عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference, Macron Says

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference, Macron Says

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

France will host an international conference this month to help drum up humanitarian aid for Lebanon and strengthen security in the southern part of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.

"We will hold in the next few weeks a conference to provide humanitarian aid, support the international community and support the Lebanese armed forces boost security, especially in southern Lebanon," Macron said after a meeting of French speaking countries in Paris.

Israel has begun an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of exchanging fire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Fighting had previously been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, taking place in parallel to Israel's year-old war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas.  

Earlier, Macron said shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution.  

France is not a major weapons provider for Israel, shipping military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the defense ministry's annual arms exports report.  

"I think the priority today is to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn't ship any," Macron told France Inter radio.  

"Our priority now is to avoid escalation. The Lebanese people must not in turn be sacrificed, Lebanon cannot become another Gaza," he added.  

Macron's comments come as his Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is on a four-day trip to the Middle East, wrapping up on Monday in Israel as Paris looks to play a role in reviving diplomatic efforts.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Aid Convoy Delivers Supplies to Besieged City in Northeast Syria as a Shaky Ceasefire Holds

TOPSHOT - Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani on January 23, 2026, after they withdrew from the Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqa province of Syria. (Photo by AFP)
TOPSHOT - Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani on January 23, 2026, after they withdrew from the Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqa province of Syria. (Photo by AFP)
TT
TT

UN Aid Convoy Delivers Supplies to Besieged City in Northeast Syria as a Shaky Ceasefire Holds

TOPSHOT - Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani on January 23, 2026, after they withdrew from the Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqa province of Syria. (Photo by AFP)
TOPSHOT - Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani on January 23, 2026, after they withdrew from the Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqa province of Syria. (Photo by AFP)

A United Nations aid convoy unloaded humanitarian supplies in the besieged enclave of Kobani in northeast Syria, officials said Monday.

It was the first aid convoy to reach the area since fighting kicked off between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month.

The government launched an offensive in which it seized much of the territory previously held by the SDF, leaving pockets of Kurdish-majority areas under SDF control.

A ceasefire that was announced Tuesday and then extended on Saturday for 15 more days appeared to be mostly holding, although sporadic skirmishes have been reported, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

Residents of Kobani, which is surrounded by government-held territory, have reported electricity and water cuts and shortages of essential goods, including bread, The Associated Press said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Monday that 24 trucks carrying supplies including fuel, food, medical and winterization kits delivered their cargo and exited the enclave. The trucks entered Kobani the day before.

The fighting in northeast Syria has displaced more than 173,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration. As the situation has remained calm in most areas since the ceasefire, some have begun to return to their homes.

Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.

A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.

The ceasefire was extended Saturday to give US forces a chance to transfer accused ISIS group militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.

Some 7,000 out of a total of 9,000 accused ISIS members held in Syria are to be moved to Iraq, amid fears they could escape if fighting resumes between government forces and the SDF.

Once in Iraq, prisoners accused of terrorism will be investigated by security forces and tried in domestic courts, Iraqi officials have said.

Arab World

Lebanon Files Complaint against Israel at Security Council

President Joseph Aoun meets with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
President Joseph Aoun meets with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
TT
TT

Lebanon Files Complaint against Israel at Security Council

President Joseph Aoun meets with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
President Joseph Aoun meets with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanon's Foreign Ministry filed on Monday a complaint against Israel at the United Nations Security Council over its repeated violation of its sovereignty.

The complaint detailed violations committed by Israel in from October to December 2025.It documented 542 violations in October, 691 in November and 803 in December.

These incidents are a "flagrant" violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, said the ministry, accusing Israel of failing to commit to Security Council 1701 and the November 2024 ceasefire.

It called on the council to obligate Israel to implement the resolution, withdraw its forces from the five locations it is still occupying in southern Lebanon, release Lebanese prisoners and cease its repeated violations.

President Joseph Aoun met with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Monday. Later on Monday, the FM held talks with French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro on bilateral ties and regional and international developments, especially the situation in southern Lebanon.

The ambassador briefed him on Paris' preparations to hold a conference in support of the Lebanese army in March, stressing the importance of international pressure on Israel for it to implement resolution 1701.

Raggi, for his part, underlined the government's commitment to impose state monopoly over arms throughout the country.

Hezbollah said on Monday that an Israeli strike ​in the country's south killed TV presenter Ali Nour al-Din, who worked for the group's affiliated Al-Manar television station.

The group said the killing portends "the danger of ‌Israel's extended escalations (in Lebanon) ‌to include ‌the ⁠media community".

The ​Israeli ‌military said later on Monday that al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group's artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon.

Israel and ⁠Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ‌ceasefire in 2024 to end ‍more than ‍a year of fighting ‍between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed group. Since ​then, the sides have traded accusations over ceasefire violations.

Lebanon ⁠has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah. The group's leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country, aiming to push the Lebanese government for quicker action to confiscate Hezbollah's arsenal.

Arab World

Syria Thwarts Weapons Smuggling Attempt to Lebanon

A Hezbollah supporter carries a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a rally in solidarity with Iran in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, 26 January 2026. (EPA)
A Hezbollah supporter carries a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a rally in solidarity with Iran in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, 26 January 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Syria Thwarts Weapons Smuggling Attempt to Lebanon

A Hezbollah supporter carries a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a rally in solidarity with Iran in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, 26 January 2026. (EPA)
A Hezbollah supporter carries a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a rally in solidarity with Iran in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, 26 January 2026. (EPA)

Damascus thwarted on Monday an attempt to smuggle weapons into Lebanon, state media reported, days after Israel struck several border crossings between the two countries, saying they were used by Hezbollah.

The official SANA news agency said security forces intercepted the shipment in a car in the Bureij area, near the border with Lebanon.

Quoting a security source, SANA said authorities seized "nine anti-tank guided missiles, 68 RPG rounds, two 107mm rockets, and five boxes of ammunition" before raiding the smugglers' hideout in the nearby Nabek district.

Lebanon and Syria share a porous, 330-kilometer (205-mile) border that is notorious for smuggling.

The operation follows Israeli strikes on Wednesday on four border crossings between the two countries, which the Israeli military alleged were "used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons".

Under deposed president Bashar al-Assad, Syria was a key node of Iran's so-called "Axis of Resistance" against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran to Hezbollah.

The armed group played a crucial role during Syria's civil war, fighting alongside Assad's forces and helping to keep him in power as he cracked down on a popular revolt.

The new government in Damascus, dominated by the forces who toppled Assad, has rejected Iranian influence and attempted to cut off the supply of weapons to Hezbollah.

Last month, Syrian authorities said they had killed a man and arrested four others who were attempting to smuggle hundreds of landmines to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Under heavy US pressure, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah.