US Navy Thwarts Houthi Attack in Red Sea, Militias Remain Defianthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4758741-us-navy-thwarts-houthi-attack-red-sea-militias-remain-defiant
US Navy Thwarts Houthi Attack in Red Sea, Militias Remain Defiant
The Houthi attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade. (Reuters)
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US Navy Thwarts Houthi Attack in Red Sea, Militias Remain Defiant
The Houthi attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade. (Reuters)
An American warship shot down a drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile fired Thursday by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias, the US military said.
In a post on the X platform on Thursday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM): “The USS MASON (DDG 87) shot down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis between 5:45 - 6: 10 p.m. (Sanaa time) on Dec. 28.”
“There was no damage to any of the 18 ships in the area or reported injuries. This is the 22nd attempted attack by Houthis on international shipping since Oct. 19,” it noted.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas.
The attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade, prompting the United States to set up a multinational naval task force earlier this month to protect Red Sea shipping.
In addition to US military action, the Treasury Department unveiled sanctions Thursday against a network involved in financing Houthi attacks.
The Treasury said it had sanctioned the head of the Currency Exchangers Association in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, along with three exchanges in Yemen and Türkiye responsible for "facilitating the flow of Iranian financial assistance" to the Houthis.
The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis remain defiant. Defense minister in its illegitimate government Mohammed al-Atefi said the militias “don’t recognize red lines,” claiming that they possess weapons with “unexpected” ranges.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam threatened to turn the Red Sea into a battlefield after the US Navy shot down a Houthi drone.
He warned the US against its continued “bullish” activity, saying the Houthis were justified in attacking vessels in the Red Sea after Washington and its allies turned the region into a military zone.
He charged that the US and its allies are passing through the region solely to protect Israeli vessels.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Following the attack, the United States rushed military aid to Israel, which has carried out a relentless campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 21,320 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Those deaths have sparked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks by armed groups across the region that are opposed to Israel.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have also repeatedly come under fire from drone and rocket attacks that Washington says are being carried out by Iran-backed armed groups.
On Monday, a drone attack wounded three American personnel in northern Iraq, after which the US military struck three sites it said were used by Iran-backed forces in the country.
Lebanon Steps Up Diplomacy to Stay Out of Regional Escalationhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5330467-lebanon-steps-diplomacy-stay-out-regional-escalation
Lebanon Steps Up Diplomacy to Stay Out of Regional Escalation
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AFP)
Lebanon has stepped up diplomatic efforts to avoid being drawn into a wider regional conflict, amid fears of fresh Israeli military action and uncertainty over security arrangements in the south.
Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that President Joseph Aoun had intensified contacts with friendly countries in recent days and kept Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri informed of the discussions.
The diplomatic push reflects concerns that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could escalate military operations before or after Israel's parliamentary elections later this month.
Berri serves as the main intermediary between the presidency and Hezbollah, while Aoun’s domestic contacts and Foreign Ministry efforts are aimed at keeping Lebanon out of regional hostilities, the sources explained.
They warned that avoiding another confrontation would depend largely on Hezbollah staying out of any escalation involving Iran, citing fears of a forceful Israeli response if the group intervened.
Aoun discussed the situation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call Thursday evening, including continued Israeli attacks on villages in South Lebanon.
According to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun urged Washington to press Israel to halt its attacks, respect the framework agreement, stop land-clearing operations and allow farmers to reach their fields without interference.
Fears of Israeli escalation
Lebanese officials are particularly concerned about Netanyahu’s next move ahead of the Israeli elections, fearing he could order an operation against Iran or Lebanon if he believed it would improve his electoral prospects. Those concerns are believed to have been raised during the call with Rubio.
Sources familiar with the discussions indicated that Washington’s message was that Lebanon should avoid giving Netanyahu a pretext to intensify Israeli strikes, particularly by preventing Hezbollah from joining any confrontation between Iran and Israel.
Hezbollah explosives shipment
The conversation also addressed Lebanon’s efforts to curb illegal weapons and smuggling.
