Aoun meets US delegation amid latest Israeli strikes 

Special Aoun meets US delegation amid latest Israeli strikes 
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun meets with US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Apr. 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 14 April 2025
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Aoun meets US delegation amid latest Israeli strikes 

Aoun meets US delegation amid latest Israeli strikes 
  • Motorcyclist killed in southern border area accused by Israel of being Hezbollah commander
  • Aoun urges Washington to pressure Israel, as US official insists on reform 

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike Monday in southern Lebanon killed one person, according to the Health Ministry, with Israel’s military saying it had “eliminated” a Hezbollah commander.

The attack was conducted by an Israeli drone which targeted a motorcycle repair shop in the border town of Taybeh, with Israel claiming to have struck “a commander in Hezbollah’s artillery system.”

A Lebanese security source said the attack targeted “a motorcycle as its rider stopped in front of a motorcycle repair shop on the Taybeh-Adaisseh road, resulting in his death and a fire breaking out at the location.”

Hezbollah later identified the deceased man as Mohammed Adnan Mansour.

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah was meant to withdraw fighters from south of the Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure there.

Israel was to withdraw all its forces from southern Lebanon but continues to hold five positions that it deems “strategic.”

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has urged Washington to pressure Israel to withdraw from the five border points, saying the ongoing troop presence “complicates the situation.”

On Monday, the Lebanese government received a message from the US confirming the need to disarm Hezbollah and implement necessary reforms for the country to receive financial aid, with Washington anticipating swift action on these issues.

A delegation from the American Task Force on Lebanon, headed by Edward Gabriel, conveyed the message to Aoun.

Aoun said there is no place for any weapons or armed groups outside the framework of the Lebanese state.

Aoun on Monday said the issue needed to be resolved “through communication and dialogue because, in the end, Hezbollah is a Lebanese component.”

Authorities would soon begin drafting a “national security strategy,” he added.

During a meeting with the delegation, Aoun reaffirmed Lebanon’s full commitment to UN Resolution 1701, commending the work of UNIFIL south of the Litani River.

Aoun pointed to “Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement,” saying that “Israel’s continued presence in the five hills it occupied will not be beneficial for Lebanon and will further complicate the situation.

“Therefore, we call on the US to pressure Israel to withdraw from them,” he added.

“The Lebanese Army, north of the Litani River, dismantled six camps that were under the control of Palestinian groups outside the refugee camps,” Aoun continued.

“They are now empty, and the weapons found were either confiscated or destroyed.”

Aoun confirmed that “the priority is to reduce tension in the south.”

He added: “The will is there, and the UNIFIL are doing their job to the fullest. But we must take into account that they are bearing many responsibilities. Lebanon needs time to resolve matters calmly.”

Aoun noted that “three weeks ago, the government approved the recruitment of 4,500 soldiers to boost our preparedness in the south.”

He emphasized to the American delegation that “reforms and the disarmament of weapons are demands from Lebanon, as well as from the international community and the US. We are committed to working towards these goals, and building trust is a step we have already initiated.”

Gabriel spoke about the “significant recognition of the efforts made by the Lebanese Army and the commendable work of the president.”

He stated: “I understand that your contribution to this was extremely important, and there are still many tasks that need to be completed, which we have been made aware of. The sooner these are carried out, the quicker we can assist you.”

Gabriel revealed that “a funding bill is being prepared in Congress for the upcoming year, along with three significant pieces of legislation included in the economic package.”

Aoun also met on Monday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the outcomes of the visit of US Deputy Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus to Lebanon last weekend.

According to a political observer, the emphasis was placed on “expediting the approval of reform laws in parliament” after “constructive and positive” discussions with Ortagus.

Less than 24 hours before the strike on the motorcycle repair shop in Tayah, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in Naqoura.

Israeli Army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that the “targeted people were two members of Hezbollah who worked on an engineering vehicle in the Zebqin area of southern Lebanon, attempting to reconstruct infrastructure associated with Hezbollah.”

