Lebanon Detains Five Over Rocket Fire Toward Israel

FILED - 31 May 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese soldiers stand guard in front of the parliament building in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 31 May 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese soldiers stand guard in front of the parliament building in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Lebanon Detains Five Over Rocket Fire Toward Israel

FILED - 31 May 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese soldiers stand guard in front of the parliament building in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 31 May 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese soldiers stand guard in front of the parliament building in Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

The Lebanese Army on Tuesday received a third suspect from the Palestinian group Hamas over rocket attacks launched from southern Lebanon toward Israel in March, bringing the total number of detainees to five.

In a statement issued by the Army’s Directorate of Guidance, the military said it had taken custody of the Palestinian national, identified by the initials Q.S., at the entrance of the Al-Bass refugee camp in the southern city of Tyre.

The handover follows the transfer of two other Hamas members on Sunday and Monday, as part of a broader security operation led by the Lebanese Army’s Intelligence Directorate.

The move comes in line with a recommendation by Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council and a decision by the government to apprehend those involved in the attacks.

The suspects are believed to have played roles in rocket launches toward Israeli territory on March 22 and 28, 2025.

Military authorities confirmed that the newly detained suspect is now under investigation under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities.

Security forces are continuing efforts to track down additional individuals linked to the rocket fire.

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon toward Israel on March 22 and 28 were launched by unidentified assailants, but subsequent investigations by Lebanese authorities revealed that some of those involved were affiliated with the Palestinian group Hamas, security sources said.

Two suspects have already been detained, and authorities have launched a manhunt for others believed to have taken part in the attacks.

In response, Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council issued a recommendation to the government on Friday, urging it to formally warn Hamas against using Lebanese territory to carry out operations that threaten national security.

“The most severe measures will be taken to put a definitive end to any act that violates Lebanese sovereignty,” the council said in its statement.



Over 4,500 ISIS Detainees Brought to Iraq from Syria, Says Official

Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
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Over 4,500 ISIS Detainees Brought to Iraq from Syria, Says Official

Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)

More than 4,500 suspected extremists have been transferred from Syria to Iraq as part of a US operation to relocate ISIS group detainees, an Iraqi official told AFP on Tuesday.

The detainees are among around 7,000 suspects the US military began transferring last month after Syrian government forces captured Kurdish-held territory where they had been held by Kurdish fighters.

They include Syrians, Iraqis and Europeans, among other nationalities.

Saad Maan, a spokesperson for the Iraqi government's security information unit, told AFP that 4,583 detainees had been brought to Iraq so far.

ISIS swept across swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014 where it committed massacres. Backed by US-led forces, Iraq proclaimed the defeat of ISIS in 2017, while in neighboring Syria the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ultimately beat back the group two years later.

The SDF went on to jail thousands of suspected extremists and detain tens of thousands of their relatives in camps.

In Iraq, where many prisons are packed with ISIS suspects, courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences and life terms to those convicted of terrorism offences, including many foreign fighters.

This month Iraq's judiciary said it had begun investigations into detainees transferred from Syria.


UN Force to Withdraw Most Troops from Lebanon by Mid-2027

An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)
An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)
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UN Force to Withdraw Most Troops from Lebanon by Mid-2027

An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)
An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon plans to withdraw most of its troops by mid 2027, its spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday, after the peacekeepers' mandate expires this year.

UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades and has been assisting the Lebanese army as it dismantles Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border after a recent war between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

Under pressure from the United States and Israel, the UN Security Council voted last year to end the force's mandate on December 31, 2026, with an "orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal" within one year.

Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel, said that "UNIFIL is planning to draw down and withdraw all, or substantially all, uniformed personnel by mid-year 2027", completing the pullout by year end.

After UNIFIL operations cease on December 31 this year, she said that "we begin the process of sending UNIFIL personnel and equipment home and transferring our UN positions to the Lebanese authorities".

During the withdrawal, the force will only be authorized to perform limited tasks such as protecting UN personnel and bases and overseeing a safe departure.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, mainly saying it is targeting Hezbollah, and has maintained troops in five border areas.

UNIFIL patrols near the border and monitors violations of a UN resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and which forms the basis of the current ceasefire.

It has repeatedly reported Israeli fire at or near its personnel since the truce.

Ardiel said UNIFIL had reduced the number of peacekeepers in south Lebanon by almost 2,000 in recent months, "with a couple hundred more set to leave by May".

The force now counts some 7,500 peacekeepers from 48 countries.

She said the reduction was "a direct result" of a UN-wide financial crisis "and the cost-saving measures all missions have been forced to implement", and unrelated to the end of the force's mandate.

Lebanese authorities want a continued international troop presence in the south after UNIFIL's exit, even if its numbers are limited, and have been urging European countries to stay.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in Beirut this month that Lebanon's army should replace the force when the peacekeepers withdraw.

Italy has said it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon after UNIFIL leaves.


Israeli Strikes Kill 3 People in Gaza, Hospital Says

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 3 People in Gaza, Hospital Says

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)

Israeli military strikes on Monday killed three people west of Gaza City, according to the hospital where the casualties arrived.

Shifa Hospital reported the deaths amid the months-old ceasefire that has seen continued fighting. The Israeli army said Monday it is striking targets in response to Israeli troops coming under fire in the southern city of Rafah, which it says was a violation of the ceasefire. The army said it is striking targets “in a precise manner."

The four-month-old US-backed ceasefire followed stalled negotiations and included Israel and Hamas accepting a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. At the time, Trump said it would lead to a “strong, durable, and everlasting peace.”

Hamas freed all the living hostages it still held at the outset of the deal in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the remains of others.

But the larger issues the agreement sought to address, including the future governance of the strip, were met with reservations, and the US offered no firm timeline.

Rafah crossing improving, official says

The Palestinian official set to oversee day-to-day affairs in Gaza said on Monday that passage through the Rafah crossing with Egypt is starting to improve after a chaotic first week of reopening marked by confusion, delays and a limited number of crossings.

Ali Shaath, head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, told Egypt’s Al-Qahera News that operations at the crossing were improving on Sunday.

He said 88 Palestinians were scheduled to travel through Rafah on Monday, more than have crossed in the initial days since reopening. Israel did not immediately confirm the figures.

The European Union border mission at the crossing said in a statement Sunday that 284 Palestinians had crossed since reopening. Travelers included people returning after having fled the war and medical evacuees and their escorts. In total, 53 medical evacuees departed during the first five days of operations.

That remains well below the agreed target of 50 medical evacuees exiting and 50 returnees entering daily, negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials.

Shaath and other members of the committee remain in Egypt, without Israeli authorization to enter the war-battered enclave.

The Rafah crossing opened last week for the first time since mid-2024, one of the main requirements for the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It was closed Friday and Saturday because of confusion around operations.

Palestinian officials say nearly 20,000 people are seeking to leave Gaza for medical care unavailable in its largely destroyed health system.

Palestinians who returned to Gaza in the first days after the crossing reopened described hourslong delays and invasive searches by Israeli authorities and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab. Israel denied mistreatment.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Monday that five people were killed over the previous 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 581 since the October ceasefire. The truce led to the return of the remaining hostages — both living captives and bodies — from the 251 abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack. Israel’s military offensive has since killed over 72,000 Palestinians, according to the ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and is staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties.