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Iraq's government on Thursday retracted a terror designation for Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and Yemen's Houthi rebels, just weeks after imposing the measure it now says was a mistake. The government's retraction came hours after reports first circulated about the designation, which was an error made before reviewing," according to a statement. The initial decision, published in the official Iraqi gazette on November 17, had placed the two groups both allies of Iran and also Iraq's Shiite militias among 24 organisations targeted under a national asset freeze order, accusing them of participating in committing a terrorist act. Iraq is under increasing pressure from the United States to clamp down on local Iran-backed militias. Baghdad is also struggling to balance its relations with Washington and Tehran, amid fears of a new Israel-Iran war that could spill over into neighbouring countries. The names of Hezbollah and the Houthis will be removed" in a corrected publication o
Lebanon's president said Monday that his country and Israel should negotiate to solve pending problems between them since war didn't lead to any positive results. The comments by President Joseph Aoun came after U.S. counterpart Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the more than two-year war, which started when the Palestinian militant group led an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. A day after the Israel-Hamas war began, Lebanon's Hezbollah started attacking Israeli military posts along the border in what it called a backup front for Gaza. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensified into full-blown fighting nearly a year later, during which the Lebanese group suffered heavy losses and many of its political and military commanders were killed. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon that left .
Israel carried out intense airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Saturday, killing one person, wounding seven and briefly cutting a highway that links Beirut with parts of south Lebanon, the Health Ministry said. The pre-dawn airstrikes on the village of Msayleh struck a place that sold heavy machinery, destroying a large number of vehicles. A vehicle carrying vegetables that happened to be passing by at the time of the strikes was hit, killing one person and wounding another, according to Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV. The Health Ministry later said that the one slain was a Syrian citizen, while the wounded were a Syrian national and six Lebanese, including two women. The Israeli military said it struck a place where machinery was stored to be used to rebuild infrastructure for the militant Hezbollah group. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended in late November with a US-brokered ceasefire, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes killing dozens of people. Israel accuses .
An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed five people Sunday, including three children, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said four of the killed, the three children as well as their father, held US citizenship. Two others were wounded, including the mother in the family. Officials at the US Embassy in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment. Since a ceasefire agreement was reached in November to end Israel's monthslong war with the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has continued to strike southern and eastern Lebanon almost daily. Under the Washington-brokered ceasefire, both the militant Hezbollah group and Israel were supposed to withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other. Israeli forces have continue to occupy five Lebanese hilltop points by the border. The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hezbollah militant, and that he operated from within a civilian population. It acknowledged that
Israel launched airstrikes Monday on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, killing five people, including four Hezbollah members, according to officials. This comes as global pressure mounts to disarm the Lebanese militant group. Since Hezbollah and Israel's monthslong war ended in a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has struck southern Lebanon almost daily in what they say are attacks to target the Lebanese militant group. The strikes in northeastern Lebanon, near Syria, far from the country's border with Israel, are rare. Monday's strikes hit the fringes of the provinces of Hermel and Bekaa, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, wounding five people. A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, confirmed four of the five killed were group members. Israeli Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said their air forces targeted Hezbollah positions and infrastructure, including a training area for t
Israeli drones dropped four grenades close to UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel as they were working to clear roadblocks, the force said Wednesday. No one was hurt in the attack. The peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL described the Tuesday morning incident as one of the most serious attacks on UNIFIL personnel and assets since the cessation of hostilities in November that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. UNIFIL said Israeli drones dropped four grenades close to the peacekeepers, who were working to clear roadblocks that hindered access to a UN position along the border line. One grenade hit within 20 metres (yards) and three others within approximately 100 metres of UN personnel and vehicles, it said, adding the drones were observed returning toward Israel. UNIFIL said the Israeli military had been informed in advance of the peacekeeping force's road clearance work in the area, southeast of the
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are ready to invest in an economic zone in south Lebanon near the border with Israel that would create jobs for members of the militant Hezbollah group and its supporters once they lay down their weapons, President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East said Tuesday. Tom Barrack made his comments in Beirut after trips to Israel and Syria where he discussed with officials there the ongoing situation in Lebanon following this month's decision by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year. Hezbollah's leader rejected the government's plan, vowing to keep the weapons. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government's momentous decision to disarm Hezbollah. The US-backed Lebanese army is preparing a plan for Hezbollah's disarmament that should be ready by the end of August. The government is expected to discuss the ...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he welcomed the Lebanese cabinet's momentous decision earlier this month to work towards the disarmament of Hezbollah by the end of 2025 and it could lead to Israel's troops withdrawing from the country. He said that if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon. Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November with a US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Beirut is under US pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.