Aoun assured Rubio that the army and security forces were enforcing restrictions on armed displays, confiscating weapons and ammunition, and combating smuggling.
He cited recent security operations, apparently referring to the interception of explosives and weapons being smuggled and transported from Syria into Lebanon.
The president also pledged that judicial authorities would pursue all cases referred to them and that offenders would face legal action without leniency or favoritism.
A US State Department official confirmed that Rubio had raised seizure issue of hundreds of kilograms of explosives belonging to Hezbollah.
Rubio urged Lebanon to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, stressing that the seized explosives must not be returned to Hezbollah.
Push for direct military contacts
Another key issue was the stalled effort to expand pilot zones in South Lebanon, where disagreements over verification arrangements remain unresolved.
The verification process for southern Lebanon involves a multi-step sequence managed through a trilateral framework to monitor the clearance of non-state armed groups and the redeployment of forces
Israel has rejected the participation of outside parties in the verification process, complicating plans to extend the initiative.
Lebanese sources familiar with the call reported that Rubio had informed Aoun that Washington was continuing efforts to resolve the dispute and identify countries willing to join a verification force.
Some countries had agreed to participate, while others declined, although the sources did not identify them.
According to a State Department official, Rubio also urged direct communication between the Lebanese and Israeli armies to prevent clashes, reduce the risk of miscalculation and advance the phased implementation of the trilateral framework.
Israel has pressed for such contacts for months, but the Lebanese Army has resisted, insisting on coordination through the US-led Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L). That mechanism remains the channel for military communication.
Uncertainty over UNIFIL
The US proposal comes amid American and Israeli opposition to extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), fueling concerns about a security vacuum in the south.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji discussed the future international presence with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix as preparations begin for the end of UNIFIL’s current mission.
Lacroix emphasized the need to prepare for the next phase, with the Security Council expected to begin negotiations soon.
He reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to playing a constructive role while respecting Lebanon’s position.
Both officials agreed to intensify efforts to overcome the remaining obstacles and preserve an international presence under UN auspices in South Lebanon.
Four Syrians, One Lebanese Involved in Capture of ‘Baniyas Butcher’ in Lebanonhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5330446-four-syrians-one-lebanese-involved-capture-%E2%80%98baniyas-butcher%E2%80%99-lebanon
Four Syrians, One Lebanese Involved in Capture of ‘Baniyas Butcher’ in Lebanon
Ali Kayali (Mihrac Ural) in an undated file photo circulated on Syrian social media
Lebanese judicial and security authorities are investigating the abduction of former Syrian regime officer Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural, from Mount Lebanon and his transfer to Syria in a covert operation that Lebanese officials say was carried out without their prior knowledge.
Accounts differed over how the operation was carried out and the route taken by those who seized him from the Metn area of Mount Lebanon into Syrian territory.
A day after the Syrian side announced the operation without any prior coordination with the Lebanese state, Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Ahmad Rami al-Haj issued judicial instructions to Lebanese Army Intelligence, the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch and General Security, tasking them with investigating the circumstances of the operation and identifying those who carried it out.
Four Syrians and one Lebanese
A judicial source said preliminary information indicated that the operation was “carried out by four Syrians and one Lebanese.”
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that tracking the phones used by those involved in the operation, as well as lines active around Kayali’s home, showed that they seized him inside his residence in Mansourieh before taking the coastal road through Jounieh and Tripoli to the Abboudieh border crossing in Akkar.
The source denied reports that Kayali had been taken to the Syrian Embassy compound in Yarzeh, saying footage from the embassy and surrounding surveillance cameras had been secured and showed that “he was never taken to the embassy.”
Syrian authorities accuse Kayali of responsibility for the 2013 massacres in al-Bayda and Baniyas on Syria’s coast, when he was leading an armed group fighting alongside forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad.
Human Rights Watch documented the execution of at least 248 people in the two areas, including women and children, and described the killings in al-Bayda as among the “deadliest instances of mass summary executions” in the Syrian conflict.
