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Lebanon Detains 41 Since War on Suspicion of Collaborating with Israel

Flames rise from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ain Qana village, south Lebanon, on Feb. 2, 2026. (AP)
Flames rise from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ain Qana village, south Lebanon, on Feb. 2, 2026. (AP)
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Lebanon Detains 41 Since War on Suspicion of Collaborating with Israel

Flames rise from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ain Qana village, south Lebanon, on Feb. 2, 2026. (AP)
Flames rise from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ain Qana village, south Lebanon, on Feb. 2, 2026. (AP)

Lebanon’s State Security agency has arrested a Syrian national suspected of communicating with Israelis for commercial purposes, just two days after entering the country and traveling between the southern cities of Sidon and Bint Jbeil.

The arrest raises the number of people detained in Lebanon on suspicion of collaborating with Israel since the October 2023 war to 41, a record for that period.

The General Directorate of State Security said suspect, identified by his initials (I.A.), was arrested after “close surveillance and monitoring” as part of efforts to combat networks dealing with the Israeli enemy.

He is accused of concluding commercial deals with Israel and was found to have entered Lebanon illegally through unauthorized crossings.

Entered illegally, Moved without a Clear Destination

A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat the suspect, Ibrahim A., born in Aleppo in 2007, slipped into Lebanon two days before his arrest. He was detained in the Sharhabil area of Sidon after drawing suspicion by moving between Sidon and Bint Jbeil without a clear purpose.

He has no registered residence in Lebanon. A search of his phone revealed communications with Israeli-linked sites and numbers. Some appeared commercial in nature, while others were linked to pornographic websites, the source said.

Collaboration cases

The arrest comes amid what officials describe as intensified preemptive security measures, particularly after Israel’s latest war on Lebanon in 2024, during which it benefited from human intelligence networks inside the country.

A senior judicial source said that alleged collaboration cases are now top of the agenda of the Military Court due to their growing number and the gravity of the charges.

Military Public Prosecutor records show that 41 individuals have been referred for investigation and trial on accusations of collaborating with Israel and supplying security information that aided Israeli military operations.

Seven suspects were arrested during the war, while the rest were detained after the November 27, 2024, ceasefire, the source said.

Nineteen have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to seven years of hard labor. The remainder are still on trial.

The security allegations facing the broader group do not apply to the Syrian detainee, the source said. There is no evidence at this stage that he carried out security tasks for Israel, and his contacts appear limited to commercial dealings.

The source described him as withdrawn and unresponsive during questioning, saying he did not clarify where he came from or where he was headed. No one contacted him during his pretrial detention.

The source suggested he may have been subjected to a professional recruitment method designed to shield associates in the event of arrest.

Following preliminary investigations, the suspect was referred to the Military Court.

Earlier Arrests

Last month, State Security announced the arrest of a Lebanese citizen on suspicion of communicating with Israel, following what it described as sustained monitoring of collaboration networks.

Preliminary investigations showed that the suspect had been contacting Israel since early 2024 via applications on his mobile phone, offering services and work to the Mossad.

Legal measures were taken at the direction of the Military Public Prosecutor.

In October, the State Security also announced the arrest of a Palestinian man suspected of communicating with Israel after following the official Mossad page on Facebook.

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Arab World

Israeli Military Says Killed Two After West Bank Shooting

Israeli soldiers and emergency personnel gather near ambulances following a shooting attack near Yehuda Junction, near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
Israeli soldiers and emergency personnel gather near ambulances following a shooting attack near Yehuda Junction, near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
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Israeli Military Says Killed Two After West Bank Shooting

Israeli soldiers and emergency personnel gather near ambulances following a shooting attack near Yehuda Junction, near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
Israeli soldiers and emergency personnel gather near ambulances following a shooting attack near Yehuda Junction, near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)

Israeli troops on Friday shot dead two suspected Palestinian assailants in the West Bank after a shooting that left at least five people wounded, officials said.

Footage shared by rescuers showed a lifeless body in casual attire on the ground next to a petrol station as Israeli troops patrolled in all directions.

The Israeli military said soldiers had rushed to the Judea Junction area near the flashpoint city of Hebron after the early-morning shooting attack.

"Israeli soldiers eliminated two terrorists and continue searches in the area," it said in a statement.

