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Lebanon Receives Medical Aid amid Fears of War

05 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Passengers look for time of departing flights as several countries have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon, as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East, and fears have grown of an all-out war between Israeli and Hezbollah. (dpa)
05 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Passengers look for time of departing flights as several countries have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon, as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East, and fears have grown of an all-out war between Israeli and Hezbollah. (dpa)
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Lebanon Receives Medical Aid amid Fears of War

05 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Passengers look for time of departing flights as several countries have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon, as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East, and fears have grown of an all-out war between Israeli and Hezbollah. (dpa)
05 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Passengers look for time of departing flights as several countries have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon, as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East, and fears have grown of an all-out war between Israeli and Hezbollah. (dpa)

Lebanon on Monday received emergency medical supplies to equip its hospitals for possible war injuries and Beirut airport was teeming with people trying to leave the country amid fears a full-scale conflict was on the horizon.
Tensions in the region have spiraled in the last week following the killing in Tehran of Palestinian militant group Hamas' head, and an Israeli strike on Beirut's suburbs that killed a top commander in Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and Iran have vowed to retaliate against Israel for the killings, prompting concerns that the multiple fronts being fought in parallel to the Gaza War could escalate into a full-blown regional war.
Hospitals in southern Lebanon, where most of the tit-for-tat exchanges between Hezbollah and the Israeli military have taken place, are worn down by a years-long economic meltdown and have struggled to cope with wounded patients over the last 10 months.
On Monday, the World Health Organization delivered 32 tons of medical supplies to Lebanon's health ministry, including at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat possible war wounded.
"The goal is to get these supplies and medicines to various hospitals and to the health sector in Lebanon, especially in the places most exposed (to hostilities) so that we can be ready to deal with any emergency," health minister Firass Abiad told reporters at the airport landing strip where the aid arrived.
In the airport's departure hall, families of Lebanese origin who had come to their homeland for the summer lined up to check in to their departing flights, sad to be leaving earlier than expected.
Countries including France, Britain, Italy, Türkiye and others have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon as long as commercial flights are still available.
"It is just very sad, oh God, the situation is really sad. We get out of a crisis, we go into another one," said Sherin Malah, a Lebanese citizen living in Italy who had come to Lebanon to visit her mother and was heading home early.
The United States has urged its citizens who want to leave Lebanon "to book any ticket available," while the United Nations has asked the families of its staff to leave Lebanon and the Swedish embassy has temporarily relocated its staff to Cyprus.
But others in Lebanon appeared more relaxed. Along the sandy coastline of Lebanon's port city of Tyre, about 20 km (12 miles)from the border with Israel, children splashed in the water as plumes of black smoke from Israeli shelling further south curled up from the hills behind them.
"As for the current situation, as you can see, all the people are by the beach, this land is our land, and we will not leave it," said Tyre resident Ghalib Badawy.

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Arab World

Libya PM Undergoes 'Successful' Treatment at Heart Hospital

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)
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Libya PM Undergoes 'Successful' Treatment at Heart Hospital

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)

Libya's Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah has undergone "successful" treatment at a heart hospital, his office said Saturday, but his specific ailment was not disclosed.

"I assure you that I am fine, by God's grace," said a statement posted on social media overnight.

The treatment was carried out at a facility in the northwestern Libyan city of Misrata on an undisclosed date, said AFP.

Dbeibah said he later travelled abroad for "additional medical checkups for reassurance", though this was not the primary reason for his trip.

Italian media outlets previously reported he had been admitted to a leading cardiac facility in Milan on Thursday for a general check-up.

"The matter is simply that I underwent some additional medical checkups for reassurance while I was abroad due to a prior external commitment," he said.

"The results confirmed the success of the treatment I received in Libya, praise be to God."

The prime minister leads a UN-recognized government based in Tripoli that controls western Libya, while the country's east is run by another administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Libya has remained divided since chaos erupted following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Arab World

Eight Hezbollah Members Killed in Israel’s Friday Strikes on Lebanon

A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
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Eight Hezbollah Members Killed in Israel’s Friday Strikes on Lebanon

A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)

Attacks carried out by Israel on Friday in eastern Lebanon killed eight members of Hezbollah, an official from the group told AFP on Saturday.

