This is Beirut

Replacing Iran with Turkey Is a Recipe for Disaster in Syria

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 29/07 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

The Syrian revolution was not an uprising for liberty, freedom, or democracy. It was a manifestation of Sunni Islamists, backed by Turkey and Qatar, venting their rage against the rule of Assad, supported by Shia Islamist Iran. Syria’s Sunni Islamists did not care that Assad was a brutal dictator; they sought to replace him with their own ...

UNIFIL Mandate Shift Could Ignite Region: Will the US Push Back on Israeli Demands?

Philippe Abi-Akl, 29/07 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

United Nations Israel UNIFIL USA France

One month separates Lebanon from a critical juncture, one of the most sensitive in its modern history. At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council will decide whether to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. The decision could either reaffirm the mission’s role or mark its ...

Israeli Drone Strike Kills One in Southern Lebanon

This is Beirut, 28/07 21:10 - Reading : less than a minute

South Lebanon lebanon Israël

An Israeli drone strike killed one person and injured four others on Monday in the al-Baraka area of Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon, after targeting a motorcycle with two missiles. The victim was identified as Haitham Muhammed Idris. Earlier in the day, local sources reported the presence of an Israeli reconnaissance drone flying at low altitude ...

US Dismisses UN Israel-Palestinian Conference as 'Publicity Stunt'

This is Beirut, 28/07 21:06 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

France Palestinian Statehood Two-State Solution Israel United Nations Saudi Arabia

The United States on Monday dismissed a French-Saudi-sponsored conference at the United Nations on promoting a two-state solution to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis as a "stunt." The US State Department labeled the three-day event "unproductive and ill-timed," as well as a "publicity stunt" that would ...

Trump Announces Food Distribution Centers for Gaza

This is Beirut, 28/07 19:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Gaza United States Donald Trump Israel Famine

President Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States will soon set up food distribution centers in war-ravaged Gaza, citing signs of a “real famine.” In the meantime, international agencies have begun delivering aid to the Palestinian territory, taking advantage of a limited pause in hostilities announced Sunday by Israel. However, ...

Egypt's Sisi Urges Trump to End Gaza War

This is Beirut, 28/07 16:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Palestine Hamas Israel Egypt

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday made an impassioned call for US President Donald Trump to intervene to put an end to Israel's war in Gaza after more than 21 months. In a televised address, Sisi said Trump "is the one capable of stopping the war, bringing in aid and ending this suffering" after more than 21 months, with Gazans ...

Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Christian Village

This is Beirut, 28/07 16:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

West Bank Israel Palestine Attack

Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank overnight, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, a witness and the Palestinian Authority said Monday. Jeries Azar, a Taybeh resident and journalist for Palestine TV, told AFP his house and car were targeted in the pre-dawn assault. "I ...

Israel Says Gaza Got 120 Trucks of Aid on Day One of Pause

This is Beirut, 28/07 11:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Palestine Gaza Aid

Israel said Monday that more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a promised limited break in fighting. On Sunday, Israel declared a "tactical pause" in military operations in part of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up ...

The UN, The Palestinians, Israel and a Stalled Two-State Solution

This is Beirut, 28/07 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Israel Palestine United Nations

Ever since the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947, the United Nations has been inextricably linked to the fate of Palestinians, with the organization meeting this week hoping to revive the two-state solution. Here is a timeline on the issue: Partition In November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 ...

The Politics of Frozen Conflicts and Their Antidotes

Charles Chartouni, 28/07 09:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Iran Israel Yemen Lebanon Hezbollah United States Syria

Paradoxically enough, the strategic contexts throughout the Middle and Near East extending between Iran and Gaza are in a state of volatility, and none of the security issues at stake have been addressed in a conclusive manner — or were ever meant to be. After the consecutive defeats that have unraveled the strategic and political realms of ...

Jordanian and Emirati Planes Drop 25 Tons of Aid over Gaza

This is Beirut, 27/07 16:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Gaza Humanitarian Aid Jordan United Arab Emirats Israel

Two Jordanian and one Emirati plane dropped 25 tons of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Jordanian army said in a statement. "The Jordanian Armed Forces on Sunday carried out three air drops on the Gaza Strip carrying humanitarian and food aid, one of which was with the United Arab Emirates," the statement said, adding that they ...

Israeli Flights Over South Lebanon and the Beqaa as Incendiary Bombs Spark Fires in Hamoul Valley, Naqoura

This is Beirut, 27/07 15:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Lebanon South Lebanon Bekaa

Israeli warplanes were reported flying at low altitude over the eastern sector of South Lebanon and the Nabatiyeh region, as well as over several villages in the Bint Jbeil district, particularly the towns of Tibnine, Baraachit, Safad el-Battikh and Beit Yahoun. Meanwhile, Israeli drones were also seen flying at medium altitude over the Beqaa ...

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