Trump Suggestion of a Syrian Crackdown on Hezbollah Confounds Many in Mideast

THE NEW YORK TIMES: During peace talks, President Trump repeatedly floated the idea that Syria could help subdue Hezbollah in Lebanon. The proposal revived bitter memories.

When the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon was threatening to unravel the U.S.-Iran peace deal, President Trump repeatedly floated an idea that took many in the region by surprise.

Neighboring Syria, whose relatively new government is no friend to Hezbollah, could help subdue the Iran-backed Lebanese militia.

The proposal revived bitter memories in Lebanon, which the Syrian military occupied for nearly three decades. It also baffled Syrians, whose government has made clear over and over again that it has no interest in meddling in its neighbors’ affairs or entering into more wars.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa reiterated that stance last week, rebuffing the notion that his U.S.-allied government was preparing to intervene militarily in Lebanon. » | Christina Goldbaum and Raja Abdulrahim | Christina Goldbaum reported from Beirut, Lebanon, and Raja Abdulrahim from Amman, Jordan. | Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Israel Captures Crusader Castle That Symbolized Its Long Lebanon Occupation

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The seizure of Beaufort in southern Lebanon called up bitter memories in both countries amid a widening Israeli conflict with Hezbollah that seems far from over.

This screenshot has been taken from this NYT article. | A view of the Beaufort Castle fortification atop a cliff above the Litani River in southern Lebanon, last year. | David Guttenfelder/The New York Times
Israeli soldiers have captured a strategic hilltop crowned by the Crusader castle of Beaufort in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military announced on Sunday, part of the most sweeping Israeli invasion in the country in decades.

The seizure of Beaufort, while hailed by Israel’s top leaders, evoked bitter memories in both countries of the deadly fighting there during Israel’s nearly two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel finally withdrew in 2000 after a bloody insurgency led by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Now, more than a quarter century later, Hezbollah is once again fighting a guerrilla war against invading Israeli forces; Israeli leaders openly discuss a return to a long-term Israeli “security belt” in Lebanon to fend off Hezbollah attacks; and an Israeli flag flutters over the fortress at Beaufort.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, praised the reconquest of Beaufort on Sunday as a “dramatic step” and vowed that Israeli forces would “deepen and expand” their control of territory in Lebanon. » | Aaron Boxerman and Natan Odenheimer | Sunday, May 31, 2026

Inside Israel’s ‘Security Zone’ in Southern Lebanon

Apr 22, 2026 | In southern Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike is reported to have killed two people in a vehicle and injured two journalists.

Iran's ally Hezbollah also said it attacked Israeli forces with a drone - all of this straining the 10-day ceasefire. Israel has established a 'security zone' which, at its deepest point, extends some seven miles into southern Lebanon.

It's marked out by what Israel is calling a Forward Defence, or Yellow Line, similar to that in Gaza. Israeli troops are still deployed there, demolishing buildings in villages near the line, like Mansouri and Majdal Zoun.

Israel and Hezbollah Exchange Fire after Iran Attack | BBC News

Mar 2, 2026 | Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have exchanged strikes as the Iran conflict widens across the Middle East.

The Lebanese health ministry said Israeli attacks in Beirut and southern Lebanon have killed at least 31 people, with 149 injured. Israel said it was responding to Hezbollah attacks.

Meanwhile, apparent Iranian strikes around the region continue - with explosions reported in Bahrain and Dubai, while an oil refinery was attacked in Saudi Arabia.

In Kuwait, “several” US fighter planes have crashed, the Kuwaiti military has said.

Netanyahu Vows to Punish Iran after Hezbollah Drone Hits His House

THE TELEGRAPH: Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to punish Iran after a Hezbollah drone attempted to “assassinate” him and his wife at their weekend residence.

The drone caused little damage to the residence in the coastal city of Cesearea, and both he and his wife were out when it struck, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement.

In a statement on Saturday night, Mr Netanyahu said the “attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake”.

“This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing our just war against our enemies in order to secure our future.

“I say to Iran and its proxies in its axis of evil: anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price,” he added.

The attack marked the first time a target directly affiliated with the Israeli leader had been hit since the start of the war. » | Harriet Barber | Saturday, October 19, 2024

Israel Strikes Beirut Suburb, Targeting Hezbollah Commander

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Tensions have soared between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since a strike on Saturday in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights killed children and teenagers playing soccer.

