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Western-Russian Confrontation on Mandate of Investigation Team in Possible Usage of Chemical Weapons in Syria

A civil defense member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib, Syria. Reuters
A civil defense member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib, Syria. Reuters
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Western-Russian Confrontation on Mandate of Investigation Team in Possible Usage of Chemical Weapons in Syria

A civil defense member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib, Syria. Reuters
A civil defense member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib, Syria. Reuters

The United Nations Security Council will formally discuss today the report of the UN panel on specifying the party responsible for chemical attacks in Syria amid a possible Western-Russian confrontation after Washington and Moscow handed out competitive projects to renew the investigation team’s mandate, which ends on November 17.

Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu is expected to review the team’s final report on the attacks on Khan Sheikhun and Umm Hawsh with chemical weapons.

Russia is trying to extend the team’s mandate in a modified and conditional way while the United States insists that the same mandate should be retained.

The team has earlier confirmed the responsibility of the Syrian government for the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhun, while ISIS was responsible for targeting Umm Hawsh using sulfur mustard.

The team, which has been entrusted with the joint investigation mechanism, has submitted its report to the UN Security Council recently, stressing that "the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of the sarin gas on Khan Sheikhun on April 4, 2017."

It added that ISIS elements used mustard gas in an attack, which targeted Umm Hawsh northern Aleppo in September 2016.

The Russian project demands to freeze the UN report, which blamed the Syrian regime for the deadly attack using sarin gas, open a new investigation into the incident and extend the mandate of the team's work for six months instead of one year, according to the US project.

The Russian project also demanded that the Commission send a team to Khan Shaykhun to conduct an integrated investigation as well as another team to Shayrat Air Base to collect samples to determine whether sarin gas had been stored there.

Two weeks ago, Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution that would have extended by a year an investigation of who is behind chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

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Arab World

Hezbollah Insists on Linking Lebanon to Iran-US Negotiations

People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 
People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 
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Hezbollah Insists on Linking Lebanon to Iran-US Negotiations

People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 
People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 

As Lebanon places its hopes on direct negotiations with Israel, Hezbollah continues to insist that the Lebanese file be tied to Iran-US talks, with party officials declaring Sunday that Lebanon would be the first item in any final agreement.

Days before a sixth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations expected in Rome, Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said Iranian officials had assured Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem that Lebanon would top the agenda of any potential final agreement with Washington.

“The first item will be a permanent ceasefire, an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal,” Hajj Hassan told a memorial ceremony, calling this a clear and sufficient Iranian commitment.

He also denounced the Framework Agreement between Lebanon and Israel as “full of sins, flaws and loopholes.” It linked redeployment to pilot zones whose number and size remained unclear, he argued, while making disarmament dependent on Israeli satisfaction with the outcome.

Hajj Hassan renewed Hezbollah’s refusal to surrender its weapons. “Disarmament is unattainable,” he told Lebanese officials. “You will not be able to achieve it, and we will not hand over our weapons.”

Fellow Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Mousawi likewise reaffirmed support for the “resistance and its leadership,” maintaining that its popular base would remain steadfast despite mounting pressure.

Mousawi claimed Lebanon was the first item in the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the United States in Islamabad. He also criticized Lebanon’s negotiating track, arguing that sovereignty was achieved through defending and sacrificing for the country, not through slogans.

President Joseph Aoun, however, has insisted on keeping the Lebanese and Iranian tracks separate.

“Under no circumstances will I allow anyone to negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf,” Aoun said recently, adding that Lebanon had secured Israeli recognition that it had no territorial ambitions in the country.

“The state’s train has left the station, and the decision to establish a state monopoly on weapons will be implemented,” he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli violations continued across southern Lebanon early Sunday. Israeli forces demolished homes in Majdal Zoun, fired toward houses in Mansouri and carried out explosions in Bint Jbeil. Artillery struck Kfar Tibnit, while machine-gun fire was reported from Qantara. An Israeli aircraft also dropped a stun grenade near Mansouri, and artillery fire sparked blazes around Hamra Farm, between Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Arnoun and Yohmor al-Shaqif.

Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, maintained that Israel would not allow Hezbollah to rebuild. She wrote on X that the 551st Brigade, under the 91st Division, had completed a two-month deployment in southern Lebanon, during which Israeli troops killed more than 80 Hezbollah members and destroyed over 200 sites, including underground routes, launchers, weapons depots and observation posts.

The developments came as a US military delegation visited Beirut to discuss implementing an Israeli withdrawal from the first pilot zone.

Lebanon, Israel and the United States signed the Framework Agreement in Washington on June 26. It provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal alongside Lebanese Army deployment. Implementation, however, remains stalled by Israel’s demand that further withdrawals be tied to Hezbollah’s disarmament, which the group rejects while continuing to rely on Iran’s role in any future settlement.

