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☆ The Middle East on the brink again after attack on Iranian consulate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday may be the most dangerous escalation outside of Gaza since the start of the Hamas-Israel war nearly six months ago. The attack is the latest in a recent string of apparent Israeli strikes in Syria that targeted the IRGC and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Technically, Iran’s consulate is sovereign Iranian territory, making this the most overt attack on Iranian soil in years. Iran’s regional allies say they entered confrontations with Israel on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, where over 32,000 people have been killed, according to local authorities. That may be an untenable position after today’s strike, which has again brought the region to the brink of an expanded war.

Persons: Israel, Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Lebanon —, Donald Trump, Soleimani, Ali Khamenei, ”, Mohammad Ali Shabani, “ Iran’s, Khamenei’s Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Force Locations: Damascus, Gaza, Israel, Syria, Iran, Lebanese, Lebanon, Iran’s, Iranian, Baghdad, Washington

☆ In Hezbollah’s Sights, a Stretch of Northern Israel Becomes a No-Go Zone
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Isabel Kershner | Sergey Ponomarev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than 60,000 Israelis who live far from Gaza but close to the front line of another spiraling conflict have in recent months been ordered from their homes along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon — the first mass evacuation of the area in Israeli history. In one Israeli border town, antitank missiles fired from Lebanon have damaged scores of homes. In another village, holdouts who refuse to evacuate said they avoided turning lights on at night to keep from becoming visible targets. The evacuations and an effort in Lebanon to move thousands of civilians away from the border are the result of an intensifying conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia and political organization. The skirmish along Israel’s northern border is being fought in parallel with the more intense war in Gaza, which Israel launched after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: holdouts, Israel Organizations: Hezbollah, Lebanese Locations: Gaza, Lebanon, Israel

☆ Giandomenico Picco, Diplomat Who Freed Hostages in Lebanon, Dies at 75
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Giandomenico Picco, an Italian diplomat who as a lead negotiator for the United Nations helped resolve conflicts across the globe — most notably spending nearly a year in the early 1990s shuttling around the Middle East to secure the release of 11 hostages held by terrorist groups in Lebanon — died on Sunday in Wilton, Conn., north of Norwalk. His son Giacomo said the cause of his death, at an assisted living home, was complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Picco spent 20 years with the U.N., mostly in a series of loosely defined roles that placed him at the center of some of the world’s most dangerous hot spots. Early in his career he helped manage the conflict between Greece and Turkey over the island of Cyprus; in 1986 he mediated between New Zealand and France after French secret agents sank the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, in the Auckland harbor; and in 1988 he helped arrange the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Persons: Giandomenico Picco, Lebanon —, Giacomo, Picco Organizations: United Nations, Greenpeace Locations: Italian, Lebanon, Wilton, Conn, Norwalk, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, New Zealand, France, Auckland, Afghanistan

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle was damaged after its patrol was hit by Israel Defense Forces gunfire, UNIFIL said Saturday. ET) in the area of Aytaroun, in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This attack on peacekeepers, dedicated to reducing tensions & restoring stability in south Lebanon, is deeply troubling,” UNIFIL said Saturday. Remember: Fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah is centered on northern Israel and southern Lebanon — separate from Israel's fighting with Hamas further south, which is centered around Gaza. The group has linked its attacks on Israel to Israel’s targeting of Lebanese territory, and the fighting remains limited to this border region for now.

Persons: Arolodo Lázaro Organizations: United Nations Interim Force, Israel Defense Forces, UNIFIL, IDF, CNN, Hezbollah, Hamas Locations: Lebanon, UNIFIL, Aytaroun, Israel, Iran, Gaza, Lebanese

For a Biden administration committed to stopping the Israel-Hamas war from widening, the conflict could amplify the economic strains and possibly cause governments to collapse. “Let’s support Egypt," Michel told reporters afterward. One major potential setback for Egypt stemming from the latest Israel-Hamas War would be the loss of tourists seeking to explore the country's ancient pyramids and history. Tourism is one of Egypt's leading economic sectors, and along with foreign investment provides needed access to the rest of the global economy. Before the latest Israel-Hamas war, some officials had pointed to Lebanon’s rebounding tourism industry as an economic lifeline.

Persons: Joe Biden, Christopher Swift, Ajay Banga, Charles Michel, Michel, Abdel Fattah el, Sissi, Israel, ”, Swift, ” Swift, it's, Mubarak, Moody’s, Mirette, Mabrouk, ” Mabrouk, Paul Salem, Abby Sewell Organizations: WASHINGTON, Hamas, International Monetary Fund, European Union, reverberations, Treasury Department, European Council, el, IMF, Tourism, Associated, World Bank, U.S, Middle East Institute Locations: Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Sudan, East, Hamas, United States, Qatar, Washington, Beirut

☆ Opinion: Will Israel-Hamas war mean a US-Iran escalation?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Opinion Charles Dunne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

However, the White House has, for the moment, rightly stopped short of concluding that a major escalation is inevitable. While this risks escalation, it might be necessary — and a lack of resolve is also a risk in the face of ongoing attacks. There is a history here that goes beyond the fact that the US is allied with and supporting Israel in its war on Hamas. There has been much speculation about whether, given these well-documented ties, Iran ordered the Hamas operation in southern Israel. Miscalculations — whether by Iran, Israel, Hezbollah or even the US — could rapidly lead to a multifront regional war with casualties easily numbering in the tens of thousands.

