Lebanon

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Beirut early Sunday to attend the funeral of Hezbollah's former leader, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital. Hassan Nasrallah was killed when Israel's air force dropped more than 80 bombs on the militant group's main operations room. His death was a major blow for the Iran-backed group that the late leader transformed into a potent force in the Middle East. Nasrallah was the group's leader for more than 30 years and one of its founders. He enjoyed wide influence among Iran-backed groups in the region and was widely respected in the so-called Iran-led axis of resistance that included Iraqi, Yemeni and Palestinian factions. Officials from around the region including Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were expected to attend the funeral at the Lebanese capital's main sports stadium. Lebanese officials including the parliamen

Israel's military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday's deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group, as Lebanon's government expressed frustration over another delay. A separate ceasefire in Gaza was also in doubt as the region marked 500 days of Israel's war with Hamas, while Israel and the United States sent conflicting signals over whether they want the truce to continue. Talks on the ceasefire's second phase are yet to start. Military spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis are still displaced. He said the temporary measure was approved by the US-led body monitoring the truce, which earlier was extended by three weeks. Under the agreement, Israeli forces should withdraw from a buffer zone in southern Lebanon to be patrolled by the Lebanese army and UN

The Lebanese Hezbollah group Sunday announced the funeral of its longtime leader will take place on Feb. 23, months after he was assassinated in a series of Israeli airstrikes in a southern Beirut suburb. Secretary-General Naim Kassem made the announcement regarding his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in a prerecorded speech. It came days after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the war between the Lebanese militant group and Israel was extended until February 18. Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27 after a series of Israeli airstrikes struck several buildings in a southern Beirut suburb. A top security aide said Nasrallah was inside the militant group's war operations room when the strikes took place. Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon, where under the ceasefire agreement they are supposed to gradually withdraw while Hezbollah's militants withdraw north of the Litani River as Lebanese army soldiers disperse. Residents of those villages, many waving ..

Firing by Israeli troops killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli troops remain. The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border. Under a US-brokered ceasefire on Nov 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah was to move north of the Litani River by Jan 26. While the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers had already deployed in several villages before the deadline, Israel remained in over a dozen villages. The United States and Lebanon announced later on Sunday that the deadline to meet the ceasefire terms had been extended to Feb 18. In a pre-recorded speech aired Monday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group won't accept the ...

The White House said Sunday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until Feb. 18, after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November. Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw. The White House said in a statement that the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025. It added that the respective governments will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli or Lebanese governments. The Lebanese president's office ha

At least three people were killed and around 30 others injured in southern Lebanon on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters who had breached roadblocks the Israeli army set up a day before, Lebanon's health ministry reported. Demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages in the border area to protest Israel's failure to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November. Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish a military presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, said in a statement addressing the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday that Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, and I am

Israel's military says it won't complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday as outlined in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah militants. The confirmation came Saturday while another fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group saw a second release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody. The ceasefire deal for Lebanon gave both sides 60 days to remove their forces from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to move in and secure the area. Israel says Hezbollah and the Lebanese army haven't met their obligations, while Lebanon accuses the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military from taking over. The truce for Gaza continued as Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers held captive during the 15-month-long war in Gaza in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The next exchange is expected on Feb. 1. The truce also halted the fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks. But Israel says it won't allow ..

Israel's military Saturday set up roadblocks across border towns and roads in a strategic valley in southern Lebanon, a day before the deadline for it to withdraw from the area under an agreement that halted its war with the Hezbollah militant group. The Israeli military, meanwhile, confirmed that it will not complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. The deal that went into effect in late November gave both sides 60 days to remove their forces from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to move in and secure the area, along with U.N. peacekeepers. Israel says Hezbollah and the Lebanese army haven't met their obligations, while Lebanon accuses the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military from taking over. In a statement Saturday, the Israeli military said the agreement is progressing. But it said in some sectors, it has been delayed and will take slightly longer. The Lebanese military has said that they had deployed in