 

 

 

Arab World

Pilot Zones: Netanyahu Rejects Simultaneous Israeli Withdrawal, Lebanese Army Deployment

An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Pilot Zones: Netanyahu Rejects Simultaneous Israeli Withdrawal, Lebanese Army Deployment

An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Implementation of the “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon under the Framework Agreement remains stalled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to allow the Lebanese army to deploy simultaneously with an Israeli troop withdrawal, a move intended to prevent a security vacuum.

The issue has become a top US priority as Washington presses Netanyahu to facilitate the Lebanese army’s deployment ahead of the sixth round of US-mediated Lebanese-Israeli talks, scheduled for July 15-16 in Rome.

The negotiations are expected to discuss the formation of joint committees, including a coordination committee headed by US General Joseph Clearfield, to oversee the Lebanese army’s deployment in the areas covered by the agreement and coordinate field operations to ensure smooth implementation.

The talks are also expected to consider expanding the pilot zones beyond southern towns already under Lebanese state control to include, in phases, towns that remain under Israeli occupation. The proposed committee would intervene immediately to address any operational problems that could disrupt the deployment.

A ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that a recent meeting between the Lebanese army command and the US monitoring team overseeing the deployment ended with an understanding that Lebanese forces should deploy simultaneously with an Israeli withdrawal. The plan would extend beyond areas already under state control to include occupied towns.

According to the source, the main obstacle remains Netanyahu himself, who opposes both the concept of pilot zones and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese towns.

The source said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio intervened during the fourth and fifth negotiating rounds to pressure the Israeli delegation into making the pilot zones a main clause because they would pave the way for the Lebanese army’s deployment up to the international border.

The source argued that Netanyahu’s position is shaped by domestic politics as he prepares for parliamentary elections and therefore opposes any explicit commitment in the Framework Agreement requiring an Israeli withdrawal.

Instead, Netanyahu insists that the Lebanese army first deploy only in towns outside the occupied areas to test its ability to establish full control and prevent any armed Hezbollah presence before considering subsequent phases.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, however, continues to insist on simultaneous deployment and withdrawal, the source underlined, adding that his position has received backing from the US monitoring team following a meeting with Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The source added that Aoun reiterated the same position during talks with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, who expressed understanding for Lebanon’s insistence on simultaneity and did not object to amending certain provisions of the Framework Agreement, describing it as a negotiating roadmap rather than a final accord.

In practical terms, the source said, any amendments would facilitate implementation on the ground with US support. Lebanese and American preparations for the deployment plan are complete, pending Netanyahu’s approval of simultaneous implementation.

Issa is said to view the planned July 21 meeting in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Aoun as an opportunity to gauge whether the US administration is prepared to back Lebanon with concrete action rather than rhetoric.

The source said Washington’s military pressure on Iran serves two objectives: compelling Tehran to honor its commitments under its memorandum of understanding with the US and ending its interference in Lebanon by encouraging Hezbollah to facilitate implementation of the Framework Agreement, now viewed as the only viable path after the military option collapsed.

According to the source, Trump remains committed to supporting Lebanon, while Washington continues to pressure Iran to curb the Revolutionary Guard’s role in Lebanese affairs and remove obstacles to implementing the agreement, seen as the only route toward an Israeli withdrawal.

Arab World

Top UN Official Accuses Hamas of Gaza Aid Obstruction

Displaced Palestinians collect water from the Ita charitable water station, amid ongoing water shortages and limited access to water sources, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, 13 July 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Displaced Palestinians collect water from the Ita charitable water station, amid ongoing water shortages and limited access to water sources, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, 13 July 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
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Top UN Official Accuses Hamas of Gaza Aid Obstruction

Displaced Palestinians collect water from the Ita charitable water station, amid ongoing water shortages and limited access to water sources, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, 13 July 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Displaced Palestinians collect water from the Ita charitable water station, amid ongoing water shortages and limited access to water sources, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, 13 July 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD

A senior UN official on Monday accused Hamas of interfering with humanitarian deliveries in Gaza and intimidating aid workers, warning that the group's actions were making relief operations increasingly dangerous.

Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza, even after Israeli forces expanded their presence across more than 60 percent of the territory.

In a statement, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he "strongly" condemns the obstruction of humanitarian operations by Gaza's de facto authorities, referring to Hamas.

Hamas's actions "endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering life-saving food assistance and disrupted life-saving humanitarian operations", AFP quoted him as saying.

Armed men linked to Hamas allegedly on Saturday forced their way into a food distribution point in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, the UN statement said.

Militants "also entered a WFP (World Food Program) warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies", it added.

Alakbarov said "these incidents are not isolated" and "reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations".

He warned that such actions were hampering the delivery of life-saving assistance at a time when civilians across Gaza faced severe hardships.

A ceasefire was reached in Gaza between Israel and Hamas in October following two years of war, which was sparked by the Palestinian militants' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The second phase of the ceasefire, which was to involve Hamas' disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has been stalled for months.

Israeli forces have expanded their presence in recent months, taking control of more than 60 percent of the territory.

Hamas still exerts control over the remaining area, but last week announced it was dissolving its 15-member body that had governed the strip for nearly two decades.