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☆ Three UN military observers, a Lebanese interpreter wounded in blast while patrolling southern border
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Three United Nations military observers and a Lebanese interpreter were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said. The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. The three military observers, from Chile, Australia, and Norway, were unarmed, he said. The blast came as clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants escalated in recent weeks. Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an Israeli drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeich.

Persons: Andrea Tenenti, Tenenti, Najib Mikat Organizations: United Nations Headquarters, Security, Three United Nations, United Nations Truce, Organization, UN, Associated Press, UNIFIL, Local, IDF Locations: Israel, Gaza, New York, U.S, Lebanese, Lebanon, UNIFIL, Chile, Australia, Norway, Local Lebanese, Israeli, Wadi Katmoun, Rmeich

Israel’s military launched new attacks on targets in Lebanon on Thursday, a day after its strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 10 civilians, the most in months of cross-border fighting. On Thursday, Lebanon’s state media reported that 10 civilians had been killed in the Israeli strikes, including seven members of one family in the city of Nabatieh. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, on Thursday condemned the Israeli military “aggression” and requested that an urgent complaint against Israel be brought before the U.N. Security Council, according to a statement from his office. Soon after, Israel’s military said that its fighter jets had carried out more strikes inside Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah, a key ally of Hamas, has vowed to respond to the Israeli strikes — and Israeli leaders signaled that they, too, were prepared to fight.

Persons: Najib Mikati, ”, Israel, Yoav Gallant, Lloyd J, Austin III, Gallant, Herzi Halevi Organizations: Lebanese, . Security, Hamas Locations: Lebanon, Nabatieh, Gaza, United States, Israel

☆ Hezbollah Rejected US Overtures, Still Open to Diplomacy to Avoid Wider War
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +9 min

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein has been leading a diplomatic outreach to restore security at the Israel-Lebanon frontier as the wider region teeters dangerously towards a major escalation of the conflict ignited by the Gaza war. Israel has also said it wants to avoid war, but both sides say they are ready to fight if necessary. Branded a terrorist organisation by Washington, Hezbollah has not been directly involved in talks, three Lebanese officials and a European diplomat said. Hezbollah has dismissed both ideas as unrealistic, the Lebanese officials and the diplomat said. Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday said attacks against Israel and its interests by the "Axis of Resistance" will stop if the Gaza war ends.

Persons: Laila Bassam, Maya Gebeily, Amos Hochstein, Hochstein, Israel, Spokespeople, Eylon Levy, Najib Mikati, Mikati, Hamas, Mohanad Hage Ali, Hage Ali, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Gebeily, Dan Williams, Tom Perry, Steve Holland, Edtiing, Frank Jack Daniel Organizations: U.S, Yemen's, Reuters, Hezbollah, Lebanese, Iran's, Guards, Carnegie Middle East Center Locations: Maya, Maya Gebeily BEIRUT, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen's Iran, Red Sea, U.S, Lebanese, Beirut, Jan, Washington, European, Hochstein, United States, IRAN, Syria, Iraq, Tehran, France, Jerusalem

☆ Lebanon mourns two journalists killed in Israeli air strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The crowds gathered around the two coffins of correspondent Farah Omar and camera operator Rabih al-Maamari, both draped in Lebanese flags and topped with wreaths of flowers, outside the Al Mayadeen headquarters in Beirut. The Committee to Protect Journalists said deaths added to a toll of over 50 journalists killed covering the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and its spillover to other regions including the Lebanon-Israel border area, where Israeli and Lebanese Hezbollah forces have been exchanging fire since Oct. 7. Al Mayadeen said the Israeli strike occurred near the town of Tayr Harfa, about a mile from the Israeli frontier. A third person, who was not working with the channel but was accompanying them as they filmed, was also killed. The Israeli military has previously said it cannot guarantee journalists' safety in areas of military activity.

