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Berri Says War with Israel ‘Most Dangerous Phase’ in Lebanon’s History

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Berri Says War with Israel ‘Most Dangerous Phase’ in Lebanon’s History

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

The speaker of Lebanon's parliament, Nabih Berri, said on Wednesday the war with Israel had been the "most dangerous phase" his country had endured in its history, hours after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the US and France, a rare victory for diplomacy in a region traumatized by two devastating wars for over a year.
Lebanon's army, which is tasked with helping make sure the ceasefire holds, said in a statement on Wednesday it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country.
The military also asked that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military, which has waged war against Hezbollah on several occasions and pushed around six km (4 miles) into Lebanese territory, withdraws.
The agreement, which promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, is a major achievement for the US in the waning days of President Joe Biden's administration.
Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. He said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and that fighting would end at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there, Biden said.

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Arab World

Morocco Signs Agreement to Join Gaza International Force

Palestinians gather around a blacksmith shop in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood after it was hit by an Israeli military strike on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians gather around a blacksmith shop in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood after it was hit by an Israeli military strike on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP)
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Morocco Signs Agreement to Join Gaza International Force

Palestinians gather around a blacksmith shop in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood after it was hit by an Israeli military strike on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians gather around a blacksmith shop in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood after it was hit by an Israeli military strike on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP)

Morocco signed an agreement on Wednesday to participate in the International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza, state media reported.

The agreement was signed in Rabat at a meeting attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, senior defense officials ‌and Nickolay ‌Mladenov, the Board ‌of Peace ⁠envoy for Gaza, along ⁠with a delegation including the commander of the ISF, the state news agency MAP said.

The agreement "reflects the shared determination to contribute, through ⁠concrete humanitarian and security ‌actions, to the ‌establishment of a climate of ‌peace and security in the region," ‌MAP quoted a statement from the Moroccan defense administration as saying.

The Gaza Peace Council and ISF ‌leadership welcomed Morocco's decision to join the initiative, citing ⁠its ⁠planned deployment of senior military officers, gendarmerie and police personnel, as well as the creation of a military field hospital, MAP said.

Arab World

Could Hezbollah Launch a New War in Support of Iran?

Supporters of Hezbollah carry Iranian and Hezbollah flags during a memorial ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 08 July 2026. (EPA)
Supporters of Hezbollah carry Iranian and Hezbollah flags during a memorial ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 08 July 2026. (EPA)
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Could Hezbollah Launch a New War in Support of Iran?

Supporters of Hezbollah carry Iranian and Hezbollah flags during a memorial ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 08 July 2026. (EPA)
Supporters of Hezbollah carry Iranian and Hezbollah flags during a memorial ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 08 July 2026. (EPA)

Amid deteriorating regional conditions and faltering US-Iranian understandings, Lebanese people fear that Hezbollah may once again launch a new round of war in support of Iran. This follows the party’s previous interventions, including its 2023 campaign backing Gaza and its retaliation for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in March this year.

Lebanon has witnessed a drop in Israeli military operations, which have reached their lowest levels in weeks, despite Israel's continued occupation of a security zone extending up to ten kilometers deep inside Lebanese territory. Hezbollah has also halted all military operations since the ceasefire was announced in mid-June.

However, the resumption of attacks between the US and Iran leads observers to believe that Tehran could once again request its regional proxies, including Hezbollah, to reignite all fronts in its support, should it perceive that the situation is heading toward a major escalation against it.

These fears are compounded by past statements by Hezbollah lawmakers and leaders. Most recently, MP Ali Ammar pledged to stand behind Iran in the event of a new war.

Conversely, during his latest appearance, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem insisted on maintaining the diplomatic track between the US and Iran, while fiercely attacking the path of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.

Political analyst Qassem Qassir, who is close to Hezbollah's positioning, noted that “no one can definitively determine the red lines drawn by Hezbollah, which, if crossed, would prompt a return to resistance in its broadest sense.”

“However, it is expected that a broad Israeli assault on the Ali al-Taher hill would naturally compel the group to defend it,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The same applies if attacks target other Lebanese areas still outside direct Israeli control, or if the enemy resumes wide-scale offensives and attacks against Nabatieh, Tyre, the southern suburbs of Beirut or other regions,” he added.

“Ultimately, the decision rests with Hezbollah's leadership, which has confirmed through its Secretary-General that it will not accept a return to the status quo prior to March 2” when the war with Israel erupted, he said.

“Consequently, matters remain contingent upon favorable conditions on the ground as well as the political climate. For instance, should direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations hit a dead end, it could prompt the resistance [Hezbollah] to resume direct military operations,” he remarked.

Security and defense analyst Dr. Riad Kahwaji said: “The red lines that could prompt Hezbollah to resume fighting are determined by Iran, not the party's own leadership.”

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he added: “Tehran alone decides when the party will reopen the support front.”

Arab World

Israeli NGO Slams Investment Plan for West Bank Settlements

Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli NGO Slams Investment Plan for West Bank Settlements

Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli NGO on Wednesday condemned a government plan to invest around $2.7 billion in infrastructure and thousands of new residential units across several settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in 2022, his government has rapidly expanded settlements in the West Bank, drawing criticism from rights groups and the UN.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed an umbrella agreement to invest in settlements in the north of the Palestinian territory.

"This is another significant step in the settlement revolution we are leading in Judea and Samaria," Smotrich said on X, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

"As part of the agreement, approximately 12,000 new housing units will be established, alongside an investment of more than eight billion ILS (approximately $ 2.7 billion) in infrastructure, public institutions and settlement development."

Netanyahu hailed the agreement.

"Not only do we defend this place, we elevate it," he said.

Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now slammed the decision, accusing the government of squandering public funds and entrenching the occupation of the West Bank.

The group said the move would complicate any future withdrawal from the West Bank and the creation of a Palestinian state.

"Umbrella agreements are used for the rapid development of large-scale projects," Hagit Ofran, a spokeswoman for Peace Now, told AFP.

"From the government's perspective, it is a double win: unbridled construction in the settlements, along with shackling the next government to commitments that will make it difficult to roll back this terrible government's reckless policy."

Since taking office, Netanyahu's government, widely seen as one of the most right-wing in the country's history, has approved the establishment of 102 settlements in the West Bank, according to Peace Now.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, among some three million Palestinians.