War in the Middle East

SpotlightJoseph Aoun’s Courageous Stand: A Historic Turning Point for Lebanon’s Sovereignty

Tara B. Moussallem 06/08 15:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Yesterday, an exceptional Cabinet session was held at the Baabda Presidential Palace, lasting nearly six hours and marking a major political turning point in Lebanon’s modern history. Under the presidency of the Head of State, General Joseph Aoun, the government adopted a bold and unprecedented decision: to set a deadline for the disarmament ...

Lebanon Sets Year-End Deadline for Militia Disarmament

This is Beirut 05/08 22:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Disarmament Hezbollah Militias Politics Government

Lebanon has set a deadline of the end of this year for the disarmament of all militias, based on a disarmament roadmap to be prepared by the Lebanese Army and submitted to the Cabinet for review before August 31. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam following a nearly six-hour cabinet session held at the Baabda Presidential ...

Can Hezbollah Still Claim Resistance With Its Arsenal Depleted?

Mario Chartouni 05/08 14:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Middle East Syria Iran weapons

Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, warned on July 30 that any withdrawal of the group’s forces from south of the Litani River would be “a gain for Israel,” insisting that the party’s weapons remained “a domestic Lebanese matter.” Speaking at a memorial ceremony marking the first anniversary of the death of senior Hezbollah ...

Israel PM Says to Instruct Army on Gaza War Plan this Week

This is Beirut 04/08 16:45 - Reading : less than a minute

Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he would convene a cabinet meeting later in the week to decide on how to proceed in the war in Gaza. "Later this week, I will convene the cabinet to instruct the [army] on how to achieve the three war objectives we have set," he said at the opening of a government meeting. He ...

Israeli Hostage Videos: Standoff Between Netanyahu and Hamas

This is Beirut 03/08 22:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas Palestine European Union Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday to aid hostages in Gaza, as outrage built at videos showing two of them emaciated. The premier's office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and "requested his involvement in providing ...

Iran Sets up New Defense Council After War With Israel

This is Beirut 03/08 21:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel UN Security Council United States

Iran's top security body has approved the creation of a new defence council, state media reported on Sunday, more than a month after a ceasefire ended a 12-day war with Israel. "The Supreme National Security Council approved the establishment of the National Defence Council," state television said. The new body -- which will be ...

Renewed Sectarian Clashes in South Syria Kill Four

This is Beirut 03/08 17:41 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Syria Sweida SOHR

Renewed sectarian clashes in southern Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province killed at least four people on Sunday, a war monitor said, in the first deadly incident since a ceasefire last month. The province witnessed deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July that drew the intervention of government forces and tribal ...

Israel Says Ground Troops Conducted Raids in Syria

This is Beirut 03/08 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Syria

Israel's military said Sunday ground troops had operated in southern Syria, seizing weapons and questioning individuals suspected of arms trafficking, in the latest cross-border raid since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December. A military statement said that troops had completed overnight "a mission involving on-site questioning of several ...

US Envoy Meets Israeli Hostage Families in Tel Aviv

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

United States Steve Witkoff Gaza Israel 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)

Israel 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, ...

Trump Envoy to Inspect Gaza Aid as Pressure Mounts on Israel

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

Israel 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 ...

U.N. Conference Backs Two-State Solution, Urges Immediate End to Gaza War

This is Beirut 29/07 23:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations Gaza Two-State Solution Israel

In a sweeping and urgent declaration, world leaders attending the United Nations Two-State Solution Conference issued a unified statement calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and outlining a detailed roadmap for peace and reconstruction. The statement, issued within the past hour, emphasizes a collective commitment to ending the ...