Persons: Al Mayadeen, Farah Omar, Al, Israel, Najib Mikati, Nabih Berri, Jazeera, Maya Gebeily Organizations: Protect Journalists, Caretaker, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Beirut, BEIRUT, Israel, Gaza, Lebanese, Tayr, France, Yaroun

☆ Israeli strike kills two reporters, third person in south Lebanon - state media, PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Nov 21 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike killed two journalists working for a Lebanese TV channel and a third person near the border with Israel on Tuesday, Lebanese state media and the channel, Al Mayadeen, said. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also blamed Israel, saying in a statement that the strike was an Israeli attempt to silence the media. A second Israeli strike on a car about seven miles from the border and near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre killed four people later in the day, the state news agency reported. Al Mayadeen named its killed journalists as Farah Omar, a correspondent, and Rabie al-Memari, a camera operator. The third person killed in the strike was Hussein Aqil, who was at the site where the crew was filming.

Persons: Al Mayadeen, Najib Mikati, Israel, Farah Omar, Rabie, Hussein Aqil, John Davison, Jana Choukeir, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie Organizations: Lebanese, Hezbollah, Hamas, Reuters, Protect Journalists, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Israeli, Lebanese, Israel, Tir, Tyre, Iran, Hamas, Gaza, Lebanon, United States

☆ Lebanon front with Israel heats up, stoking fears of wider war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Israeli strikes killed two people in south Lebanon on Monday, according to a first-responder organisation affiliated to the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement. Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces since its Palestinian ally Hamas went to war with Israel on Oct. 7. The exchanges mark the deadliest violence at the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006. So far, more than 70 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, and 10 people including seven troops have been killed in Israel. The 2006 war killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Persons: Israel, Hamas, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Nasrallah, Najib Mikati, Al, Lloyd Austin, Mohanad Hage Ali, Phil Stewart, Crispian Balmer, Dan Williams, Edmund Blair Organizations: Amal, Israel Electric Company, Hezbollah, United, Israeli, U.S . Defense, Carnegie Middle East Center, Thomson Locations: Israel, BEIRUT, JERUSALEM, Lebanese, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, Beirut, Al Jazeera, Israel's, Seoul, U.S, Jerusalem

☆ Jordan open to 'all options' as Gaza conflict intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jordan also announced last week that Israel's ambassador, who left Amman shortly after Hamas' attack, would not be allowed to come back, effectively declaring him persona non grata. "All options are on the table for Jordan in our dealing with the Israeli aggression on Gaza and its repercussions," Khasawneh, whose country signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, told state media. Khasawneh said Israel's siege of the densely populated Gaza was not self-defence as it maintains. Jordan is reviewing its economic, security and political ties with Israel and may freeze or revoke parts of its peace treaty if the Gaza conflict worsens, diplomats familiar with Jordanian thinking said. The Israel-Hamas war has reawakened long-standing fears in Jordan, home to a large population of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Persons: Bisher, Najib Mikati, Mohamed Azakir, Jordan, Bisher al Khasawneh, Khasawneh, Israel, King Abdullah, Jens Stoltenberg, Ayman Safadi, Safadi, Jordan's, Antony Blinken, William Burns, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Mark Heinrich, Lisa Shumaker, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Jordanian, Lebanese, REUTERS, Rights, Jordan, West Bank, NATO, U.S, CIA, Thomson Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Rights AMMAN, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Jordan, Palestine, Brussels, Jerusalem, Jordanian, U.S

☆ Jordan says 'all options' open as Gaza conflict intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Jordan said on Monday it was leaving "all options" open in its response to what it called Israel's failure to discriminate between military and civilian targets in its intensifying bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip. "All options are on the table for Jordan in our dealing with the Israeli aggression on Gaza and its repercussions," Khasawneh, whose country signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 - told state media. Khasawneh said Israel's siege of the densely populated Gaza was not self-defence as it maintains. Such worries have increased since Israel's religious-nationalist ruling coalition, its most right-wing government ever, took office last year, with some hardliners espousing the "Jordan is Palestine option". "Any attempt to expel Palestinians in an attempt by Israel to change geography and demography we will confront," Safadi said last week.

