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Israel Military Issues Fresh Evacuation Warnings for South Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Military Issues Fresh Evacuation Warnings for South Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military on Tuesday warned residents of 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah, the latest despite a ceasefire.

"Hezbollah's continued violations of the ceasefire compel the army to operate against it. The army does not intend to harm you. For your safety, we urge you to distance yourself from the area and immediately move at least 1,000 meters away," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a new series of Israeli strikes targeting several locations in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that it had targeted a gathering of soldiers and vehicles in northern Israel with "a swarm of attack drones."

The Iran-backed group also claimed responsibility for new attacks against Israeli forces operating inside Lebanese territory.

The Israeli military said that following sirens in several areas of northern Israel, a drone "that crossed from Lebanon to Israeli territory was intercepted".

Since the start of the ceasefire on April 17, Israel has continued to launch strikes, carry out demolitions and issue evacuation orders in south Lebanon, saying it is targeting the group.

Hezbollah has also continued operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

On Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes since the start of the war on March 2 had reached 3,020.

The Israeli military says it has lost 20 soldiers and one civilian contractor in southern Lebanon since the war began.

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Arab World

Facing Settler Violence, Palestinian Farmers Race to Harvest

Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP
Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP
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Facing Settler Violence, Palestinian Farmers Race to Harvest

Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP
Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP

With pitchforks and a makeshift combine the size of a golf cart, Hamad Jazi and his nephews race under the blazing sun to collect wheat from their West Bank field.

Israeli settlers have recently set fire to crops in the area, and Jazi fears his wheat could suffer a similar fate.

Their village of As-Sawiyah, in the center of the occupied West Bank, sits in a valley dominated by hills on top of which three settlements stand.

"The settlers have set fires twice already -- yesterday and the day before," Jazi told AFP.

"If you think back 10, 15 or 20 years ago, this season used to be a season of abundance. Today, you are racing against time just to harvest quickly and leave," he added.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Shielded by what rights groups describe as impunity from the law, some settlers have harassed rural Palestinian communities, vandalizing property and crops, committing arson and sometimes killing.

By all metrics, 2026 has been one of the most violent years to date, with an average of six attacks per day, according to data from UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

The surge in violence goes hand in hand with the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank, which part of the Israeli political class is threatening to annex.

Settlers in rural areas vandalize property and start fires, at times sowing terror in villages, as shown in videos posted on social media, sometimes by the perpetrators themselves.

The attacks have sparked criticism inside Israel, where the opposition accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and his far-right allies of turning a blind eye to acts of settler violence.

According to Mahmud Fatafta of the Palestinian Authority's agriculture ministry, settlers killed or stole 8,000 goats or sheep in the West Bank in 2026.

According to his ministry's data, 41,000 olive trees, a crop as emblematic to Palestinians as it is ubiquitous in the West Bank's rocky hills, were damaged by settlers or Israel's military in 2026.

- 'Steal our own crops' -

"In the past, when we went out into the fields, the olive harvest was a celebration; the grain harvest was a celebration," Jazi, his face worn by the sun, told AFP.

Now, "we live those moments like thieves. We go and 'steal' our own olives or our own crops", he said, complaining that the Israeli military requires him to coordinate with it before entering his fields.

Hikmat Abu Ras, head of As-Sawiya's village council, told AFP that his and neighboring communities have faced near daily attacks from settlers since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

"They constantly carry out these practices in order to drive us off our land and prevent us from entering it," he said.

Abu Ras lamented increasing movement restrictions that further isolate communities like his.

"Gates block the entrances to villages, camps, and cities. Movement is restricted. You race against time just to make sure the settler does not come and seize what is on your land."

Arab World

Egyptian Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria Nominates New Ambassador Instead of Al-Ahmad, Approval Under Way

Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egyptian Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria Nominates New Ambassador Instead of Al-Ahmad, Approval Under Way

Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

The crisis surrounding Syria's nomination of Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad as its ambassador to Egypt, first revealed in an Asharq Al-Awsat report published on June 1, appears to be heading toward a resolution. An Egyptian official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Cairo has received the name of a new nominee from the Syrian side and is in the process of approving him.

Asharq Al-Awsat previously published a widely discussed report on what it described as "Egyptian reservations" that had delayed Cairo's acceptance of several members of the Syrian diplomatic mission. At the time, an informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that there were objections to some members of the delegation, including Egypt's refusal to approve Syria's nominee for ambassador to Cairo.

The source explained in the June 1 report that the Syrian government had formally nominated Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad as ambassador to Egypt. While the Egyptian government did not explicitly reject the nomination, it conveyed unofficial messages indicating that it did not consider him an acceptable candidate because of his political background.

Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad currently serves as director of the Arab Affairs Department at Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Aleppo in 2007, a master's degree in the financial and economic evaluation of agricultural projects from Cairo University in 2012, and a doctorate in agricultural development from the University of Idlib in 2020.