Lebanon's health ministry said Friday that a total of 10 people were killed in strikes that hit the eastern Bekaa region.

The Israeli military said it targeted "several terrorists of Hezbollah's missile array in three different command centers in the Baalbek area".

Lebanon's president on Saturday condemned the attacks, the latest despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

In a statement, Joseph Aoun called the attacks "a blatant act of aggression aimed at thwarting diplomatic efforts" by the United States and other nations to establish stability.

A lawmaker from Hezbollah called on Beirut to suspend meetings of a multinational committee tasked with monitoring the truce.

Washington is one of five members on the committee overseeing the ceasefire implemented in November 2024, with the body scheduled to meet again next week.

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the ceasefire, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah but occasionally also the group's Palestinian ally Hamas.

The Friday attacks on southern and eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, according to the health ministry, 10 of them in the east of the country.

Israel's military said it struck "several terrorists of Hezbollah's missile array in three different command centers in the Baalbek area".

Hezbollah said a commander was killed in the raids. Its lawmaker Rami Abu Hamdan said on Saturday the group "will not accept the authorities acting as mere political analysts, dismissing these as Israeli strikes we have grown accustomed to before every meeting of the committee".

He called on Beirut to "suspend the committee's meetings until the enemy ceases its attacks".

Hezbollah, while weakened following war with Israel, remains a strong political force in Lebanon represented in parliament.

Lebanon's government last year committed to disarming the Iran-backed group, with the army saying last month it had completed the first phase of the plan covering the area near the Israeli border.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming since the war, has called the Lebanese army's progress on disarming the group insufficient.

Arab World

Ramadan’s First Friday Prayers Are Held at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

Palestinians worshippers gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, in the Old City of Jerusalem, 20 February 2026. (EPA)
Palestinians worshippers gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, in the Old City of Jerusalem, 20 February 2026. (EPA)
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Ramadan’s First Friday Prayers Are Held at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

Palestinians worshippers gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, in the Old City of Jerusalem, 20 February 2026. (EPA)
Palestinians worshippers gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, in the Old City of Jerusalem, 20 February 2026. (EPA)

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered under heavy Israeli restrictions at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, including some who were allowed to enter from the occupied West Bank.

The Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa took place for the first time since a shaky ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October. It was the first opportunity many had to leave the West Bank and pray at the site in Jerusalem’s Old City since Ramadan last year.

Israel restricted the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the West Bank to 10,000 on Friday, and only allowed men over 55 and women over 50 as well as children up to 12. It has imposed similar restrictions in the past, citing security concerns.

The hilltop, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary. Today it is home to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

It has frequently been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli police said more than 3,000 police were deployed across Jerusalem. They said their presence was not meant to show aggression or force but was aimed at providing help in case of an emergency.

Many Palestinians view the heightened Israeli security presence, and increasing visits by religious and nationalist Israeli Jews, as a provocation. They fear that Israel intends to take over or partition the compound. The Israeli government denies having any such plans.

Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian religious authority that administers the compound, said there were 80,000 in attendance. In normal times, Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa can draw up to 200,000.

Ezaldeen Mustafah, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was among those lamenting the restrictions.

“We need more people than this,” he said.

Some Palestinians from the West Bank on Friday said they were turned away from crossing into Jerusalem even though they had permits. Jihad Bisharat said he was told his permit had been canceled and was sent back. Israel's army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Israel annexed east Jerusalem, a move not recognized by most of the international community, and considers the entire city to be its capital.

Ramadan in Gaza

Many Palestinians said the month’s typically festive spirit is eluding them as they struggle with grief and losses following two years of conflict in Gaza sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel.

“All the mosques have been bombed,” said Ramiz Firwana, a Gaza resident who gathered with other worshippers for a Friday sermon and prayers held in schoolyard.

On Thursday evening, families sat amid the rubble and destruction for iftar, the meal held at the end of the daily dawn-to-dusk fast.

“Despite the displacement, the pain and the destruction, we want to rejoice and live,” said Mohammad Kollab, from Khan Younis. “We are not a people destined only for destruction and killing."

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in the initial attack.

The Oct. 10 US-brokered ceasefire deal has brought an end to major military operations and the release of the remaining hostages. But Palestinians, including many civilians, are still being killed in near-daily strikes that Israel says are aimed at militants who threaten or attack its forces.