaking, the ceasefire is holding.”
“We’ve gone from dozens of strikes down to one a day maybe two a day,” Kirby told reporters, referring to Israeli strikes. “We’re going to keep trying and see what we can do to get it down to zero.”
Under the deal, Iran-backed Hezbollah has 60 days to withdraw its fighters and infrastructure from southern Lebanon. During that time, Israeli troops are also to withdraw to their side of the border.
The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel did nothing to quell the ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza, where Israel’s military offensive against the other Iran-backed group Hamas has killed more than 44,000 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian enclave that has been ruled by Hamas for almost 20 years.
Trump warns “hell to pay” if Israeli hostages not released in Gaza
President-elect Donald Trump demanded the immediate release on Monday of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, saying on social media that if they are not freed before he takes office in January, there will be “HELL TO PAY.”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening to directly involve the U.S. military in Israel’s war in Gaza. The U.S. has given Israel crucial military and diplomatic support throughout the nearly 15-month conflict.
In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump called for Palestinian militants to free all of the roughly 100 Israeli hostages still held inside Gaza, about two-thirds of whom are believed to be alive.
If not, Trump said, “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
Hours earlier, the Israeli government confirmed the death of Omer Neutra, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, whose body is still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.
Trump issued his warning days after Hamas released a propaganda video of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, speaking under duress, urging the president-elect to negotiate to free the hostages.
The Biden administration is mounting a last-ditch effort to try to restart talks between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on Trump’s post, though President Isaac Herzog welcomed it.
Netanyahu has faced regular protests against his government’s handling of the hostage crisis, including by many who feel he has deliberately prolonged the war in Gaza to avoid facing his own looming corruption trial.
“We are all slaves of his private interests,” asserted protester Tammy Barkan at a solemn silent demonstration over the weekend.
“I think the Israeli government doesn’t want to… have this deal,” agreed her fellow protester Meital Grimland.
Netanyahu and his government have vowed to continue the military assault in Gaza until Hamas is completely dismantled and all the hostages, dead and alive, are brought back home.
Warnings of famine in north Gaza as aid deliveries dwindle
In Gaza, meanwhile, alarm is mounting over increasing hunger. The amount of food allowed in by Israel has plunged over the past two months, compounded by a decision Sunday by the United Nations to halt aid deliveries from the main crossing into the territory because of the threat of armed gangs looting convoys.
The desperation and hunger have brought even more casualties, with medical officials saying on Friday that two girls, aged 13 and 17, and a 50-year-old woman were crushed to death as a crowd pushed to get bread at a bakery in the central Gaza Strip.
Experts have already warned of famine in the northernmost part of Gaza, which Israeli forces have almost completely isolated since early October, saying they’re fighting regrouped Hamas militants there.
Displaced families have set up tents surrounded by piles of garbage on the streets of Gaza City. Bilal Marouf, 55, said he and 11 family members fled the Israeli offensive “barefoot and naked.”
“We had nothing. Hunger and thirst killed us, and we did not have a single shekel, nor clothes, nor a mattress, nor a blanket,” he said, speaking near his tent.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 terrorist attack that saw the militants kill some 1,200 people across southern Israel and take 250 others hostage, has driven almost the entire population of the territory from their homes. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians now live in squalid tent camps, relying on international aid.
The Israeli military said it allowed 40 trucks carrying 600 tons of flour for the World Food Program to enter the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday night, as well as 16 other food trucks.
Israel has said it is working to increase the flow of aid. November saw an increase in the average number of humanitarian trucks it let into Gaza, up to 77 daily from 57 the month before, according to official Israeli figures. But the levels are still nearly the lowest of the entire 15-month war. And the U.N. says less than half of that actually reaches Palestinians because Israeli military restrictions, fighting and robberies make it too dangerous to deliver the aid.
BASHAR TALEB/AFP/Getty
The World Food Program was able to only deliver aid to some 300,000 Palestinians in November across the Gaza Strip due to ongoing Israeli military offensives and the looting of convoys, Carl Skau, WFP’s deputy executive director, said Monday.
In a tent camp in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, Palestinians lined up at makeshift mud ovens trying to buy a few loaves of flatbread for their families.
With the price of flour mounting because of scarcity, the bakers – women displaced from further north – said they could bake less bread, and families could afford far less.
“They divide them to their children, one loaf every day,” said one woman baker, Wafaa al-Attar.
Pope Francis has received the first-ever all-electric popemobile from automaker Mercedes-Benz.
The open-top vehicle, which for the last 45 years has been manufactured by the German luxury automaker, is used by Pope Francis to greet pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during general audiences and other papal ceremonies. The company’s CEO Ola Kallenius personally handed over the new model to the pope on Wednesday at the Vatican.
