Sabhan in Beirut to Discuss Saudi-Lebanese Relations

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri meets with Saudi Minister Thamer al-Sabhan in Beirut (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri meets with Saudi Minister Thamer al-Sabhan in Beirut (Dalati & Nohra)
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Sabhan in Beirut to Discuss Saudi-Lebanese Relations

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri meets with Saudi Minister Thamer al-Sabhan in Beirut (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri meets with Saudi Minister Thamer al-Sabhan in Beirut (Dalati & Nohra)

Saudi Minister of State for Arab Gulf Affairs Thamer Al-Sabhan has met with a number of Lebanese officials during a visit to Beirut that he kicked off on Wednesday.

The Saudi official reviewed with Prime Minister Saad Hariri latest developments in Lebanon and the region, before meeting with Kataeb Party chief Sami Gemayel.

On Thursday, Sabhan visited the head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, at his residence in the Keserouan village of Maarab, where he said in brief comments: “The weather is always beautiful in Maarab”.

For his part, Gemayel underlined the need to preserve the sovereignty of the Lebanese State throughout its territories. He also raised the issue of the Lebanese working in Gulf countries in general and the Kingdom in particular, stressing that they should not be held responsible for policies and positions that are not approved by all Lebanese people.

Well-informed Arab sources told Al-Markaziah news agency that Sabhan, who had visited Beirut in October, would discuss with Lebanese officials latest developments in the region, mainly the progress achieved in the Syrian file.

He will also emphasize that regional balances do not mean allowing Iran to expand its influence in any Arab country and that there is no truth in any information about concessions in favor of Iran, either in Yemen, Iraq, Syria or Lebanon, according to the sources quoted by the agency.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.