Persons: Bisher, Najib Mikati, Mohamed Azakir, Jordan, Bisher al Khasawneh, Khasawneh, Israel, Ayman Safadi, Safadi, Jordan's, Antony Blinken, William Burns, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Jordanian, Lebanese, REUTERS, Rights, Gaza, Jordan, West Bank, U.S, CIA, Thomson Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Rights AMMAN, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Jordan, Palestine, Jordanian

BINT JBEIL, Lebanon (AP) — An Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon on Sunday evening killed four civilians, including a woman and three children, raising the likelihood of a dangerous new escalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border. One woman and three girls, ages 10, 12 and 14 were killed, and others were wounded, it said. Shortly after the Israeli strike, Hezbollah said its fighters had fired Grad rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel in response. Local media reported that the rockets landed in the Israeli border towns of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee tweeted that one Israeli was also killed Sunday in a strike launched by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Persons: BINT, —, Samir Ayoub, ”, ‘, Mohammad Suleiman, Salah Ghandour, Bint Jbeil, Daniel Hagari, “, Najib Mikati, Avichay Adraee, hadn't, Israel, Abby Sewell, Kareem Chehayeb, Julia Frankel Organizations: Sunday, National News Agency, Grad, Local, Associated Press, . Security Locations: BINT JBEIL, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon’s, Ainata, Metula, Shmona, Lebanese, Bint, Israeli, Blida, Beirut, Jerusalem

☆ Hezbollah says Israel to 'pay price' after strike kills 3 children in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Footage from Al-Mayadeen Tv shows emergency teams working next to a burnt vehicle at the scene where Hezbollah says an Israeli strike killed three children, in southern Lebanon, November 5, 2023. AL-MAYADEEN TV/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother on Sunday, Lebanese authorities said, as the Israeli army said a Hezbollah attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli citizen in northern Israel. "The enemy will pay the price for its crimes against civilians," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the frontier since the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel went to war on Oct. 7. It has marked the worst violence across the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006.

Persons: Hassan Fadlallah, Najib Mikati, Abdallah Bou Habib, Israel, Mikati, Antony Blinken, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Maytaal Angel, Emily Rose, Conor Humphries, Giles Elgood, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Tv, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, United Nations, Hamas, Hezbollah, U.S, National News Agency, Lebanon's Amal, Risala Scout Association, Thomson Locations: Al, Lebanon, Rights BEIRUT, JERUSALEM, Israeli, Israel, Iran, Lebanese, Kiryat Shmona, Aynata, Palestinian, Amman, Gaza, Lebanon's, Zebdine, Tayr, Beirut, Jerusalem

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab foreign ministers Saturday to find ways to ease Gaza’s growing humanitarian crisis. GAZA CITY FIGHTINGIsraeli troops have been tightening their encirclement of Gaza City, the main focus of the military's campaign to crush Hamas. The Israeli military said its aircraft hit an ambulance Friday that Hamas fighters were using to carry weapons. Al-Qidra said a convoy of ambulances left Shifa carrying wounded people to Rafah when a strike hit a vehicle on the edges of Gaza City. The overall toll is likely to rise dramatically as the assault on densely built-up Gaza City continues.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Antonio Guterres, Mattar, Khan Younis, ”, Blinken, Joe Biden’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan, Israel, Najib Mikati, King Abdullah II, Adly Abu Taha, Ashraf al, Qidra, Wael Abou Omar, ___ Magdy, Matthew Lee, ___ Organizations: —, Hamas, United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority, GAZA CITY, Shifa, Health, Gaza's, Hospital, Shifa Hospital, Gaza Health Ministry Locations: RAFAH, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Tel Aviv, Amman, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, U.S, GAZA, Al, Quds, ”, Gaza's, Rafah, Cairo, Bangkok, israel

REUTERS/Jonathan... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreAMMAN, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Arab states will press Secretary of State Antony Blinken for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at a meeting of foreign ministers in Amman on Saturday, as Washington tries to persuade Israel to agree to temporary pauses to allow in aid. Health officials in Hamas-run Gaza say more than 9,250 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since then. Blinken is in Amman for meetings with Arab officials after visiting Tel Aviv on Friday. After meeting Blinken on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel refused a temporary ceasefire that did not include the release of hostages. Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza during a meeting with Blinken in Jordan on Saturday, Mikati's office said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Philippe Lazzarini, Jonathan, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, Matthew Miller, Netanyahu, Blinken's, David Satterfield, Satterfield, King Abdullah of Jordan, Olaf Scholz, Najib Mikati, Mikati, Miller, Tom Perry, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Hamas, REUTERS, Washington, United, Israeli, Health, Tel, NATO, Saudi, State Department, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: East, Israel, Palestinian, Amman, Jordan, AMMAN, Gaza, United States, Food, Tel Aviv, Turkey, Jordanian, U.S, Middle East, Rafah, Iraqi, Iran, Tehran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