“With the new Popemobile, Pope Francis is the first pope to be traveling in a fully electric Mercedes-Benz when making public appearances,” Kallenius said in a statement. “This is a special honor for our company, and I would like to thank His Holiness for his trust.”
Pool photo/Aigav
The vehicle, a modified version of the company’s G-class mid-size luxury SUV, is in classic pearl-white, and has been developed in close cooperation with the Vatican tailored to the needs of the pope, the company said in a statement. The engine has been particularly adapted for low speeds; the seat has been heated and elevated for better visibility; and a grab bar provides stability when the Pope is standing.
“Every detail is perfection,” Kallenius told Reuters. It took “hundreds of hours of craftsmanship … to build a one-of-a-kind popemobile,” he said.
Francis has made care for the environment a priority of his papacy and has used electric cars on some of his foreign trips, but this is the first time an all-electric vehicle will be used. In 2011, the pope opted to use a plug-in hybrid as the electric version was not yet fast enough to bring the pontiff to safety in an emergency.
The first “official” popemobile was a bespoke Mercedes-Benz Nurburg 460 Pullman given to Pope Pius XI by the company in 1930. The luxurious model had silk carpeting and embossed doves decorating the interior. Subsequent popemobiles have included a 600 Pullman Landaulet and 300 SEL for Pope Jon XXIII; a modified G Class for Pope John Paul II; and the previous popemobile, used by both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, another Mercedes-Benz M Class.
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If you’ve been looking for a safe and reliable way to protect your savings in 2023 and 2024, a certificate of deposit (CD) account was often one of the optimal ways to do so. Interest rates on CDs, whether short-term (under 12 months) or long-term (over 12 months), were exponentially higher than they had been a few years earlier. And rates on these accounts are fixed, meaning they would remain what they were when the account was first opened, despite any volatility in the larger rate climate.
However, as the economy has changed, inflation has dropped and interest rate cuts have been issued, a long-term CD has become the clear choice. Whether with an 18-month CD or something with a term of 2 years or more, a long-term CD is now arguably better than many popular alternatives. Below, we’ll compare this unique savings vehicle versus three other account types.
See how much more you could be earning with a long-term CD here today.
Why a long-term CD is better than these 3 alternatives now
Not sure if a long-term CD is the right choice for you? Compare it to these three other options to better understand why it may be:
High-yield savings accounts
High-yield savings accounts operate like regular savings accounts, albeit with higher interest rates. Even with two Federal Reserve interest rate cuts already issued in 2024, it’s still possible to find a high-yield savings account with an interest rate close to 5% right now. And, unlike CDs, you won’t need to lock your money in the account to earn that high rate. Finally, thanks to its variable rate nature, if rates rise again in the future, rates on these accounts will increase independently, too.
Why a long-term CD is better: A long-term CD is arguably preferable to high-yield savings accounts largely thanks to the fixed rate it comes with. While long-term CD rates are competitive but not quite as high as high-yield savings accounts, the rate will remain the same until the CD matures. And with additional interest rate cuts likely, possibly as soon as this month, you’ll likely earn more by locking your funds into a long-term CD than you would by taking a risk with a variable rate high-yield savings account.
Compare your CD and high-yield savings account options online now.
Traditional savings accounts
If you have your money in a traditional savings account and have had difficulty finding any interest you’ve earned on your money to date, it’s easy to understand why. According to the FDIC, the average interest rate on a traditional savings account is just 0.43% right now. Like high-yield savings accounts, rates on traditional savings accounts are also variable. So that 0.43% rate right now could be even lower in 2025.
Why a long-term CD is better: Just compare the potential rates. You can get a 4.20% rate on a 3-year CD and a 4.35% rate on a 5-year CD now – that’s 876% and 911% better than what traditional savings accounts offer now.
Short-term CDs
Short-term CD accounts have slightly higher interest rates than long-term CDs now and savers won’t have to worry as much about any early withdrawal penalties, as it’s generally easier to keep your money locked away for three months or six months than it is for 18 months or in 2-year CDs. So, if you’re looking for a quick way to earn today’s elevated rates, a short-term CD is one of your better options.
Why a long-term CD is better: Crunch the numbers. A $10,000 deposit into a 6-month CD at a 4.50% rate results in a minimal $222.52 earned upon account maturity. However, the identical deposit in a 2-year CD at 4.20% results in a $857.64 return. So, if you can comfortably afford the part with your money for a longer time, you’ll be rewarded with a much higher return.
The bottom line
While every saver’s financial situation differs, there’s a compelling case to be made for opening a long-term CD over many popular alternatives now, heading into 2025. With this type of account, savers can earn a high rate – and keep it for potentially years to come. Just be sure to weigh the initial deposit versus your ability to maintain the account for the full CD term to improve your chances of long-term financial success.