Lebanon

January 10, 2025 11:20 AM

Lebanon’s army chief elected president, showing weakened Hezbollah

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has U.S. support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel. In a speech to the chamber, Aoun, 60, vowed to work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, drawing loud applause as lawmakers from Hezbollah -- which runs its own military forces -- sat still. He promised to rebuild south Leb...

November 28, 2024 4:25 PM

Israel says ceasefire with Hezbollah violated, fires on south Lebanon

Israeli tank fire hit six areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday and the Israeli military said its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone. A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting. The Israel...

November 27, 2024 11:24 PM

Israel-Hezbollah truce holds, Israel sets south Lebanon curfew

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah held on Wednesday after the two sides struck a deal brokered by the U.S. and France, but Israel warned local residents not to return to the border area yet or approach its troops. The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict for months, ended the deadliest confrontation betweenIsrael and the Iran-backed militant group in years, but Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Ham...

November 26, 2024 5:07 PM

Israel expected to approve ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli official says

Israel looks set to approve a U.S. plan for a ceasefire with Lebanon's Hezbollah on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said, clearing the way for an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war 14 months ago. That optimism was shared by Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib who expressed hope at a G7 meeting in Italy that a ceasefire would be reached by Tuesday night. Israel's security cabinet is expected to convene later on Tuesday to dis...

November 25, 2024 8:32 AM

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon, 29 dead in Beirut attack

Dozens of people have been killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, including 29 deaths from a devastating attack that flattened a multi-story residential building in central Beirut's densely populated Basta area. According to the IDF, 12 Hezbollah command centers were struck by the Israel Air Force in Dahieh, Beirut, including sites used by Hezbollah's Intelligence Unit, coast-to-sea missile unit, and Unit 4400--responsible for smuggling weapons from Iran through Syria into Leb...

November 7, 2024 9:32 AM

Israel strikes on Lebanon kill 40 people around Baalbek, health ministry says

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed 40 people and wounded 53 around the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, according to the country's health ministry, and at dusk more strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs. Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have exchanged fire for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war but fighting has escalated since late September, with Israeli troops intensifying bombing of Lebanon's south and east and making ground incursions into border villages. Is...

October 25, 2024 10:54 AM

Three journalists killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, media report

An Israeli strike early on Friday morning killed at least three journalists as they slept in a guesthouse in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported. Those killed included cameraman Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda who worked for pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen and one cameraman who worked for Hezbollah's Al-Manar, Al-Mayadeen reported. Reporters at the scene said the bungalow where the men were sleeping was directly targeted. "The occupation's targeting of the journa...

October 25, 2024 11:31 AM

India hands over first tranche of humanitarian assistance to Lebanon

India's Ambassador to Lebanon, Noor Rahman Sheikh, on Thursday, handed over the first tranche of humanitarian assistance sent by India to Lebanon. Lebanon's Health Minister Firas Abiad received the consignment of medicines. Indian Embassy in Lebanon expressed India's commitment to strengthening close ties with Lebanon. In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Lebanon stated, "First tranche of India's humanitarian assistance arrives in Beirut. Lebanon's Health Minister HE Dr Firas Abiad received th...

October 24, 2024 11:54 PM

Nepal Army prepares contingency plans to rescue peacekeepers from Syria and Lebanon

The Nepal Army is preparing contingency plans to rescue Nepali peacekeepers deployed in Syria and Lebanon should the situation deteriorate further. The ongoing conflict between the militant group Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon has created a slightly uncomfortable situation for some Nepali peacekeepers deployed under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Currently, 877 Nepali peacekeepers are stationed in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL, while 452 are deployed at a border point in Syr...

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...