This is Beirut

UN Envoy Calls for Urgent Diplomacy as ‘Cautious Optimism’ Surrounds Lebanon’s Stability

This is Beirut, 17/03 21:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Nations Lebanese Army UN Security Council Israel

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, expressed “cautious optimism” regarding Lebanon’s political and security situation during her briefing to the UN Security Council on Monday. Hennis-Plasschaert welcomed the formation of Lebanon’s new government and its ministerial program. She also ...

Israeli Airstrike Kills Two and Injures Three in Southern Lebanon

This is Beirut, 17/03 15:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon

Two people were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting a motorcycle in the Yohmor al-Shaqif area of Nabatiyeh, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center reported on Monday morning. The Israeli army stated that the strike targeted “two Hezbollah members who were operating and directing terrorist ...

Israel's Netanyahu Announces Intention to Dismiss Shin Bet Chief

This is Beirut, 16/03 20:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Shin Bet Ronen Bar Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday informed the head of the Shin Bet, the country's internal security agency, that he will ask the government to dismiss him. Netanyahu and Shin Bet agency chief Ronen Bar have been engaged in a public spat in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, which has been accused of failing to prevent the ...

Overnight Israeli Attacks Kill Two Hezbollah Members

This is Beirut, 16/03 09:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel south Lebanon ceasefire

Overnight Israeli attacks targeted Hezbollah operatives in several locations in southern Lebanon, as Israeli troops entered the town of Adaisseh in the largest violation of the ceasefire agreement so far. An Israeli drone launched a guided missile strike at approximately 2:00 a.m. targeting a BMW X5 SUV on the road to the town of Yater in the ...

Deadly Israeli Strikes Mar Fragile Gaza Truce

This is Beirut, 15/03 22:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gaza Palestine Israel strikes

Gaza's civil defense agency said nine people including journalists were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday, attacks which could further endanger the fragile truce in the Palestinian territory. Following the reported strikes, the deadliest since the ceasefire took hold on January 19, Hamas accused Israel of a "blatant violation" of the truce ...

Amal and Hezbollah Oppose Mega Voting Center in Municipal Polls

This is Beirut, 15/03 18:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Israel megacenter municipal elections

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement opposes the idea of setting up a megacenter where eligible voters can cast their ballot in the municipal elections, regardless of where they hail from, particularly in the war-devastated southern region. Thanks to megacenters, residents of southern villages can vote in the areas where they live, ...

Armistice, Normalization, Peace: What Are the Differences?

Élie-Joe Kamel, 15/03 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

United Nations Hamas Hezbollah Israel lebanon

Whenever an agreement—whether purely technical or otherwise—between Lebanon and Israel is discussed, confusion arises, often followed by accusations and excessive speculation. Many Lebanese tend to mix up and confuse the terms "armistice," "normalization," and "peace." This makes it necessary to clarify the differences between these three ...

Israeli Fire Kills Palestinian Man Near Nablus

This is Beirut, 14/03 22:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nablus West Bank Israel

A 21-year-old man was reportedly killed by Israeli fire near Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank, as Israel's military said stone-throwers were targeted. "Omar Abdelhakim Daoud, 21, was martyred by fire from occupation forces in the village of Salem east of Nablus," a Palestinian health ministry statement said. An Israeli military ...

Berri to Katz: We Will Not Surrender an Inch of Our Territory

This is Beirut, 14/03 21:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Benjamin Netanyahu Nabih Berry Lebanon

Speaker Nabih Berri stated that “Lebanon will not surrender, under any circumstances, regardless of the intensity of the pressures, a single inch of its territory, nor any sovereign right.” “Lebanon will use all available means to protect its rights, preserve them, and liberate what remains of our territory from Israeli occupation,” Mr. ...

Steve Witkoff: Hamas is "Making a Very Bad Bet"

This is Beirut, 14/03 19:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Steve Witkoff Hamas Gaza Israel United States

The White House accused Hamas on Friday of making "entirely impractical" demands and stalling on a deal to release a US-Israeli hostage in exchange for an extension of the Gaza ceasefire. "Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not," a statement from the office of President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and the US ...

Hamas Says Ready to Free Israeli-American Hostage, Remains of 4 Others

This is Beirut, 14/03 17:21 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine USA

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to free an Israeli-American hostage and the remains of four others, after the Palestinian militants and Israel resumed indirect Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Israel, however, said Hamas had "not budged" following a proposal from US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. After more ...

Syrian Druze Cross Armistice Line for Pilgrimage to Israel

This is Beirut, 14/03 15:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Israel Druze

Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed the armistice line on the Golan Heights into Israel on Friday for their community's first pilgrimage to a revered shrine in decades. On board three buses escorted by Israeli military vehicles, the clerics crossed at Majdal Shams in the Golan, and headed to northern Israel. According to a source close to ...

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