Israel’s foreign minister made headlines this week by attending a high-level meeting with Syrian and Lebanese officials—a rare occurrence signaling shifting regional dynamics.
Lebanon’s central bank has finally taken decisive action to sever ties with Hezbollah’s bank, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, by banning all financial institutions from doing business with the terror-linked entity.
The Trump administration’s special envoy to Lebanon, Thomas Barrack, praised Beirut’s response to a U.S. proposal calling for the Hezbollah disarmament in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
Failures of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon has sparked renewed criticism as the United Nations Interim Force stands accused of ignoring Hezbollah for years while its militants fortified positions just yards from peacekeeper posts.
Thousands gathered in Beirut on Sunday for the delayed funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, who was killed in September by an Israeli airstrike following months of Hezbollah attacks on Israeli civilian targets.
The Biden administration is reallocating over $100 million in military aid originally earmarked for Israel and Egypt to Lebanon. The funding aims to support the implementation of a ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and Hezbollah. The State Department outlined the plan in notices sent to Congress on January 3.
A federal grand jury has indicted Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, a former Pittsburgh resident and dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, on charges of attempting to support Hezbollah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and making false statements regarding international terrorism.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an international arms embargo and a halt to all trade with Israel on Thursday, aiming to isolate the Jewish state over its actions in the Middle East.
