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Israel Defense Chief to Discuss Gaza, Lebanon on US Trip

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
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Israel Defense Chief to Discuss Gaza, Lebanon on US Trip

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel since the Gaza war erupted more than eight months ago. The group has said it will not stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, Reuters reported.
"We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas," Gallant said in a statement before setting off to Washington, where he said he will meet his counterpart Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Earlier in June, Hezbollah targeted Israeli towns and military sites with the largest volleys of rockets and drones in the hostilities so far, after an Israeli strike killed the most senior Hezbollah commander yet.
US envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon last week in an attempt to cool tensions, amid an uptick in cross-border fire and an escalation in rhetoric on both sides.
Some Israeli officials have linked the ongoing Israeli push into Rafah, the southern area of Gaza where it says it is targeting the last battalions of militant group Hamas, to a potential focus on Lebanon.
Gallant appeared to make the same link in his statement.
"The transition to Phase C in Gaza is of great importance. I will discuss this transition with US officials, how it may enable additional things and I know that we will achieve close cooperation with the US on this issue as well," Gallant said.
Scaling back Gaza operations would free up forces to take on Hezbollah, were Israel to launch a ground offensive or step up its aerial bombardments.
Officials have described the third and last phase of Israel's Gaza offensive as winding down fighting while stepping up efforts to stabilize a post-Hamas rule and begin reconstruction in the enclave, much of which has been laid to waste.
Gallant, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, has sparred with the premier in the past few months, calling for a clearer post-war plan for Gaza that will not leave Israel in charge, a demand echoed by the White House.
Netanyahu has been walking a tightrope as he seeks to keep his government together by balancing the demands of the defense establishment, including ex-generals like Gallant, and far-right coalition partners who have resisted any post-Gaza strategy that could open the way to a future Palestinian state.
The head of Israel's parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuli Edelstein, told Army Radio on Sunday that fighting Hezbollah would be complex either way, now or later.
"We are not in the right position to conduct fighting on both the southern front and the northern front. We will have to deploy differently in the south in order to fight in the north," said Edelstein, also a Likud member.
Edelstein criticized a video by Netanyahu released last week in which the prime minister said the Biden administration was "withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel." The video led to a spat with the White House.
President Joe Biden's administration paused a shipment of 2,000 pound and 500-pound bombs in May over concerns about their impact if used in densely-populated areas of Gaza. Israel was still due to get billions of dollars worth of US weaponry.
"I hope that in the discussions behind closed doors much more will be achieved than by attempts to create pressure with videos," Edelstein said, referring to Gallant's trip.

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Arab World

More than Half of Lebanon Population Depends on Aid, Says EU Official

European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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More than Half of Lebanon Population Depends on Aid, Says EU Official

European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman

More than half of Lebanon's population depends on humanitarian aid, a European Union official said on Friday, as Israel continues its attacks on the country despite a ceasefire in the two-month-long war with militant group Hezbollah.

"At present, more than three million people, meaning more than half of the population here in Lebanon, depend on humanitarian aid to survive," EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib told reporters after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.

Lahbib said that since the start of the war on March 2 the 27-member bloc has provided 100 million euros in aid and sent six planes carrying humanitarian aid, with a seventh expected on Saturday.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people and displaced over one million since early March, according to authorities.

The UN launched an emergency appeal in March for $308 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, but in two months it has raised just $126 million, according to UN agencies.

Lahbib, who said that the ceasefire has opened "a narrow window of hope", called for Hezbollah "to cease its attacks and be disarmed" and said that "Israel must put an end to its bombardments".

"For a ceasefire to lead to peace, courage is needed -- political courage to address the root causes of this conflict."

Israel and Lebanon are set to hold a third round of talks in Washington next week to end the war, despite Hezbollah's opposition to direct negotiations.

Arab World

Who Are the Radwan Commanders Israel Has Killed in Lebanon?

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after the attack that took place on the evening of Wednesday, May 7, 2026 (AP). 
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after the attack that took place on the evening of Wednesday, May 7, 2026 (AP). 
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Who Are the Radwan Commanders Israel Has Killed in Lebanon?

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after the attack that took place on the evening of Wednesday, May 7, 2026 (AP). 
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after the attack that took place on the evening of Wednesday, May 7, 2026 (AP). 

Israel’s announcement that it had killed Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout in a strike targeting the Haret Hreik area of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday renewed focus on the series of assassinations targeting commanders of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force since the outbreak of the Gaza war.

The strikes seem to be a concentrated campaign aimed at weakening the leadership structure of the group’s elite unit.

Since the early months of the confrontation, the Radwan Force has become a primary target of Israeli strikes, both in south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, as Israel pursued field and military commanders responsible for offensive operations and oversight of drone, assault and combined operations units.