Meanwhile, in more positive news, Pierre Achkar, president of the Federation for Tourism and the Hotel Association in Lebanon, said that Eid Al-Fitr brought a significant influx of Qatari and Kuwaiti tourists to the Mediterranean country.

“While Iraqis had historically been the top tourist group, followed by Jordanians, Egyptians, and Syrians, Qataris and Kuwaitis now make up a larger portion of visitors to Lebanon,” he said.

“The occupancy rate in hotels located in safe areas and downtown reached 70 percent to 80 percent, while others saw 50 percent to 60 percent occupancy rates,” he added.

Achkar expressed hope that, with the increasing number of Gulf tourists, travel bans on Saudi and Emirati nationals visiting Lebanon would be lifted “as their presence could significantly benefit the Lebanese tourism sector.”

Elsewhere protests broke out in Lebanon on Monday across the country in response to a global call for solidarity with the people of Gaza. Many educational institutions and markets went on strike, and the Lebanese military implemented strict security measures around the US Embassy to prevent protesters from gathering in the area.

 

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Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

Updated 1 sec ago
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Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
BEIRUT: Israel’s military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander on Saturday in south Lebanon, where authorities reported one dead in the fourth Israeli strike within days despite a November ceasefire.
Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli “drone strike” on a vehicle in south Lebanon’s Tyre district.
An AFP correspondent saw the charred wreckage of a vehicle in Abu Al-Aswad, an area around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “struck and eliminated... a commander” involved in “the re-establishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in south Lebanon.
Israel has continued to launch strikes on its neighbor despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah militants including two months of full-blown war.
The Israeli military said that “the rebuilding of terrorist infrastructure and related activity constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Under the ceasefire, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems “strategic.”
Earlier this week, the Israeli military said three separate strikes in south Lebanon targeted Hezbollah operatives.
Lebanon says it has respected its ceasefire commitments and has urged the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw all its troops.

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes
Updated 17 May 2025
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Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

CAIRO: Flights resumed on Saturday to Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, held by the country’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, more than a week after massive Israeli airstrikes disabled the airport.
The Israeli strikes on May 6 — a rare daytime attack — destroyed the airport’s terminal and left craters on its runway, according to Khaled Al-Shaif, the head of the airport. At least six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to the national carrier, Yemen Airway or Yemenia, he said.
On Saturday, a flight operated by Yemenia landed at the Sanaa International Airport with 136 passengers on board, according to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel.
The flight had departed from Jordan’s capital, Amman, earlier in the day, the airliner said. Three more flights were scheduled on Saturday between Sanaa and Amman.
The Israeli offensive was in response to a Houthi ballistic missile that hit the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which briefly halted flights and commuter traffic.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout Israel’s war with the militant Hamas group in Gaza, in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on the Red Sea. The attacks have raised the Houthis’ profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
Since mid-March, the US military under President Donald Trump launched an intensified campaign of daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis. The two sides reached a deal to halt the US campaign in return for the Houthis halting their attacks on shipping.
However, the US-Houthis deal did not stop the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israel, which in turn responded with attacks on Yemen’s Red Sea ports held by the Houthis.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it struck the Hodeida and Salif ports, claiming that the Houthis were using the two facilities to transfer weapons. The Houthi-run health ministry said at least one person was killed and 11 others were wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.


Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest

Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest
Updated 17 May 2025
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Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest

Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest

ISTANBUL: Turkiye evacuated 82 of its nationals from the Libyan capital Tripoli after several days of fatal clashes between armed groups, foreign ministry sources said late Friday.
“Eighty-two citizens who wanted to return to Turkiye were assisted in their departure from Libya and allowed to return home,” the source said, referring to “the conflict and insecurity” that has gripped the North African nation in recent days.
The move came a day after the Turkish embassy said in a post on Facebook that it was preparing to evacuate its nationals via a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul from the Libyan port city of Misrata, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tripoli. It said it would organize bus transport from the capital.
The ministry did not give details about those who returned home and didn’t say whether more flights were planned.
Violence flared in the Libyan capital late on Monday between loyalist forces and powerful armed groups that the government is trying to dismantle.
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Friday said “at least eight civilians” were killed in heavy clashes, which took place over the following days, bringing air traffic to an almost total standstill.
Although relative calm returned to Tripoli earlier on Friday, the situation remained highly volatile.
Turkiye, which backs the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, called on Wednesday for a truce and said it was “closely monitoring” the situation.
Libya has struggled to recover from years of unrest since the NATO-backed 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi, with the country split between Dbeibah’s government in the west and a rival authority backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east.


Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report

Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report
Updated 17 May 2025
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Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report

Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report

Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited all leaders and the secretary general of the Arab League for the first Russia-Arab summit on October 15, Russia's news agencies reported on Saturday, citing a statement from the Kremlin.
"I am confident that this meeting will contribute to the further strengthening of mutually beneficial, multifaceted cooperation between our countries and will help in finding ways to ensure peace, security, and stability in the Middle East and North Africa," Interfax agency cited Putin as saying in the statement.
The Arab League, a regional organisation of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, has 22 member states who have pledged, among others, to cooperate on political, economic and military affairs in the region.
The reports came following a four-day trip by U.S. President Donald Trump through the Gulf region this week, during which Washington said it had secured several deals, including a $600 billion commitment by Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S., $142 billion in arms sales to the kingdom, and an AI partnership with the United Arab Emirates.


At Arab summit, Spain calls for pressure on Israel to end Gaza ‘massacre’

At Arab summit, Spain calls for pressure on Israel to end Gaza ‘massacre’
Updated 48 min 17 sec ago
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At Arab summit, Spain calls for pressure on Israel to end Gaza ‘massacre’

At Arab summit, Spain calls for pressure on Israel to end Gaza ‘massacre’
  • UN chief calls for permanent and immediate Gaza ceasefire
  • Iraq pledges $40 mn for Gaza, Lebanon reconstruction
  • Egypt's Sisi urges Trump to apply pressure for Gaza ceasefire

BAGHDAD: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday called for increased pressure “to halt the massacre in Gaza,” speaking at an Arab League summit hours after Israel announced an intensified operation in the besieged Palestinian territory.
UN chief Antonio Guterres told the Baghdad meeting that “we need a permanent ceasefire, now,” while Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi urged his US counterpart Donald Trump to “apply all necessary efforts... for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
The summit comes straight after a Gulf tour by Trump, who sparked uproar earlier this year by declaring that the United States could take over Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The scheme that included the proposed displacement of Palestinians prompted Arab leaders to come up with an alternative plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo.
Guterres said that “we reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, along with any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza.”
The UN secretary-general also said he was “alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more.”
The Israeli military said it had launched “extensive strikes” on Saturday as part of the “initial stages” of a fresh offensive, more than 19 months into the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
Sanchez, who has sharply criticized the Israeli offensive, said world leaders should “intensify our pressure on Israel to halt the massacre in Gaza, particularly through the channels afforded to us by international law.”
He said his government planned a UN resolution demanding an International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s war methods.
The “unacceptable number” of war victims in Gaza violates the “principle of humanity,” he said.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani told the summit that his country backs the creation of an “Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts” after crises in the region.
He pledged $20 million to the reconstruction of Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Baghdad meeting would endorse previous Arab League decisions on Gaza’s reconstruction countering Trump’s widely condemned proposal.
During his visit to the region this week, Trump reiterated that he wanted the United States to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone.”

Iraq pledges $40 mn for Gaza, Lebanon reconstruction
Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normality after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.
Baghdad last hosted an Arab League summit in 2012, during the early stages of the civil war in neighboring Syria, which in December entered a new chapter with the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Assad.
In Riyadh, Trump met Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a onetime jihadist whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.
Sharaa, who was imprisoned in Iraq for years after the US-led invasion of 2003 on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda, missed the Baghdad summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit.
Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani represented Damascus instead.
The summit also comes amid Iran’s ongoing nuclear talks with the United States.
Trump has pursued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to avert threatened military action by Israel — a desire shared by many of the region’s leaders.
On Thursday, Trump said a deal was “getting close,” but by Friday, he warned that “something bad is going to happen” if the Iranians do not move fast.