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Arab World

Katz: Israel to Continue Operations in Lebanon for Now Despite Ceasefire

(2L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
(2L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
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Katz: Israel to Continue Operations in Lebanon for Now Despite Ceasefire

(2L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
(2L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)

Israel will continue its operations on the ground in southern Lebanon for the time being and Lebanese residents forced from their homes by Israel would not be able to return, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday.

His comments came a day after Lebanon and Israel said they had ⁠agreed to implement ⁠a ceasefire during talks in Washington. The deal is contingent on a cessation of fire from Hezbollah.

In a statement, Katz said troops ⁠would remain in its so-called security zone in southern Lebanon, including in the area of Beaufort Castle, a 900-year-old fortress captured by Israel on Saturday.

According to Reuters, he said Israel would continue to "dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area" while Israel had "freedom of action, backed by the United States, ⁠to ⁠strike in Beirut in response to attacks on Israeli communities and territory."

Lebanon and Israel agreed on Wednesday to a new US-backed ceasefire in Lebanon. They had previously agreed to a cessation of hostilities in April that was then extended in May, but violence has continued.

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Arab World

Yemen Calls for Intensifying Regional Coordination over Maritime Navigation

People walk past tents in al-Firdaws camp in Aden province, amid clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Yemeni government forces, in Aden, Yemen, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)
People walk past tents in al-Firdaws camp in Aden province, amid clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Yemeni government forces, in Aden, Yemen, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Yemen Calls for Intensifying Regional Coordination over Maritime Navigation

People walk past tents in al-Firdaws camp in Aden province, amid clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Yemeni government forces, in Aden, Yemen, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)
People walk past tents in al-Firdaws camp in Aden province, amid clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Yemeni government forces, in Aden, Yemen, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)

The Yemeni delegation participating in the multinational maritime coalition, headed by Rear Admiral Abdul Khaliq Monser, called for unifying international efforts and intensifying regional coordination to confront threats targeting the security of maritime navigation.

Monser stressed the importance of providing operational and technical support to restore the readiness of the Yemeni naval forces, enabling them to perform their duties in protecting territorial waters and international shipping lanes.

He said that the continuous threats launched by the Houthi militia in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden have directly impacted the security and safety of international navigation and affected trade movement and global supply chains.

The Yemeni armed forces said they thwarted an infiltration attempt carried out by the Houthi militia in the Al-Fulaiha sector, south of Marib Governorate.

The armed forces said 12 Houthi militants were killed in the clashes and other injured, while the remaining infiltrating elements fled.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces continue to confront Houthi attempts to seize control of the highlands located east of Bab al-Mandeb and west of Taiz. The Kahboub and al-Waziyah fronts witnessed fierce battles over the past 24 hours, while airstrikes targeted Houthi gatherings and vehicles.

The Houthi group is seeking to secure its positions of control in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Mayyun Island, and the west coast.

Two sources from the group told AFP that experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) visited the Bab al-Mandeb region to tackle the installation of radars nearby and oversee tunnel excavation works in the mountainous hills overlooking it.

Arab World

Report: Iranian Revolutionary Guards Experts Visit Bab al-Mandeb to Install Radars

A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
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Report: Iranian Revolutionary Guards Experts Visit Bab al-Mandeb to Install Radars

A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026. (AFP)

Experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) visited the Bab al-Mandeb region to tackle the installation of radars nearby and oversee tunnel excavation works in the mountainous hills overlooking it, two Houthi military sources told AFP on Saturday.

The sources stated that the Iranian experts working with the Houthis visited the Bab al-Mandeb region, the port and airport of Yemen’s Mokha, and the Jabal Al-Nar camp east of Mokha.

They added that the experts oversaw tunnel excavation works in the mountainous hills overlooking Mokha and Bab al-Mandeb, and discussed the process of installing radars near Mokha and inside Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea.

The sources said that the experts came from Hodeidah, which held by the Houthis, and carried out separate visits between Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government sources told AFP on Saturday that battles had intensified between the Iran-backed Houthis and government forces around the Kahboub mountain region overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb area.

The conflict in Yemen has been experiencing a sharp escalation since July, against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East between Iran and the United States.

Arab World

Syria Arrests Cell Leader over Security Force Deaths

Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)
Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)
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Syria Arrests Cell Leader over Security Force Deaths

Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)
Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)

Syrian authorities said on Saturday they arrested a leader of a cell involved in the deaths of three security force personnel during an anti-extremists operation in the south.

"The internal security forces of Daraa province have arrested Walid al-Fallah, one of the main leaders of the cell involved" in the deaths of the personnel in the town of Al-Sanamein in Daraa province, state news agency SANA reported.

The security force members were killed as they were attempting to arrest a member of the ISIS group, a local government official had told AFP.

The group has been territorially defeated in Syria but maintains sleeper cells.

Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said the anti-extremists operation, which saw five people arrested, "succeeded in dismantling criminal cells and others linked to ISIS that were coordinating with each other".

ISIS used to control vast areas of Syria and neighboring Iraq before being defeated in the two countries in 2019 and 2017, respectively.

However, in Syria it continues to periodically claim attacks against government forces, particularly in the vast desert region, as well as in the north and northeast.

It had also been established in the past in Daraa province, where its leader Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed in October 2022 in clashes with local gunmen.

Last year, the new Syrian authorities, who overthrew president Bashar al-Assad in 2024, joined the US-led international coalition against ISIS.