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One Killed in Israeli Strike in Eastern Lebanon

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
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One Killed in Israeli Strike in Eastern Lebanon

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)

An Israeli strike on a car near the Syrian border killed a man Sunday, a security source said, after overnight fire wounded four people in Lebanon's east, a second security official said.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging cross-border fire almost daily since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas began last October.

But fears have surged of an all-out conflict in recent weeks with Israel launching air strikes deeper into eastern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the Bekaa Valley area several times.

"Israeli aircraft targeted a vehicle in... Suwairi, killing its Syrian driver," a security source told AFP, requesting anonymity because of security concerns.

Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency had said a strike on a vehicle in Suwairi, in Lebanon's east, injured the driver, before reporting that he had been killed.

The NNA said he had been delivering food in a car that belonged to a supermarket owner.

Images from the scene showed a burnt-out blue vehicle and a streak of blood on the ground nearby.

Overnight Saturday, Israeli jets struck a Hezbollah center that had been deserted for some time, the second security source told AFP. Four residents in nearby buildings had been wounded by the strikes, the source added.

The strike at al-Osseira, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border, ended a period of relative calm that had lasted around 10 days.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets "struck a Hezbollah manufacturing site containing weapons in the area of Baalbek", referring to the main city in the Bekaa Valley.

The NNA had earlier reported three people injured in the Israeli strikes.

Later, Hezbollah said it fired "more than 60 Katyusha-type rockets" at two Israeli military positions in the occupied Golan Heights in response to the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military also said "approximately 50 launches were identified from Lebanon toward northern Israel".

"A number of launches were intercepted while the rest fell in open areas," the military added.

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Arab World

Ten ISIS Suspects from Türkiye Arrested in Syria

Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Ten ISIS Suspects from Türkiye Arrested in Syria

Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Ten Turkish citizens accused of being ISIS members have been arrested in Syria, Turkish state media said on Saturday.

The 10 -- for whom Interpol had issued international alerts, or Red Notices -- were apprehended in a joint operation by the Turkish and Syrian intelligence services, they said.

Nine of the 10 were returned to Türkiye, said the Anadolu news agency and state TV channel TRT.

One is suspected of having ties to the perpetrators of an attack in Ankara's central railway station in late 2015, in which more than 100 people died.

Two others are accused of planning or participating in attacks on Turkish soldiers deployed in northern Syria.

Turkish state media said the 10 were thought to have joined ISIS between 2014 and 2017. They did not say exactly when or where the suspects were arrested.

Arab World

Iraqi Court Hears First Challenge to Zaidi’s Premiership

This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
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Iraqi Court Hears First Challenge to Zaidi’s Premiership

This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court has set July 1 for its first hearing in a lawsuit challenging the validity of Ali al-Zaidi’s designation as prime minister, the first legal move of its kind since the current government was formed.

The court date comes as political forces that failed to push through their ministerial nominees look for legal ways to challenge parliamentary voting procedures, amid a deepening dispute over the constitutional mechanisms for forming the government.

Former lawmaker Raad al-Maliki said in a press statement that he had received the official notice by email, along with a response memorandum submitted by the president’s representative in the case.

The memorandum, according to Maliki, argued that the plaintiff had no legal interest in the case and that the claim had been directed at the wrong party. It said the designation, in the plaintiff’s view, was made by the largest parliamentary bloc, not by the president.

It also raised issues related to the nominee’s competence, political ties and ownership of media outlets, and whether these could create a conflict of interest after he took office.

Al-Zaidi, a businessman who owns companies with his brother and partners, including Al-Oweis, Al-Janoob, and Dijlah TV, remains a little-known figure in Iraqi politics. His designation caught political circles by surprise.

The memorandum said that, after taking office, senior officials must give up private interests to avoid conflicts of interest or risk legal accountability.

Maliki said he would press ahead with the lawsuit and file a detailed response to the arguments presented. He said the challenge concerned “public law” and should not be tied to direct personal interest.

Legal view

Constitutional expert Ali al-Tamimi said the Federal Supreme Court, which operates under Law No. 30 of 2005 and its amended rules of procedure, first reviews legal interest and proper standing before considering the substance of a case.

He said the court would examine whether the designation was constitutional under Article 76, whether the requirements for nominating the prime minister and completing the cabinet had been met, and whether the parliamentary vote was valid.

Tamimi said the court could seek additional evidence, including recordings or the testimony of technical experts. He said predicting its decisions was “extremely difficult,” and that it could either reject or accept the case.

On the political side, Tamimi said al-Zaidi was a “consensus candidate” after former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki withdrew from the race. He said al-Zaidi’s nomination had the support of a major parliamentary bloc within complex political balances.

Tamimi said the court could delay its ruling for more than a month, adding that its decisions are final, binding and cannot be appealed.

Arab World

Last Australians Leave Syria Camp Holding Suspected Militant Relatives

Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
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Last Australians Leave Syria Camp Holding Suspected Militant Relatives

Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

The last Australian women and children held in a northeast Syria camp housing relatives of suspected foreign militants left the site this week seeking to return home, a camp official told AFP on Saturday.

"Twenty-one Australians left Roj camp" on Thursday -- seven women and 14 children, aged eight to 14 -- the Kurdish administrative official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Syrian Kurdish forces control the Roj camp, where relatives of suspected foreign militants including Westerners have been held for years.

"They were handed over to the Syrian government and transferred to the Syrian capital with the aim of sending them to Australia," the official said, adding: "There are no more Australians remaining in Roj."

Earlier this month, 13 more Australians -- four women and their nine children -- flew home from Syria.

Two of the women, a mother and a daughter, were arrested on arrival, with police accusing them of having kept a female slave after travelling to Syria in 2014 to support the ISIS, and of crimes against humanity.

They had been detained by Kurdish forces in 2019.

A third woman was also arrested on arrival in Australia and charged with entering a restricted area and joining a "terrorist organization.”

The fourth woman was not arrested.

Small groups of women and children flew back to Australia in 2019, 2022 and 2025.