Spotlight
An Israeli drone crashed into the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon but didn't cause any casualties, the force said in a statement Wednesday.
The force, known as UNIFIL, said that by flying drones over Lebanon Israel was violating a U.N. Security Council resolution that helped end the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war. Resolution 1701, which was first approved in 2006 to end a previous round of fighting, calls for both sides to respect the other's airspace.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, like many other Lebanese, was surprised by U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack's recent comments which questioned the Lebanese government's commitment to disarm Hezbollah following the November 2024 ceasefire with Israel.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Barrack had said "the Lebanese, and I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, all they do is talk", claiming that there is no real action on Hezbollah's disarmament.

As world leaders convened in the annual meeting of presidents, prime ministers and monarchs at the United Nations General Assembly with a plea to choose peace over war, President Joseph Aoun called on the General Assembly to stand with Lebanon.
"The Lebanese experience has taught me that there is no development without peace, no peace without justice, and no justice without human rights," Aoun said, as he called for an immediate halt of Israeli aggression on Lebanon, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied Lebanese territory, the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, and a full implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701.

The EU has condemned the Israeli drone strike that killed several civilians including children on Sunday in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, noting that the incident followed an “escalation” of Israeli attacks and evacuation warnings.

One year after a devastating war with Israel dealt massive blows to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed movement is still managing to pay its fighters and fund its social services.
The killing of its longtime leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike on September 27 last year left the Shiite group reeling, yet it has maintained cohesion under his successor, Sheikh Naim Qassem.

A Paris court will rule this week whether former French president Nicolas Sarkozy accepted illegal campaign financing from late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, after his key accuser died on Tuesday in Beirut.

The southern town of Bint Jbeil on Tuesday buried five people, including three children and their father, killed in an Israeli strike over the weekend.
Shadi Charara, a car dealer, was killed while driving home to the southern seaside city of Tyre on Sunday with his wife and four children after having lunch at his father-in-law's house in the town of Bint Jbeil, a few kilometers from the border with Israel.

After Prime Minister Nawaf Salam issued a memo asking authorities to prohibit the unauthorized use of touristic and archaeological sites, Hezbollah released a new statement about its intention to illuminate the iconic Raouche Rock with images of its slain leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.
In its statement, Hezbollah called on supporters to take part in the event at 6:00 pm Thursday, saying the rock will be illuminated with the Lebanese flag at 6:50 pm and with the two pictures from 6:55 pm to 7:00 pm.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday urged an “official Lebanese stance” on the latest alarming remarks by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, saying what he said about “the Lebanese government, army and resistance” is rejected and “contradicts with what he had previously said.”
Paying homage to those who were killed in Israel’s 2024 war on Lebanon, in a statement marking its first anniversary, Berri reiterated “adherence to the ceasefire agreement to which Lebanon through its president, government and resistance have committed since the first moments it went into effect on November 27.”

The U.S. has given Israel a “green light” that allows it to wage military strikes on various regions of Lebanon to “terminate Hezbollah’s capabilities and block its attempt to rebuild its assets,” informed sources said.
In remarks to the Progressive Socialist Party’s al-Anbaa news portal, the sources considered U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s latest alarming remarks as a “political cover for an expected Israeli aggression.”