Lebanon's prime minister-designate vowed on Tuesday to work on building a modern state in the crisis-hit country, saying his priorities will be to rebuild the destruction caused by a yearlong war with Israel and work on pulling the small nation out of its historic economic meltdown. Nawaf Salam spoke after meeting with Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun, who himself took office last week. With the nomination of Salam and confirmation of Aoun, Lebanon, which has been run by a caretaker administration, now has a new government in waiting for the first time in two years. After the meeting, Salam said he will not marginalize any side in Lebanon, an apparent reference to the Hezbollah militant group, which in past years opposed his appointment as prime minister and this year indicated its preference for another candidate. Hezbollah has been weakened by its 14-month war with Israel, which ended in late November when a US-brokered 60-day ceasefire went into effect. The war left 4,000 peop

Lebanon's parliament voted Thursday to elect the country's army commander, Joseph Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum. The session was the legislature's 13th attempt to elect a successor to former President Michel Aoun - no relation to the army commander - whose term ended in October 2022. The vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon's leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction. Aoun was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia, whose assistance Lebanon will need to ensure that Israel withdraws its forces from southern Lebanon as stipulated in the agreement and to fund the post-war rebuilding.

In a boost for 'Make in India' initiative, 62 indigenously manufactured vehicles are set to reach Lebanon for utilisation by the Indian contingent deployed in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), defence sources said on Wednesday. The fleet comprises high mobility troop carriage vehicles, utility vehicles (one tonne and 2.5 tonne), medium and light ambulances, fuel bowsers and recovery vehicles, they said. Until now, the Indian troops serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon were operating the vehicles provided by the United Nations. These vehicles were sourced from other countries, a defence source said. In a significant step towards promoting indigenous capabilities and strengthening operational efficiency, 62 Indian-manufactured vehicles are now set to reach Lebanon for utilisation by the Indian contingent deployed in the UNIFIL, the source added. With the induction of these 'Made-in-India' vehicles, the Indian battalion will now rely on "robust and ...

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah. In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. The notices were dated Jan 3 and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Most of the money will go to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have a critical role in standing up the ceasefire that was agreed to in November following an all-out war that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months. It is intended to help the LAF deploy in the south of the country and supplement the role of the UN peacekeeping mission patrolling the so-called Blue Line, which has separated Israel and Lebanon since the end of a 2006 war between Israel and the .

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on November 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on November 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say

The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed militant groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen

The rockets from Gaza have mostly fallen silent. A ceasefire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has taken hold. But repeated fire from Yemen's Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis are stepping up their missile attacks, sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis scrambling for shelter in the middle of the night, scaring away foreign airlines and keeping up what could be the last major front in the Middle East wars. It's like musical chairs, said Yoni Yovel, 31, who left the northern Israeli city of Haifa late last year to avoid rocket fire from Hezbollah only to see his apartment in Tel Aviv's Jaffa neighborhood heavily damaged by a Houthi missile. Israel has repeatedly bombarded ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Israeli leaders have threatened to kill central Houthi figures and have tried to galvanize the world against the threat. But the ...

Worried that the operation would be exposed, top intelligence officials persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to give the order to detonate them

Syria's embassy in Lebanon suspended consular services on Saturday, a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports. Also on Saturday, Lebanese authorities handed over dozens of Syrians including former officers in the Syrian army under Assad to the new Syrian authorities after they were caught illegally entering Lebanon, a war monitor and Lebanese officials said. The embassy announced on its Facebook page that consular work was suspended until further notice at the order of the Syrian foreign ministry. The announcement did not give a reason for the suspension. Two Lebanese security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the suspension was ordered because the passports belonging to Assad's relatives the wife and daughter of one of his cousins were believed to have been forged at the embassy. Assad's uncle, Rifaat Assad who has

"The weapons confiscated were used by Hezbollah and were intended to harm the citizens of the State of Israel, IDF said

Under the terms of a two-month ceasefire that went into effect on November 27, Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw its armed presence from areas of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River