The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons in the small nation by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm the militant Hezbollah group. The announcement by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, after a nearly six-hour Cabinet meeting, came shortly after Hezbollah's leader said his group would not disarm and warned that the Iran-backed faction would resume missile attacks on Israel if military operations against them intensify. Salam said the government asked the army to have the plan ready by the end of the month for discussion and approval. The government's move came as Beirut is under US pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead. The decision followed a July visit by US envoy Tom Barrack, who called for a more decisive policy to disarm the Iran-backed group. On Tuesday afternoon,
The World Bank said on Wednesday it approved over USD 1 billion dollars for infrastructure and reconstruction projects in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The biggest amount went to Iraq, where the World Bank approved USD 930 million to help improve the country's railway infrastructure, boost domestic trade, create jobs and diversify the economy. The World Bank said the Iraq Railways Extension and Modernisation Project will improve services and increase freight capacity between the Umm Qasr Port on the Persian gulf in southern Iraq to the northern city of Mosul. As Iraq shifts from reconstruction to development, enhanced trade and connectivity can stimulate growth, create jobs, and reduce oil dependency," said Jean-Christophe Carret, director of the World Bank's Middle East division. The World Bank also approved for war-torn Syria a USD 146 million grant to help restore reliable, affordable electricity and support the country's economic recovery. It said the Syria Electricity Emergency ...
Lebanese voted Sunday in the country's first local elections in almost a decade, months after a US-brokered ceasefire ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah. The first round of voting, which is taking place by region, was in the Mount Lebanon districts including Beirut's battered southern suburbs, where Hezbollah headquarters are located and much of their leadership including veteran leader Hassan Nasrallah were killed in Israeli airstrikes during the 14-month war. The polls for mayors and municipal councils, though not as significant as Lebanon's parliamentary election set for 2026, are a barometer of how much the devastating war that left over 4,000 people dead and entire neighbourhoods destroyed has impacted support for politicians and parties, especially in the south where Hezbollah and allies are strong. Hezbollah and fellow Shitte party the Amal Movement are expected to win most votes for municipal councils and mayors in Beirut's southern suburbs. Flags of the parties and .
Israel's latest airstrike on what it called a Hezbollah missile storage facility in Beirut's southern suburbs came during increasing pressure for the Lebanese militant group to disarm. The disarmament of what has been the region's most powerful non-state armed group has come to look increasingly inevitable. Hezbollah is severely weakened after a war with Israel in which much of its top leadership was killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms. Israel and the US are pushing for swift disarmament, but when and how it will happen - if it does - is contested. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has said he is committed to bringing all arms in the country under state control, but that it will happen through discussions around a national security plan and not through force. Many fear that an attempt to force the issue would lead to civil conflict, which Aoun has called a red line. Hezbollah officials have said
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group called on the government on Monday to work harder to end Israel's attacks in the country a day after an Israeli airstrike hit a suburb of Beirut. Naim Kassem said in a televised speech that Hezbollah implemented the ceasefire deal that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war in late November. But despite that, Israel is continuing with near-daily airstrikes. Kassem's comments came as the Israeli military said it carried out more than 50 strikes in Lebanon this month saying they came after Hezbollah violated the US-brokered ceasefire. On Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck Beirut's southern suburbs after issuing a warning about an hour earlier, marking the third Israeli strike on the area since a ceasefire took effect in late November. The Israeli military said it struck a precision-guided missiles facility. "The resistance complied 100 per cent with the (ceasefire) deal and I tell state officials that it's your duty to guarantee protection," Kas
Israel's defence minister said Wednesday that troops will remain in so-called security zones in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely. Unlike in the past, the (Israeli military) is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized, Israel Katz said in a statement. The military will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and (Israeli) communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza as in Lebanon and Syria. Israeli forces have taken over large areas of Gaza in recent weeks in a renewed campaign to pressure Hamas to release hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire last month. Israel has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group last year, and it seized a buffer zone in southern Syria after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. Israel says it must maintain control of such territories to prevent a repeat of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which thousands of militants ...
The Israeli military struck a building in Beirut's southern suburbs early Tuesday, killing at least three people, in an attack it said targeted a member of the Hezbollah militant group. The airstrike came without warning days after Israel launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Friday for the first time since a ceasefire ended fighting between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militant group in November. At least seven other people were wounded in Tuesday's airstrike, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The Israeli military said in a statement the latest strike targeted a Hezbollah member who had been helping the Palestinian Hamas group in the Gaza Strip in attacks against Israel. Here's the latest: Netanyahu withdraws his nomination to lead internal security agency Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has withdrawn his nomination of a former navy commander to lead the country's internal security agency after a flurry of criticism. Netanyahu's office sa
The Israeli military struck a building in Beirut's southern suburbs early Tuesday, saying it targeted a member of the Hezbollah militant group. The airstrike came without warning days after Israel launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Friday for the first time since a ceasefire ended fighting between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militant group in November. The Israeli military then had warned residents in the crowded suburbs before the attack after two projectiles were launched from southern Lebanon, which Hezbollah denied firing. The Israeli military said in a statement the latest strike targeted a Hezbollah member who had been helping the Palestinian Hamas group in the Gaza Strip in attacks against Israel. It said the attack was under the direction of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency. Hezbollah did not comment on the strike. There was no immediate word on casualties. Photos and videos widely shared on local and social media showed the top .