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‘Soldiers of God’ Group Derails Drag Show in Lebanon

A photo circulating on social media depicting members of 'Soldiers of God' movement.
A photo circulating on social media depicting members of 'Soldiers of God' movement.
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‘Soldiers of God’ Group Derails Drag Show in Lebanon

A photo circulating on social media depicting members of 'Soldiers of God' movement.
A photo circulating on social media depicting members of 'Soldiers of God' movement.

A drag show in the Lebanese capital Beirut was cut short late on Wednesday by an angry crowd of conservative Christians screaming homophobic chants.

The show was hosted at a bar in the Beirut neighborhood of Mar Mikhael.

Footage posted online from outside the same venue on Wednesday showed men identifying themselves as the "Soldiers of God," an anti-LGBT Christian movement in Lebanon.

They said that the venue is known to be a safe space for LGPT individuals.

Videos of the event show members of the Soldiers of God trapping people inside the bar while shouting that they were "disgusted" at the event.

It was the latest episode showing rising hate speech against Lebanon's LGBT community, including from conservatives with various religious backgrounds.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, head of the armed group Hezbollah, has said homosexuality posed an "imminent danger" to Lebanon and should be "confronted".

“The Soldiers of God” movement is a Christian extremist group in Lebanon that started to surface recently. Its members wear black shirts and claim to be protectors of the Christian areas in Lebanon.

Outgoing Minister of Culture, Mohammad Wissam Mortada commented on the incident and said that the security forces should have taken the matter in their own hands instead of leaving it to irregular sides to handle.

“The security forces should have closed down the bar if it was proven that it was running a play encouraging anomaly” he said in remarks on X platform, previously Twitter.

Other MPs and politicians denounced the assault, rejecting any form of violence and hate speeches.

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Arab World

Foreign Press Group Slams Israeli Police for Breaking Journalist’s Wrist

Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)
Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)
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Foreign Press Group Slams Israeli Police for Breaking Journalist’s Wrist

Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)
Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)

An international media association on Wednesday criticized an "unprovoked assault" by Israeli police on journalists in Jerusalem, which it said left a CNN producer with a fractured wrist.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) said police officers on Tuesday night "unnecessarily and aggressively repelled a group of journalists who were doing their jobs, documenting individuals who were praying outside the walls of the Old City".

It said police detained several journalists, damaging photographic equipment and confiscating memory cards.

"During the assault, one Israeli officer fractured the wrist of a CNN producer," the FPA said in a statement.

"None of this is acceptable," added the association, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

An AFP photographer at the scene said a small group of journalists had been documenting Muslims trying to perform the evening Taraweeh prayers outside the Old City walls, when a group of police suddenly arrived and "violently attacked the worshippers and journalists covering the event."

A foreign journalist told AFP that police "beat the CNN producer and some other journalists with batons," adding that "at least one Palestinian was detained".

AFP has asked Israeli police for comment on the incident.

Israeli authorities have closed holy sites in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem's Old City for security reasons since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28.

The FPA called on the police to "immediately take action against the officers involved in this unprovoked assault and to act in the future to safeguard press freedoms, rather than trample upon them."

In an X post, the Union of Journalists in Israel said it was "appalled" by the police conduct and urged the police commissioner to "immediately suspend the officers involved".

Arab World

Three Iraqi Fighters Killed in Strike Near Syria Border

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Three Iraqi Fighters Killed in Strike Near Syria Border

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

A strike near Iraq's western border with Syria killed three fighters from former coalition Hashed al-Shaabi on Wednesday, the alliance said.

The fighters from the alliance -- also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), now part of Iraq's regular armed forces -- were hit in an US or Israeli strike that targeted their main command centre in Anbar province, AFP reported.

Since the start of the Middle East war, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi, which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups.

Arab World

Israel Says Hit Hezbollah-controlled Gas Stations in Lebanon

Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Israel Says Hit Hezbollah-controlled Gas Stations in Lebanon

Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's military said Wednesday it had struck gas stations in south Lebanon belonging to a company owned by the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.

"Overnight, the 'Israeli army' struck Al-Amana Fuel Company gas stations in southern Lebanon", the military said.

A map shared with the statement showed the locations of five gas stations the military said it struck, all in Lebanon's south, including two near the country's Mediterranean coast.

The statement added that the Al-Amana fuel company is controlled by Hezbollah "and constitutes fundamental economic infrastructure that supports Hezbollah's military capabilities".

It said Hezbollah receives "millions of dollars of profits" from the company via another Hezbollah-owned association to fund its military activities.

Since the war with Iran broke out, Israel has also bombed Al-Qard al-Hassan, a financial firm with links to Hezbollah.