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Calls in Lebanon’s Parliament to Reach Solution with IMF

MPs Ibrahim Kanaan and George Adwan during a meeting with the International Monetary Fund delegation. (Lebanese Parliament website)
MPs Ibrahim Kanaan and George Adwan during a meeting with the International Monetary Fund delegation. (Lebanese Parliament website)
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Calls in Lebanon’s Parliament to Reach Solution with IMF

MPs Ibrahim Kanaan and George Adwan during a meeting with the International Monetary Fund delegation. (Lebanese Parliament website)
MPs Ibrahim Kanaan and George Adwan during a meeting with the International Monetary Fund delegation. (Lebanese Parliament website)

Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee at the Lebanese parliament MP Ibrahim Kanaan called for holding constructive dialogue with the international community to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that takes into consideration the economic situation in Lebanon.

He slammed the fees included in the country’s 2022 state budget, which the parliament will resume discussing on Monday.

Kanaan made the remarks after an IMF delegation concluded their visit to Lebanon.

“Despite the urgency for action to address Lebanon’s deep economic and social crisis, progress in implementing the reforms agreed under the April staff-level agreement remains very slow,” the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement also said the country's financial recovery plan should respect the internationally recognized hierarchy of claims, in which the state and depositors receive more protection than the private sector.

“Small depositors must be fully protected and the recourse to public resources—assets belonging to all Lebanese citizens, with or without a bank account —should be limited,” the statement stressed.

Following a meeting with EU ambassadors at the parliament’s headquarters, Kanaan stressed that constructive cooperation is necessary if there really is a will to save Lebanon and implement a recovery plan.

He considered that “the ambiguity is not in the legislation, but in the executive branch and the content of its negotiations with the IMF” and asked about the fate of the depositors’ money.

Kanaan further slammed the 2022 budget prepared by the government and referred to the parliament.

“How do we accept, for example, that the budget tax be based on the exchange rate while we are paying citizens wages at the rate of 1,500 pounds per dollar?” Kanaan wondered.

He also pointed out that the cost of Syrian displacement is more than $30 billion and asked about the solution for this problem. The international community is responsible for returning the Syrians to their country and providing them with the financial aid there, according to Kanaan.

The major parliamentary committees had held the government responsible for the delay in reaching an agreement with the IMF.

They accused the government of failing to present a detailed, comprehensive, economic, financial and monetary recovery plan that clarifies the general path.

MP George Adwan, who chairs the parliamentary committee on Administration and Justice, reiterated in a press statement on Wednesday that the parliament and his committee are fully prepared to deal positively with all the necessary laws hoping for an quick agreement with the IMF to facilitate matters.

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Arab World

Yemeni Army Makes Battlefield Gains in Al-Jawf, Marib

Yemeni army forces advance in Al-Jawf governorate (government media)
Yemeni army forces advance in Al-Jawf governorate (government media)
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Yemeni Army Makes Battlefield Gains in Al-Jawf, Marib

Yemeni army forces advance in Al-Jawf governorate (government media)
Yemeni army forces advance in Al-Jawf governorate (government media)

Yemeni government forces expanded military operations against the Houthis on several fronts Wednesday, making battlefield gains east of Al-Hazm in Al-Jawf province and cutting Houthi supply lines toward the eastern fronts.

The advances coincided with the launch of a major operation south of Marib, intensified fighting in southern Taiz and along the western coast, and the thwarting of a Houthi boat attack in the Red Sea.

A military source told the Yemeni Armed Forces Media Center that government forces continued advancing east of Al-Hazm to the outskirts of Bir al-Maraziq and cut Houthi supply lines on the city’s eastern fronts.

Operations were continuing amid what the source described as heavy Houthi personnel and material losses. Several Houthi fighters were detained or neutralized and others wounded in the clashes, the source added.

The advance followed several days of government military moves in Al-Jawf, as forces sought to consolidate gains and pressure Houthi supply lines rather than merely retake frontline positions.

Marib and Taiz Developments

In Marib, the Yemeni army’s Third Military Region launched a major operation on the province’s southern fronts targeting Houthi positions and concentrations. Government forces said the operation aimed to secure Marib’s southern belt and push the group away from its defensive lines.

According to a statement from the Third Military Region, the operation, which began early Wednesday and was still underway, killed, wounded and captured a number of Houthis and destroyed vehicles and combat equipment. Army and Popular Resistance forces also seized several positions and brought Houthi supply lines under fire.

The operation coincided with military activity in Marib in recent days and fighting across the province’s northern, western and southern axes, as government forces sought to capitalize on battlefield pressure to prevent the Houthis from regrouping or sending reinforcements to other fronts.

In Taiz, clashes continued on southeastern fronts, alongside artillery fire and airstrikes targeting Houthi positions and concentrations in Al-Mamshat, Al-Ahkum, Ayrim, Al-Qubaytah, Al-Rahidah and Karsh.

A military source said the Houthis had sent reinforcements to several positions, including Al-Akboush School, Al-Zubayrah market, the Al-Ahkum junction, Hawd Hill, Al-Khazjah, Al-Aabous and Al-Manzarah Hill.

On the western coast, the National Resistance’s military media said its forces shot down a Houthi suicide drone over Al-Barh and reported the killing and capture of several commanders linked to a Houthi plan to attack toward Bab al-Mandab.

Among those reportedly captured by the Giants Brigades was Murtada al-Nuami, known as “Abdul Samad,” identified as head of the medical division of the Houthi reserve and rapid intervention forces.

