Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in "martyred" Lebanon and the wider Middle East as he ended a three-day visit to Belgium.
"I call on all parties to immediately cease fire in Lebanon, Gaza, the rest of Palestine and Israel," the Argentinian pontiff, 87, told an open-air mass in Brussels, as Israel continued to target Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Sunday that Lebanon is "committed to Resolution 1701" and that the army is "ready to implement it."
"We call for a ceasefire on all fronts," he said.
Full StoryThe Israeli military says it has killed another high-ranking Hezbollah official in an airstrike.
The military said Sunday that it killed Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, the former deputy head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, in an airstrike the day before. The Israeli army said Qaouq is a member of Hezbollah's central council and the head of the group's preventive security unit.
Full StoryLebanon’s state news agency says an Israeli airstrike early Sunday on a village in northeast Lebanon destroyed a home, killing 11 people.
Six of the bodies were recovered from under the rubble as the search continued for the remaining five in the village of al-Ain, reported National News Agency.
Full StoryIn its first statement since the recent escalation with Israel and following the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon's army called for calm among the Lebanese "at this dangerous and delicate stage."
Government officials fear that the country’s deep political divisions at a time of war could rekindle sectarian strife and violence in the small country.
Full StoryHundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon have been displaced from the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, a Lebanese cabinet minister spearheading the country’s emergency response said.
Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said the government estimates that about 250,000 people have left their homes and taken refuge in government-run shelters and informal ones. However, he told the Associated Press the total number is about “four times as many directly affected and/or displaced outside the shelters.”
Full StorySayyed Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to his slain cousin Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is one of Hezbollah's most prominent figures and has deep religious and family ties to group's patron Iran.
Safieddine bears a striking resemblance to his charismatic maternal cousin Nasrallah but is several years his junior, aged in his late 50s or early 60s.
Full StoryThe German government said Saturday that the killing of long-time Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon could have negative repercussions for Israel's own security.
In an interview to German TV channel ARD, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the "highly dangerous" situation after Nasrallah's death "threatens destabilization for the whole of Lebanon," adding: "That is in no way in Israel's security interest."
Full StoryMiddle East nations and Hezbollah's allies in the Tehran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" reacted on Saturday to the killing of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah after the Lebanon-based group confirmed their leader's death in Israeli strikes.
Military officials in Israel announced on Saturday morning that Nasrallah, who headed Hezbollah for more than three decades, died in bombardment targeting the group's headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut Friday night.
Full StoryRussia on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for killing Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and urged it to immediately cease military action in Lebanon.
"We decisively condemn the latest political murder carried out by Israel," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding: "We once again insistently urge Israel to immediately cease military action."
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