This is Beirut

Berri Says Lebanon Requests UNIFIL Mandate Renewal

This is Beirut, 31/05 22:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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President of Parliament Nabih Berri told the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that the issue of renewing the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was at the top of the agenda of his recent meeting with President Joseph Aoun. Berri said that a committee had been formed to draft a letter to the UN Security Council requesting ...

Hamas Agrees to US Truce Plan, Will Release 10 Living Hostages

This is Beirut, 31/05 19:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas Gaza Israel Steve Witkoff United States

Hamas announced on Saturday that it had submitted its reply to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal, but Washington's main negotiator almost immediately criticised the response as "totally unacceptable". Hamas did not say it had accepted the proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, but a Hamas source told AFP the group's response ...

Arab Ministers Condemn Israel 'Ban' on Planned West Bank Visit

This is Beirut, 31/05 17:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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The foreign ministers of five Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip. The ministers condemned "Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah (on Sunday) to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, ...

Iran Considers Nuclear Weapons 'Unacceptable', FM Says

This is Beirut, 31/05 13:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran considers nuclear weapons "unacceptable," reaffirming the country's longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States. Western governments have long suspected Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability to counter the widely suspected but ...

Israel Won't Cooperate with Arab Ministers Visiting West Bank

This is Beirut, 31/05 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel West Bank Saudi Arabia

Israel will not cooperate with a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official announced, after a Saudi source said the kingdom's top diplomat was heading to Ramallah. Israel controls the Palestinian territory's borders and airspace, meaning its approval would be needed for the diplomats to ...

Israeli Air Strike Kills One Person in Deir Zahrani

This is Beirut, 31/05 10:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Southern Lebanon

Mohammad Ali Jammoul, aged 33, was killed at dawn on Saturday in a targeted strike by an Israeli drone as he was driving his car in the village of Deir Zahrani, in the Nabatiyeh caza of southern Lebanon. According to local sources, the victim was on his way to the village mosque for the dawn prayer when a missile fired by a drone directly hit his ...

Israel Strikes Western Syria, Despite Talks

This is Beirut, 30/05 23:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Syria Lattakia

Israel on Friday struck western Syria, the Israeli military and Syrian state media said, in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month. It came after Damascus announced earlier this month indirect talks with Israel to calm tensions, and the US called for a "non-aggression agreement" between the two countries, which are technically at ...

Israel Threatens Hamas With ‘Annihilation' as Trump Says Gaza Ceasefire Close

This is Beirut, 30/05 22:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine Gaza Ceasefire Hostages

Israel on Friday said Hamas must accept a hostage deal in Gaza or "be annihilated", as US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement was "very close". It came amid dire conditions on the ground, with the United Nations warning that Gaza's entire population was at risk of famine. Defense Minister Israel ...

Saudi FM to Make Landmark Visit to the West Bank

This is Beirut, 30/05 20:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Prince Faisal bin Farhan will become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the occupied West Bank on Sunday, a diplomatic source told AFP, as the Gaza war drags on and Riyadh pushes for Palestinian statehood. The top Saudi diplomat will head a delegation to Ramallah, a Palestinian embassy source said, the first such trip since Israel first ...

“Peace will Lead to Normalization”: Salam's Statement Fuel Controversy

This is Beirut, 30/05 19:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Prime Minister Nawaf Salam emphasized on Friday that any normalization of relations with Israel must be preceded by a just and comprehensive peace, following public backlash over comments he made in a CNN interview. During the interview, Salam was asked whether normalization could proceed without a clear path to Palestinian statehood. He ...

Barcelona Ends 'Friendship Agreement' With Tel Aviv Over Gaza War

This is Beirut, 30/05 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Barcelona's city council voted Friday to cut institutional ties with the Israeli government and suspend its friendship agreement with the city of Tel Aviv, citing violations of international law and the rights of Palestinians. The motion, supported by the governing Socialist party along with far-left and leftist pro-independence groups, calls for ...

Tensions Mount as Washington Delays and Israel Threatens Iran

Kaline Antoun, 30/05 18:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay any potential military action against Iran, in order to give the United States administration more time to negotiate a new nuclear agreement with Tehran. Iran’s nuclear program lies at the center of an escalating diplomatic ...

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