عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
TT
TT

Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months.

In a statement, Israel's military did not give the identity of the targeted person. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Lebanese state media said a car had been hit near Tripoli and the health ministry reported two people were killed and three others wounded, without identifying them, Reuters reported.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps that have housed displaced Palestinians for decades.

Since Hamas' cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in 2023, Israel has carried out targeted strikes on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah as well as members of Palestinian factions in Lebanon.

Hamas' deputy chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early 2024, and other strikes hit Palestinian camps in northern Lebanon.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Tuesday's strike near Tripoli was the first time a targeted assassination had taken place in the area since the truce.

Meanwhile, US envoy Thomas Barrack continued a two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Hezbollah and other militant groups.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Hamas, Israel Exchange Views over Latest Gaza Roadmap

A displaced Palestinian child play inside a car destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 1, 2026. (AFP)
A displaced Palestinian child play inside a car destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 1, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Hamas, Israel Exchange Views over Latest Gaza Roadmap

A displaced Palestinian child play inside a car destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 1, 2026. (AFP)
A displaced Palestinian child play inside a car destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 1, 2026. (AFP)

Contacts and meetings between the Hamas movement, other Palestinian factions, head of the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov and mediators are ongoing in Cairo to reach a ceasefire agreement following the factions’ positive response to the latest proposal.

Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Palestinian delegation informed the mediators and Mladenov that the latest proposal will be composed of 15 articles and can be the launching point for negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire.

Two Hamas sources said the movement, with the backing of the factions, stressed the need to complete the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire in full. This includes allowing the entry of the national committee for the management of Gaza into the enclave without delay so that it can assume its duties.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the mediators and Mladenov have been handed a five-point document in response to their proposal. It calls for completing the first phase and obligating Israel to implement it in full. It also says that the factions are in agreement over the roadmap and are serious about engaging in serious negotiations over it, including the best way to implement US President Donald Trump’s main plan for Gaza.

The document also says that the issue of the weapons of factions should be tied to a comprehensive Palestinian political path and that it would be decided as part of a broader national framework seeing as it is not limited to Hamas alone.

The two sources and a third from the factions said the negotiating team asked the mediators and Mladenov for Israel’s response to the latest proposal before kicking off any negotiations over it.

Mladenov has submitted amendments to the proposal to the factions that they will study.

All the sources said that Israel’s response to the mediators’ latest proposal was negative as it clearly refuses to offer any guarantees that it would fully commit to implementing all the articles of the first phase of the ceasefire, especially those related to it ceasing its ongoing violations and withdrawing from the “Yellow Line” in Gaza.

A Palestinian source revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Mladenov had asked Israel on Tuesday to suspend its air raids on Gaza for 48 hours to allow the success of the Cairo talks. He did not receive a response in return, but Israel did noticeably ease its attacks on the enclave.

Israel has also allowed more trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza in the past three days, but they are not enough to meet demand.

The sources said the Cairo talks will continue even though they were supposed to end on Friday.

One of the sources said that it appears the US is starting to pressure Israel to make progress in the negotiations, but they have yielded few results so far.

An informed Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat that a senior American official from envoy Jared Kushner’s team had taken part in a meeting between Hamas and Mladenov.

The source said that Kushner himself will work on obligating Israel to implement the first phase of the ceasefire in full.

Arab World

Seasonal Rainfall Deepens Yemenis’ Humanitarian Plight

Relief agencies said 200,000 people have been affected by the rainfall. (Local media)
Relief agencies said 200,000 people have been affected by the rainfall. (Local media)
TT
TT

Seasonal Rainfall Deepens Yemenis’ Humanitarian Plight

Relief agencies said 200,000 people have been affected by the rainfall. (Local media)
Relief agencies said 200,000 people have been affected by the rainfall. (Local media)

Yemen is reeling from floods caused by seasonal rainfall that have swept vast swathes of the country in recent weeks, claiming dozens of lives and causing major damage in infrastructure.

Relief agencies said 200,000 people have been affected by the rainfall in April, with the number expected to rise as more rain is predicted.

Local and international assessments have said that southwestern regions of Yemen have since March witnessed heavy rain and flooding that have caused death, displacement and widespread damage in public and private property. The Mokha, Mawza, and al-Waziyah districts in Taiz and the al-Khokha and Hays districts in the Hodeidah province have been the most affected.

Several humanitarian sources said the floods have so far killed at least 24 people and affected 55,000 along the western coast regions held by the legitimate government.

Field assessments continue to determine the extent of the damage to homes, roads, water infrastructure and agricultural fields.

The number of affected people is expected to rise to some 220,000 if the rain continues, especially given the poor infrastructure and weak water drainage systems. The seasonal rainfall and ensuing floods are a recurring problem in Yemen given the weak infrastructure.

Authorities have dedicated around USD205,000 through an emergency response fund to tackle the crisis, support emergency relief operations and provide shelter to those affected.

Arab World

China Says UN Should Revisit Lebanon Peacekeeping Mission Decision

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) armored vehicle drives at the entrance of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 30, 2026. (AFP)
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) armored vehicle drives at the entrance of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 30, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

China Says UN Should Revisit Lebanon Peacekeeping Mission Decision

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) armored vehicle drives at the entrance of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 30, 2026. (AFP)
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) armored vehicle drives at the entrance of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 30, 2026. (AFP)

China's ambassador to the United Nations said on Friday that there was a need to revisit the UN Security Council's decision to end the mandate of a long-running peacekeeping mission in Lebanon at the end of this year.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978, patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. Last year, the Security Council unanimously agreed to begin a withdrawal of the mission at the end of 2026.

Envoy Fu Cong said China, which has ‌taken over the presidency ‌of the Security Council for May, ‌was ⁠concerned about the situation ⁠in Lebanon. He said there was no real ceasefire in place, only a "lesser fire."

"It is incumbent on Israel to stop this bombardment of Lebanon," he told reporters.

More than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon since March 2, when armed group Hezbollah fired on Israel in ⁠support of its ally Iran and triggered ‌an Israeli ground and air ‌campaign that has left swathes of southern Lebanon in ruins.

Israel's mission to ‌the United Nations did not immediately respond to a ‌request for comment, but Israel says its military activities in Lebanon are aimed at stopping attacks by Hezbollah.

Responding to a question about the UNIFIL mandate, Fu said: "We do believe we should ‌revisit the decision actually to withdraw the UNIFIL."

Fu said he had spoken recently about the ⁠issue ⁠to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He said the UN secretariat was thinking about a review and would come up with options in June for the implementation of UN resolution 1701 that ended a round of deadly conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

"I think at least the view of the overwhelming majority of the Security Council is that this is not the time to redraw UNIFIL," Fu said.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said last month that some form of ongoing UN presence might continue after the UNIFIL mandate ends.