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Hezbollah Slammed by Lebanese Officials after it Flies Drone over Israel

An Israeli soldier on patrol near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (AFP)
An Israeli soldier on patrol near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (AFP)
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Hezbollah Slammed by Lebanese Officials after it Flies Drone over Israel

An Israeli soldier on patrol near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (AFP)
An Israeli soldier on patrol near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Hezbollah party's flying of a drone from Lebanon over to Israel this week was widely condemned by officials.

The party said on Friday that it flew the aircraft over northern Israel, where it hovered for 40 minutes, crossing 70 kilometers before returning to Lebanon. The move triggered Israel's air defenses and the scrambling of fighter jets. Its jets flew at low altitude over Beirut, terrifying the people who are still reeling from the 2020 port explosion.

On Thursday, Israel said it had downed a drone that belonged to Hezbollah after it crossed into Israeli air space. Earlier this week, Hezbollah said it had started producing its own drones in Lebanon.

Head of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt took to twitter to mock the state of affairs in Lebanon. He noted that the country fails to generate 24-hour electricity and yet Hezbollah has the technology to manufacture drones.

"The recovery plan with the IMF is becoming clear. The senior advisors from the Lebanese team recommended adopting the Lebanese pound and investing it in national companies, such as Electricite du Liban [the state electricity company], the highest example of success," he said mockingly.

"I suggest that we invest the depositors' money in the local production of drones, rockets or explosives because they bring better returns," he added.

Other officials slammed Hezbollah for launching the drone and boasting that it was now producing the aircraft in Lebanon.

Former President Michel Suleiman said: "Under the slogan 'made in Lebanon' and amid the failure to find hope, a dignified living and alternative energy, the crisis-hit nation can find prosperity in the production of drones, precision-guided missiles, captagon, perpetual garbage, taxes... and everything that takes us to the lowest of lows."

Lebanese Forces MP Imad Wakim tweeted an image of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with a play on words about drones, saying he was being controlled by Iran.

Retired officer and opposition parliamentary elections candidate George Nader said: "The state has collapsed and there is a general sense of degradation and indifference."

Addressing Nasrallah, he asked: "What is your position on the demarcation of the maritime border [with Israel] and the deal that will be taking place at Lebanon's expense? Who protects Lebanon and the Lebanese from hunger and need?"

In remarks to local radio, he said Hezbollah is attempting to rally support ahead of the elections by launching drones to Israel.

The party meanwhile, defended its move. Its MP Ali Fayyad said Hezbollah was expanding its reach on land, sea and air, "which is a reality that will force Israel to retreat. This will consequently help restore Lebanon's sovereignty and marine wealth."

"It is only a matter of time and a product of the balances of power between us and the Israeli enemy. These balances are leaning day after day in the resistance's [Hezbollah's] favor because the enemy is incapable of adapting with its rules," he claimed.

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Arab World

Syria Condemns Colombia's Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over Golan Heights

Israeli soldiers operate in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, amid the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, December 28, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers operate in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, amid the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, December 28, 2023. (Reuters)
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Syria Condemns Colombia's Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over Golan Heights

Israeli soldiers operate in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, amid the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, December 28, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers operate in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, amid the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, December 28, 2023. (Reuters)

Syria strongly condemned on Tuesday the Colombian government's statement recognizing what it described as "Israeli sovereignty" over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, saying the position, which was reportedly based on security considerations, contradicts international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates categorically rejected Colombia's position, reaffirming that the Golan Heights are an integral part of Syrian territory, said Syria’s state news agency SANA.

The ministry said the Colombian statement is a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and contradicts the position of the UN Secretary-General affirming that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory, as well as the established principle prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The ministry welcomed growing international support for Syria's legitimate rights over the Golan Heights, saying this reflects continued international rejection of attempts to legitimize the occupation or recognize its consequences.

It stressed that the Golan Heights remain subject to the principles of international law and the relevant UN resolutions.

The Syrian foreign ministry also condemned the continued Israeli attacks and incursions into Syrian territory, calling on states and international organizations to uphold their responsibilities under international law and respect UN resolutions.

Syria will continue to employ diplomatic and legal means to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and established rights, and to work toward the restoration of its occupied territories, it vowed.

Arab World

Yemen Govt Says Four Killed in Houthi Strike on Ship in Red Sea

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Yemen Govt Says Four Killed in Houthi Strike on Ship in Red Sea

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)

A strike by Iran-backed Houthi militias on a cargo vessel killed at least four people near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen, the country's legitimate government said Tuesday. 

The Yemeni government's transport ministry accused the Houthis of launching the salvo that hit a cargo vessel named the "Tihamah" with "three successive ballistic-missile strikes while it was sailing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait". 

"The Houthi attack on the vessel which was carrying food supplies sparked a fire on board, killed four crew members -- three Pakistanis and one Indonesian -- and injured four others, as well as a member of the rescue team," said the ministry. 

A source from the Yemeni government forces based in the port city of Mokha said five people had been killed in the incident. 

Earlier, British maritime security company Vanguard reported that at least two people were killed in the incident on the Tihamah, but did not provide any information about a possible culprit. 

"Two crew members, one Pakistani and one Indonesian national, were killed, while four others, comprising three Pakistani and one Indonesian national, were injured," the agency added. 

"The Yemeni Navy subsequently deployed to assist the vessel and came under fire, resulting in one additional casualty." 

Attacks on ships in the Bab ⁠el-Mandeb ⁠Strait have increased uncertainty for shipping companies already hobbled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

An average of 32 ships per day passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait last week, Kpler data showed. Prior to the blockade an average of 50 ships per day transited the strait.

The Houthis also attacked the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast and other areas of the country, deepening fears over threats to strategic shipping routes and a potential return to civil war.

Yemen's military said the militants targeted both Mokha and the central province of Marib with missiles and drones.

The Houthis struck Marib and the eastern province of Hadramawt last week, killing dozens of government troops and civilians. They hit Mokha with missiles and drones over the weekend and killed at least seven people, including three troops, according to the Yemeni military.

Arab World

Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty in Landmark Parliament Vote

Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)
Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)
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Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty in Landmark Parliament Vote

Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)
Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament Tuesday abolished the death penalty, making it the first country in the Arab world to replace the sentencing with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor.

The country has committed to an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004. However, dozens of death sentences since then have been issued, but later suspended or commuted.

A majority of Lebanon's 128-member parliament voted in favor of ending the death penalty, with the exception of the parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was in Parliament, called it a “historic step” for the country.

Rights groups that have called for formalizing the moratorium or ending the death penalty altogether have also celebrated the vote.

Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon Researcher at Human Rights Watch, says Lebanon is “marking a final break from a cruel sentence that should never be imposed.”

“Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality and is plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error,” he said.

It's unclear how aggravated hard labor would be enforced, as some legislators said the terms of the new punishment are not yet clear. Lebanon does have the punishment of hard labor written into law and court decisions, but even those have been rarely enforced in recent years due to cash-strapped Lebanon's lack of resources and capacity within its overcrowded prisons.

Lebanon's abolition of the death penalty comes as parliament is debating a controversial general amnesty law, the largest since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990, that could reduce sentences or even release convicted militants and drug dealers, with some exceptions.

Family members of Lebanese soldiers and servicemen killed or attacked by extremist militant groups have repeatedly protested against the law, some saying they had hoped to see the perpetrators who killed their family members executed rather than be issued reduced prison sentences.

Hezbollah did not immediately issue a comment about the landmark vote. Neither did Lebanon's diverse religious institutions, where the death penalty is considered legal in some their respective court systems.