Israel carried out a strike in Beirut on Tuesday night, retaliating for an assault that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. The Israeli military said it had targeted a commander whom it blamed for the attack, fueling Western concerns that Israel’s long-running conflict with the powerful Lebanese militia Hezbollah could escalate further.

The Israeli strike was the second time during the war that the Israeli military has targeted Lebanon’s capital, after the killing of a senior Hamas leader there in January.

The explosion in Beirut came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there would be a “severe” response for the Golan Heights attack, which hit a field where young people were playing soccer. Israel blamed Hezbollah, and the group denied responsibility for the assault, which landed in the Druse Arab village of Majdal Shams. Western officials had urged Israel to exercise restraint in its response. » | Ronen Bergman, Adam Rasgon and Euan Ward | Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Iran Could Make the Israel Conflict ‘Spin Out of Control’ | Lieutenant General Sir Simon Mayall

Oct 18, 2023 | “If Iran wishes to foment maybe an uprising or to use its proxies in Hezbollah to bombard the northern Israeli territories then this could really spark off.” Iran’s involvement in the Israeli conflict could make it “spin out of control” says Lieutenant General Sir Simon Mayall.

Times Radio: Lebanon Cannot Stop Hezbollah Mobilising If Israel Do Not De-escalate | Lebanese Ambassador

Oct 19, 2023 | "Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese society. Of course, they have their modus operandi. But until now, they've been exerting self-restraint." The Lebanese ambassador to the UK will not say if Lebanon would stop Hezbollah from becoming involved in the Israel-Gaza Conflict.

Israel Latest: 'All Hell Will Break Loose’ | Lord Richard Dannatt

Oct 10, 2023 | “This is a really critical moment in world history.” Whatever Israel does “will have huge consequences” and “all hell will break loose” if they provoke an attack from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, says Lord Richard Dannatt, former head of the British Army.

Full Interview: Lebanon PM Hariri on the Syrian War, Putin as an Ally, and Hezbollah

Putin to Netanyahu: Syrian Army Too Busy Saving Country to Threaten Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu is in Moscow on Monday to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and clarify Russia’s position.

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Syrie : Poutine a rencontré Netanyahu à Moscou

LE POINT: Le Premier ministre israélien a notamment prévenu qu'il était déterminé à mettre fin aux livraisons d'armes au Hezbollah par la Syrie et l'Iran.

Le président Vladimir Poutine a rencontré lundi à Moscou le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu pour discuter du conflit en Syrie alors que la Russie est accusée par Washington d'y renforcer sa présence militaire. « Il était très important de venir ici en vue de clarifier notre politique, et faire en sorte qu'il n'y ait aucun malentendu entre nos forces », a déclaré Benjamin Netanyahu au début de la rencontre, selon un communiqué de son bureau. Le Premier ministre israélien a également prévenu qu'il était déterminé à mettre fin aux livraisons d'armes au Hezbollah par la Syrie et l'Iran, et accusé les deux pays de vouloir « ouvrir un second front » contre Israël.

« La politique russe au Proche-Orient sera toujours réfléchie », a pour sa part assuré le président russe, affirmant que la Syrie ne voulait pas s'attaquer à Israël, selon des images de la télévision russe. « Nous savons et nous comprenons que l'armée syrienne et la Syrie en général sont dans un tel état qu'elles ne peuvent ouvrir un second front. La Syrie essaie seulement de préserver son indépendance », a affirmé Vladimir Poutine. Le service de presse de Benjamin Netanyahu a affirmé qu'il était venu en Russie pour discuter des « forces militaires russes en Syrie » et pour « exposer les menaces pesant sur Israël à la suite du renforcement militaire sur la scène syrienne et de la fourniture d'armement au Hezbollah et à d'autres organisations terroristes ». » | Source AFP | lundi 21 septembre 2015

Car Bomb Rocks Shia Suburb in Beirut

Explosion wounds 53 people in busy southern Beirut shopping area controlled by Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

Prosor: Hezbollah Military Build-up Could Devastate Region
THE JERUSALEM POST: Israeli envoy to UN warns Security Council that southern Lebanon has become storage facility for 50,000 missiles; slams EU countries who label Hezbollah a political group: "It's like calling the Mafia a gentleman's club."

Just days after Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah took responsibility for the recent drone sent over Israel, Israel's ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor warned the Security Council Monday that "Hezbollah’s continued provocation and military buildup could have devastating consequences for the region."

