Israël

Israeli Strikes Kill 13 People Near Gaza City

Gaza's civil defence agency said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes on an apartment and a residential building killed 13 people overnight. Spokesman Mahmud Bassal said in a statement to AFP that Israeli warplanes hit the top floor of a residential building in southwestern Gaza City, killing 10 people. Bassal said Israeli helicopters also struck ...

Lebanon, UNIFIL, and the Return of Sovereignty and Peace

There was a real possibility earlier this summer that the United States was going to veto the renewal of the UNIFIL mandate in August. Ultimately, a wiser course prevailed, when the UN Security Council extended UNIFIL's mandate "for a final time" last week until the end of 2026.  This step is a positive one for everyone concerned except ...

Disarming Militias: Time for Lebanon to Assert a Firm Stance?

Lebanon is entering a critical week as the Cabinet prepares to meet on Friday, September 5. During the session, the army’s plan to disarm militias – most notably Hezbollah – is expected to be presented. The meeting comes amid mounting pressure from Israel and the United States, deep internal divisions and a so-called “consensus” ...

Raggi: State Monopoly on Arms Is a “Historic Step” Toward Sovereignty

Lebanon has reaffirmed its determination to strengthen ties with Gulf states and fully restore national sovereignty, Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said in an interview published Monday by the Emirati daily Al-Ittihad. He highlighted the government’s recent decision to grant the state exclusive control over weapons, describing it as a ...

Yemen's Houthis Hold Funeral for PM Killed in Israeli Strike

Yemen's Houthis held a funeral on Monday for their prime minister and 11 other senior officials killed in an Israeli air strike that penetrated the Iran-backed group. Twelve coffins draped in flags were displayed at Sanaa's Al-Shaab mosque, as masked gunmen patrolled the area and thousands of mourners flooded in. Houthi prime minister Ahmed ...

Bolton: Disarming Hezbollah Is Key to Middle East Peace

In an article to the Telegraph on Sunday, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned that Lebanon faces an existential choice: emerge from decades of war or again fall into civil conflict and terrorist domination. He argued that Israel’s strikes against Iran and its proxies following Hamas’s October 7 attack give Lebanon a chance ...

Solomonic Judgment

International issues are pending, and nothing seems to move toward negotiated solutions across Ukraine and the wide arc of conflicts extending through the Middle East. None of the actors is interested in peacemaking; on the contrary, these zones of active conflict tend to work in the best interests of countries vying for imperial conquests and ...

Seeking Regional Leaders with Sadat’s Vision

Clothes do not make the man – a saying that fits today’s leaders of Iran’s radical factions, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Tehran’s proxies in Iraq and Yemen. They issue routine inflammatory statements and adopt media stances that are often exaggerated, sometimes bordering on the absurd. In response to the upheavals sweeping the region, they ...

Israel Army Chief Vows to Target Hamas Leaders Abroad

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Eyal Zamir, vowed Sunday to target Hamas leaders abroad after the military killed Abu Obeida, spokesman for the group's military wing, in Gaza the day before. "In the Gaza Strip, yesterday we struck one of Hamas's senior leaders, Abu Obeida. This is not the end; most of Hamas's leadership is abroad, and we ...

Israel Defense Minister Says Spokesman for Hamas Armed Wing Killed

Israel's defense minister said on Sunday that the army had killed Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas, a day after a strike that targeted him. "Hamas terror spokesperson Abu Obeida was eliminated in Gaza," Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X, congratulating Israeli security forces "for the flawless ...

Hamas Confirms Death of Gaza Chief Mohammed Sinwar

Hamas on Sunday confirmed the death of Mohammed Sinwar, its presumed leader in Gaza, more than three months after Israel said it had killed him in an air strike. Pictures released by the Palestinian Islamist group on Saturday showed him alongside other political and military leaders, described as "martyrs of the military ...

Israeli Army Targets Hezbollah Infrastructure in Southern Lebanon

Early on Sunday morning, the Israeli military launched a series of heavy airstrikes on the Nabatiyeh district in southern Lebanon, an area that has been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks. According to local sources cited by the Al-Markazia news agency, over 10 air raids struck the area of Ali al-Taher and its surroundings, not far from Beaufort ...