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☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Gaza ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Jessie Gretener | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

A rocket is seen in the sky above northern Israel on June 12. ReutersTensions at Israel's northern border are again flaring, with Israel's military reporting more than 160 rockets being fired on Wednesday from Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said no injuries have been reported, with warning sirens sounding across towns nearby the border. The military capability of the Lebanese group is expansive, with the group boasting more than 100,000 fighters and reservists. The group is also believed to possess 150,000 rockets that could overwhelm Israel’s defenses if an all-out war breaks out.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Reuters, Israel Defense Forces, IDF Locations: Israel, Israel's, Lebanon, Lebanese, Gaza, Jouya, Iran

CNN —A United Nations inquiry into the first few months of the war in Gaza has found both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes and grave violations of international law, in the body’s first in-depth investigation into the October 7 attacks and the ensuing conflict. Rockets are launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on October 7, 2023. Hatem Moussa/APIn the first 2.5 months of the conflict, the commission found, Israel committed war crimes as well as crimes against humanity – the latter defined as a widespread, systemic attack directed at a civilian population. The International Criminal Court announced last month it was seeking arrest warrants for several top Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “It is imperative that all those who have committed crimes be held accountable,” said commission chair Navi Pillay.

Persons: Hatem Moussa, Israel, –, Israel’s, maiming, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Netanyahu, West Bank –, …, Said Khatib, Mahmud Hams, Nir, Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Benny Gantz, Yoav Gallant, Gilad Erdan, Erdan, Anwar Organizations: CNN, United, The United Nations Commission, Rockets, AP, Criminal, Palestinian, West Bank, Getty, Al, Israel Defense Forces, UN, Gaza, National, Finance, UN Human Rights, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Human Rights, Israel, UN Security Council, Assembly, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Anwar Amro, UNRWA, Navi Pillay Locations: United Nations, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Rafah, AFP, Aqsa, Israel’s, Palestinian, United States, Lebanese, Beirut, East Jerusalem

☆ Hezbollah Says Commander Was Killed in an Israeli Strike in Southern Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Ephrat Livni | More About Ephrat Livni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Hezbollah said on Tuesday that Israeli forces killed one of its commanders in a strike in southern Lebanon, stoking concerns about escalating the conflict on another Israeli front. But the group has not referred to a dead fighter as a “commander” since January, when Wissam Hassan al-Tawil, a commander in the group’s Radwan unit, was killed in a strike. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. On Tuesday, the Israeli military said that Hezbollah had fired about 50 rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon. Answering calls by Hamas to open a second front a day after its deadly assault on Israel, Hezbollah launched attacks into Israel on Oct. 8.

Persons: Taleb Abdallah, Abu Taleb, ”, Wissam Hassan, Abdallah’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hassan Nasrallah, Euan Ward, Matthew Mpoke Bigg Organizations: Tuesday, Israel, The United Nations Locations: Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Iran, ”

☆ I quit my career to live off my savings but lost everything in a financial crisis. I'm struggling to get back on my feet.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( J.D. Harlock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe year 2020 was supposed to be when I could finally take it easy and focus on myself. I decided to leave my career in accounting behind and finally take a crack at my lifelong dream of being a writer. But Lebanon's banking system collapsed — the World Bank called it a Ponzi scheme — and the country entered a financial crisis. Call it youthful naivety, but I didn't have a reentry plan in case I needed to return to work. The Lebanese financial crisis continued long after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: —, didn't, I'm, it's, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Bank, Lebanese Locations: Lebanon, freefall, American

☆ Netanyahu Threatened ‘Very Intense Action’ at the Lebanon Border. What Is Happening There?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Euan Ward | Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanese border since the start of the war in Gaza, with more than 150,000 people on both sides of the boundary forced to flee their homes. But the intensity of the attacks has increased in recent days, leading to fears of a full-scale war on another front. This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel threatened further military action to ensure the return of civilians to communities in northern Israel. Here are some key questions about the conflict and where it might be heading:Why are the two sides fighting? Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has said that his group is trying to pin Israel’s troops along the border and limit its capacity to attack Hamas in Gaza.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Hassan Nasrallah Locations: Israel, Lebanese, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon

