This is Beirut - Nawaf Salam

US Envoy Meets Israeli Hostage Families in Tel Aviv

This is Beirut, 02/08 19:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States Steve Witkoff Gaza Israeli Hostages

US envoy Steve Witkoff met anguished relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza on Saturday, as fears for the captives' survival mounted almost 22 months into the war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack. Witkoff was greeted with some applause and pleas for assistance from hundreds of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv before going into a ...

Humanitarian Aid to Gaza: Berlin Says Progress Remains “Highly Insufficient”

This is Beirut, 02/08 16:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Germany Gaza Humanitarian Aid Famine

The German government said Saturday that the “limited initial progress” in delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip remains “highly insufficient,” though it has not proposed any sanctions against Israel despite increasingly stern rhetoric. Following a visit by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to the region on Thursday and Friday, ...

Geagea Accuses Hezbollah of Setting Lebanon “a Hundred Years Back,” Calls for Weapons to Be Returned to the State

This is Beirut, 02/08 10:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hezbollah Lebanese Army Lebanese Forces

During the annual dinner of Radio Liban Libre, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea delivered a sharp speech against Hezbollah, accusing it of being the primary cause of Lebanon’s political, economic, and institutional decline. “We don’t need Israel to attack us to push us back a century: Hezbollah is already doing that,” Geagea said, ...

Israel Says Intercepted Missile From Yemen

This is Beirut, 01/08 21:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Houthi Palestine

The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday, which the Iran-backed Huthi said they had launched. "Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted," the Israeli military said. The Huthis targeted Israel's Ben ...

Hamas Armed Wing Publishes Video of Gaza Hostage

This is Beirut, 01/08 19:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Palestine Gaza Hostages

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas released a minute-long video Friday of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza looking weak and malnourished inside a narrow concrete tunnel. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades video showed an emaciated and bearded man that AFP and Israeli media identified as Evyatar David, seized on October 7, 2023. AFP ...

From Strategy to Reality: What Will It Take to Disarm Hezbollah?

Natasha Metni Torbey, 01/08 15:30 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hezbollah United Nations European Union Internal Security Forces

The question of disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon, long a political taboo, is now back at the heart of both political and diplomatic discussions. This shift comes amid mounting international pressure and a changing balance of power in the region. Although the topic remains deeply divisive within Lebanon’s political class, experts believe there are ...

Trump Envoy to Inspect Gaza Aid as Pressure Mounts on Israel

This is Beirut, 01/08 13:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine Conflict

President Donald Trump's envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ahead of a visit to inspect aid distribution in Gaza, as a deadly food crisis drove mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met ...

Haykal Marks Army Day with Border Pledge and Tribute to Troops

This is Beirut, 01/08 10:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Lebanese Army United Nations Rodolphe Haykal

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander General Rodolphe Haykal reaffirmed on Friday the army’s firm commitment to national security, announcing a “large-scale and important deployment” in the southern Litani region, conducted in close coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as Israel continues to occupy several ...

Trump Expresses “Discontent” Over Plans To Recognize a Palestinian State

This is Beirut, 31/07 23:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Hamas Palestine

Donald Trump “expressed his discontent and disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada” over their plans to recognize a Palestinian state, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. The U.S. president has thus somewhat hardened his stance on the matter. While he had already sharply criticized ...

Syria Forms Committee to Investigate Violence in Druze Heartland

This is Beirut, 31/07 22:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Sweida Syria Druze Commmittee

Syria's justice ministry announced on Thursday the formation of a committee to investigate deadly violence in the southern Druze-majority province of Sweida. The week-long clashes which began on July 13 killed more than 1,400 people, many of them Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. In a decree issued ...

Series of Israeli Strikes on the Beqaa and South Lebanon

This is Beirut, 31/07 19:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam South Lebanon Baalbeck Hezbollah Baalbeck

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Thursday evening targeting the Beqaa and South Lebanon. The consecutive raids struck the areas of Brital, Nabi Sreij, Nabi Chit and Nasiriyeh (Baalbeck), as well as parts of Northern Beqaa. Several strikes also hit Aichiyeh, Mahmoudiya (Jezzine), Dimachkiyeh, Borghoz and Jormok (Tyre), as well as ...

Azerbaijan: The Triumph of Pragmatism over Religious Identity

Mario Chartouni, 31/07 19:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam European Union Damascus Middle East Tehran

In the heart of the Caucasus, Azerbaijan stands out for its unconventional geopolitical alignments. Though predominantly Shia in religious composition, this secular post-Soviet republic has positioned itself as one of Israel’s closest allies and a strategic partner to the West, all while maintaining a strained relationship with neighboring ...

Nawaf Salam