Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they also treated two women in their 50s who were wounded in northern Israel.

It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.



Syrian Government Forces and Druze Factions Exchange Prisoners in Sweida

A delegation from the Sweida Governorate inspects the service situation in the villages of the western countryside (SANA)
A delegation from the Sweida Governorate inspects the service situation in the villages of the western countryside (SANA)
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Syrian Government Forces and Druze Factions Exchange Prisoners in Sweida

A delegation from the Sweida Governorate inspects the service situation in the villages of the western countryside (SANA)
A delegation from the Sweida Governorate inspects the service situation in the villages of the western countryside (SANA)

The Syrian government and Druze factions controlling the southern city of Sweida on Thursday carried out ‌their first ‌prisoner exchange ‌since ⁠deadly clashes in the ⁠predominantly Druze city last summer, according to the Syrian ⁠government's Sweida media office.

The ‌swap ‌involved Damascus ‌releasing 61 ‌prisoners from the Druze factions detained in Adra ‌Central Prison near the capital, in ⁠return ⁠for the Druze's National Guard Forces freeing 25 Syrian government personnel, the media office said.


Syrian Interior Ministry: Conditions in Al-Hol Camp ‘Shocking’

Al-Hol camp in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on Feb. 24, after Syrian authorities closed the camp, which had been under Kurdish control (AFP)
Al-Hol camp in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on Feb. 24, after Syrian authorities closed the camp, which had been under Kurdish control (AFP)
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Syrian Interior Ministry: Conditions in Al-Hol Camp ‘Shocking’

Al-Hol camp in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on Feb. 24, after Syrian authorities closed the camp, which had been under Kurdish control (AFP)
Al-Hol camp in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on Feb. 24, after Syrian authorities closed the camp, which had been under Kurdish control (AFP)

Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said Syrian forces were surprised by the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Al-Hol camp more than six hours before the Syrian army arrived to assume control.

Al-Hol, the largest camp for relatives of suspected ISIS militants in northeastern Syria, had been under the control of the SDF. But last month, Syrian troops drove Kurdish forces from swathes of the north, sparking questions over the fate of the ISIS prisoners and their families.

Al-Baba noted that much of what has been reported about Al-Hol camp requires careful verification due to what he described as “exaggerations.” He confirmed that a number of those who had fled the camp were returned and had their legal status regularized.

His remarks came as the Interior Ministry announced the launch of two security operations against ISIS cells in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, following several attacks by the group on Syrian forces.

Security Plan in Hasakah

At a press conference, al-Baba said the ministry had prepared a comprehensive security deployment plan to secure Hasakah province, coinciding with the entry of Syrian army units last month.

The move was part of the implementation of an agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF aimed at ensuring stability and enforcing the terms of their understanding.

However, shortly before Syrian army units reached the outskirts of Al-Hol camp, “we were surprised” by what he described as an uncoordinated SDF withdrawal more than six hours earlier.

Al-Baba said the ministry followed up on the cases of those who left the camp in an unorganized manner, adding that most had been returned and their legal status settled. The families have been transferred to an alternative site offering improved humanitarian conditions and easier access.

He added that coordination is ongoing with relevant international and local organizations to verify the identities of individuals who lost documentation, determine where the documents were lost, and match records with civil registries. Work is also underway to establish a unified national database covering all of Syria.

European Concerns

A memo, sent from the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union to member states and dated February 23, said the status of third-country nationals who had fled Al-Hol remained unclear and that it was reported that a majority of them had escaped.

"This raises concerns about how terrorist groups might seek to capitalize on the current situation to increase recruitment efforts among escapees," said the memo, which was reviewed by Reuters.

Earlier, Human Rights Watch cautioned that the security vacuum had allowed suspected ISIS affiliates to escape, exposing women and children to serious risks, including trafficking, exploitation, and recruitment by armed groups.

“Children, Women and the Elderly”

Al-Baba described conditions inside the camp upon its handover as “shocking and resembling a forced detention camp,” where thousands of people had been held for years under harsh conditions in a semi-desert area lacking basic infrastructure.

He said that 70 percent of detainees were children, women and elderly people, most of them Syrians and Iraqis. “They are civilians displaced from areas of fighting and were forcibly detained on the pretext of affiliation with ISIS,” he stated.

Al-Baba added that around 6,500 detainees from 44 non-Syrian nationalities were being held at the camp, noting discrepancies between commonly circulated figures and the actual numbers.

He stressed that all information circulated about the camp requires thorough investigation and verification due to what he described as exaggerations regarding the number of residents. Accurate figures and data, he said, will be disclosed once the verification process is completed.

Background on Al-Hol

Al-Hol camp, located in Hasakah province near the Iraqi border, has been one of the main detention centers for families of ISIS fighters captured during the US-led international coalition campaign against the group in Syria.

The camp had been under SDF control from 2015 until January 20 of this year, when it was handed over to the Syrian government following its takeover of most areas in eastern and northern Syria.

Al-Baba said that from the first moment of assuming control, the Syrian government has been working to address the humanitarian situation, restore security, and prevent disorder.

He revealed that more than 138 breaches were recorded along the 17-kilometer section of the perimeter fence, adding that it will now be placed under the supervision of the relevant authorities.


Prince Harry and Meghan Visit Hospitalized Children from Gaza, Refugee Camp during Jordan Trip

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attend a World Health Organisation roundtable hosted by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and regional WHO leadership, along with key donors and humanitarian partners, in Amman, Jordan, February 25, 2026. World Health Organisation (WHO)/Handout via REUTERS
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attend a World Health Organisation roundtable hosted by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and regional WHO leadership, along with key donors and humanitarian partners, in Amman, Jordan, February 25, 2026. World Health Organisation (WHO)/Handout via REUTERS
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Prince Harry and Meghan Visit Hospitalized Children from Gaza, Refugee Camp during Jordan Trip

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attend a World Health Organisation roundtable hosted by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and regional WHO leadership, along with key donors and humanitarian partners, in Amman, Jordan, February 25, 2026. World Health Organisation (WHO)/Handout via REUTERS
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attend a World Health Organisation roundtable hosted by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and regional WHO leadership, along with key donors and humanitarian partners, in Amman, Jordan, February 25, 2026. World Health Organisation (WHO)/Handout via REUTERS

Prince Harry and Meghan visited a refugee camp and hospital in Jordan on Wednesday to kick off a trip spotlighting organizations that help civilians affected by war and displacement.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also joined World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for a roundtable with the WHO's regional leaders, some of their humanitarian partners and key donors, The Associated Press said.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be in a room full of people with such big hearts,” Harry told the group. “I don’t know how many times you get thanked for all the work that you do — probably not enough.”

Since stepping aside as working royals in 2020, the couple has prioritized support for projects that assist civilians affected by war, especially injured and displaced children. Their nonprofit, Archewell Philanthropies, recently supported WHO efforts to evacuate children from Gaza and bring them to Jordan for treatment.

Harry and Meghan met some of those children Wednesday at Specialty Hospital in Amman. They also visited Za’atari Refugee Camp, home to thousands of Syrians who remain displaced after more than a decade of conflict in their home country.

The couple were scheduled Thursday to visit the Amman office of World Central Kitchen, which organizes and sends food and other humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Harry and Meghan are longtime supporters of World Central Kitchen, their nonprofit's first philanthropic partner.