Lebanon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah will retaliate against Israel after drones crashed in Beirut’s suburbs, but a new war between the old enemies remains unlikely, the Iran-backed movement’s deputy leader has said.

“I rule out that the atmosphere is one of war, it is one of a response to an attack,” Sheikh Naim Qassem told Russia’s RT Arabic channel on Tuesday night. “Everything will be decided at its time.”

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug 26 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, slammed the “Israeli attack” over Beirut’s southern suburbs, which constitutes a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.

Hariri assured that, he is in touch with President Michel Aoun and House Speaker, Nabih Berri, to agree on the next measures that should be taken, following the incident which constitutes a threat to regional stability and an attempt for further escalations.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — From the vast deserts of Saudi Arabia to the crowded neighborhoods of Beirut, a drone war has taken flight across the wider Middle East, raising the stakes in the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Since the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year, there has been an increasing tempo of attacks and alleged threats, notably this weekend, from unmanned aircraft flown by Tehran’s and Washington’s allies in the region.

25 Aug 2019; MEMO: An Israeli drone went down and another exploded in southern Lebanon early Sunday, an official with Lebanese group Hezbollah said, Anadolu Agency reported.

One drone crashed over the Moawwad neighbourhood in southern Lebanon after midnight and its debris were taken to a safe place by Hezbollah members, Lebanese channel LBC1 said, citing the official, who was unnamed.

Another drone exploded in the same area, the official said.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels withdrew from a town in southern Idlib province and from their last remaining territory in neighboring Hama province after government troops advances in the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local activists said.

It marks an important gain for President Bashar al-Assad into the northwestern region which is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. Backed by Russia, Syrian government forces have been attacking the region since late April.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug 17 (NNN-NNA) – Hezbollah Leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned that, if Israel wages a war against Lebanon, Hezbollah will destroy Israeli troops, Al Manar local TV Channel reported.

“If Israel enters Lebanese territories, its troops will be destroyed live on television, in front of the whole world,” Nasrallah said, in a speech marking the 13th anniversary of the end of the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug 17 (NNN-NNA) – An Israeli drone violated Lebanon’s airspace, over the southern district of Bint Jbeil, then headed towards Marjeyoun, while throwing combustible materials, causing fire to erupt, off the border town of Houla, local media reported.

The fire extended into the occupied Palestinian territories.

Also, 15 land mines left behind by Israel exploded, due to the flames.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: Canadian Kristian Lee Baxter, detained while travelling in Syria last year, was freed on Friday, the second Westerner released by the Syrian government in two weeks with help from neighbouring Lebanon, reports Reuters.

Baxter broke down in tears at a news conference in Beirut after arriving in the Lebanese capital from Syria, saying he thought he would be held forever.

BEIRUT, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Bilal al-Arqoub, a wanted Islamist militant, was killed on Sunday during a gunfight with a Sunni militant group in a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Lebanese district of Sidon, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Two of Arqoub's sons were arrested and handed over to the Army Intelligence while the third one escaped, NNA said.

Arqoub was accused of being responsible for the death of the brother of a member of the Sunni militant group Osbat al-Ansar.

BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian government airstrike hit a busy open-air market in the country’s northwest on Saturday, killing at least 11 people, most of them children, according to activists. The town of Ariha has been particularly targeted over the last week as the government escalates its offensive against the country’s last rebel stronghold.