This is Beirut

Israeli FM Rejects International Pressure for Gaza Ceasefire

This is Beirut, 29/07 12:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel's foreign minister rejected on Tuesday what he called a "distorted campaign" of international pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and recognition of a Palestinian state. Gideon Saar told reporters that if Israel was to halt the conflict while Hamas is still in power in Gaza and still holding hostages it would be a "tragedy for both ...

UN Peacekeeper Killed in 2022: Main Suspect Sentenced to Death in Absentia

This is Beirut, 29/07 12:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel United Nations Lebanon UNIFIL

The military court sentenced a man to death in absentia for killing an Irish United Nations peacekeeper, a judicial official said Tuesday, after Hezbollah members were accused of involvement in the 2022 incident. Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three others were wounded after a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy came under fire ...

Netherlands Bars two Hardline Israeli Ministers

This is Beirut, 29/07 11:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Netherlands Ben Gvir Smotrich

The Netherlands has declared two hardline Israeli ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, as persona non grata, the government said. "They repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza," Dutch Foreign ...

Gaza Civil Defense says Israeli Strikes Kill 30

This is Beirut, 29/07 10:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Palestine Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas Israel United Nations

Gaza's civil defense agency said Tuesday that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes were carried out overnight and into the morning and "targeted a number of citizens' homes" in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The ...

Forceful Pleas at UN For Two-State Solution for Israel, Palestinians

This is Beirut, 29/07 09:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations Israel Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron Palestine

There is no alternative to a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians, France told a UN conference co-chaired with Saudi Arabia Monday that was boycotted by Israel and branded a stunt by Washington. "Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace ...

Thomas Barrack: When Diplomacy Moves in Circles and Lebanon Follows

Natasha Metni Torbey, 29/07 09:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun Saudi Arabia Lebanon Tom Barrack

Listening to Thomas Barrack, one might think Lebanon is close to redemption or on the edge of a cliff, perhaps both at once. For months now, the American special envoy has issued statements that are sometimes hopeful, sometimes threatening, often confusing, and always repetitive. With every tweet and announcement, the same message comes through: ...

Replacing Iran with Turkey Is a Recipe for Disaster in Syria

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

Syria Turkey United States Israel Iran

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 ...

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