Tag: Lebanon

Israel rejects US-backed Lebanon ceasefire plan, hits Beirut again

By Timour Azhari and James Mackenzie BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel rejected global calls on Thursday for a ceasefire with the Hezbollah movement, defying its biggest ally in Washington and pressing ahead with strikes that have killed hundreds in Lebanon and heightened fears of an all-out regional war. Despite Israel’s stance, the U.S. and France sought to keep prospects alive for an immediate 21-day truce they proposed on Wednesday, and said negotiations continued, including on the sidelines […]

Blinken says US, partners working tirelessly to avoid full-blown war in Lebanon

By Humeyra Pamuk NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the risk of escalation in the Middle East was “acute” and that Washington and its allies were working tirelessly to avoid a full-blown war between Israel and Iran-aligned Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. “With regard to Lebanon, we’ve been working tirelessly with partners to avoid a full-blown war and to move to a diplomatic process that would allow Israelis and […]

Israeli warplanes hit Lebanon again as Hezbollah takes aim at Tel Aviv

By Maya Gebeily and Ari Rabinovitch BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel widened its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday and shot down a missile that the armed group Hezbollah said it had fired at the Mossad spy agency near Tel Aviv, ratcheting up the conflict between the two arch-foes. The Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Mossad headquarters with what it described as a ballistic missile – the first time in nearly a year of warfare that […]

Hezbollah, Israel exchange heavy fire in ‘new phase’ of fighting

By Timour Azhari and Miro Maman BEIRUT/HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) -Hezbollah and Israel exchanged heavy fire into Sunday, as the Lebanese militant group sent rockets deep into northern Israeli territory after facing some of the most intense bombardment in almost a year of conflict. Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told mourners at the funeral of one of the group’s commanders killed last week in Beirut: “We have entered a new phase, the title of which is […]

Taiwan questions head of pager firm linked to Hezbollah blasts

TAIPEI (Reuters) – The president and founder of a Taiwanese pager company linked to the detonation of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon was questioned by prosecutors late into the night on Thursday, then released. Taiwan-based Gold Apollo’s president and founder Hsu Ching-kuang has said it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, and that they were made by a Budapest-based company BAC which has a licence to use its brand. Images […]

Japanese company denies making Hezbollah’s exploding walkie-talkies

By Tom Bateman OSAKA (Reuters) -The Japanese maker of the brand of walkie-talkies linked to explosions targeting the Hezbollah armed group that killed 25 people in Lebanon and injured hundreds of others said it could not have made the exploding devices. “There’s no way a bomb could have been integrated into one of our devices during manufacturing. The process is highly automated and fast-paced, so there’s no time for such things,” Yoshiki Enomoto a director […]

Lebanon bans pagers, walkie-talkies from flights

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week. The Lebanese civilian aviation directorate asked airlines operating from Beirut to tell passengers that walkie-talkies and pagers were banned until further notice. Such devices were also banned from being shipped by air, the Lebanese state news agency […]

Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict

By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily BEIRUT (Reuters) -Hand-held radios used by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon’s south, further stoking tensions with Israel a day after similar explosions hit the group’s pagers. Lebanon’s health ministry said 14 people were killed and about 450 injured on Wednesday in Beirut’s suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from Tuesday’s explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured. Israeli […]

Major Israel-Hezbollah missile exchange as region watches for escalation

By Maytaal Angel and Maya Gebeily JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) -Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel’s military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare. Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant […]

Israeli sonic booms rattle Lebanese capital after Hezbollah launches drones

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Israeli warplanes swooped low over the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, setting off a series of sonic booms that rattled windows across the city minutes before the head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah was set to give an address. The loud booms sent residents rushing to open their windows to prevent the glass from shattering, or standing on their balconies to get a glimpse of the planes flying over. There was no comment from the […]

Israel says Hezbollah rocket kills 12 at football ground, vows response

Summary: Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah denies any role Israeli PM Netanyahu vows Hezbollah will pay price for attack U.S. condemns attack, says support for Israel is ‘iron-clad’ By Maayan Lubell, Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) -A rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 people including children on Saturday, Israeli authorities said, blaming Hezbollah and vowing to inflict a heavy price on the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Hezbollah denied any […]

Hezbollah targets Israeli barracks after Islamist commander’s death

BEIRUT, June 23, 2024 (AFP) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Sunday it had targeted two military positions in northern Israel with an armed drone in response to the killing of an Islamist commander. Israel and the powerful Iran-backed group, a Hamas ally, have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted on October 7. Hezbollah’s announcement came hours after it published a video excerpt purporting to show locations in Israel along with their […]