Prosor, in a blunt speech during the Security Council's monthly debate on the Middle East, said – in a reference to the EU – that "some countries around this table continue to define Hezbollah as a charitable and political group, not a terrorist organization. This is no less ridiculous than describing the Mafia as a gentleman’s social club," he said. » | Herb Keinon | Monday, October 15, 2012

Holocaust Fears Haunt Israelis As They Prepare for Possible War with Iran

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: If Israeli jets are given the order to bomb Iran's nuclear programme, thousands of rockets could be fired in revenge. Nick Meo meets people fearful of the consequences of an airstrike - and terrified of the possible alternative.

The last time Hezbollah attacked Israel, a rocket exploded next to Adam Bloom's house while his wife was in the shower.

"She was hysterical," he said. Afterwards it took hours to coax her and their two terrified young daughters out of the bomb shelter where they fled.

"Hezbollah had about 10,000 rockets then but they are supposed to have more like 50,000 now, so how many will be fired at us if they start again?" said Mr Bloom, 49.

The family, whose kibbutz is 30 miles south of the Lebanon border, had thought they were safely out of range in 2006. When rockets started landing they jumped in the car and headed south with 350,000 other Israelis, to spend weeks as refugees in their own country.

This time it is not only the north that is being prepared for a new conflict, one that Israelis fear could be much worse than anything since 1973. The trigger would be the long-threatened Israeli airstrike on Iran's nuclear programme.

The whole country is uneasily aware that Iran has giant rockets to fire back at Tel Aviv and Haifa in retaliation, and that it has armed its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon with Scuds and similar medium-range missiles, weapons it didn't have in 2006. » | Nick Meo in Jerusalem | Sunday, October 14, 2012

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Le Liban se dote d'un nouveau gouvernement dominé par le Hezbollah

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Premier ministre désigné au Liban Najib Mikati a annoncé lundi, après cinq mois de négociations ardues, un nouveau gouvernement de 30 ministres, dominé par le puissant Hezbollah chiite et ses alliés.

Le Premier ministre désigné au Liban Najib Mikati a annoncé lundi, après cinq mois de négociations ardues, un nouveau gouvernement de 30 ministres. Ce cabinet est dominé par le puissant Hezbollah chiite et ses alliés.

«Nous avons surmonté les obstacles et nous allons nous mettre tout de suite au travail», a affirmé Najib Mikati à la presse à l’issue de l’annonce de la formation du gouvernement.

Le Hezbollah et ses alliés, notamment le chrétien Michel Aoun, se sont taillés la part du lion avec 19 portefeuilles, dont la Justice et la Défense. Sur ces 19 postes, deux vont au Hezbollah et les 17 autres reviennent aux alliés.

Les onze portefeuilles restants ont été répartis entre les partisans du président de la République Michel Sleimane, de M. Mikati et du leader druze Walid Joumblatt, considérés comme «neutres». » | ATS/AFP | Lundi 13 Juin 2011

Hillary Clinton on Lebanon's Political Tensions
BBC: Hezbollah and its allies have threatened to quit the Lebanese cabinet unless their demands over a UN tribunal probing the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri are met.

The move would automatically bring down the government, ministers have warned.

Tension has been high in Lebanon, amid indications that Hezbollah members could be indicted by the UN tribunal.

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, told the BBC's Kim Ghattas that there was no reason to expect the tensions to lead to violent unrest.

Mrs Clinton said the US will "continue to support the integrity of an independent sovereign Lebanon". Watch BBC video >>> | Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Liban : Le président syrien et le roi saoudien à Beyrouth pour apaiser les tensions
LE TEMPS: Le président syrien Bachar al-Assad, qui effectue sa première visite au Liban depuis l’assassinat de l’ex-premier ministre Rafic Hariri, est arrivé vendredi à Beyrouth. Il était accompagné du roi saoudien Abdallah pour une mission conjointe destinée à apaiser les tensions.

Les deux dirigeants sont arrivés en début d’après-midi à l’aéroport international de Beyrouth à bord du même avion, celui du roi saoudien, en provenance de Damas, où ils s’étaient entretenus la veille.

Ils ont été accueillis par le président libanais Michel Sleimane, le premier ministre Saad Hariri, un proche de Ryad, le président du Parlement Nabih Berri, plusieurs ministres, dont un représentant le Hezbollah, et d’autres officiels. >>> ATS | Vendredi 30 Juillet 2010