This is Beirut

Israel Strikes Litani Bridges to Pressure Lebanese Government

Ian Stettner, 15:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Israel Lebanon Lebanese Army Hezbollah USA

As Israel presses its ground invasion of south Lebanon, it has destroyed several bridges spanning the Litani River, saying Hezbollah was using the crossings for military purposes. Analysts told This Is Beirut that the strikes also form part of a broader pressure campaign on the Lebanese state. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the bridges ...

Blurring the Lines: How Hezbollah Obscures Civilian and Combatant Deaths

Claudia Groeling, 15:05 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Hamas Israel Lebanese Forces

Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported 1,268 dead in Israeli strikes as of March 31, but offers no breakdown between civilians and Hezbollah fighters, leaving the real human toll shrouded in uncertainty. Dr. Joseph Helou, head of the Medical Care Directorate at the Ministry of Public ...

On the Streets of Tehran: Teenagers Armed With Machine Guns

This is Beirut, 14:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran USA Israel Teheran USIranWar HumanRights

In the security crackdown ordered by Iranian authorities since the start of the war, an unsettling new sight on the streets of Tehran has put residents on edge: teenagers armed with machine guns. During the first weeks of the war against the United States and Israel, checkpoints sprang up around the capital, often comprising police or military ...

Erdogan Warns of Regional Spillover Risk as War Enters Second Month

This is Beirut, 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey Iran USA Israel USIranWar

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Wednesday that the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel risks expanding into a broader regional conflict, as tensions continue to escalate across multiple fronts. “We are facing the danger of the war spreading and widening,” Erdoğan said during a parliamentary ...

U.S.-Israeli Strikes Hit Steel Complexes in Central, Southwest Iran

This is Beirut, 13:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Israel USA USIranWar UAE Bahrain

U.S.-Israeli strikes have hit steel complexes in central and southwest Iran, causing damage to production units, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. "Initial assessments indicate massive attacks, with significant damage and destruction to production units" at the complex of the Mobarakeh Steel Company, one of Iran's biggest, in the central ...

Yemen Claims Joint Strike with Iran and Hezbollah on Southern Israel

This is Beirut, 11:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran Yemen Hezbollah Houthis Israel USIranWar Lebanon

Yemen’s armed forces on Wednesday announced a new round of attacks targeting what they described as “sensitive Israeli positions” in southern Israel in coordination with Iran and Hezbollah. The operation, described as the third phase of an ongoing military campaign, involved the launch of ballistic missiles, according to a ...

Stocks Rally, Oil Dives as Trump Says War to End 'Very Soon'

This is Beirut, 11:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Benjamin Netanyahu Gulf Israel

Equities rallied and oil tumbled Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the Middle East war would be over in up to three weeks and his Iranian counterpart said Tehran had "the necessary will" to bring it to an end. The remarks came as the economic impact of the conflict worsens, with average US gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon for the ...

The WhatsApp War: How Hezbollah Manufactures Reality

Salam El Zaatari, 11:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

In Lebanon today, the battlefield is no longer confined to the south; it has also moved to WhatsApp, where closed, encrypted groups spread information without scrutiny, and most importantly, without accountability. This is where Hezbollah has quietly built one of its most effective influence machines—not on television, where narratives can be ...

Rubio Signals War Endgame as U.S. Pressure Mounts on Weakened Iran

This is Beirut, 10:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Iran Trump Israel USIranWar

The United States is increasingly signaling that the war with Iran is entering its final phase, even as military operations and diplomatic maneuvering continue in parallel. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington now sees “the finish line” in a conflict that has entered its fifth week, describing an Iranian state that is, ...

Iran FM Says Not Responded to U.S. Plan, 'No Negotiations'

This is Beirut, 10:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA Israel Tehran Turkey United States

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were no negotiations with the United States and that Tehran had not responded to a reported 15-point proposal from Washington to end the war. "We receive messages from the American side, some direct and some through our friends in the region, and whenever necessary we respond to these messages," ...

Iranian Missile Barrage Hits Israel, Reports Indicate Use of Cluster Munitions

This is Beirut, 09:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel

Israel reported renewed missile launches from Iran on Wednesday targeting central and northern areas, causing multiple casualties and damage across several sites, with reports indicating the possible use of cluster munitions that pose long-term risks to civilians. The military stated it had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the ...

Lebanon Says Israeli Strikes on Beirut Area Kill 7

This is Beirut, 07:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Middle East Tehran

The Lebanese health ministry said Wednesday that Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and a nearby town killed at least seven people, as Israel's military said it had targeted senior Hezbollah members. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel to ...