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Figure Close to Hamas Survives Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers stand around a wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR
Lebanese army soldiers stand around a wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR
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Figure Close to Hamas Survives Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers stand around a wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR
Lebanese army soldiers stand around a wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR

An Israeli drone strike hit a car near Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon on Saturday, killing several people and wounding two others, security officials said.
The drone strike near the coastal town of Jadra took place about 60 kilometers from the Israeli border, making it one of the farthest inside Lebanon since violence erupted along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas' attack in southern Israel.

The strike targeted a Palestinian figure close to Hamas but he survived, four security sources said, according to Reuters.
Three other people were killed, including one Hezbollah member, the security sources also told Reuters.
One source said the person targeted was close to Saleh al-Arouri, the Hamas deputy chief killed last month in an Israeli strike on a suburb of Beirut.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, but the Times of Israel daily reported that the strike targeted Basel Salah, describing him as a recruiter for Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank.
Drone strikes in Lebanon blamed on Israel have so far killed several officials from Hezbollah as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The previous farthest strike was the Jan. 2 attack that killed Arouri in Beirut.

Earlier, Hezbollah said on Saturday it had seized an Israeli Skylark drone over Lebanese airspace "in good condition.”
The Skylark is a small, unmanned aerial vehicle typically used for surveillance and produced by Israel-based weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.

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Security Council Urges Syrian Authorities to Protect Minorities

Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Security Council Urges Syrian Authorities to Protect Minorities

Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Security personnel inspect vehicles at a checkpoint set up to confiscate stolen items, in Latakia, Syria March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

The UN Security Council has condemned the widespread violence in several provinces in Syria, calling on the interim authorities “to protect all Syrians without distinction.”

In a presidential statement it adopted unanimously on Friday, the Council “condemned the widespread violence perpetrated in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces since 6 March — including mass killings of civilians among the Alawite community.”

The Council “condemned attacks targeting civilian infrastructure” and “called on all parties to immediately cease all violence and inflammatory activities and ensure the protection of all civilian populations and infrastructure, as well as humanitarian operations.”

It said “all parties and States must ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those affected and the humane treatment of all persons. The Council also urged a rapid increase of humanitarian support across Syria.”

The Council “called for swift, transparent, independent, impartial and comprehensive investigations to ensure accountability and bring all perpetrators of violence against civilians to justice.”

It took note of the Syrian interim authorities’ establishment of an independent committee to investigate such violence and identify those responsible.

The Council also noted the Syrian decision to establish a committee for civil peace.

It renewed its call for an inclusive political process led and owned by Syrians, facilitated by the UN and based on the principles outlined in resolution 2254. “This includes safeguarding the rights of all Syrians — regardless of ethnicity or religion — meeting their legitimate aspirations and enabling them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine their futures.”

Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, hoped that the Constitutional Declaration issued by the Syrian authorities “will move Syria toward restoring the rule of law and promoting an orderly inclusive transition.”

Pedersen issued a statement on the fourteenth anniversary of the war in Syria.

“Now is the time for bold moves to create a genuinely credible and inclusive transitional government and legislative body; a constitutional framework and process to draft a new constitution for the long term that is credible and inclusive too; and genuine transitional justice,” he said.

“More than three months since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria now stands at a pivotal moment,” he added.

The Special Envoy called for “an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians in accordance with international law” and called “for a credible independent investigation into the recent killings and violence, and for the full cooperation of the caretaker authorities with the United Nations in this regard.”