Israel considers Iran an existential threat and has warned that it would act with military force if needed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Suggesting its attack was calibrated to avoid further escalation, Hezbollah said it had targeted open ground near Israeli forces in retaliation for Israeli air strikes that had also struck open areas.
A Lebanese army official said the military had no confirmation yet of rockets fired from south Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has stockpiled thousands of rockets. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Israel's overnight air strikes were the first since and showed an escalation in its "aggressive intent" towards his country. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The military said in a statement the alerts sounded in at least three communities near the border with Lebanon. An unidentified Syrian military official quoted by the state news agency said air defenses shot down most of the missiles in the attack that occurred early Thursday on targets it did not name in the Quseir region of the Homs countryside. The details from Esmail Ghaani's visit, confirmed to The Associated Press by three Shiite political officials and two senior militia officials, demonstrate how Iranian-aligned Iraqi militia groups are asserting a degree of independence, sometimes even flouting orders from Tehran.
On June 27, U. Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. Four militiamen were killed. Israel's new prime minister who was sworn in this Sunday, embodies many of the contradictions that define the year-old nation.
A former ally of Netanyahu, Bennett is a man who has curated a persona that's at once modern, religious and nationalist. The wily year-old, widely known as Bibi, has clung to a record 12 years in power through several conflicts and a long period of political turmoil, despite also facing trial for alleged fraud, bribery and breach of trust -- charges he denies.
Here is some background on a nation whose influence stretches from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, but which is grappling with a severe economic crisis.
The strikes were the first carried out by Israel in Syria since 11 days of heavy fighting with the Hamas rulers of Gaza ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on May 21, the Britain-based war monitor said. After the Islamic Revolution, he helped found the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Iran and as ambassador to Syria brought the force into the region to help form Hezbollah. Iran has handpicked hundreds of trusted fighters from among the cadres of its most powerful militia allies in Iraq, forming smaller, elite and fiercely loyal factions in a shift away from relying on large groups with which it once exerted influence.
Hezbollah's shadow loomed large during Israel and Hamas' two-week battle, with the possibility it could unleash its arsenal of missiles - far more powerful than Hamas' - in support of the Palestinians.
The Israeli moves sent Hamas fighters rushing into defensive positions in an underground network of tunnels known as the Metro, according to Heller and other Israeli reports. Although Israeli strikes in the last few years have targeted many parts of Syria, they have rarely hit Latakia which is close to Russia's main air base of Hmeimim. The missile, also known as an S, set off air raid sirens in a village just a few kilometers miles from Dimona, the southern desert town where Israel's nuclear reactor is located.
An Israeli military spokesman identified the projectile as an SA-5 surface-to-air missile fired by Syrian forces against Israeli aircraft. He said it overflew its target to reach the Dimona area, km miles south of the Syrian border.
Austin's first talks in Israel since he became Pentagon chief in January come as the United States seeks to leverage Middle East diplomatic progress made by the Trump administration, which brokered a deal normalising relations between Israel and several Arab states. Hezbollah, which translates as "Party of Allah," is an Islamist political organization based in Lebanon. It emerged after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in , and is affiliated with Iran.
Hezbollah has been accused of carrying out bombings and plots against Jewish and Israeli targets. However, it has played an active role in Lebanese politics since the early s and has taken part in national elections.
This page collects DW content on Hezbollah. A Syrian war monitor said the Israeli attack allegedly had targeted sites housing arms depots linked to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and pro-Iran militias. The army is investigating a soldier suspected of firing toward protesters during Thursday's deadly clashes over the Beirut blast probe.
Meanwhile, families of the blast victims have backed the judge leading the probe. Banks, schools and government offices were closed the day after deadly clashes in Beirut, which are being considered the country's worst sectarian violence in a decade.
Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and the right-wing Lebanese Forces Party have accused each other inciting violence during protests over investigations into last year's massive blast at Beirut's port. Hezbollah has imported fuel from Iran to supply Lebanon, while the US wants to power Lebanon with Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity.
The energy race between the geopolitical rivals has implications for the region. A raft of new punitive measures has been announced by the US Treasury Department targeting entities providing "financial conduits" supporting Hezbollah and Iran based in Lebanon, Kuwait and China.
Billionaire businessman Najib Mikati has named his Cabinet as Lebanon faces one of the toughest crises in its history. Middle East. Lebanon lawmaker denies US accusation of money smuggling. US imposes sanctions on 2 Lebanese contractors, lawmaker. Lebanese man severely injured in Beirut port blast dies. The judge leading Beirut blast probe: Discreet and defiant. Lebanese judge charges 68 over deadly clash south of Beirut. Lebanese rally behind port blast judge forced to halt probe.
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