عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Palestinian Commander Targeted in Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs early on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs early on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
TT
TT

Palestinian Commander Targeted in Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs early on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs early on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, according to two Palestinian security officials.

Maqdah's fate was unknown.

The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources told Reuters.

"The Israeli raid targeted the house of the son of Mounir Maqdah," AFP quoted a Palestinian camp official as saying, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. It was unclear if Maqdah was at the property.

It marked the first strike on the camp, largest of several Palestinian camps in Lebanon, since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
TT
TT

Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.