October 23, 2024 1:44 PM

Who is Hashem Safieddine, the Nasrallah relative seen as future Hezbollah leader?

Hashem Safieddine, whose killing was confirmed on Tuesday by Israel's military in its confrontation with Hezbollah, is widely seen as Hassan Nasrallah's likely successor as head of the Iran-backed group. A relative of Nasrallah, he has been running the movement alongside its deputy secretary general Naim Qassem since Nasrallah's assassination by Israel on Sept. 27. Safieddine has sat on the group's Jihad Council - the body responsible for its military operations. He is also head of its executi...

October 23, 2024 11:39 AM

Israel confirms death of heir apparent to slain Hezbollah leader

Israel on Tuesday confirmed it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the heir apparent to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed last month in an Israeli attack targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group. The military said Safieddine was killed in a strike carried out three weeks ago in Beirut's southern suburbs, its first confirmation of his death. Earlier this month, Israel said he had probably been eliminated. There was no immediate response from Hezbollah to Israel's statemen...

October 22, 2024 11:36 AM

Blinken heads to Middle East for new ceasefire push as Israel strikes Beirut

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the Middle East on Monday to launch another push for an elusive ceasefire, seeking to revive negotiations to end the Gaza war and defuse the spillover conflict in Lebanon. Blinken's trip to the region is his 11th since the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered the Gaza war. It comes as Israel intensifies its military campaign against Iran-backed militants - Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbolla...

October 21, 2024 10:20 AM

Lebanese flee as blasts hit Beirut, Israel warns of strikes on Hezbollah finance arm

Hundreds of Beirut residents fled their homes late on Sunday with multiple explosions heard across the Lebanese capital, as Israel prepared to attack sites linked to the financial operations of Lebanon's Hezbollah group and told people to leave those areas immediately. Dense plumes of black smoke were seen billowing in the air after at least 10 blasts, Reuters reported.  Eyewitnesses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a building located in the Chiyah neighbourhood in the southern s...

October 18, 2024 9:43 AM

Hezbollah says it will escalate war with Israel after Hamas leader killed

Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group said on Friday it was moving to a new and escalating phase in its war against Israel while Iran said "the spirit of resistance will be strengthened" after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Gaza war, was killed during an operation by Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, a pivotal event in the year-long conflict. Western leaders said his death offered an opportunity...

October 17, 2024 10:16 PM

Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader committed to eradicating Israel

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar remained unrepentant about the Oct. 7 attacks a year ago, people in contact with him have said, despite unleashing an Israeli invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, laid waste to his Gaza homeland and rained destruction on ally Hezbollah. Two officials with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday that Israeli ministers were told Israeli troops had likely killed Sinwar, 62, dubbed by Israelis "the Face of Evil" and architect of the Hamas cross-bord...

October 17, 2024 12:43 PM

Israeli strike on Lebanese municipal building kills 16, including mayor

The mayor of a major town in south Lebanon was among 16 people killed when an Israeli airstrike destroyed its municipal headquarters in the biggest attack on an official Lebanese state building since the Israeli air campaign began. Lebanese officials denounced the incident, which also wounded more than 50 people in Nabatieh, a provincial capital, saying it was proof that Israel's campaign against the Hezbollah armed group was now shifting to target the Lebanese state. The Israelis "intentional...

October 14, 2024 12:21 PM

US to send anti-missile system and troops to Israel

The United States said on Sunday it will send U.S. troops to Israel along with an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, in a highly unusual deployment meant to bolster the country's air defenses following missile attacks by Iran. U.S. President Joe Biden said the move was meant "to defend Israel," which is weighing an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on Oct 1. The United States has been privately urging Israel to calibrate its response t...

October 14, 2024 11:51 AM

UN says Israeli tanks burst into peacekeeper base, while Hezbollah drones kill four

The United Nations said Israeli tanks had burst into its base in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the latest accusation of Israeli violations against peacekeeping forces, as Hezbollah unleashed a deadly "swarm of drones" on an Israeli military camp. Israel disputed the U.N. account and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the peacekeepers to withdraw, saying they were providing "human shields" for Iran-backed Hezbollah during an upsurge in hostilities. The UNIFIL peacekeeping force ...

October 10, 2024 5:25 PM

Israeli troops fire at 3 UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon, U.N. source says

Israeli troops opened fire at three positions held by U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to a U.N. source who was not immediately able to specify the type of fire. The source said one of the locations fired at was UNIFIL's main base at Naqoura. There was no official statement from UNIFIL or immediate comment from the Israeli military. Hezbollah said earlier it had targeted an Israeli tank with guided missiles while it was advancing to the border area of Ras al-Naqour...