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One Killed in Israeli Strike in Eastern Lebanon

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
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One Killed in Israeli Strike in Eastern Lebanon

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of an Israeli drone attack targeting a vehicle in the town of Souairi, in western Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)

An Israeli strike on a car near the Syrian border killed a man Sunday, a security source said, after overnight fire wounded four people in Lebanon's east, a second security official said.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging cross-border fire almost daily since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas began last October.

But fears have surged of an all-out conflict in recent weeks with Israel launching air strikes deeper into eastern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the Bekaa Valley area several times.

"Israeli aircraft targeted a vehicle in... Suwairi, killing its Syrian driver," a security source told AFP, requesting anonymity because of security concerns.

Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency had said a strike on a vehicle in Suwairi, in Lebanon's east, injured the driver, before reporting that he had been killed.

The NNA said he had been delivering food in a car that belonged to a supermarket owner.

Images from the scene showed a burnt-out blue vehicle and a streak of blood on the ground nearby.

Overnight Saturday, Israeli jets struck a Hezbollah center that had been deserted for some time, the second security source told AFP. Four residents in nearby buildings had been wounded by the strikes, the source added.

The strike at al-Osseira, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border, ended a period of relative calm that had lasted around 10 days.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets "struck a Hezbollah manufacturing site containing weapons in the area of Baalbek", referring to the main city in the Bekaa Valley.

The NNA had earlier reported three people injured in the Israeli strikes.

Later, Hezbollah said it fired "more than 60 Katyusha-type rockets" at two Israeli military positions in the occupied Golan Heights in response to the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military also said "approximately 50 launches were identified from Lebanon toward northern Israel".

"A number of launches were intercepted while the rest fell in open areas," the military added.

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Arab World

Iraqi Oil Ministry Says It Began Exporting Fuel Oil Via Syria

A worker performs checks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
A worker performs checks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Iraqi Oil Ministry Says It Began Exporting Fuel Oil Via Syria

A worker performs checks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
A worker performs checks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it began exporting fuel oil via Syria after ‌disruptions ‌to the Strait ‌of ⁠Hormuz caused by the ⁠Iran war.

The oil will be trucked overland ⁠and export ‌operations ‌would gradually increase ‌to ‌boost the Iraqi economy, the ministry added.

Reuters reported ‌in an exclusive on Tuesday ⁠that ⁠the land route, which Iraq has not used for decades, became its best option.

Arab World

Israel Expands Warnings to Hezbollah-linked Money Changers

Lebanese security personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting senior military commander Youssef Hashem in the Jnah area on the outskirts of Beirut (Reuters). 
Lebanese security personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting senior military commander Youssef Hashem in the Jnah area on the outskirts of Beirut (Reuters). 
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Israel Expands Warnings to Hezbollah-linked Money Changers

Lebanese security personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting senior military commander Youssef Hashem in the Jnah area on the outskirts of Beirut (Reuters). 
Lebanese security personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting senior military commander Youssef Hashem in the Jnah area on the outskirts of Beirut (Reuters). 

The Israeli army said it has killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Youssef Ismail Hashem, in a naval strike, as it widened its warnings in Lebanon to include individuals it accuses of handling the group’s finances.

The military described Hashem as Hezbollah’s “southern front commander”, adding he had more than 40 years of experience and was one of Hezbollah’s “major pillars”.

A security source told AFP that Hashem, also known as Sayyed al-Sadeq, was responsible for Hezbollah’s military and security file in Iraq and was killed in a strike on the Jnah area of Beirut. Lebanon’s health ministry said the attack killed seven people.

The source noted that Hashem “was in a meeting with other party members inside a tent near several vehicles” at the time of the attack.

A source close to Hezbollah confirmed the killing, describing him as “the most senior official targeted since the start of the war”. Hezbollah also announced the death of one of its members, Mohammad Baqer al-Nabulsi, who was killed in the same strike.

US sanctions

Hashem has been under US sanctions since 2018 for working for or on behalf of Hezbollah, according to the US Treasury.

The Treasury noted that he oversaw Hezbollah’s operational activities in Iraq and was responsible for protecting the group’s interests there.

It added that he managed relations with armed groups in Iraq, including coordinating the deployment of fighters to Syria.

Senior figure

Hashem is the most senior military figure killed since the start of the war, succeeding Ali Karaki, who was assassinated in an Israeli strike that targeted former Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2024.

Israel had previously targeted lower-ranking commanders, including Hassan Salameh, head of Hezbollah’s “Nasr Unit”, who was killed on March 10.

According to Israeli media, Hezbollah’s southern front is divided into three sectors — the Nasr, Aziz and Badr units — which operate independently, with Hashem overseeing all three.

Warnings broadened

Israel has expanded its warnings in Lebanon to include “money changers working in the service of Hezbollah”.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that the military had targeted Hezbollah funding sources during the war, including the Al-Qard al-Hassan association and fuel networks.

“Another source that has been targeted is the network of money changers, which constitutes the main and most important financial source for this terrorist organization,” he added.

He named Mohammad Noureddine and Hussein Ibrahim as key money changers working for Hezbollah.

Addressing them directly, he said: “Due to your involvement in financing Hezbollah, the IDF warns you that continuing to fund Hezbollah puts you at risk.”

He also urged Lebanese citizens to avoid “any contact with Hezbollah money changers” and to “stay away from them” for their own safety.

Security zone plans

The intensified strikes come as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that “at the end of the operation, the Israeli army will establish a security zone inside Lebanon along a defensive line against anti-tank missiles”.

He added that Israel would maintain security control over the area up to the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border.

Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa condemned the remarks, saying they “no longer constitute mere threats, but reflect a clear intention to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territory”.

Arab World

US Embassy in Baghdad Warns of Attacks in City over Next 24-48 Hours

A view of the US Embassy in Baghdad (archival - Reuters)
A view of the US Embassy in Baghdad (archival - Reuters)
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US Embassy in Baghdad Warns of Attacks in City over Next 24-48 Hours

A view of the US Embassy in Baghdad (archival - Reuters)
A view of the US Embassy in Baghdad (archival - Reuters)

The US embassy in Baghdad warned Thursday that pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq may attack the city in the coming one or two days.

"Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours," the embassy said in a statement on X, again urging Americans in the country to leave immediately.