israel

Escalating Violence Across Lebanon on Sunday

While the Israelis reported on Sunday morning that the Israeli ground operation in Khiam in the south of the country was “gathering pace,” a precarious calm was observed in Beirut's southern suburbs. However, at 9 AM, the mayor of Bourj al-Barajneh, Atef Hassan Mansour, issued an urgent evacuation call to residents. In a statement, he said, ...

Israeli Strikes Intensify on Saturday, Increasing the Toll of Human Losses

Israeli strikes continued heavily into the evening of Saturday, causing a drastic rise in human losses. The Ministry of Public Health's Emergency Operations Center has reported 3,670 killed and 1,413 wounded since the start of the Israeli military operation against Hezbollah. In Beirut's southern suburbs, intense Israeli raids targeted buildings ...

Israeli Incursion Into Southern Lebanon: Israel Attempts to Seize Khiam

Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops engaged in fierce clashes on Saturday at the key southern Lebanon town of Khiam and in the coastal Bayyada area, several kilometers north of the border. The official National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel was "attempting to control the town" as it was "a strategic gateway for a rapid ground ...

Life Amid Bombardment in Beirut's Southern Suburbs

It is 4 PM when we enter Chiyah, a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Navigating through debris, we make our way to the site of the latest Israeli airstrike, which occurred just a few hours earlier. A five-story building lies gutted, its top two floors reduced to rubble. Despite the devastation, the main street running ...

Turkey's Erdogan Hails 'Courageous' ICC Warrants for Israeli Leaders

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday praised the "courageous decision" of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. "We support the arrest warrant. We consider it important that this courageous decision be carried out by all ...

Major Ground and Air Escalation Rocks Southern Lebanon

Following an Israeli evacuation appeal to those living in the southern suburb of Beirut this morning, which specifically called for Hadath and Choueifat al-Amrousiyeh, field developments continued in southern Lebanon, where heavy shelling continued on several towns and villages, amid intense clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah ...

Who Is Mohammad Haidar, Alleged Target of Basta Strikes?

At dawn on Saturday, the Israeli army carried out a series of strikes against the Basta area, and more specifically against a building where, according to unconfirmed reports, Hezbollah's head of operations, Mohammad Haidar, was staying. While some sources mention the names of the group's Secretary General, Naim Qassem, and the head of the ...

America, Iran, Israel, and Lebanon

Most American presidents avoid plunging into Middle East peacemaking as long as possible. There were two exceptions: Bill Clinton started in his first month with a "Syria First" strategy for peace between Israel and its neighbors. Barak Obama on his "day two" launched a respected envoy to pursue a West Bank settlement freeze and two-state ...

Dawn Strike on Beirut's Basta Neighborhood Stirs Panic Across the Capital

A series of violent Israeli raids targeted Beirut at 4 AM today without prior warning, and focused on an eight-story building on Fathallah street in the Basta al-Fawqa neighborhood, a popular and densely populated neighborhood. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the person targeted in the raid in the center of Beirut is more important than Talal ...

Confronting the Crossroads: Trump's Middle East Policy Dilemmas Ahead

As Donald Trump prepares to take office again in January 2025, reflecting on his previous administration's lessons will help shape effective strategies to address the complex challenges in the Middle East. If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to meet and speak with Trump before taking office, this engagement could signal a strong ...