Luban Cyclone Frustrates Yemenis, Saudi Relief Airlifted to Damaged Areas

On Oct. 15, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Northern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Luban along the coast of Yemen and Oman. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)/NOAA
On Oct. 15, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Northern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Luban along the coast of Yemen and Oman. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)/NOAA
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Luban Cyclone Frustrates Yemenis, Saudi Relief Airlifted to Damaged Areas

On Oct. 15, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Northern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Luban along the coast of Yemen and Oman. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)/NOAA
On Oct. 15, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Northern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Luban along the coast of Yemen and Oman. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)/NOAA

Arab Coalition forces and the Saudi King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) are working together to provide and deliver food aid to the eastern Al Mahra governorate in Yemen, said Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and Isnad Center Chief Executive Mohammed Al Jaber.

Flash floods and landslides triggered by the tropical storm Luban continued to hit Al Mahra.

Al Jaber, in a tweet following the catastrophic events, confirmed that KSRelief is airlifting humanitarian assistance to ِAl Mahrah locals while a Saudi-sponsored program works on the development and reconstruction of infrastructure and reparation of power stations damaged by the category 1 tropical storm, Luban.

Other than Saudi Arabia flying emergency aid to Yemen, it is sending relief convoys by land.

At least 100 tents, 320 food baskets, 1500 blankets, and 200 mats were airlifted on board a military plane landed on Monday evening. Some 900 food baskets are also expected to pass through Saudi borders within the coming 48 hours.

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr said on Monday that the costal governorate has been devastated by the cyclone.

He called on relief organizations working in Yemen to rush to the aid of people of the governorate.

Bin Daghr urged local officials to remain and double rescue efforts for saving Yemenis trapped by floods.

Al Mahara Governor Rajih Bakrit said that some 50 families are stuck on top of rooftops, pointing out that the situation is tragic and overwhelming for the limited capacities of local authorities.

Bakrit proposed that the internationally-recognized government and Arab Coalition provide air support to evacuate the surviving families.

"The situation is too dangerous and we need a quick reaction from the air forces to save those families besieged by flood flashes," he said in an online statement.

Luban started to crash into the eastern coasts of Yemen and neighboring Oman on Sunday, with winds of up to 110 km per hour, affecting Al Mahara cities and villages across the governorate.

Saudi Arabia was among the first responders to the aftermath of hurricane Luban, providing relief support to affected residents.

The storm caused a power blackout which affected 92 percent of Al Mahra governorate, crippling infrastructure, damaging some 53 homes and displacing most of the local population, save those who remain trapped.

The United Nations said, in statements released on social media on Tuesday, that strong winds and heavy rain from cyclone Luban have injured 33 people and affected 2,000 families in war-ravaged Yemen.

It said that the cyclone had caused extensive damage to houses, roads, bridges, and powerlines to coastal districts in Al Mahra.



Berri Backs Hezbollah Withdrawal South of Litani if Israel Pulls Back

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (National News Agency)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (National News Agency)
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Berri Backs Hezbollah Withdrawal South of Litani if Israel Pulls Back

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (National News Agency)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (National News Agency)

After controversy surrounding the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement announced following US-sponsored talks in Washington on Wednesday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday clarified his position, saying he supports Hezbollah's withdrawal from south of the Litani River in parallel with an Israeli withdrawal from the areas it occupied, while describing the remaining provisions as “unfair”.

Speaking during a meeting with Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, Berri said: “Instead of this hybrid agreement, we could have viewed the beginning of the text positively had it provided for an unconditional ceasefire on land, at sea and in the air, without the destruction of existing structures. But it was booby-trapped by the addition of a complete cessation of fire by Hezbollah, as well as the withdrawal of all its members from south of the Litani.”

He added: “To be brief, I approve the following: The ceasefire shall be understood as complete and comprehensive, without conditions, on land, at sea and in the air, and without bulldozing or destroying existing structures.

Hezbollah's withdrawal from south of the Litani in parallel with the Israeli withdrawal from the areas it occupied. The rest of the text is unfair and not worth mentioning.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Thursday that implementation of the ceasefire could begin within 24 hours of final approval.

He said that once responses are received from all relevant domestic parties, particularly Hezbollah, Lebanon's position will be conveyed to the United States.

He stressed that “the agreement that has been reached is the last opportunity; otherwise, each side must bear its responsibilities.”


UN Doubles Appeal for Lebanon Aid to Nearly $640 Mn

A man inspects the aftermath at the site of an Israeli strike that hit the previous day in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 5, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
A man inspects the aftermath at the site of an Israeli strike that hit the previous day in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 5, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
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UN Doubles Appeal for Lebanon Aid to Nearly $640 Mn

A man inspects the aftermath at the site of an Israeli strike that hit the previous day in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 5, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
A man inspects the aftermath at the site of an Israeli strike that hit the previous day in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 5, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)

The UN on Friday more than doubled its aid appeal for Lebanon as the country reels from Israel's war against Hezbollah, saying nearly $640 million was needed over six months.

