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Syrian fighter killed in battles with 'drug smugglers' near Lebanon border, monitor says

New Syria's Military Operations Administration managed to take control of the Hawik village on the Syria-Lebanon border after fierce battles against drug smugglers and gunmen "close to the Lebanese Hezbollah" group, a Syria war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday that the Syrian militants attacked different villages in the western countryside of Homs, including Hawik, Bluzah, Al-Fadliyah, and Akoum "with Shaheen drones, artillery fire, and heavy weapons."

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Cyprus jails Syrian over child death on migrant boat from Lebanon

A Cyprus court sentenced a Syrian national to three years in prison after finding him guilty of causing the death by negligence of a 3-year-old girl from dehydration aboard an overloaded migrant boat that was adrift for six days without adequate supplies of food and water.

The Attorney-General's Office said Friday the Famagusta criminal court ruled that the 48-year-old captain had failed to ensure the safety of the 60 Syrian migrants aboard the small wooden craft that carried no navigational aids or appropriate communications equipment.

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Aoun tells Ortagus south stability linked to Israeli pullout

President Joseph Aoun on Friday told the visiting Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus that “permanent stability in the South hinges on completing Israel’s withdrawal from the territory that it occupied during the last war, and the implementation of Resolution 1701 with all its terms, including the requirements of the Nov. 27 agreement.”

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Bassil says LF 'gave cover' for 'Christian loss' in new govt.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Friday said the FPM cannot be in a new government that contains “privileged and non-privileged members.”

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Hezbollah member, 2 daughters killed in explosion in Tayr Harfa

A Hezbollah member and his two daughters were killed Friday in an explosion of a house in the southern border town of Tayr Harfa, media reports said.

The man, called Abbas Haidar, is a Hezbollah official, LBCI said, adding that his two daughters who were with him were also killed and other members of his family were injured.

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US envoy says Hezbollah 'defeated', must not be in Lebanon government

A senior U.S. official visiting Beirut said Friday that Hezbollah's presence in Lebanon's new government was a red line, calling the Iran-backed group "defeated" in its war with Israel.

The visit by U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus comes as prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam struggles to form a government amid political pressure from dominant blocs insisting on their share of ministerial portfolios.

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Israel strikes Iqlim al-Tuffah, Bissariyeh and east Lebanon

Israel said late Thursday it had struck two sites in Lebanon that allegedly contained weapons belonging to the Hezbollah group, despite a ceasefire deal.

Israeli forces "conducted a precise strike in Lebanese territory on two military sites that contained Hezbollah weapons, which were in violation of the ceasefire agreement", the army said on social media.

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LF MP says Berri's behavior in Baabda 'alarming'

MP Ghayath Yazbek of the Lebanese Forces on Thursday said that “Speaker Nabih Berri has demonstrated an advanced and alarming image about the (Shiite) Duo’s future performance in Cabinet.”

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Lebanese clans kill and capture HTS members as Lebanese homes blown up in Syria

Armed clashes erupted Thursday in the Syrian-Lebanese border region between the Zoaiter and Jaafar Lebanese clans and fighters from Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which consist the core of Syria’s new Islamist-led authorities, media reports said.

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Sharaa reportedly discussed Hezbollah weapons, refugees with Mikati in Damascus

The toppling of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, who had strong ties to Iran and Hezbollah, has crippled Hezbollah's ability to bounce back by cutting off a vital weapons-smuggling route through Syria.

Syria's new president and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister met last month in Damascus and discussed the relations between the two countries. In the meeting, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa vowed that Syria will no longer allow the smuggling of weapons and money to Hezbollah, a local media report said.

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