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Limited Passage Resumes at Gaza-Egypt Border Crossing

Gaza's border crossing with Egypt reopened on Thursday for a limited number of people, Palestinian and Egyptian officials told AFP, for the first time since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran. An Egyptian Red Crescent official, speaking anonymously to AFP, said the Rafah crossing had reopened in both directions to allow a ...

UNICEF: Dozens of Children Killed as Israel-Hezbollah War Intensifies

At least 83 children have been killed and 254 others wounded since the outbreak of the March 2 war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a statement issued Monday by UNICEF. The agency’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said the figures highlight the growing toll of the conflict on children ...

Army Withdrawal Sparks Anxiety in Southern Border Villages

Residents of the predominantly Christian southern villages of Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel are experiencing growing anxiety following the sudden withdrawal of security forces and the closure of local police stations on Tuesday, according to local officials and community leaders. Concerns intensified after units of the Lebanese Army redeployed from ...

Bessent Says "Starting to See Defections" in Iranian Regime

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed major defections were occuring within the Iranian regime, following increasing economic pressure on Iranian officials, saying, “the regime is in collapse, and the people are starting to turn against them.” Speaking to Fox News Thursday, Bessent said, "we're starting to see defections ...

Fresh Explosions Erupt in the Gulf As Larijani Announces Iran "Will Not Negotiate"

Fresh explosions were being heard in Doha, Bahrain, Dubai, and Manama on Monday, marking the third day of Iranian attacks in the Gulf.  The round of explosions being heard across the region come as Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani said Tehran would not negotiate with the United States, hardening the country’s stance ...

Iran's Ambassador Won't Leave Lebanon Despite Expulsion: Diplomatic Source

Iran's ambassador will not leave Lebanon despite being declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country by Sunday, an Iranian diplomatic source told AFP. "The ambassador will not leave Lebanon, in accordance with the wishes of the speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and of Hezbollah," the source said, speaking on condition ...

Has Iran Been Militarily Exposed?

More than 2,000 bombs dropped in just thirty hours. That is the estimate cited by several Israeli and American security sources to illustrate the scale of the opening wave of strikes against Iran — a level of firepower rarely directed at a country of 88 million people and home to the Middle East’s largest ballistic missile arsenal. In less ...

The End of an Era: Power Reconfigured in the Islamic Republic

A red flag symbolizing justice and revenge was raised Sunday morning above the golden dome of the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, a potent Shiite emblem of bloodshed and a call for retribution, just hours after Iranian authorities confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes attributed to Israel and the United States. With ...

Netanyahu Issues Directive Allowing Strikes Without Prior Authorization

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a change in operational directives to the IDF and Mossad, granting advance authorization to carry out targeted killings of senior Iranian and Hezbollah officials without prior political approval when time-sensitive intelligence emerges, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News. The directive aims to ...

Gulf Countries Respond to Regional Escalation

United Arab Emirates In an official statement, the UAE said, “The Iranian attack on our territory is a serious escalation and a cowardly act.” The UAE added that it reserves the right to respond to the missile attack in accordance with international law after Iranian ballistic missiles targeted U.S. military bases in the Gulf. The ...

U.S. Senator Blumenthal: ‘There Ought to be the Lebanese and the Israelis Working Together Against Hezbollah’

This is Beirut spoke with U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and John Cornyn on Thursday about Hezbollah and Iran, both urging stronger action in the region. Blumenthal commented that “I think we need more aggressive action against Hezbollah, which seems to be regaining strength in Lebanon, and the United States needs to work more closely ...

Iran Arrests Alleged 'Monarchist' Networks, Suspected Spies as War Rages

Iranian authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested more than 100 alleged "monarchist cells" plotting against the Islamic Republic, along with suspected spies and individuals accused of cooperating with an outlawed television channel. Forces from the Intelligence Ministry "have identified and arrested 111 monarchist cells across 26 provinces ...

France, Germany, and U.K. to Work with U.S. as EU High Commissioner Issues Statement

Leaders of the U.K., France, and Germany issued a joint statement stating that they have “agreed to work together with the U.S. and allies in the region on this matter.” The statement reads that “the Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom are appalled by the indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks launched ...

