Lebanese Christian leader says Hezbollah’s fighting with Israel has harmed Lebanon
Maarab, Lebanon AP The leader of a main Christian political party in Lebanon blasted the Shiite militant group Hezbollah for opening a front with Israel to back up its ally Hamas, saying it has harmed Lebanon without making a dent in Israel’s crushing offensive in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with The Associated Press on […]
Israel will defend itself, Netanyahu says, as West calls for restraint
Jerusalem/Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israel will make its own decisions about how to defend itself, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as Western countries pleaded for restraint in responding to a volley of attacks from Iran. The United States, European Union and G7 group of industrialised nations all announced plans to consider tighter sanctions on […]
Essay: Shadow war no more – hostilities between Israel and Iran have strayed into direct warfare. Is there any going back?
In an article first published on The Conversation, JAVED ALI, an expert on national security and the Middle East, looks at the background to the escalating conflict in the Middle East…
Israeli military pledges response to Iran attack amid calls for restraint
Jerusalem Reuters Israel’s military chief said on Monday his country would respond to Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack amid calls for restraint by allies anxious to avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours to weigh […]
Argentine court blames Iran and Hezbollah for deadly 1994 Jewish centre bombing
Buenos Aires, Argentina AP Argentina’s highest criminal court reported a new development Thursday in the elusive quest for justice in the deadliest attack in the country’s history – the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre headquarters – concluding Iran had planned the attack and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group had executed the plans. In a ruling obtained […]
Lebanon’s precarious sectarian balance tipping amid Hezbollah-Israeli war
Beirut, Lebanon Reuters As the Lebanese Christian village of Rmeish marks its first Easter since the Gaza war erupted, residents say a parallel confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel is dragging them into a conflict they did not choose. Like many Christians elsewhere in southern Lebanon, residents are angry and fearful their homes could be caught […]
Abandoned Israeli farms cling to life in evacuation zone
Kibbutz Snir, Israel Reuters In an abandoned kibbutz in Israel’s evacuation zone near the Lebanese border, Lior Shelef has stayed behind to keep watch as a reservist in a protection force. He still tends the cows and chickens, even as Hezbollah rockets keep coming closer. The chicken coops had been damaged in a rocket attack […]
Israeli jets hit Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley for a second day
Beirut, Lebanon Reuters Israeli warplanes struck deep into Lebanon for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, hitting a facility belonging to Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley, sources in Lebanon said. Two Hezbollah members from the Bekaa Valley were killed, the Iran-backed group said in a statement late on Tuesday. Civil defence members walk on the […]
Talks on ending Lebanon-Israel border fighting to begin in Ramadan, Lebanese PM says
Beirut, Lebanon Reuters Indirect talks to end hostilities along the Lebanese-Israeli border will begin during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which starts next week, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday. Powerful Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire for nearly five months in parallel with the Gaza war, […]
Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel in reprisal for deadly day
Beirut, Lebanon Reuters Hezbollah said on Thursday it fired dozens of rockets at a northern Israeli town in a “preliminary response” to the killing of 10 civilians in southern Lebanon, the deadliest day for Lebanese civilians in four months of cross-border hostilities. The United Nations urged a halt to what it called a “dangerous escalation” […]