☆ Blinken to travel to Middle East as US ratchets up pressure on ceasefire and hostage proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The top US diplomat “will emphasize the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month,” Miller said. Hamas has not yet put forward a formal response to the proposal, which was transmitted to Hamas’ political wing by the Qataris last Thursday. “We would hope for a response from Hamas as soon as possible, and we continue to wait,” Miller said at a press briefing Thursday. The top US diplomat has held a slew of calls to regional partners to discuss the proposal. Miller said on Wednesday that the US has seen both Egypt and Qatar “exert significant pressure on Hamas,” but he refused to get into the details of those separate pressure campaigns.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Matthew Miller, “, ” Miller, ”, Joe Biden, Bill Burns, Brett McGurk, Biden, Qatar –, –, Miller Organizations: CNN, ”, Hamas, CIA, US, Qatar, United Nations Locations: United, Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey

☆ Why Israel-Hezbollah tensions risk boiling over now
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is officially considered a “resistance” group tasked with confronting Israel, which Beirut classifies as an enemy state. Since then, the two sides have traded fire sporadically, but tensions boiled over in 2006 when Israel went to war in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in that conflict, mostly civilians, as well as 49 Israeli civilians and 121 soldiers. The military capability of the Lebanese group has grown since 2006, when it relied largely on inaccurate Soviet-era Katyusha rockets. Hezbollah has fired 35 kilometers into Israel, while Israel has targeted areas of Lebanon more than 120 kilometers north.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, Rina Castelnuovo, Hassan Nasrallah, Heiko Wimmen, ”, Ramot Naftali, Peter Lerner, ” Amal Saad, ” Saad, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Ronni, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Cohen, ” Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s, Al, ” Qassem, Jack Guez, Itamar Ben Gvir, Yair Lapid, ” Lapid, Matthew Miller, Biden, “, ” Shaked, Iran – Organizations: CNN, Hezbollah, Lebanese, Crisis, Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces, Cardiff University, Truman Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, Holocaust, Reuters, Crisis Group, Getty, Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, National, State Department Locations: CNN — Israel, Lebanese Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Beirut, Palestinian, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Brussels, Israeli, Cross, Jerusalem, Kiryat Shmona, Lebanese, Al Jazeera, AFP, United States, Iran

☆ Israeli Airstrike on School Kills Dozens in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

One of the most intense fires threatened homes in the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, near the Lebanese border, according to Israeli news outlets. That city, like much of the Israeli border area, has been largely evacuated for months, and no casualties were reported. The Israeli military said that two drones landed in the area of Hurfeish, a Druse village whose citizens are primarily part of an Arab-Israeli minority in Israel. No sirens sounded warning of the attack, according to the Israeli military, which said it was reviewing the incident. The talks are aimed at moving Hezbollah forces away from the border, according to Lebanese and Israeli officials, and other participants.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, ”, Matthew Miller, Biden, “, they’ve, Mr, Miller, Herzi Halevi, ” Bezalel Smotrich, Adam Rasgon, Ephrat Livni Organizations: Israel, Wednesday, Hezbollah, Hamas, State Department Locations: Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, Iranian, Lebanese, Kiryat Shmona, Hurfeish, ” Israel

☆ U.S. Embassy in Lebanon Targeted With Gunfire
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Euan Ward | More About Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon was targeted with gunfire early on Wednesday, and an attacker was wounded before being arrested, the country’s army said. The embassy said that no staff had been harmed in the attack and that Lebanese security forces and the embassy’s security team had responded to “small-arms fire” near the entrance of the fortified compound, which overlooks the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The embassy added in its statement that the episode was under investigation. The Lebanese army said that in response it had deployed troops around the embassy. Security forces blocked the road leading to the embassy, the country’s state news agency reported.

