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At Least 1 Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon 

This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
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At Least 1 Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon 

This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)

A series of Israeli airstrikes Thursday in southern Lebanon killed at one person and wounded eight others, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. 

The Israeli military said it bombed infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah group that included weapons and tunnel shafts as part of an underground network. Israel accused Hezbollah of regrouping and maintaining its infrastructure in violation of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement in November that ended its war with Hezbollah. 

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the strikes near the southern city of Nabatieh, which came as calls mounted for the Lebanese state to disarm the group.  

Hezbollah says it will not lay down its weapons as long as Israel controls part of south Lebanon and continues striking deep inside the country. Israel still has control of five hilltop points on Lebanese territory following its ground invasion last year. 

“The government has not and will not spare any effort to expedite the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told reporters after meeting with officials in the northeastern city of Baalbek, which was battered by the war that killed 4,000 people. 

Hezbollah says it has largely disarmed south of the Litani River, while Israel says its fighters are trying to regroup. 

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said public institutions in the area were closed after the attacks. Families rushed to schools to take their children home. 

Since the ceasefire went into effect in November, Israeli strikes have continued. Israel has struck southern Beirut three times after two rocket attacks from southern Lebanon hit northern Israel, allegedly fired by the Palestinian Hamas group in March. 

After their previous war in 2006, Israel and Hezbollah were supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon below the Litani River and leave it under the sole control of the Lebanese military alongside UN peacekeepers. That would eventually extend to the rest of the country, with the aim to disarm all non-state groups in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and end Israeli military presence. 

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Washington’s Alleged Plan to Relocate Gaza Residents to Libya Stirs Backlash

Libyan politicians and parliamentarians described talks about the "Washington plan" to displace the residents of Gaza to Libya "a red line". (Reuters) 
Libyan politicians and parliamentarians described talks about the "Washington plan" to displace the residents of Gaza to Libya "a red line". (Reuters) 
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Washington’s Alleged Plan to Relocate Gaza Residents to Libya Stirs Backlash

Libyan politicians and parliamentarians described talks about the "Washington plan" to displace the residents of Gaza to Libya "a red line". (Reuters) 
Libyan politicians and parliamentarians described talks about the "Washington plan" to displace the residents of Gaza to Libya "a red line". (Reuters) 

Reports of a US plan under President Donald Trump’s administration to permanently relocate nearly one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya have sparked strong opposition among Libyan politicians and lawmakers.
Both the Government of National Unity and the Government of National Stability have remained silent on the matter, declining to comment on the leaked reports.
Asharq Al-Awsat reached out to both administrations via email but received no response. However, Talal Al-Maihoub, head of the Defense and National Security Committee in Libya’s House of Representatives, firmly dismissed the idea, calling the relocation of Palestinians to Libya a “red line.”
“Despite the political instability Libya is going through, the Palestinian cause remains our top priority,” Al-Maihoub told Asharq Al-Awsat. “We reject any attempt to dismantle the cause or displace the people of Gaza.”
Amid widespread anti-government protests in Tripoli, Libyan social media erupted with reactions to a report by NBC News, which cited two informed sources and a former US official. According to the report, the Trump administration had seriously explored a plan to resettle Palestinians in Libya, even going so far as to discuss it with Libyan authorities. In exchange, Washington would unfreeze billions of dollars in Libyan assets that have been held for over a decade.
The backlash was not limited to parliament. Abdulaziz Hariba, head of the Political Committee in the Libyan High Council of State, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Libyans “categorically reject the relocation of Palestinians to Libya” and refuse to even entertain such discussions.
This isn’t the first time such speculation has surfaced. In March, a US media outlet reported that Libya was allegedly willing to accept a number of Palestinian refugees—a claim the Government of National Unity quickly denied. At the time, it reiterated Libya’s consistent support for the Palestinian cause and the right of the Palestinian people to live freely and with dignity on their own land.
Political parties in Libya have also expressed their rejection of the idea. Mohamed Hassan Makhlouf, deputy head of the Liberal People’s Party, said any attempt by Washington to impose such a plan would be unacceptable. “Libya is already facing deep political divisions, ongoing military tensions, and serious security challenges,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. “We are also under Chapter VII of the UN Charter—conditions that make Libya completely unfit to host displaced populations.”
Meanwhile, Ben Fishman, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the idea of relocating a million Palestinians is highly exaggerated. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Fishman noted that the media leaks appear to overlook Libya’s stance on the matter.