Israeli army spokeswoman Ella Waweya said the military “carried out a strike on Wednesday and eliminated Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout, a commander in the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s elite commando unit, in Beirut’s southern suburbs.”

According to the Israeli account, Ballout held several positions within the Radwan Force over the years, most notably operations commander, where he was responsible for the unit’s “combat readiness and mobilization against the Israeli army.”

Waweya said Ballout also played a role in “efforts to restore the capabilities of the Radwan Force,” particularly what Israel refers to as the “plan to occupy the Galilee,” long viewed by Israel’s military establishment as one of the main threats posed by Hezbollah’s elite unit.

Over recent months, details have gradually emerged about commanders who played central roles within the force before becoming direct targets in the ongoing assassination campaign.

Wissam al-Tawil: The first major target

Wissam Hassan al-Tawil was the first prominent Radwan commander whose killing was announced by Israel after the start of the confrontation linked to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Born in 1970 in Tyre, he joined Hezbollah at a young age and rose through the group’s military ranks.

According to the Israeli announcement, Tawil “was known as one of the overseers of the external operations and military manufacturing portfolio” and was also a member of Hezbollah’s central Shura Council, making him one of the influential military figures within the organization.

On Jan. 8, 2024, an Israeli drone targeted the vehicle carrying him in the southern town of Khirbet Selm, in what marked the beginning of a new phase in the targeting of Radwan commanders.

Mohammad Nasser: Commander of the western sector

Mohammad Nasser emerged as one of the leading commanders of the Aziz Unit, part of the Radwan Force and responsible for the western sector of the southern front.

Born in 1965 in the southern town of Haddatha, he joined Hezbollah in 1986 and participated in operations against the Israeli army during the occupation period. His military role later expanded to include fighting alongside Syrian government forces between 2011 and 2016.

After the killing of commander Hassan Mohammad al-Hajj in Syria in 2015, Nasser took command of the Aziz Unit and oversaw operations involving drones, rockets and combined attacks during Hezbollah’s campaign of support for Hamas.

In July 2024, Israel announced it had killed him in a strike targeting his vehicle in Tyre.

Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmad Wahbi: Targeting the most experienced circle

While the assassination of field commanders placed operational pressure on the Radwan Force, targeting leaders involved in planning and training appeared even more sensitive for Hezbollah, as reflected in the killings of Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmad Wahbi.

Aqil, who served as commander of the Radwan Force and was among the founding figures of Hezbollah’s military wing, joined the group in the 1980s before becoming one of its leading military commanders.

His name was linked to sensitive security and military files. The United States accuses him of involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and the attack on the US Marine barracks the same year. Within Hezbollah, he was a member of the Jihad Council and played a major role in developing the Radwan Force’s military capabilities. He also helped oversee operations in Syria after Hezbollah became involved in the conflict there.

On Sept. 20, 2024, Israel killed him in an airstrike targeting a meeting of Radwan Force commanders that he was chairing in the Jamous area of Beirut’s southern suburbs. Several senior commanders in the unit were also killed in the strike.

Ahmad Wahbi: Architect of training and ambushes

Ahmad Wahbi was regarded as one of the key architects behind the training of Radwan Force fighters. He joined Hezbollah shortly after its founding and took part in operations against the Israeli occupation before being captured by Israel in 1984.

His name later emerged as one of those involved in the 1997 Ansariya ambush targeting Israel’s Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, before he assumed responsibilities related to central training within Hezbollah.

According to the Israeli military, Wahbi had overseen training for the Radwan Force since 2012 and played a pivotal role in developing its manpower and military capabilities. He also assumed additional responsibilities after the killing of Wissam al-Tawil.

In the same strike that killed Ibrahim Aqil in September 2024, Wahbi was killed alongside several Radwan commanders, in what was described as one of the heaviest blows suffered by the force since its establishment.

 

Arab World

France Says Sending Envoy Back to Algeria to Ease Relations

File Photo: Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain. (AFP)
File Photo: Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain. (AFP)
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France Says Sending Envoy Back to Algeria to Ease Relations

File Photo: Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain. (AFP)
File Photo: Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain. (AFP)

Paris will return its ambassador to Algeria and send a senior envoy to ceremonies marking a colonial-era massacre in its former colony to improve frayed relations, the French presidency said on Friday.

Ties between France and Algeria have been fraught since 2024, when Paris officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front, said AFP.

On Friday, French Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces Alice Rufo will attend ceremonies in Algeria to mark the 1945 violent put-down of pro-democracy protesters by French troops, the Elysee said in a statement.

She will be accompanied by Ambassador Stephane Romatet, who will resume his duties, more than a year after being recalled from his post, it said.

The move by French President Emmanuel Macron "reflects the President of the Republic's determination to address relations between France and Algeria with honesty, while respecting all the memories connected to them" and "to restore an effective dialogue", the Elysee said.