Organizations: U.S, Embassy, Security Locations: Lebanon, Beirut

☆ Tensions ramp up on Israel-Lebanon border as IDF warns decision is approaching on fresh offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | Mike Schwartz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Israel attributed the blaze to rocket fire from southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah said it had launched a “swarm of drones” at Israeli military sites. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern city of Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border, saying that Israel is prepared for “very intense action” in the north. Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been trading fire since the start of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza in October. In April, the IDF said it is “preparing to move from defense to attack,” referring to operations on the northern border. Ten Israeli civilians and 18 soldiers have also been killed on the border, the Israeli military said.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Staff Herzi Halevi, ” Halevi, Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s, Al, Kiryat Shmona, ” Amos Harel, of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Benny Gantz, Jack Guez, Gantz, that’s, ” Harel Organizations: Abu Dhabi CNN, Hezbollah, Israel Defense Forces, Staff, Lebanese, Gaza, GPO, IDF, Reuters, Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, CNN, Haaretz, of National Security, “, ”, Getty, Israel Locations: Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Kiryat Shmona, Lebanese, “, Gaza, Al Jazeera, Israeli, Alma, Golan, Syria, AFP, An Iran, East, United States

☆ Iran’s Use of Proxy Warfare Likely to Persist, Experts Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those groups — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, multiple militias in Iraq and Hamas in the Palestinian territories — are central to Iran’s ability to wield influence far beyond its borders despite being under strict economic sanctions for decades. Iran works with these groups through the Quds Force, a division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. answers directly to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not to the government run by the president. On Tuesday morning, Iran-linked groups in Iraq announced that they had launched a strike at a base in Israel. It was as if Iran’s allies were signaling that it was business as usual by making the kinds of attacks that have become commonplace in recent months.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, ”, Parsi Organizations: Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraq, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanese, Israel

☆ Former Trump Official Meets With Arab and Muslim American Leaders
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Nicholas Nehamas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As President Biden’s support among Arab and Muslim Americans withers over his backing of Israel in the war in Gaza, former President Donald J. Trump is making a long-shot push to take advantage. On Tuesday, Richard Grenell, a former high-ranking official in the Trump administration, met for more than two hours with a group of about 40 Arab and Muslim American leaders at an Italian restaurant outside Detroit. Mr. Grenell was joined by the former president’s son-in-law Michael Boulos, who is married to Tiffany Trump and is Lebanese American, though the Trump campaign said it had not organized the meeting. Many Arab and Muslim American voters have said they are so angry with Mr. Biden over his Israel policy that they will sit out the election, despite supporting him in large numbers in 2020. But Mr. Grenell told the group that it had the chance to exercise extraordinary political power by backing Mr. Trump instead, according to six people who attended the meeting.

Persons: Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Richard Grenell, Grenell, Michael Boulos, Tiffany Trump, Mr, Biden, — Organizations: Muslim American, Republicans, Democrats Locations: Israel, Gaza, Italian, Detroit, Lebanese American, Arab, Michigan

☆ Iran's President Raisi is dead. What does the leadership void mean for the country and the world?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The President of Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi during the meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres UN Headquarters. Lev Radin | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThe sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash plunges Tehran into fresh uncertainty at a time when it already faces deep economic decline, popular discontent, and war. The helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a hard landing on Sunday while returning from Azerbaijan in poor weather conditions, Iranian state media reported on Monday. "That interim presidency ... [is] going to potentially pave the way for even more IRGC control over policies." "When it comes to the relationship with the U.S., and likely [with] Israel, nothing is really going to change there.