Blinken met first with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose economically and politically ravaged country is home to Hezbollah — an Iranian-backed force hostile to Israel. Blinken also discussed U.S. efforts to secure humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, Miller said.. Neither Blinken nor Mikati spoke to reporters at the top of their meeting in an Amman hotel. Blinken was then to meet with the head of the United Nations agency in charge of assisting Palestinian refugees. All parties have denounced Israel’s tactics against Hamas, which they say constitutes unlawful collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, Najib Mikati, Hassan Nasrallah, Mikati, ”, Matthew Miller, Miller, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Ayman al, Israel Organizations: —, Hamas, Department, United Nations, UNRWA, United Arab, PLO, Jordanian, Palestinian Authority Locations: AMMAN, Jordan, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Jordanian, Iranian, The U.S, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, U.S, Palestinian

☆ Billionaire politicians have become 'shockingly common' around the world, new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

More than 11% of the world's more than 2,000 billionaires have run for election or become politicians, according to a study highlighting the growing power and influence of the super-wealthy. "Billionaire politicians are a shockingly common phenomenon," the study said. Outside the U.S., billionaire politicians are even more common. Terry Gou, the Taiwanese billionaire and founder of Foxconn, is running for president of Taiwan. Of course, billionaires wield even more political power through their (often secret) donations to support candidates, parties and super PACs.

Persons: Donald Trump, Terry Gou, Vivek Ramaswamy, Doug Burgum, Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer, Billionaire Rick Caruso, J.B, Pritzker, Andrej Babiš, Silvio Berlusconi, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Najib Mikati, Sebastián, Thaksin, Phil Ruffin, Larry Ellison, Nelson Peltz, Richard Uihlein, Jeffrey Yass, Stanley Druckenmiller, Cliff Asness, David Tepper, Bruce Kovner Organizations: Wisconsin Valley Science, Technology, Northwestern University, Democratic, Los Angeles, Tax Fairness, Billionaire Locations: Wisconsin, Mount Pleasant , Wisconsin, U.S, Illinois, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Italy, Georgia, Lebanon, Chile, Thailand

Palestinian media reported at least 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, and that Israel was striking the southern city of Rafah. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks," Hagari told Israeli reporters on Saturday. Israel started its "total siege" of Gaza after an Oct. 7 cross-border attack on southern Israel by militants of the Islamist movement Hamas killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, in a shock rampage that has traumatised Israel. [1/5]An Israeli soldier secures an area, following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Kissufim in southern Israel October 21, 2023. At least 84 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces since the Hamas rampage, Palestinian officials say.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Biden, Israel, Khan Younis, Daniel Hagari, Hagari, Joe, Washington, Amir Cohen, Rights Biden, General Herzi Halevi, Antony Blinken, Najib Mikati, Nidal al, Michelle Nichols, Phil Stewart, Lincoln, Daniel Wallis, William Mallard Organizations: US, Defense, Al, Gaza's Health, Area Defense, Drones, FIRST, Gaza, United Nations, Palestinian, REUTERS, Rights, United, Security, Canada's National Department of Defence, Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, Health Ministry, State Department, West Bank, Thomson Locations: U.S, Iran, Canada, Ahli, Gaza, GAZA, JERUSALEM, Israel, Washington, Khan, Rafah, Gaza City, Iraq, East, Israeli, Kibbutz Kissufim, United States, France, Tel Aviv, Lebanon, Jenin, New York, Jerusalem

☆ Blinken Speaks to Lebanese Prime Minister About Tensions With Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati about “growing concern over rising tensions along Lebanon’s southern border,” according to a readout provided by the State Department. Blinken emphasized the need to prioritize the interests of the Lebanese people, “who would be affected by Lebanon being drawn into the conflict” between Israel and Hamas, the State Department said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Najib Mikati, Blinken, “ Organizations: Lebanese, State Department, Hamas Locations: ”, Lebanon, Israel

