Spotlight
Israel said it killed Tuesday in south Lebanon the head of a money exchange firm that was allegedly transferring money from Iran to Hezbollah for military purposes.

The whipsaw chain of events involving Iran, Israel and the United States that culminated in a surprise ceasefire has raised many questions about how the Trump administration will approach the Middle East going forward.
Yet, the answer to the bottom line question — "what's next?" — remains unknowable and unpredictable. That is because President Donald Trump has essentially sidelined the traditional U.S. national security apparatus and confined advice and decision-making to a very small group of top aides operating from the White House.

The Lebanese Army said it has arrested the suspected leader of the Islamic State group in Lebanon after implicating him in planning several operations.

The World Bank announced on Wednesday it had approved a $250 million project to support Lebanon's reconstruction and recovery following last year's devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Gulf countries agree on the need for Hezbollah to “join the state’s project” and to “draw lessons from the regional developments,” a media report said.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack carried to Beirut a five-page political-security roadmap that Washington wants Lebanon to implement within five months, a media report said on Tuesday.

Major General Diodato Abagnara of Italy assumed Tuesday command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), taking over from Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro of Spain, during a special ceremony held at the Mission’s headquarters in Naqoura, south Lebanon.
In his address, Abagnara stressed the importance of achieving a lasting stability along the Blue Line while recognizing "real challenges" ahead.

President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met Tuesday in Baabda and discussed the latest developments in the region and in Lebanon.
"I think that we'll reach a serious U.S.-Iranian understanding that is compatible with our vision and with Lebanon's higher interests," Geagea said after the meeting, as he urged for setting a timeframe for Hezbollah's disarmament.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Tuesday in Doha with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
“We’re working on extending the state’s authority across its territory … and there can be no stability in Lebanon without Israel’s full withdrawal, especially from the five points it is still occupying,” Salam said at a joint press conference.

The health ministry said an Israeli strike killed three people Tuesday in the country’s south, the latest such raid despite a November ceasefire.
"The strike launched by an Israeli enemy drone on a vehicle" in the Nabatieh district town of Kfar Dajjal "resulted in the death of three people", the ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.