Persons: Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Antonio Guterres, Lev Radin, Lightrocket, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Yemen's, Ayatollah Khamenei, Mohammed Mokhber, Nader Itayim, Itayim, Joe Biden Organizations: Islamic, Antonio Guterres UN, Iran's, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Guardian Council, Argus Media, U.S, Palestinian Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Azerbaijan, Lebanese, Iran, Mideast, Israel, U.S, Gaza

☆ 'Black Swan' author Taleb says people should worry about Middle East events but not investors
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People should pay attention to the events in the Middle East from a humanitarian perspective but disregard them as investors, according to author Nassim Taleb. "I would say to investors to basically ignore what's going on in the Middle East and as an individual to worry," the "Black Swan" author told CNBC's Kelly Evans during an interview Monday on "The Exchange." "The connection between the markets and these events is completely unpredictable, even more unpredictable than the events themselves." In addition to his market work, Taleb is a Lebanese American essayist whose seminal work, "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable," warns against trying to predict the unpredictable. He largely has advocated an approach to investing that hedges against unusual events such as the financial crisis of 2008-09.

Persons: Nassim Taleb, CNBC's Kelly Evans, Taleb, Ebrahim Raisi, You've Organizations: Universa Investments, Dow Jones, JPMorgan Chase Locations: Lebanese American, Israel

☆ How the Israeli Air Force once destroyed over 60 enemy jets and dozens of Soviet missile systems in battle without losing a single fighter
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Israeli Air Force achieved an unmatched air combat victory in the 1982 Lebanon War. The battle, known as Operation Mole Cricket 19, saw over 60 enemy aircraft eliminated without a single Israeli loss. The fourth-generation Israeli jets were also made much more lethal by the AIM-9L Sidewinder missile that could be fired from any angle. This allowed Israeli jets, with targeting assistance from UAVs, to destroy the SAMs using anti-radiation missiles. A picture taken on June 28, 2016 shows an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet preparing to take off at the Ramat David Air Force Base located in the Jezreel Valley, southeast of the Israeli port city of Haifa JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty ImagesAdditionally, Israel had superior Command, Control, and Communications (C3) capabilities.

Persons: —, SAMs, Haifa JACK GUEZ, hadn't, Israel, Organizations: Israeli Air Force, Mole, Service, Palestinian Liberation Organization, Soviet Union, Soviet, Syrian Air Force, IAF, AIM, 9L, Ramat David Air Force Base, Getty, Syrian SAM, Kippur, Command, Communications, Grumman, RAND Corporation Locations: Lebanon, Beqaa, Israel, Syria, Soviet, Vietnam, Jezreel, Haifa, AFP, Syrian

☆ Biden's threat to cut off weapons for Israel isn't the same as what got Trump impeached
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Israel has already gone into Rafah, but Biden characterized their current level of involvement as short of his red line. I’m old enough to remember when Democrats impeached another President for supposedly withholding foreign aid that had been approved by Congress. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, formally concluded that the Trump administration broke the law in withholding congressionally approved aid to Ukraine. Biden relied on a bipartisan coalition to pass a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. That said, while Biden will need bipartisan support to keep the government funded in September, he likely will not ask for more Ukraine aid anytime soon

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Sen, Tom Cotton, Trump, it's, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Cotton, Trump's, Joe, Li, e ach the, ena, tod, lea, Tim, Joh Organizations: Service, Arkansas Republican, Democrats, Business, Hamas, Congress, Israel, kr, unm, acc Locations: Israel, Arkansas, Ukraine, Rafah, Gaza's, goa, pau

☆ Hamas says latest cease-fire talks have ended. Israel vows military operation in 'very near future'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after "in-depth and serious discussions," the Hamas militant group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected. The defense minister claimed Hamas wasn't serious about a deal and warned of "a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza." The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas.