☆ Blinken tells Lebanon it would be affected by being drawn into Israel conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks in Tel Aviv, Tuesday Oct. 17, 2023, after an overnight meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati it was important to respect the interests of his people, who would be affected if the country were drawn into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the State Department said on Saturday. Spokesperson Matthew Miller said the call took place on Friday. Blinken also affirmed U.S. support for the Lebanese people and noted growing concern over rising tensions along Lebanon's southern border, Miller said in a statement. Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jacquelyn Martin, State Anthony Blinken, Najib Mikati, Matthew Miller, Blinken, Miller, David Ljunggren, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Israeli, State, State Department, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv

☆ Iran's foreign minister meets Hezbollah leader in Lebanon on Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Friday discussed Israel's war against Hamas with the head of the powerful Tehran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which has launched its own cross-border attacks on Israel. Amirabdollahian, who arrived in Beirut late on Thursday, said he had met Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as well as Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib. Local media outlet Al-Mayadeen said the Iranian minister and Nasrallah had discussed Hamas' attack on Israel. Iran also supports Hamas, and has lauded the group's attack on Israel but has denied any involvement. On Thursday, Amirabdollahian said Israel's actions against the Palestinians would receive a response from Iran's allies and that Israel would have to bear the consequences.

Persons: Hossein Amirabdollahian, Amirabdollahian, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Najib Mikati, Abdallah Bouhabib, Mayadeen, Nasrallah, Israel, Maya Gebeily, Alex Richardson, Miral Organizations: Iran's, Hezbollah, United Nations, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Tehran, Lebanese, Israel, Beirut, Iranian, Iran, Gaza, Egypt, Gaza City, Amirabdollahian, Syria, Damascus, Aleppo

The head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said lessons would be drawn from the security failures around Gaza that enabled the attack. Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza; Israel says it has identified 97 of them. Amid international calls for a ceasefire to allow in aid, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said there would be no halt to the siege without freedom for Israeli hostages. The Israeli military said it does not comment on such reports. The Israeli military says it has responded with artillery fire to launches coming from Lebanese territory.

Persons: Abbas, Antony Blinken, Blinken, General Herzi Halevi, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Kan, Cross, Fabrizio Carboni, Israel Katz, Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, Najib Mikati, Jordan, King Abdullah, Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah, Jerusalem's Mount Herzl, Ibrahim Hamdan, Hamdan, Henriette Chacar, Dedi, Maayan Lubell, Emily Rose, Nidal, Emma Farge, Jeff Mason, Peter Graff, Alexandra Hudson, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie, Toby Chopra, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: U.S, NATO, Public, International Committee, United Nations, Food Programme, ICRC, Israeli Energy, Israel, United Nations Security, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington, Egypt, Israel, JERUSALEM, GAZA, TEL AVIV, Gaza, Syria, Damascus, Aleppo, Iran, Lebanese, Jerusalem's Mount, Jerusalem, Geneva

CNN —Israel has declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it carried out an unprecedented attack by air, sea and land on Saturday. Israel has pledged that Hamas will pay a heavy price and may now be preparing a ground incursion into Gaza. There, Hamas gunmen killed hundreds of people, including civilians and soldiers, and took hostages, sometimes from their homes. While Hamas has kidnapped Israelis before, it has never before taken dozens of hostages at once, including children and the elderly. On Monday, however, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said that the Islamic Republic was “not involved in Palestine’s response,” referring to the Hamas attack.

Persons: CNN — Israel, ”, Yoav Gallant, –, Fatah, Amir Cohen, Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, Oded, Gilad Shalit, Elhanan Tannenbaum, Richard Hecht, Saleh, Arouri, Al, Maya Alleruzzo, “ They’ve, Ebrahim Raisi, Ismail Haniyeh, “, Lloyd Austin, Najib Mikati Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, IDF, Palestinian Ministry of Health, West Bank, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority, Rights, Oslo Accords, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Israel, European Union, US State Department, Biden, United Nations, Hezbollah Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza’s, Hamas, Al, Aqsa, Jerusalem, Israeli, “, Egypt, Yom Kippur, Sderot, Oslo, United States, Iran, Tel Aviv, ”, Al Jazeera, Ramat Gan, Washington, Islamic Republic, Palestine, Israel’s, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Lebanese

☆ France, US compromise to renew UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) - established in 1978 - patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. A planned Wednesday vote was delayed as France, the United States and the United Arab Emirates argued over language on U.N. freedom of movement. France kept language in the resolution that spells out that peacekeepers should coordinate with the Lebanese government. That has sparked friction with Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon despite the presence of the Lebanese army. In December, an Irish peacekeeper was killed when his UNIFIL vehicle came under fire in southern Lebanon.

