Source: The National
Security & Justice
Lebanese Army Dismantled 'Over 90%' of Hezbollah Sites Near Israel, Security Official Says
The Lebanese army has dismantled "over 90 percent" of Hezbollah's infrastructure near the border with Israel since a November ceasefire, a security official said Wednesday.
Thursday, May 1, 2025
French Delegation Visits Beirut but Fails to Deliver Crucial Report on Port Blast
The first day of a French judicial delegation’s visit to Lebanon ended in disappointment after the team failed to deliver a long-awaited final technical report related to the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, a Lebanese judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Opinion
Will the Lebanese People Ever Get Their Money Back?
A parliamentary committee in Lebanon last week issued a draft law for restructuring the country’s financial sector. The Lebanese people surely breathed a sigh of relief, but does this mean they will finally regain access to their bank deposits, which they have been unable to withdraw for several years? That remains uncertain.
Monday, April 28, 2025
There Is No Better Time to Disarm Hezbollah
Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced that Beirut would not forcibly disarm the Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah as part of its effort to gain a state monopoly on weapons. Instead, Aoun said Hezbollah would be convinced to give up its arms on its own, through dialogue and negotiations. Moreover, the president suggested the militia’s troops could then be integrated into the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). This approach, which avoids a potentially bloody face-off, will be unacceptable to both the US and Israel, and will ultimately undermine the hopeful progress Lebanon has made toward reasserting its sovereignty.
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Sports
First Place on the Line in Madrid Derby as Real and Atletico Squabble Over Refereeing
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet in their second derby of the season with the Liga lead on the line and the focus on refereeing. Real Madrid has spent the days ahead of Saturday’s match complaining of mistakes against the club.
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Zhou Guanyu Joins Ferrari as a Reserve Driver for 2025 F1 Season
The first Chinese driver in Formula 1, Zhou Guanyu, is heading back to Ferrari as one of its reserve drivers for the 2025 season.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Thursday 11 January 2024 10:43:54
US Envoy Amos Hochstein Seeks to Ease Lebanon-Israel Border Tensions in Beirut Visit
Senior US envoy Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Thursday amid heightened tensions over cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon.
Mr Hochstein will explore efforts for a ceasefire, according to a US official, and will also discuss the demarcation of Lebanon and Israel's contested land border.
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah says its attacks are a response to Israel's war in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by its ally Hamas. But its leader Hassan Nasrallah has also hinted that the fighting represents an opportunity for Lebanon to reclaim lands that it considers part of its territory.
There are believed to be 13 contested points, as well as the occupied Shebaa Farms.
Israel has demanded the removal of Hezbollah's Radwan force, believed to number about 2,500 fighters, north of the Litani River, which the group has rejected.
Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have said there can be no negotiations until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 23,300 people have been killed since October 7 in response to Hamas attacks that killed about 1,100 people.
Mr Hochstein, a senior energy adviser to US President Joe Biden, played a vital role in a 2022 deal that led to a demarcation of Israel and Lebanon's maritime border in the eastern Mediterranean.
Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and are technically at war.
While the Lebanese government has strongly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Armed Forces have refrained from a response.
The clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which began on October 8, are the most serious since the month-long war of 2006.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has continued to expand in recent weeks. On January 2, Israel assassinated Hamas deputy Saleh Al Arouri in Beirut, the first time it has targeted the Lebanese capital since 2006.
This week it also killed Wissam Tawil, also known as Hajj Jawad, in a strike in southern Lebanon. A commander in the Radwan force, he was the most senior Hezbollah commander to die since October 8.
Hezbollah responded with a barrage of attacks on Israel's northern command, the group's deepest strike into Israel yet.