Persons: Israel, Israel didn't, Yoav Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Ismail Haniyeh, Kerem Shalom, Cindy McCain, Attar, Abu Youssef al Organizations: Hamas, Food, NBC, Najjar Locations: Deir Balah, Gaza, Israel, Cairo, Rafah, Egypt, Qatar, Qatar's Al Jazeera, U.S, Israeli, Lebanese

☆ Opinion: Unable to ‘win’ in Gaza, Israel sets its sights elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Opinion Hussein Ibish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —An eerie relative calm has descended on the Middle East — Gaza obviously excluded — since a highly alarming exchange of missile, rocket and drone attacks by Israel and Iran in recent weeks. Now, the recent exchange of direct military attacks with Iran might have sealed Lebanon’s fate, unless team Biden can restrain Israel. On April 1, Israel struck an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, killing a number of senior Iranian officials including Brig. As Israel’s forces moved south through Gaza, obliterating Hamas brigades with relative ease, its thinking relatively quickly turned north again. If this happens, a primary US goal regarding the Gaza war — conflict containment — would be shattered not by Washington’s adversaries, but ironically by its closest regional partner.

Persons: Hussein Ibish, Read, Biden, Israel, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Haji Rahimi, Hossein Amirollah, Louai Beshara, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Charbel Mallo, Israel —, Joe Biden Organizations: Gulf States Institute, Israel, CNN, Biden, Hezbollah, Brig, Iran’s, Quds Force, Getty, Iranian, Israeli Locations: Washington, East, Gaza, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Iranian, Damascus, Brig, Syria, AFP, Tehran, United States, Kafr Kila, Lebanese

On a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken put the onus squarely on Hamas to accept the proposal. But Israeli officials have said, consistently and emphatically, that the offensive will take place. The number of Palestinians Israel is offering to free in exchange is unclear. More than 100 were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November, and Israeli officials say they believe that more than 30 — possibly many more — are dead. Gazan health officials say that Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion have killed more than 34,000 people, and injured far more.

Persons: Osama Hamdan, Al Manar, —, Antony J, Blinken, wouldn’t, ”, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Hamdan, Biden, Netanyahu’s, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, Washington, Gaza, Lebanese, Israel, United States, Qatar, Egypt, Rafah, masse

☆ Israel’s Claim of Killing ‘Half’ of Hezbollah Commanders in Southern Lebanon Draws Skepticism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Euan Ward | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel’s defense minister has said that the country’s military has eliminated half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon. But analysts doubt whether Israel’s increasing use of targeted killings would weaken the militant group. “Half of the Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated,” Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said during a visit on Wednesday to Israeli troops along the northern border with Lebanon. “The other half are in hiding,” he added, without providing a specific number or evidence of his claim. A Hezbollah official and a senior Lebanese intelligence official, both of whom spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive subject, denied Mr. Gallant’s numbers on Thursday.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, ”, Israel’s Organizations: Hezbollah Locations: Lebanon, Israel, Lebanese

☆ Hezbollah Claims Drone Attack 10 Miles Inside Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Euan Ward | More About Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed that it had made its deepest attack into Israel since October, striking with aerial drones north of the city of Acre and setting off sirens across the country’s northern coastline. In the latest strike, it said it had launched a drone attack on an Israeli military barracks roughly 10 miles from the Lebanese border. The Israeli military said that fighter jets had targeted “military structures” in the area where Hezbollah were operating, according to a statement. The drone attack in Israel came after targeted killings by Israel of two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, both of whom the Israeli military claimed were involved in Hezbollah’s aerial operations. Last week, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a drone and missile attack into northern Israel that left one soldier dead and 16 soldiers and two civilians injured, in one of the group’s most damaging attacks in Israel in recent months.

Persons: “, Hwaida Saad, Johnatan Reiss, Arijeta Lajka Organizations: Hezbollah, The New York Times Locations: Lebanese, Israel, Acre, Gaza, Hanin, Lebanon

☆ Oil prices retreat as U.S. crude build, rate cut concerns come to the fore
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The front month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract for May , which expires on Monday, fell 12 cents to $83.02 a barrel. Iran is the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, according to Reuters data. ANZ analysts said in a note that volatility in the Middle East will keep oil markets "jittery". On Saturday, a blast at an Iraqi military base killed a member of a security force that includes Iran-backed groups. Separately, on Sunday, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it downed an Israeli drone that was on a combat mission in southern Lebanon.