Lebanon Launches Legal Action Against 4 Hezbollah Members Over Arms

A Lebanese judge has begun legal proceedings against four Hezbollah members for weapons offences, a judicial official told AFP on Monday, after authorities recently banned the Iran-backed group's military and security activities. Lebanese authorities have been seeking to pressure Hezbollah after Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on ...

Kuwait Says Arrested Six People Planning 'Assassinations' Linked to Hezbollah

Kuwait arrested six people linked to Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group who were planning "assassinations" in the Gulf state, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. Those arrested were planning "assassinations targeting symbols and leaders of the state and recruited people to carry out these missions," the ministry ...

Israeli Army Strikes Central Beirut, Oil Depots in Tehran

The IDF targeted Iranian commanders in the Ramada hotel in Beirut’s central Rauoche neighborhood early on Sunday, killing four and injuring ten others.  The attack, described by the Israeli Army as a targeting “Quds Force's Lebanon Corps,” represents the first Israeli strike to hit the heart of Beirut since hostilities ...

Israel Approves Emergency Military Funding as Iran War Rages

Israel has approved an $827 million emergency budget allocation for military purchases, Israeli media reported Sunday, as the war with Iran entered its third week. The 2.6 billion-shekel package was approved over the weekend by cabinet ministers during a telephone meeting, Haaretz reported. It will be used for "security purchases" and to address ...

Hezbollah Operations Endanger Christian Villages

Displaced people sheltering in Rmeish, a Christian-majority town in southern Lebanon, were escorted out by the Lebanese army on Tuesday after Israel warned local authorities that individuals linked to Hezbollah could be targeted. “We did not have shelters in Rmeish,” Mayor Hanna al-Amil told the daily An Nahar. “We hosted the ...

Iran Guards Say Targeted U.S. Base in UAE Over School Strike

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday they had targeted a US base in the UAE that they alleged had been used as a launchpad for a strike on a school. According to Iranian authorities, a strike had hit a girls' elementary school on Saturday in Minab county in the south of the country, killing more than 150 people including students. AFP ...

Huckabee Authorizes Embassy Staff to Leave Israel “Today” as U.S. Deploys USS Gerald Ford

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee instructed American embassy staff on Friday that anyone wishing to leave Israel should do so “TODAY,” according to a report by The New York Times. The message warned that the embassy’s call for non-emergency personnel to leave would “likely result in high demand for ...

U.S. Urges Citizens to Leave Southeast Turkey, Orders Non-Essential Staff Out of Adana Consulate

Washington has advised non-essential staff to depart its consulate near the southern Turkish city of Adana and suspended consular services, the U.S. embassy in Ankara said Monday. The statement also referenced an existing U.S. Travel Advisory saying "Americans in southeast Turkey are strongly encouraged to depart now." The area hosts a key NATO ...

Senior U.S. Official to TIB: ‘Hezbollah Should Understand…Aggression Will Bring Decisive Consequences’

In an exclusive conversation, This is Beirut spoke with a senior official from the White House, who stated that the U.S. supports Israel’s operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon and that U.S. military action is focused on Iran. The official said that “the United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah and ...

Hezbollah and Iran Strike Israel as Israel Continues Attacks

Hezbollah and Iran carry out further strikes in Israel as Israel continues to expand its operations in Lebanon. Hezbollah struck two Israeli military vehicles in the town of Houla in southern Lebanon, saying that it hit with “appropriate weapons, achieving a direct hit.” The organization also stated that it hit an Israeli Merkava ...

Israel Intensifies Campaign in Lebanon Against Hezbollah as Israeli Army Plans Next Steps

Over the course of Monday following Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel, the Israeli army stated that it struck around 70 targets in Lebanon within 24 hours. Israeli jets carried out attacks across Beirut’s southern suburbs, southern and eastern Lebanon. As of Monday evening, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reports that at least 52 were ...

Emirates Global Aluminium Reports Significant Damage after Attack

The firm Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said one of its sites in Abu Dhabi had suffered significant damage after an Iranian attack that left six people wounded, according to authorities. In its statement, EGA -- one of the world's largest aluminium producers -- said its "Al Taweelah site sustained significant damage during the Iranian missile and ...

Rubio to Visit Israel Next Week to Discuss Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza

The U.S. Department of State announced on Friday that Secretary Marco Rubio will travel to Israel next week to discuss regional issues. “The Secretary will discuss a range of regional priorities including Iran, Lebanon, and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan for Gaza,” the State Department ...