Conflicting accounts
Syrian and Lebanese accounts of the abduction differed.
Agence France-Presse quoted a Syrian security source as saying the operation “took place in coordination with the Lebanese side.”
The Lebanese judicial source, however, denied that Lebanese authorities had prior knowledge of it, saying Lebanese security agencies “were unaware that Kayali was in Lebanon or that he had been abducted until the Syrian side announced it.”
The source said security investigations conducted in recent hours showed that Kayali had entered Lebanon clandestinely with his wife in 2025 and had remained in hiding, moving with extreme caution until he was abducted.
According to information reported by Türkiye’s Anadolu news agency, Kayali was born in 1956 in Hatay province in southern Türkiye, near the Syrian border.
Ankara also accuses him of having led an armed group known as the “Syrian Resistance” and the “Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskenderun,” and of involvement with Syrian intelligence under Bashar al-Assad in the Reyhanli bombings that killed 53 people.
Officers taking refuge in Lebanon
The incident has again brought attention to the flight of dozens of officers from the former Syrian regime to Lebanon following Bashar al-Assad’s departure and the fall of his government in late 2024.
The Lebanese judicial source said the case could not be separated from the arrest several weeks ago of Suleiman Hilal al-Assad, or the earlier detention of Major General Adel Issa inside the Syrian Embassy in Beirut. Lebanese judicial authorities later decided to hand Issa over to Damascus.
The source said the succession of such cases “indicates the presence in Lebanon of officers and figures from the former regime,” adding that some may be “receiving security protection from parties allied with the Assad regime, such as Hezbollah and others, while some are residing illegally or using forged documents to avoid having their identities discovered.”
The judicial source stressed that Lebanon “is cooperating with the Syrian authorities on correspondence concerning wanted figures from the former regime, and is also cooperating with international bodies on arrest requests and Interpol notices involving Syrian security officials accused of serious violations.”
Among the most prominent are former National Security Bureau chief Major General Ali Mamlouk, former Air Force Intelligence chief Major General Jamil Hassan, and Brigadier General Abdul Salam Mahmoud, former head of the Air Force Intelligence investigation branch.
The source said, however, that “no information has emerged indicating that they are present on Lebanese territory.”
Is Israel Signaling a Wider Occupation of Southern Lebanon?https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5330380-israel-signaling-wider-occupation-southern-lebanon
Is Israel Signaling a Wider Occupation of Southern Lebanon?
Israeli soldiers near the Litani River in southern Lebanon (File photo - Israeli military)
Israel has escalated threats to expand its occupation of southern Lebanon, with Defense Minister Israel Katz warning that the Nabatieh and Litani areas could be added to what he called a permanent security zone if Hezbollah joins a possible confrontation between Israel and Iran.
The warnings have raised questions over which areas Israeli forces may seek to seize and whether they are preparing for a broader ground operation, as military activity continues and Israel moves closer to Knesset elections.
Katz had threatened to evacuate residents from broad areas of southern Lebanon as far as the Zahrani and Awali rivers, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs. He said more than one million people could be displaced and that the Israeli military was ready to carry out a ground maneuver.
The threats come after Israeli forces expanded their deployment toward strategic high ground, including Beaufort Castle and Ali al-Taher near Nabatieh. Israeli strikes have also hit the Rihan, Sajd and Jabal al-Rafi heights, raising questions over whether Israel could seek wider control of elevated terrain and geographic corridors.
The remains of a home destroyed by the Israeli army in the southern Lebanese village of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
Israel seeks natural geographic barriers
Retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud said Israel’s threats went beyond targeting Hezbollah and dismantling its military infrastructure, pointing to broader political and geographic aims.
“Military positions and ground operations, regardless of their size or depth, must serve the concept of a military maneuver on the ground, and that maneuver in turn serves a major political objective,” Daoud told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“The Israeli objective is not limited to striking Hezbollah positions and dismantling its military infrastructure. It goes beyond that to objectives linked to geography and control of territory.”
