عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts

A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
TT
TT

Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts

A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a flame at the site of a rocket attack, launched from southern Lebanon, in the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched an attack with a swarm of drones on military posts in the kibbutz of Amiad in northern Israel, the armed group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Israeli kibbutz is located approximately 22 kilometers from the Lebanese border. 
Hezbollah said the attack was a retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Lebanese Bekaa region overnight.

Hezbollah also launched more than 50 rockets, hitting several homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

First responders in the Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak.

Hezbollah said the attack was also in response to an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday night.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it bombed Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Bekaa overnight.
The air attack came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that "attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation for anything that might happen."

Security sources said the strike was in a residential area near the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa.

The airstrikes left at least two people dead and 19 injured, according to the sources.

Another Israeli airstrike on Wednesday hit a car on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, killing a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian faction Fatah, two Palestinian sources told Reuters.

Khalil al-Maqdah, the brother of Fatah Gen. Mounir al-Maqdah, was killed in the strike, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

New Lebanon President Starts Consultations on Naming PM

Lebanese President-elect Joseph Aoun poses for a picture before the oath-taking ceremony at the parliament in Beirut, Lebanon, 09 January 2025. (EPA)
Lebanese President-elect Joseph Aoun poses for a picture before the oath-taking ceremony at the parliament in Beirut, Lebanon, 09 January 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

New Lebanon President Starts Consultations on Naming PM

Lebanese President-elect Joseph Aoun poses for a picture before the oath-taking ceremony at the parliament in Beirut, Lebanon, 09 January 2025. (EPA)
Lebanese President-elect Joseph Aoun poses for a picture before the oath-taking ceremony at the parliament in Beirut, Lebanon, 09 January 2025. (EPA)

New Lebanese President Joseph Aoun began parliamentary consultations Monday to designate a prime minister tasked with forming a government desperately needed to tackle major challenges in the crisis-hit country.

Caretaker premier Najib Mikati and Nawaf Salam, a favorite of anti-Hezbollah lawmakers who is the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, have emerged as the frontrunners.

The consultations, a constitutional requirement under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, follow Aoun's election last week amid foreign pressure for swift progress -- particularly from the United States.

The eastern Mediterranean nation had been without a president since October 2022, run by a caretaker government amid a crushing economic crisis compounded by all-out war between Lebanese Iran-backed group Hezbollah and Israel.

By convention, Lebanon's prime minister is a Sunni Muslim.

Opposition lawmakers on Saturday had thrown their backing behind anti-Hezbollah lawmaker Fouad Makhzoumi, a wealthy businessman who has good foreign relations.

But on Monday he said he withdrew his candidacy to "make way for consensus between all who believe in the need for change around the name of Judge Nawaf Salam".

Aoun's consultations with political blocs got underway at 8:15 am (0615 GMT) with a meeting with deputy parliament speaker Elias Abu Saab, the official National News Agency said.

- 'Part of the accord' -

A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that both Hezbollah and powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri's Amal movement supported Mikati.

Mikati, who has already formed three governments and has good relations with Lebanon's political parties and several foreign countries, has denied any prior arrangement exists for the naming of a PM.

One of the country's richest men, Mikati has headed the country in a caretaker capacity throughout the presidential vacuum.

Mikati said on the sidelines of the presidential vote on Thursday that he was ready to serve the country "if needed".

Whoever heads Lebanon's new government will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the country's worst economic crisis in its history.

They will also face the daunting task of reconstructing swathes of the country after the Israel-Hezbollah war and implementing the November 27 ceasefire agreement, which includes the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah.

- Opposition to Mikati -

Other lawmakers have instead proposed International Court of Justice judge Salam, a highly respected former ambassador whose name frequently comes up in such consultations.

Late Sunday saw last-ditch attempts to unify opposition and independent positions, with the aim of rallying around Salam and blocking Mikati's path to the premiership.

Hezbollah's opponents see Mikati as part of an old political system that the group has within its grip.

After Aoun pledged a "new phase" for Lebanon in his inaugural speech, anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that "like it or not, Mikati was from the previous lot".

According to Lebanon's constitution, the president designates the prime minister in consultation with the parliament speaker, choosing the candidate with the most votes during the consultations.

Nominating a premier does not guarantee a new government will be formed imminently.

The process has previously taken weeks or even months due to deep political divisions and horse-trading.