"The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is severe and deteriorating," the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in a revised appeal for the country.

"Repeated displacements, insufficient shelter capacity and limited prospects for safe return are deepening vulnerability," it said, warning that "affected people are rapidly exhausting their coping capacities, and essential services are under increasing strain."

The UN had appealed for $308 million in March to support a massive emergency response led by Lebanon's government through to the end of May.

On Friday it said that another $331 million would be needed through the end of August.

Only $185 million had so far been received out of the initial appeal, OCHA said, adding that that amount had helped provide assistance to around 680,000 people between March 2 and May 31.

The aim now, it said, was to more than double that number to reach all of the 1.4 million people in Lebanon -- around a quarter of the population -- estimated to need humanitarian assistance in the country.

Lebanon says Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war on March 2, firing rockets at Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Nearly one million people have fled their homes while more than 1.2 million are facing acute food insecurity, Friday's appeal showed.

Price pressure was adding to the misery, with the cost of water, fuel and electricity up more than a third nationally, and as high as 70 percent in the conflict-affected areas, AFP quoted it as saying.

It also highlighted the strain that the conflict was placing on healthcare in Lebanon, with 62 hospitals and other health facilities either damaged or closed.

OCHA said nearly 450 schools were being used to shelter displaced people, driving learning loss and drop-out risks.


Israel Issues Evacuation Warnings North of Litani, Kills 7 in Strikes on Tyre

04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
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Israel Issues Evacuation Warnings North of Litani, Kills 7 in Strikes on Tyre

04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Israel's air force struck a Lebanese village on Friday following warnings for several areas of imminent attacks against Hezbollah, after the Iran-backed militants rejected a truce brokered by the United States. 

Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 to avenge the February 28 killing of Iran's supreme leader. 

Lebanese and Israeli envoys meeting in Washington this week agreed to a conditional truce that Hezbollah flatly rejected, with the group instead demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. 

Israel has staged its deepest incursion in two decades into Lebanon since the start of the war with Iran, which it launched in conjunction with its ally, the US. 

On Friday, the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee warned residents of six towns and villages including south Lebanon's Sarafand, a town on the coastal road between Tyre and Sidon, to immediately evacuate. 

He earlier warned three villages north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon to leave their homes. 

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 meters into open areas," the army's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X. 

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, their facilities, or their weapons endangers their life!" 

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported mass displacement from the three villages named in the warning, and it subsequently reported a strike on one of the villages, Arqoun. 

Overnight, Israeli strikes killed seven people in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, a source from Lebanon's civil defense told AFP. 

- 'Freedom to kill' - 

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Thursday rejected a truce announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys in Washington that hinged on the group halting its attacks on Israel. 

"The ceasefire must be comprehensive... without the Israeli enemy having the freedom to kill," Qassem said, urging the government to halt "the farce and humiliation called direct talks" with Israel. 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the army will "at this stage, continue its fire and ground operations... without the return of the population, while continuing to dismantle terrorist infrastructure". 

He said Israeli forces had the "freedom" to strike Lebanese capital Beirut if Hezbollah attacked Israeli communities. 

One Israeli strike near the Jabal Amel hospital in the historic city of Tyre killed four people overnight, wounded seven and lightly damaged the facility, while another in a residential area killed three and wounded five, including two children. 

An AFP correspondent saw a heavily damaged bank near the hospital, one of only three in the city. 

- 'Not a life' - 

After Israeli orders for residents to leave most of Tyre, several people sought shelter in the small old city, so far spared from evacuation warnings and strikes and where the Christian quarter is located. 

With shelters full, displaced residents were sleeping in cars or tents, but many have left following an Israeli army claim on Tuesday that Hezbollah members were operating in the area, threatening to order evacuations should operatives remain. 

Hezbollah is Lebanon's only militant group that refused to hand over its arsenal after the 1975-1990 civil war, arguing that it was fighting Israel's occupation of south Lebanon. 

After Israeli troops withdrew in 2000, calls on Hezbollah to disarm multiplied, with the leadership under President Joseph Aoun taking the firmest stance yet. 

The Lebanese government has declared Hezbollah's military activities illegal, and the army was working to disarm the group in areas south of the Litani River near Israel. 

The war launched by the US and Israel on Iran saw Hezbollah return to the battlefield, launching attacks into Israel while fighting Israeli troops inside Lebanon. 

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,526 people since March 2. 

As the trading of fire continued, Israelis in northern villages expressed little hope for the latest truce. 

"We can't keep doing this," the 60-year-old told AFP on Thursday from her home in Shlomi, a small town in Israel's far north. 

"This is not a life."