Washington is pressuring top Lebanese officials not to allow Hezbollah or its allies to nominate the country’s next finance minister, five people with knowledge of the matter said, in an attempt to limit the Iran-backed group’s sway over the state. The unusually direct US intervention in Lebanon’s sectarian politics appears aimed at capitalizing on … Read more
Five people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selm on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said. On Tuesday night, Israeli airstrikes injured 24 people in Nabatieh, a major town in south Lebanon. The Israeli military said in a statement it had struck Hezbollah vehicles that were … Read more
An Israeli airstrike killed three Turkish citizens who attempted to cross illegally from Lebanon to Israel, Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. “We condemn in the strongest terms this unlawful attack that resulted in the death of our citizens,” the ministry said in a statement, without mentioning when the incident took place. The Turkish … Read more
The director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon said on Wednesday that the agency had not been affected by US President Donald Trump’s halt to US foreign aid funding or by an Israeli ban on its operations. “UNRWA currently is not receiving any US funding so there is no direct … Read more
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed back to northern Gaza on Monday after a deal was struck between Israel and Hamas to return Arbel Yehoud along with two other hostages on Thursday. Originally, Yehoud and other Israeli civilian hostages were due to be returned on Saturday, but when Hamas changed the returned hostages to … Read more
Hezbollah is receiving support from Iran and Iraq, according to its new leader, Naim Qassem, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported this week. His comments are important because he mentioned Iraq. It has always been well known that Hezbollah received support from Iran’s regime, and that the terrorist group is an ally … Read more
A Lebanese army chief leaked military secrets to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group during the ceasefire period with Israel, Britain’s The Times reported on Sunday, citing intelligence sources. The head of military intelligence for southern Lebanon, Suhil Bahij Gharb, reportedly handed Hezbollah classified and sensitive information while in a room run by the US, France, … Read more
A Lebanese anchor for the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya network was detained and questioned by the Lebanese government on Wednesday because she interviewed the IDF spokesman in Arabic, Col. Avichay Adraee over a year ago, according to the news outlet. Layal Alekhtiar, a Lebanese journalist who lives in Dubai, was detained after she landed … Read more
For the second time in two weeks, the Syrian government announced it prevented a shipment of arms to Lebanon. This is a significant development. It highlights how the new leaders are seeking to interdict smuggling and show the region it is serious. There is likely some implicit messaging in this to Israel as well … Read more
Beirut: The death toll from Israeli gunfire targeting crowds of Lebanese trying to return to their homes in southern Lebanon has risen to 11, with 83 others injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday. Ten of the eleven victims were civilians trying to return to their still-occupied hometowns along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, … Read more