He held several ministerial positions in the Syrian Salvation Government before being appointed to his current position at the Foreign Ministry in May 2025. The following month, he was appointed head of the People's Assembly election committee.

The Syrian foreign minister during talks in Cairo last month. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Another Nominee

An Egyptian official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Syrian government has submitted another nominee to head the Syrian diplomatic mission in Cairo," noting that "the process is moving toward approval of the new nominee by the Egyptian authorities."

The source said that "matters are proceeding normally and positively with the Syrian side," without disclosing the nominee's identity.

Since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad, Egyptian-Syrian relations have been marked by cautious bilateral engagement, driven by Cairo's concerns over the issue of armed groups, before gradually shifting toward economic cooperation.

In late April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the Arab-European Consultative Summit in Cyprus. Media outlets in both Cairo and Damascus reported at the time that the two presidents held a "cordial discussion" on regional developments and ways to strengthen cooperation.

While the Egyptian source declined to reveal the name of the new nominee to head Syria's diplomatic mission in Cairo, Firas Al-Khalidi, coordinator of the Cairo Platform, a member of Syria's Constitutional Committee and a member of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, said that "the Syrian side has nominated Yahya Diab, a former diplomat who defected from Bashar Al-Assad's regime, as ambassador to Cairo."

Al-Khalidi told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Egyptian side has accepted Diab's nomination to head the Syrian mission in Cairo."

The crisis over Syria's ambassadorial nomination to Cairo appears to be heading toward a resolution. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Cautious Relations

Former Egyptian assistant foreign minister Ambassador Hussein Haridy said that "the Egyptian government has the right to reject any nominee to head a diplomatic mission, or any other diplomat, if it possesses information indicating that the nominee engaged in activities affecting its national security."

Haridy told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Syrian side publicly announced Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad's nomination to the embassy in Cairo before obtaining Egypt's approval," describing the move as contrary to established diplomatic practice.

In Haridy's view, "relations between Cairo and Damascus will remain cautious given the background of the current Syrian government."

He said that "the Egyptian side distinguishes between the historic people-to-people relationship between the two countries and its channels of communication with Syria's current government. There remain areas for cooperation between Cairo and Damascus, particularly at the economic level."

In January, Damascus hosted the first Egyptian-Syrian Economic and Investment Forum, with the participation of 26 leaders from Egyptian chambers of commerce and business organizations. The event aimed to build effective partnerships between the two countries' commercial chambers and explore opportunities for cooperation in trade, industry, services, infrastructure and reconstruction.

At the time, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce said that the forum sought to create Syrian-Egyptian-European alliances through the Union of Mediterranean Chambers and to promote Syrian exports to Africa through the Federation of African Chambers.

Arab World

Lebanon Launches Rehabilitation of its Second Airport

An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)
An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Launches Rehabilitation of its Second Airport

An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)
An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon launched the rehabilitation of its second airport on Saturday, in preparation for an opening within months, at a time when the country faces constant fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanon currently has one international airport, in Beirut next to the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that has been subjected to heavy Israeli bombardment during successive wars.

The new airport, in the town of Qlayaat in Lebanon's northernmost province of Akkar, near the border with Syria, has been used as a military base by the Lebanese army for decades, according to AFP.

Lebanese Minister of Transport and Public Works Fayez Rasamny inaugurated the airport on Saturday "after more than fifty years of promises, delays and waiting".

"Today we are moving from promise to execution," Rasamny said, adding that the goal is for the airport to be "operational in a few weeks" to serve travellers to Mersin, Istanbul and Dubai, adding there are plans to expand the destinations to Saudi Arabia, Cairo and Athens at a later stage.

Lebanon is also in contact with low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair and Pegasus, he said.

Rehabilitation is due to begin next week and will take at least three months, going through a pilot phase before the airport is put into full service in November 2026, according to local media.

The work is being carried out by the Lebanese company Sky Lounge, which on Saturday posted on its Instagram page a video of a test flight between Beirut airport and Qlayaat airport.

In a speech during the opening ceremony, the company's chairman, Ziad Munla, said, the passenger terminal will be completed "within 90 days after completing the required approvals and licenses".

The airport will be able to handle about 114,000 passengers in its first year, rising to more than 600,000 by its fourth year, he said.

The opening of the airport aims to create jobs in Akkar, one of Lebanon's poorest governorates with a high unemployment rate.

Rene Mouawad Airport, named after a former Lebanese president who was elected in the 1980s, was built by the French army as an airstrip in the 1930s.

It was used for civilian purposes in the 1960s and was bombed by Israel during an earlier war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Beirut airport has continued to operate despite during the Israel-Hezbollah war that began on March 2, and an earlier war in 2023 and 2024.

Lebanon has been forced to repeatedly pursue international guarantees that Israel will not target Beirut airport, which it has previously accused Hezbollah of using to transport money and weapons.

Lebanese authorities have repeatedly denied the Israeli allegations.