This is Beirut

US Suspends Visas for Gazans After Far-Right Influencer Posts

This is Beirut, 17/08 02:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

The US government said Saturday it is suspending visitor visas for Gazans after a far-right influencer with the ear of President Donald Trump complained that wounded Palestinians had been allowed to seek medical treatment in the United States. The announcement came one day after a series of furious social media posts by Laura Loomer, who is known ...

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Fire Kills 39

This is Beirut, 16/08 19:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Gaza Hamas Israel

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 39 people on Saturday, as the Israeli military hinted at an approaching call to push civilians from Gaza City ahead of a new offensive. The latest toll comes more than a week after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to capture the Palestinian territory's largest ...

South Lebanon: Mayor of Mari Targeted by Israeli Fire

This is Beirut, 16/08 17:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

South Lebanon Israel

The mayor of Mari, Youssef Fayad, narrowly escaped death after being hit by a barrage of Israeli fire that flew just above his head while he was accompanying an employee of the Southern Council near the Abbasiya-Majidiyeh intersection. An Israeli drone also targeted an excavator in the town of Aitaroun. Another dropped a sound bomb near farmers ...

William Noun on Summons: Justice Doesn’t Scare Us, Charges Are Political

This is Beirut, 16/08 13:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Beirut Port Hezbollah Israel

The Central Criminal Investigations Department has summoned activist William Noun for questioning after a complaint was filed against him on charges of inciting sectarian strife and violating the law on dealings with Israel. In an interview, William Noun expressed surprise at being summoned based on a lawsuit filed by lawyer Hassan Ibrahim, known ...

The Stages of Naim Qassem’s Grief

Johhny Kortbawi, 16/08 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah Israel

A clear separation is emerging between Naim Qassem and Hezbollah, or even between various factions within the party and its wider base of supporters, following the absence of a central figure like Hassan Nasrallah, which has undermined decision-making and centralized authority. Historically, Qassem played a secondary role within Hezbollah, ...

UN Says at Least 1,760 Killed While Seeking Aid in Gaza Since Late May

This is Beirut, 15/08 20:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations Hamas Israel Gaza humanitarian aid

The UN human rights office said Friday that at least 1,760 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May, a jump of several hundred since its last published figure at the beginning of August. "Since 27 May, and as of 13 August, we have recorded that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid; 994 in the ...

Ex-Presidents, Premiers, Back Government Position On Weapons Control

This is Beirut, 15/08 18:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Weapons Government Hezbollah Israel

Two former Lebanese presidents, Amin Gemayel and Michel Sleiman, along with three former prime ministers, Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora and Tammam Salam, issued a joint statement on Friday backing the government’s position over the state’s exclusive control of weapons. The leaders praised the government’s efforts to restore full state ...

Macron Vows to Punish Antisemitic 'Hatred' After Memorial Tree Cut Down

This is Beirut, 15/08 15:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Hamas Israel Palestine

The cutting down of an olive tree planted in memory of a young French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 stirred outrage in France on Friday, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing punishment over an act of antisemitic "hatred". Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the act as an attack against the memory of Ilan Halimi, who was ...

Israeli Far-Right Minister Confronts Prominent Palestinian Inmate

This is Beirut, 15/08 13:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Palestine

Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir published a video on Friday in which he confronts the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody in his prison cell. Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian Fatah party, has spent more than 20 years behind bars after being sentenced for his role in ...

Hezbollah: The Coup d’État

Marc Saikali, 15/08 11:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Coup d’État

In Lebanon, some speeches go beyond conveying information, they amount to declarations of war. On Friday, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General delivered a statement so incendiary it pushed the nation to the edge. “The army is incapable of protecting the nation,” he declared. “The government is selling the country to Israel and the ...

Naim Qassem: “No Life in Lebanon if Government Confronts Resistance”

This is Beirut, 15/08 10:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Naim Qassem

Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, once again made a show of defiance on Friday, intensifying threats against the Lebanese state and its people. In a speech more aggressive than his previous ones, Qassem bluntly tied Lebanon’s fate to his group’s weapons. “Lebanon can only be built with all its components. If it ...

Larijani and the Original Sin

Johnny Kortbawi, 15/08 09:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Iran Israel Hezbollah

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is among the closest officials to the Supreme Leader Khamenei and a successor to figures like Qassem Suleimani, who shaped Iran’s regional security and political influence. Larijani’s latest visit to Lebanon, coming after recent Lebanese government decisions and ...

Israel