israel

Will Lebanon Repeal Its Law Criminalizing Contact With Israel?

As Lebanese and Israeli officials conclude their second round of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington, a contradiction is becoming harder for Beirut to ignore. The state is now negotiating with Israel, while its citizens can still face prosecution for far less. Following Thursday’s meeting between Lebanese and Israeli envoys at the White House, ...

Israeli Army and Hezbollah Clash in Bint Jbeil

Israeli Army spokespeople said six Hezbollah fighters were eliminated in a firefight in Bint Jbeil on Friday, over a week since Israel said it had encircled the town on April 13, and just a day after a Lebanon-Israel ceasefire was extended by three weeks. Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army continues to hold a forward ...

Netanyahu Lauds Opportunity for 'Historic Peace' Between Israel, Lebanon

A day after the second meeting of direct negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli Ambassadors in Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “begun a process to achieve a historic peace” between the two countries. The Prime Minister’s pre-recorded video on ‘X’ comes after talks in ...

IDF Exposes Hezbollah’s Use of Ambulances and Civilian Sites for Military Operations

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Friday that the Israeli military identified what it described as new evidence of Hezbollah using ambulances and civilian infrastructure for military purposes in southern Lebanon.  In a series of posts published on X, Adraee alleged that Hezbollah has “repeatedly and systematically” used ...

UN Peacekeeper Dies Weeks After Injury in Southern Lebanon

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Friday announced the death of an Indonesian peacekeeper who was critically injured last month following a projectile explosion at a UN position in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of peacekeepers killed in the war to six. Corporal Rico Pramudia, 31, succumbed to his injuries on 24 April ...

Oil Extends Gains, Stocks Sink as Peace talk Hopes Fade

Oil prices extended gains Friday, and stocks struggled as investors worried about a lack of progress in ending the Middle East crisis, with Tehran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the US maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports. A week that started with hopes the two sides would eventually hold peace talks was set to end on a negative note, ...

U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Leader of Iraqi Armed Group

The US State Department is offering up to $10 million for information on the leader of the Tehran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), which Washington designates as a terrorist organization. US officials said in a social media post Thursday they were seeking information on KSS leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, also known ...

White House Hosts Second Round of Direct Lebanon-Israel Talks

On Thursday afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened with Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter in the second round of talks in the first series of direct Lebanon-Israel dialogue since 1993. The talks were planned to take place at the State Department, but prior to the ...

Majd Harb: 1955 Israel Boycott Law Should Be Repealed Immediately

Attorney and Legal Activist Majd Harb told This is Beirut in an exclusive interview that the 1955 Israel Boycott Law should be abolished immediately, arguing it has been misused as a political tool. He said the law is hindering economic development while exposing individuals, including journalists and business professionals, to disproportionate ...

President Aoun Says He Seeks Washington Visit

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday expressed hope of traveling to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump as Beirut intensifies diplomatic efforts to extend the fragile ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel and launch formal negotiations to end hostilities with Israel. The statement came at the close of a Lebanese cabinet session ...