Persons: Charles Dunne, John Kirby, Joe Biden, “, Qassem Soleimani, Bashar al, Assad, there’s, —, Biden, ”, It’s, Iran hasn’t, Israel, Geravand, it’s Organizations: US Foreign Service, Arab Center Washington DC, Middle East Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, CNN, Hamas, White, National Security, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qods Force, Reuters, Washington Post, Force Locations: Iraq, Syria, Israel, Iranian, Washington, Tehran, Iran, United States, Europe, Sarajevo, Russia, Syrian, State, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Hezbollah, Sudan, Egypt, Qatar, Israel’s

The incidents underscored the risks that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas could spiral into a wider war. Israel has responded to the Hamas attacks with airstrikes and a “complete siege” of Gaza, which the group controls. About 200 American troops are stationed at Al Tanf, whose main role is training Syrian militias to fight the Islamic State. There were unconfirmed reports on social media of additional drone attacks in Syria late Thursday. “Clearly, this is an uptick in terms of the types of drone activity we’ve seen in Iraq and Syria,” General Ryder said.

Persons: “, ”, Patrick Ryder, General Ryder, Biden, Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ” General Ryder, Al Tanf, Al Asad Organizations: U.S . Navy, Navy, Pentagon, Palestinian, Military, Senior Biden, American, Hamas, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s, Guards, Al, ”, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, military’s, Command Locations: U.S, Yemen, Israel, ” Brig, Iranian, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Gaza, United States, Lebanon, Houthis, Syrian, Al, State, Al Asad Air

☆ The US did its own analysis of the deadly Gaza hospital explosion, and the White House believes Israel 'is not responsible'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Hamas and Israel traded blame over a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday. The White House said that after its own analysis, it concluded Israel is not responsible. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe current US assessment is that Israel isn't to blame for Tuesday's deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza, a White House official said on Wednesday following an independent analysis of the incident. "But the point is this — that I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. A view of the surroundings of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after it was hit in Gaza City, Gaza on October 18, 2023.

Persons: Israel, —, Israel isn't, Joe Biden's, Adrienne Watson, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ali Jadallah, massacring Organizations: Service, White, National Security, Twitter, Al, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Pentagon, NBC, ABC, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Getty, Hamas, United Nations, Navy, Israel Locations: Gaza City, Israel, Gaza, Ahli, Palestinian, Al, Anadolu, Jordan, East, Lebanon, Iran, Tehran

☆ Clashes at Lebanon-Israel border raise fears of wider war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shelling in Dahaira, in southern Lebanon, at the border with Israel on October 16. Hussein Malla/APIsraeli soldiers patrol a road near the border with Lebanon, on Monday, amid threat of a regional conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. It is an ominous sign of what may come if the situation on the Lebanon-Israel border combusts into a full-scale war. By Friday morning, three Israeli soldiers and three Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the exchanges across the border. On Sunday, the Lebanese militants fired at several Israeli locations at the border, killing one civilian and one soldier.

Persons: Southern Lebanon CNN —, Hussein Malla, Francisco Seco, Amir Abdollahian, ”, “, Gerald Ford —, Israel, Issam Abdallah, Abdallah, Israel —, Israel’s, Bashar al, Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah Organizations: Southern, Southern Lebanon CNN, Hezbollah –, Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s, US, CNN, Israeli Apache, Hezbollah, Palestinian, ISIS, Observers, Israel Locations: Southern Lebanon, Israel, Iran, United States, Lebanon, Syria, Golan, Tehran, Dahaira, Tunisia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Gaza, Palestinian, Israeli, Hanita, Russian

☆ Lebanon wakes up in two simultaneous time zones as government can't agree on daylight saving change
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

On Sunday, the Mediterranean country of roughly 6 million was scheduled to turn its clocks back an hour for daylight saving, as it does every year along with much of the wider region and Europe. Daylight saving would mean that sunset falls around 7 p.m. rather than 6 p.m., making practicing Muslims go an additional hour before they can break their fast and eat and drink again. For the first time ever, millions of people in one small country are suddenly going by two different time zones. Importantly, however, people's clocks did not change automatically; the government expects people to change their own clocks manually. Even Apple and Google can't seem to agree on what time it is in Lebanon — on iPhones and iPads, Apple has Lebanon's time zone as unchanged and not aligned with daylight saving.

☆ Lebanon wakes up in two simultaneous times zones as government can't agree on daylight savings change
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

On Sunday, the Mediterranean country of roughly 6 million was scheduled to turn its clocks back an hour for daylight savings, as it does every year along with much of the wider region and Europe. Daylight savings would mean that sunset falls around 7 p.m. rather than 6 p.m., making practicing Muslims go an additional hour before they can break their fast and eat and drink again. For the first time ever, millions of people in one small country are suddenly going by two different time zones. Importantly, however, people's clocks did not change automatically; the government expects people to change their own clocks manually. Even Apple and Google can't seem to agree on what time it is in Lebanon — on iPhones and iPads, Apple has Lebanon's time zone as unchanged and not aligned with daylight savings.

☆ Israel exports oil for the first time ever after diplomatic breakthrough with Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Israel launched its first-ever export of crude oil, sending a shipment to Europe. Israel's oil export was sold to commodities giant Vitol through a multi-cargo agreement. "The first ever lifting of an Israeli crude oil cargo has taken place at the company's Karish field," Energean said. While the country is still expected to import most of its oil, Israel has become self-sufficient on natural gas and has been exporting it for years. Israel's largest gasfield, Leviathan, also produces some crude oil, but those supplies go to domestic refineries.

☆ Lebanon, Maine — where the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold — is a small town for 'woodsy introverts' with just over 6,000 residents near New Hampshire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Maine just sold its first winning Mega Millions ticket for a whopping $1.35 billion. The ticket was sold at a gas station in the small town of Lebanon. "There is not much around, but it is a quiet little town in Maine," they wrote on the site. Hometown Gas & Grill in Lebanon, Maine. A total of 1,250 retailers sell lottery products in the state, and each business receives commissions and bonuses, per the Maine Lottery.

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