Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts

A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
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Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts

A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched an attack with a swarm of drones on military posts in the kibbutz of Amiad in northern Israel, the armed group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Israeli kibbutz is located approximately 22 kilometers from the Lebanese border. 
Hezbollah said the attack was a retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Lebanese Bekaa region overnight.

Hezbollah also launched more than 50 rockets, hitting several homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

First responders in the Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak.

Hezbollah said the attack was also in response to an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday night.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it bombed Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Bekaa overnight.
The air attack came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that "attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation for anything that might happen."

Security sources said the strike was in a residential area near the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa.

The airstrikes left at least two people dead and 19 injured, according to the sources.

Another Israeli airstrike on Wednesday hit a car on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, killing a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian faction Fatah, two Palestinian sources told Reuters.

Khalil al-Maqdah, the brother of Fatah Gen. Mounir al-Maqdah, was killed in the strike, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.



Arab League Delegation to Visit Syria Next Week

Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab League Delegation to Visit Syria Next Week

Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A delegation from the Arab League is set to visit Damascus next week, the league’s assistant secretary-general, Ambassador Hossam Zaki, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Zaki, who will head the delegation, said preparations are ongoing to finalize the visit’s agenda. The trip will include meetings with various Syrian parties, as well as discussions with the new administration led by Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Earlier this month, Asharq Al-Awsat quoted an informed Arab diplomatic source as saying that the Arab League was intending to dispatch a delegation to Damascus to “open communication channels with the new authorities and understand their perspective.”
The league has been planning this visit for some time, coordinating with the new Syrian administration to ensure it moves forward smoothly. According to Zaki, the visit aims to “compile a report for Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and member states about the changes in Syria.”
While some Arab nations have already engaged with the new Syrian leadership, Zaki noted that many of the League’s 22 member states have yet to do so.
He explained that the visit will provide these countries with an updated understanding of developments in Syria and give the Syrian administration an opportunity to present its vision for the future.
Last Sunday, Riyadh hosted a ministerial meeting involving Arab and Western officials to discuss Syria. The meeting included the Secretary-General of the Arab League, the Secretary-General of the GCC, and foreign ministers from Egypt, Syria, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Oman, Lebanon, and Bahrain, as well as representatives from Western countries.
When asked whether the outcomes of the Riyadh meeting would influence the Arab League’s visit to Damascus, Zaki emphasized that while the Riyadh meeting’s results are significant, they will not change the visit’s main objective: to assess the situation on the ground in Syria, consult with various parties, and prepare a detailed report for member states.
The Arab Ministerial Contact Group on Syria convened in Aqaba, Jordan, on December 14, 2024, where it reaffirmed its support for the Syrian people during the transitional phase.
Syrian political writer and researcher Ghassan Youssef described the league’s visit to Damascus as a “mission focused on familiarization, fact-finding, and public relations.”
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Youssef said: “Syria is in a transitional phase, and the new administration must be engaged.” He added that the planned National Dialogue Conference in Damascus and upcoming elections could bolster the legitimacy of the country’s new leadership and encourage deeper Arab and Western engagement.
In May 2023, the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers held an emergency meeting in Cairo, reinstating Syria’s membership in the Arab League. This decision ended a suspension imposed in November 2011.