Daoud said Israeli movements in southern Lebanon should be viewed alongside developments in southern Syria, particularly in the Quneitra countryside and the Mount Hermon area, where he said the two tracks appeared interconnected within an Israeli approach centered on using geography to create security zones.
He said Israeli intentions should be read from developments on the ground rather than statements alone, adding that Israel had not yet reached the phase line it was seeking and that any military advance would unfold in stages, regardless of the distance involved.
“Any military action, even if the required advance is no more than 100 meters, is divided into stages, beginning with preparatory fire and securing the flanks, followed by launching the attack and consolidating positions,” he said.
Military phase lines, he added, are typically based on natural geographic barriers that allow attacking forces to consolidate their deployment and organize their defenses.
“What matters is not what Israel says, but what it does on the ground and the positions it is seeking to reach,” Daoud said.
“Israeli forces are seeking to stop at a clear geographic line. They cannot stop in the middle of an area without relying on a geographic barrier that allows them to consolidate their presence.”
Daoud said Israeli military ambitions could extend to the Awali River, north of Sidon. Reaching and controlling that line, he said, would push the security belt deep into Lebanese territory and affect all areas to its south, including Iqlim al-Tuffah and surrounding villages.
Escalation linked to Iran
Retired Brigadier General Naji Malaeb linked the Israeli threats to military preparations and the prospect of a confrontation with Iran as Israeli elections approach.
“Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s talk of possibly reaching the Awali River means the threats are no longer confined to Nabatieh district or the Litani area, but now cover a broader geographical area extending to Sidon and its surroundings,” Malaeb told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He said the threats also extended beyond southern Lebanon to Beirut’s southern suburbs, reflecting a sharp escalation in Israeli rhetoric ahead of the elections.
Malaeb pointed to what he described as significant Israeli military activity on the ground. The Israeli military’s 282nd Artillery Brigade, he said, had completed extensive drills on countering drones used by Hezbollah and on evacuation operations during combat.
The brigade then moved directly to southern Lebanon, he said, giving Israel additional artillery forces alongside those already deployed and ready to act if orders are issued.
Malaeb said any expansion of Israeli military operations would depend less on specific locations than on Israel’s political and military decision-making and on the extent of Hezbollah’s involvement in any renewed confrontation between Israel and Iran.
He said several scenarios were possible, including Iran seeking to use the Israeli election period to launch attacks or influence the electoral process, or Israel moving to expand the war against Iran before or during the elections.
A man smokes a waterpipe as he sits by the rubble in the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Malaeb said the prospect of a broader confrontation with Iran had been discussed between the United States and Israel, amid reservations expressed by Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir over the consequences of entering a conflict that could have difficult repercussions for Israel, particularly if it was not militarily prepared and with elections approaching.
On Hezbollah’s preparations, Malaeb said the seizure by Lebanese security forces of one truck loaded with explosives and linked to the group did not necessarily mean it was the only one to have crossed, as others could have passed without being intercepted.
That, he said, raised the possibility that Hezbollah was preparing for military action if a new regional confrontation erupted.
“The main question today is not which positions Israel may seek to control, but whether the political and military decision to expand the operations will be taken,” he said.
Developments on the ground
Israeli warplanes on Friday carried out a heavy strike on Kfar Tibnit in Nabatieh district, as air and artillery attacks intensified in the districts of Tyre and Bint Jbeil.
The attacks included three strikes on Mansouri and a fourth on Wadi Zibqin. Artillery fire hit Baraachit and Haddatha, the outskirts of Haris, areas around Zibqin and Shaqra, and later Mansouri and Majdal Zoun before dawn.
Warplanes also carried out simulated air raids over Tyre and nearby villages and dropped illumination flares over Mansouri and Bayt al-Sayyad.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two people, including a four-year-old child, were wounded in a strike on Haddatha.
In Kfar Shouba, an Israeli force prevented Lebanese farmers from entering the areas of Azrael and Bastara to harvest olives, as residents of border villages continued to face difficulties reaching their farmland.
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