Lebanon Begins Investigating Shooting Outside US Embassy that Caused No Injuries

The new US embassy in Lebanon (US embassy Beirut Twitter account)
The new US embassy in Lebanon (US embassy Beirut Twitter account)
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Lebanon Begins Investigating Shooting Outside US Embassy that Caused No Injuries

The new US embassy in Lebanon (US embassy Beirut Twitter account)
The new US embassy in Lebanon (US embassy Beirut Twitter account)

Lebanon’s security agencies have launched an investigation into a late night shooting outside the US embassy in Lebanon that caused no injuries, officials said Thursday.
No one claimed responsibility for the Wednesday night small arms fire in the vicinity of the entrance of the heavily-fortified compound in Beirut’s northeastern suburb of Awkar. It was not immediately clear if the incident was a politically-motivated attack, said The Associated Press.
US Embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson said that “there were no injuries, and our facility is safe.” He added: “We are in close contact with host country law enforcement authorities.”
Shortly after the shooting, the Lebanese army took measures near the embassy and later security agencies started an investigation including analyzing security cameras in the area, a Lebanese official said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
This year marked the 40th anniversary of a deadly bombing attack on the US Embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, that killed 63 people including at least 17 Americans. Top CIA officials were among those killed in the 1983 embassy attack in a Beirut coastal neighborhood. US officials blamed the militant group Hezbollah.
In recent years there have been no reported attacks on the embassy although Lebanon has a long history of attacks against Americans since the 1975-90 civil war started.
In 2008, an explosion targeted a US Embassy vehicle in northern Beirut, killing at least three Lebanese and injuring an American bystander and a local embassy employee. The blast, which damaged the armored SUV and several other vehicles, took place just ahead of a farewell reception for the American ambassador at a hotel in central Beirut.
In October 1983, a truck bombing killed 241 American service members at the US Marine barracks at Beirut airport.
In 1976, the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Francis E. Meloy Jr., and an aide, Robert O. Waring, were kidnapped and shot to death in Beirut. In 1984, William Buckley, CIA station chief in Beirut, was kidnapped and murdered by the Jihad group.
The US withdrew all diplomats from Beirut in September 1989 and did not reopen its embassy until 1991.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.