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Iraqi Fuel Crosses Syria Towards Lebanon, ‘Abu al-Fadl’ Grabs its Share

Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)
Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)
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Iraqi Fuel Crosses Syria Towards Lebanon, ‘Abu al-Fadl’ Grabs its Share

Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)
Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that more tankers loaded with fuel entered Syrian territories on Sunday, coming from Iraq.

About 39 tankers entered through the crossings that are under the control of pro-Iran militias in Al-Mayadin and Al-Bukamal in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, heading to Lebanon via the city of Homs.

This is the second batch in a week to cross the Syrian territories towards Lebanon. The first batch included around 50 tankers.

According to SOHR sources, nine of the 39 tankers that entered Syria on Sunday were taken to Al-Mayadin, under the protection of a militia called Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, where fuel was stored in recently rehabilitated large tanks that ISIS had set up during its control of the area.

This comes amid a severe fuel shortage in Syrian regime-controlled areas, as a result of the cessation of smuggling operations from the regions run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, on the other bank of the Euphrates River.

On Aug. 29, the Observatory reported the entry of about 50 tankers loaded with gasoline from Iraq into Syria, through Al-Bukamal crossing in Deir Ezzor's countryside, under the protection of the Fourth Division forces. According to the Observatory, the tanks were destined for Lebanon.

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Arab World

Salam: Tying Lebanon to Regional Crises Gives Israel Pretext for Aggression

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern coastal city of Tyre's Al Hosh neighborhood, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern coastal city of Tyre's Al Hosh neighborhood, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Salam: Tying Lebanon to Regional Crises Gives Israel Pretext for Aggression

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern coastal city of Tyre's Al Hosh neighborhood, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern coastal city of Tyre's Al Hosh neighborhood, on March 19, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Thursday that tying Lebanon to regional calculations would give Israel a "pretext to expand its aggression" against the country, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for more than two weeks.

Lebanon was brought into the regional war on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel in response to the killing of its ally Iran's supreme leader in Israeli-US attacks.

Israel responded with heavy airstrikes across various regions and ground incursions, which combined have left more than a thousand people dead.

In a speech in Beirut Salam said that "linking Lebanon to regional calculations larger than it is does not protect it. Rather, it doubles the cost for it and gives Israel a pretext to expand its aggression".

"We must read regional changes through the lens of protecting Lebanon, and we must put the national interest ahead of any other consideration."

He said: "Lebanon's priority today is to stop the war, stop the destruction, stop the displacement, protect civilians, ensure their return and launch reconstruction".

Ongoing Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon and on Beirut's southern suburbs have caused the displacement of more than one million people, according to authorities.

Salam said that "restoring the authority of the state is not against anyone, nor is it a targeting of anyone. Rather, it is a protection for everyone. Lebanon has no future if it remains half a state and half a battleground."

At the beginning of March, Lebanon banned Hezbollah's military activities after having decided in August of last year to disarm the group, following the previous war it waged with Israel that lasted for more than a year and ended with a ceasefire in November 2024.

Arab World

Russia Says Strike that Wounded TV Crew in Lebanon Not 'Accidental'

A man stands by a damaged car, at the site of a drone strike targeting a car in Ramlet al-Baida at Corniche Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
A man stands by a damaged car, at the site of a drone strike targeting a car in Ramlet al-Baida at Corniche Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
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Russia Says Strike that Wounded TV Crew in Lebanon Not 'Accidental'

A man stands by a damaged car, at the site of a drone strike targeting a car in Ramlet al-Baida at Corniche Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
A man stands by a damaged car, at the site of a drone strike targeting a car in Ramlet al-Baida at Corniche Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Russia on Thursday condemned an airstrike that wounded a TV crew from state-run RT in Lebanon as not "accidental", amid ongoing Israeli strikes and ground operations in the south of the country.

Video agency Ruptly -- a subsidiary of RT -- posted footage showing an explosion and plumes of smoke rising through the air metres behind RT's reporter, who was wearing a bulletproof vest with a sign "Press" on it as he delivered an on-air report.

The reporter and a cameraman "were injured in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, while they were reporting," Ruptly said on Telegram, adding both were "conscious and receiving medical attention".

"Given the killing of 200 journalists in Gaza, today's events cannot be called accidental," the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram, without naming Israel.

"The rocket hit not a 'critical strategic military facility,' but rather the location of a report," Zakharova added.

The Russian embassy in Lebanon said that "attacks on media workers on editorial assignments are unacceptable" and called for an "appropriate investigation" into the incident.

The Israeli military said it had in recent days "targeted Litani River crossings that Hezbollah used for both terrorist movement and to transfer thousands of weapons, including rockets and rocket launchers".

"In footage released in the past few hours, a journalist is seen at the 'Qasmiya' crossing. An explicit warning had been issued regarding this area," the Israeli army said in a statement.

"The crossing was struck after sufficient time had passed since warnings," the IDF added.

A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said last month, blaming Israel for two-thirds of the deaths.

The Israeli military regularly says it "has never and will never deliberately target journalists".

Arab World

IMF Team in Paris Meeting with Lebanese Authorities on Iran War's Impact

People carry national flags as they hold a moment of silence marking the one-year anniversary of Beirut's port blast, near the site of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
People carry national flags as they hold a moment of silence marking the one-year anniversary of Beirut's port blast, near the site of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
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IMF Team in Paris Meeting with Lebanese Authorities on Iran War's Impact

People carry national flags as they hold a moment of silence marking the one-year anniversary of Beirut's port blast, near the site of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
People carry national flags as they hold a moment of silence marking the one-year anniversary of Beirut's port blast, near the site of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Emilie Madi

A team of International Monetary Fund officials is in Paris this week for meetings with Lebanese authorities on an initial assessment of the Iran conflict and its impact on Lebanon, IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack told reporters on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Kozack said the conflict was compounding a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic situation, as well as resulting in infrastructure damage.

She said Lebanese authorities had shown their commitment to continuing discussions on comprehensive reforms despite the significant impact of the Iran conflict.