Naval forces separately said they thwarted a Houthi boat attack in the Red Sea after detecting the vessels and engaging them, forcing them to retreat north toward Hodeidah port.

In Al-Dhale, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Taher al-Aqili inspected front lines to assess operations, readiness and deployments, urging troops to remain vigilant and prepared to counter any Houthi attempt to target government positions.

Arab World

Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Family of Four

Smoke and flames rise from a house during an Israeli strike, carried out after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Smoke and flames rise from a house during an Israeli strike, carried out after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Family of Four

Smoke and flames rise from a house during an Israeli strike, carried out after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Smoke and flames rise from a house during an Israeli strike, carried out after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

An Israeli strike in Gaza on Thursday killed a family of four including two children, Palestinian hospital and security sources said.

"The bodies of four members of the Ahmad family were recovered in pieces after an Israeli strike hit a house in the Beit Lahia Project area in the northern Gaza Strip," an official at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said, identifying the children as aged 12 and eight.

The Israeli military, contacted by AFP, said it was checking.

A Palestinian security source in Gaza, which is under the control of Hamas, said that Israeli warplanes struck after midnight in Beit Lahia and separately in the heart of the Jabalia refugee camp, with Israeli forces also firing on tents of displaced people and ambulances.

"Israel continues its violations in the Gaza Strip," the security source said.

Israel in October last year agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States but since then has advanced further into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed no let-up in strikes targeting Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel, and no pullout from Gaza until Hamas gives up all of its weapons.

Israel often identifies its targets afterwards. The Israeli military said that on Sunday it killed Sabhi Hadr Al-Atham al-Batrihi, claiming he was planting explosive devices against Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced, according to the Gaza health ministry, which operates under Hamas and whose figures are considered generally reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.

Arab World

Yemeni Tribal Affairs Chief to Houthis: ‘Your Time Is Near’

Sheikh Bakil Naji al-Soufi, head of the Tribal Affairs Authority at Yemen’s Interior Ministry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Sheikh Bakil Naji al-Soufi, head of the Tribal Affairs Authority at Yemen’s Interior Ministry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Yemeni Tribal Affairs Chief to Houthis: ‘Your Time Is Near’

Sheikh Bakil Naji al-Soufi, head of the Tribal Affairs Authority at Yemen’s Interior Ministry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Sheikh Bakil Naji al-Soufi, head of the Tribal Affairs Authority at Yemen’s Interior Ministry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sheikh Bakil Naji al-Soufi, head of the Tribal Affairs Authority at Yemen’s Interior Ministry, has warned the Houthis that “your time is near, and you will leave Yemen because of your actions.”

Al-Soufi believes mounting anger in Houthi-controlled areas has moved beyond frustration over economic and living conditions and is nearing a point of action, with tribes awaiting “zero hour” and what he described as a “glimmer of hope” or support from the Yemeni government.

In a new episode of the Asharq Al-Awsat Podcast, recorded in the newspaper’s Riyadh newsroom, al-Soufi discussed the tribal practice of “nakaf,” the Al-Rayyan tribal encampments in Al-Jawf province and relations between the tribes and the Houthis. He also recalled his experience mediating with Houthi leaders more than a decade ago and outlined his view of the future confrontation, pointing to expected military “surprises.”

In the interview, filmed Aug. 20, 2026, al-Soufi described “nakaf” as a tradition under which tribes gather at encampments known as “matarah” when faced with a grievance or a situation requiring mobilization. He said developments in Al-Jawf reflected what tribes had experienced from Houthi conduct and attempts to subjugate and humiliate them.

Al-Soufi explained that tribes had historically been “an integral part of the state” and its supporting “backbone.” Where official institutions are absent, tribal customs and ties play a role in maintaining security and stability.

Deceptive slogans

Al-Soufi noted that the Houthis initially succeeded in appealing to public sentiment when they entered Sanaa by invoking poverty, high prices and corruption. The tribes later discovered, he argued, that those slogans were a means of reaching power.

He accused the group of imposing levies and taxes on various activities and using talk of a “blockade” to justify deteriorating living conditions.

The more significant shift, in his view, is occurring inside Houthi-controlled areas themselves. He stressed that tribes were not merely waiting to join the encampments but that there was broader readiness to move against the Houthis.

“People are only waiting for zero hour,” he stated, adding that he is personally in contact with figures inside Houthi-held areas whose names he declined to disclose. He described the situation as being “on the rim of a volcano.”

Al-Soufi recalled heading a mediation committee between the Houthis and Salafists in Kitaf in 2011 and 2012, when he dealt with Mahdi al-Mashat and met Abu Ali al-Hakim, Youssef al-Fishi and Saleh al-Sammad.

He said that experience led him at the time to conclude that the group was implementing an Iranian project. He described Abu Ali al-Hakim as one of the most important Houthi figures he had encountered because of the security and military portfolios he oversaw.

Failed negotiations

Al-Soufi recounted that years of negotiations had failed to demonstrate an ability to end the crisis. He argued that the Houthis maneuver when under pressure and were more willing to make concessions when in a weaker position.

On the delay in reaching a military resolution, he said the government acts as a state with domestic and international obligations and must weigh the economic and military consequences before and after any battle, unlike armed groups.

The Yemeni official concluded by saying that “strong preparations” were underway and that Yemenis would soon hear of “surprises.”

Asked whether those surprises would be “in the air or on the ground,” he replied briefly: “In the air and on the ground.”