This is Beirut

Israel's Netanyahu Says Qatar Funds Hamas, Strike 'Justified'

This is Beirut, 16/09 22:19 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump Israel United States Qatar Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that a strike against Hamas officials in Qatar last week was "justified" by the Gulf state's ties to the group. "Qatar is connected to Hamas; it harbors Hamas; it funds Hamas. It has strong levers (that it could pull), but it chose not to," he said during a press ...

Syria Working with US on 'Security Understandings' with Israel

This is Beirut, 16/09 21:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria Israel Druzes United States Jordan

Syria said on Tuesday that it was working with the United States to reach mutual "security understandings" with Israel, which has demanded the demilitarization of the country's south. The announcement was part of a US- and Jordan-backed roadmap for restoring stability in the south following sectarian violence that drew Israeli intervention, and a ...

Ankara, Another Tehran?

Mario Chartouni, 16/09 19:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Tehran Damascus Hamas Israel Middle East

The Middle East is going through a major realignment. Iran, long at the center of regional tensions, is losing influence after years of proxy wars and direct confrontations with Israel. This decline does not mean the situation is easing. On the contrary, it creates a strategic opening that another player – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey – ...

Netanyahu Says Nasrallah’s Death Brought Down the Pro-Iranian Axis

This is Beirut, 16/09 19:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah Lebanon Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the death of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 27, 2024, in a violent Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, triggered the collapse of the pro-Iranian axis. “On October 7, we were attacked by the monsters of Hamas. The next day, Hezbollah joined the fight ...

Israel Launches Ground Assault on Gaza City

This is Beirut, 16/09 19:23 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Israel Palestine Benjamin Netanyahu United Nations US Secretary of State

Israel launched its long-anticipated ground assault on Gaza City at dawn Tuesday, a day after winning backing from its top ally, the United States, despite mounting international alarm. A United Nations probe charged Israel with committing "genocide" in the Palestinian territory and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior ...

Trump Warns Hamas of 'Big Trouble' If They Use Hostages as Human Shields

This is Beirut, 16/09 16:50 - Reading : less than a minute

Donald Trump United States Israel Gaza

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Hamas would be in "big trouble" if they use hostages in Gaza as human shields during a new offensive launched by Israel. "We'll wait to hear what happens, because I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal, and if they do that, they're going to be in big trouble," Trump told reporters when ...

U.S. and Qatar Close to Strengthening Defense Ties Following Israeli Strike

This is Beirut, 16/09 16:31 - Reading : less than a minute

US Secretary of State Hamas Israel Marco Rubio

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington and Doha are close to finalizing an enhanced defense cooperation agreement, following last week’s Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar. Qatari officials confirmed that Emir Sheikh Tamim met with Rubio, with spokesman Majed Al Ansari stating the attack “sped up the need for a ...

Israel Strikes Yemeni Port of Hodeida

This is Beirut, 16/09 16:24 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Houthi Movement Hodeida Port Hodeida

Yemen's Houthis reported Israeli strikes on the country's Hodeida port on Tuesday, after Israel's military issued evacuation warnings for the area. The Al-Masirah television reported "a series of raids by Israeli enemy aircraft on the port of Hodeida," while military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group's air defenses ...

Disarming Hezbollah: The Easy Way vs. The Hard Way

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 16/09 16:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Lebanese Army Israel United States

The Lebanese government has yet to fully grasp the seismic shift in Israel’s defense doctrine from containment to preemption. Hezbollah, even if armed with rudimentary weapons like slingshots, will not be tolerated. Beirut must disarm and disband the Iran-backed militia immediately and will be given one final chance to do so. This is the Easy ...

UN Slams Israel's Qatar Attack as Assault on 'Regional Peace and Stability'

This is Beirut, 16/09 12:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations Israel Gulf Hamas United States

The United Nations rights chief warned on Tuesday that Israel's airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar last week threatened regional peace and stability and urged "accountability for unlawful killings". "Israel's strike on negotiators in Doha on September 9 was a shocking breach of international law," Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights ...

The Surge of Pages and Rumors

Johnny Kortbawi, 16/09 12:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

In recent months, pages linked to the Axis of Resistance have grown on social media like fungi. There is no longer any way to keep track of them: every day or two, a new page appears under a different name but with the same content promoting the axis’s narrative in all its domestic and regional dimensions. These are not mere social media ...

Trump Likely to Meet Zelensky Next Week on Peace Efforts: Rubio

This is Beirut, 16/09 09:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Israel Kyiv

President Donald Trump will likely meet Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday. Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not compromise. But he has not followed through even as ...

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