Persons: Aziz Taher, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Najib Mikati, Andrea Tenenti, Michelle Nichols, Laila Bassam, Gebeily, Doina Chiacu, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Lebanese, UN, REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations Security, Interim Force, United, U.S, UNIFIL, United Nations, Irish, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, Lebanon, France, United States, Russia, China, Emirates, UAE, Iran, Lebanese

☆ Lebanon seeks to reassure Gulf, Germany after travel warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany and Britain updated their travel warnings amid clashes between rival armed groups in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Lebanon's south. The Saudi embassy on Friday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly and avoid areas where there have been armed clashes. The Saudi statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, stressed "the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon". Last week, Germany warned citizens not to travel to Palestinian camps in Lebanon, among other areas. Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut and Vera Eckert in Germany; editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Najib Mikati, Mikati, Abdullah Bou Habib, Fatah, Ain, Maya Gebeily, Vera Eckert, Giles Elgood Organizations: Saudi, Saturday, United Nations, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Britain, Ain el, Lebanon's, Lebanon, Saudi, Palestine, Beirut

CNN —Hundreds of protesters gathered in Lebanon on Friday to mark the third anniversary of a devastating explosion that ripped through a port in Beirut, demanding accountability from officials over a disaster that remains shrouded in mystery. The incident at the Port of Beirut in the country’s capital was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions. Relatives hold the pictures of some of those killed in the August 2020 Beirut port blast during a march marking the three-year anniversary of the disaster. He also launched a nationwide three-day mourning period for those affected by the blast. Grain silos damaged in the 2020 Beirut port blast.

Persons: Emilie Madi, Najib Mikati, ”, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Jean Yves Le Drian Organizations: CNN, Investigators, Reuters, United Nations, Reuters “ Public Locations: Lebanon, Beirut, Port, Cyprus, “ Lebanon, France

☆ At least six die in Palestinian faction clashes in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, July 30 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed in two days of clashes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, where the mainstream faction Fatah fought against rival groups that support Islamists, security sources said. Four of the aides later died of their injuries, a security source said, adding that sporadic clashes in the camp intensified later on Sunday. Fighting subsided but did not completely stop after a ceasefire was reached at a meeting between rival Palestinian factions that included representatives of pro-Iranian Hezbollah group and its ally Shi'ite Amal movement that hold sway in southern Lebanon. Shops had earlier closed their doors and some people fled the camp, the largest refugee camp in Lebanon, as tensions between the rival groups mounted on Sunday, a witness said. The U.N. agency responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees that provides basic services to nearly 50,000 people living in Ain el-Hilweh said it was suspending all operations in the camp.

Persons: Fatah, Hilweh, Dorothee Klaus, Najib Mikati, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Nidal al Mughrabi, Frances Kerry Organizations: Fatah, Iranian Hezbollah, Caretaker, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Ain, Sidon, Ain el, Israel, Gaza

☆ Lebanon PM will not extend central bank governor's mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - Lebanon's caretaker premier, Najib Mikati, will not extend the term of central bank Governor Riad Salameh when it ends later this month, the prime minister's office said on Monday. One of Lebanon's four vice governors told Reuters that all four were considering quitting together if no successor is named, raising the possibility of a leaderless central bank amid a deep financial crisis. Mikati's deputy, Saade Chami, told Reuters last week that such a threat was "dangerous" and that the vice governors should "assume their responsibility in case this appointment is not possible." Central bank governors are typically appointed by the president, but parliament has been unable to elect a president to follow Michel Aoun, whose term ended in late October. The central bank governor, who was once a regular at banking conferences and high-end restaurants, is now rarely seen in public except for occasional media interviews.

Persons: Najib Mikati, Riad Salameh, Salameh, Saade Chami, Michel Aoun, Nabih Berri, Berri, Mikati, Maya Gebeily, Mark Heinrich, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Central

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