Persons: Brent, Tina Teng, Austan Goolsbee Organizations: West Texas, Chicago Federal, Energy, U.S . House, Organization of, Petroleum, ANZ, Hezbollah Locations: Israel, Iran, U.S, Ukraine, China, Iraqi, Sunday, Lebanese, Lebanon, Gaza

☆ US journalist Terry Anderson, held in Lebanon hostage crisis for nearly 7 years, dead at 76
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Melissa Alonso | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Terry Anderson, the former Mideast correspondent for The Associated Press who was kidnapped in 1985 and held captive for nearly seven years in Lebanon, has died at 76, his daughter told CNN. The cause of death was unknown, though his daughter told the AP he had recently had heart surgery. “You’re sorry, sorry for your family, sorry you were dumb enough to get captured,” Anderson told CNN once about his capture. In a 2016 interview, Anderson told CNN that he didn’t think about his captivity often. And you do it, day after day after day,” he said.

Persons: CNN — Terry Anderson, Anderson, Sulome Anderson, “, ”, Terry Anderson, Madeleine Bassil, Mark Lennihan, “ You’re, ” Anderson, “ There’s, He’d, Anderson’s Organizations: CNN, Mideast, The Associated Press, AP, Lions, Vietnam Children’s Fund, Protect Journalists, Marines, Marine, Iowa State University, Associated Press Locations: Lebanon, Greenwood Lake , New York, Kentucky, Tokyo, South Africa, New York, Ohio, Japan, Vietnam, Iowa, Lebanese, Beirut, Iran, Damascus, “

Their friendship was tested in 2017 when then President Trump supported a blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Before the Oct. 7 attack, the Saudis were in serious talks, led by the United States, to recognize Israel. 8 of 12 Israel has a major incentive to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, for its part, would benefit from direct access to the Israeli military and technology sector. In March 2023, China brokered a breakthrough, re-establishing ties between two of the region’s heavyweights, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, brandished, Jake Sullivan, —, frenemies, Israel, Netanyahu’s, Trump, Biden, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin, Prince Mohammed, Bashar al, Assad, Saddam Hussein, Jordan —, hesitantly, Abraham Organizations: of Friends, General Assembly, U.S, America, Hamas, United, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Crown, Arab League, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea, Iranian, Abraham Accords, United Arab, Palestine Liberation Organization, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, The, Trump, Biden, Israel Defense Forces, United Nations, New York, Facebook Locations: India, Persian, Israel, Europe, Iran, United States, U.S, East, China, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Turkey Syria Lebanon Afghanistan Israel Iraq Iran Pakistan Egypt India Qatar Saudi Arabia Sudan Oman, Israel Yemen Turkey Syria Lebanon Afghanistan Israel Iraq Iran Pakistan Egypt India Qatar Saudi Arabia Arabian, Sudan, Sea Oman, Israel Yemen Ethiopia Turkey Syria Lebanon Afghanistan Israel Iraq Iran Pakistan Egypt India Qatar Saudi Arabia Arabian, Sudan Oman, Israel Yemen Ethiopia, Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Saudi, Tehran, Iraq, Assad, Lebanon, Lebanese, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Fatah, Israeli, Turkey, America

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a press conference at the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Beirut, Lebanon February 10, 2024. "What happened last night was not a strike," the foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said in an interview with NBC News' Tom Llamas. But the foreign minister warned that if Israel did attack Iran, the response would be swift and severe. Iran responded 12 days later, launching an unprecedented, direct military attack on Israel involving more than 300 missiles and drones. Still, the foreign minister said he hopes that a deal will be reached soon for the release of the hostages as part of a broad settlement.

Persons: Hossein Amirabdollahian, Israel, Tom Llamas, –, Amirabdollahian, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, Benjamin Netanhayu Organizations: Iran's, Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NBC News, Security, Israel, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, New York, Iran, Israel, Syrian, Damascus, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, Tehran, Isfahan

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