This is Beirut

US Vice President JD Vance to Visit Israel as Trump Administration Pushes Gaza Ceasefire Implementation

This is Beirut, 18/10 20:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Donald Trump Israel Palestine Ceasefire White House

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Israel on Monday as part of efforts by the Trump administration to accelerate the implementation of the agreement ending the recent Gaza war, Axios reported Friday, citing US and Israeli sources. While US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was initially expected to lead the delegation, the White House ...

Israel Says Rafah Crossing Reopening Depends on Return of Hostage Bodies

This is Beirut, 18/10 19:31 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Gaza Israel Rafah Rafah Crossing

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Rafah crossing would reopen only after Hamas hands over the bodies of all deceased hostages still held in Gaza. "Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice," the statement read. "Its reopening ...

US Envoy Witkoff Felt 'Betrayed' by Israeli Attack on Hamas in Qatar

This is Beirut, 18/10 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States Israel Qatar Steve Witkoff

US envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator on the Middle East, has said that he felt "betrayed" when Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month. In a CBS interview alongside Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who worked with Witkoff on the brokering of a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and ...

Israeli Strike Between Deir Kifa and Kfar Dunin

This is Beirut, 18/10 17:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

lebanon strike israel drone south

An Israeli drone carried out three airstrikes in the area between the towns of Deir Kifa and Kfardounine in southern Lebanon. One of the strikes targeted an excavator (poclain) operating in the same area. The Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health said in a statement that “the Israeli enemy’s strike on a vehicle ...

Israel Returns 15 Palestinian Bodies to Gaza

This is Beirut, 18/10 14:28 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Hamas Palestinian Prisoners

Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, bringing the total number handed over to 135, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said. Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned. Late on Friday, Hamas handed ...

Israel Identifies Dead Hostage Returned on Friday

This is Beirut, 18/10 12:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Gaza Hamas Israel Israeli Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday that the body of a deceased hostage Hamas returned overnight has been identified as 75-year-old Eliyahu Margalit. The Israeli military "informed the family of the abductee Eliyahu Margalit... that (the body of) their loved one has been returned to Israel and his identification ...

Hamas Says Committed to Gaza Truce and Returning Hostage Remains

This is Beirut, 17/10 22:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hamas Palestine United Nations Israel Gaza Turkey

Hamas insisted it was committed to returning all the hostage remains still unaccounted for under Gaza's ruins, as a Turkish official said specialists dispatched to help find bodies were on Friday awaiting Israeli permission to enter. Responding to a call from Hamas for help locating the bodies of the 19 hostages, buried under the rubble alongside ...

Iran Slams Israeli Strikes in Lebanon as 'Ceasefire Violation'

This is Beirut, 17/10 11:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Ceasefire Hezbollah Israel Tehran

Iran on Friday condemned strikes by its arch-foe Israel on southern Lebanon, a stronghold of its close ally Hezbollah. The foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, called the strikes a "blatant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity," in a statement. Of course, this claim is rich coming from Iran, a country ...

Hamas says Committed to Ceasefire Agreement, to Return all Bodies

This is Beirut, 17/10 10:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Ceasefire Hamas Israel Palestine

Hamas said it was committed to the US-brokered agreement that halted its war with Israel, and to returning all the bodies of hostages still unaccounted for under the ruins of Gaza. Responding to a call from the militant group for assistance with locating the bodies of the 19 hostages, buried under the rubble alongside an untold number of ...

The Elections May Not Be the Problem, but They Are Certainly Not the Solution

Johnny Kortbawi, 17/10 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Israel Elections Nabih Berri

The upcoming parliamentary elections are highly important, marking a defining moment in Lebanon’s history. Since independence, the country has held many elections, each shaped by its own circumstances. Some of these elections have stood out as true turning points, reshaping Lebanese politics and strengthening the balance of power in the ...

Israel Rocks South Lebanon with Dozens of Air Strikes

This is Beirut, 16/10 22:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Baalbeck South Lebanon lebanon Beqaa Israel Hezbollah

Israeli warplanes are carrying out a large-scale assault, launching dozens of air raids on the area and the valleys surrounding the towns of Ansar, Sinay, and Zarariya in south Lebanon. Intense airstrikes also targeted the area between the towns of Ansar, Sinay, and Bsafourah, marking one of the sharpest escalations in recent weeks. At least one ...

Israeli Escalation Envisioned: Timing Hinges on Multiple Factors

Bassam Abou Zeid, 16/10 18:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Israel South

The Israelis have not ruled out intensifying their military strikes against Hezbollah across Lebanon. However, according to available information, they are closely monitoring three key issues: the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and Hamas’ compliance, the latest developments in the confrontation with Iran, and US policy ...

Israel