The initial shooting wounded five people, two of whom were in critical condition, said Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical rescue service.

The incident comes as tensions soar in the West Bank, including over attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian olive harvesters, and days ahead of Israeli elections.

Arab World

Istanbul Hosts Middle East, European FMs to Discuss Regional Crises

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Pakistan meet in Amman on August 5. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Pakistan meet in Amman on August 5. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Istanbul Hosts Middle East, European FMs to Discuss Regional Crises

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Pakistan meet in Amman on August 5. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Pakistan meet in Amman on August 5. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Foreign ministers from seven European and Middle Eastern countries will hold talks in Istanbul Friday focusing on the Strait of Hormuz and the crises in the Middle East.

Ministers from the so-called E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- will meet counterparts from the newly created R4 group comprising Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Pakistan to discuss the Palestinians, developments in Yemen and the Strait of Hormuz, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is hosting the meeting, the first to bring together the two groups.

In chairing the talks, Fidan was to stress that "regional security first and foremost requires countries of the region to assume responsibility" and within that context, Türkiye "prioritizes strengthening cooperation mechanisms based on regional ownership".

He would also say "existing disputes should not be allowed to feed one another, conflicts should not be allowed to spread to new areas, and regional tensions should not be allowed to turn into broader instability".

Fidan will focus on the international community "increasing pressure on Israel" in response to its settlement expansion and its "encouragement of settler terrorism".

He will also underline Türkiye's support for Saudi Arabia's security in the face of Houthi attacks and the need for permanent freedom of navigation in the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Straits.

British foreign minister Ed Miliband's office said the talks would essentially revolve around "the Strait of Hormuz and the situation in Saudi Arabia".

"Despite positive progress from the US and regional partners, passage through the Strait remains under threat, with traffic through the waterway sharply down on pre-war levels," a foreign ministry statement said.

It said Miliband "will advocate for a diplomatic solution to the crisis that restores full navigational rights and freedoms" and stress "how Iranian tactics are being replicated across the region, with attacks on Saudi Arabia further destabilizing the region and increasing pressure on vital waterways and global chokepoints, such as Bab El-Mandeb and the Suez Canal."

"The UK is stepping up to help stabilize the region, having this week committed RAF Typhoons to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks in their airspace," it added.

- Black Sea security -

Unrest in the Black Sea would also be a key focus, with the minister pointing to Türkiye's ongoing "warnings and proposals" to prevent the Russia-Ukraine war from spreading to the Black Sea and to draw a line under the civilian deaths there.

Armed attacks on commercial ships, often with drones, have multiplied in recent months as the war has spilled into the Black Sea, with Turkish ships increasingly in the firing line.

Last month, Türkiye sent a proposal to Russia and Ukraine to end the strikes, but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears with the attacks increasing in recent weeks, notably near Romania and Bulgaria.

NATO said Tuesday it was deploying additional planes, drones and radar systems to the Black Sea, calling for more "situational awareness" in the region through increased sensors and more data-sharing.

The E3 was set up more than 20 years ago to advance diplomatic coordination over Iran's nuclear program.

The R4 was formed this year and brings together Egypt with the signatories to the Makkah Defense Agreement -- a mutual defense pact set up by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan in August.

Arab World

Iraq Fears Return of ‘Shadow Factions’ to Regional ‘Unity of Fronts’ Campaign

Members of Harakat al-Nujaba movement attend a gathering in Baghdad on Oct. 8, 2023 (AFP)
Members of Harakat al-Nujaba movement attend a gathering in Baghdad on Oct. 8, 2023 (AFP)
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Iraq Fears Return of ‘Shadow Factions’ to Regional ‘Unity of Fronts’ Campaign

Members of Harakat al-Nujaba movement attend a gathering in Baghdad on Oct. 8, 2023 (AFP)
Members of Harakat al-Nujaba movement attend a gathering in Baghdad on Oct. 8, 2023 (AFP)

Fears are mounting in Iraq that armed factions’ refusal to surrender their weapons may be an attempt to buy time ahead of a possible resumption of the war with Iran and the revival of the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” as Baghdad faces growing security and political pressure to prevent attacks on regional targets from Iraqi soil.

Political sources close to the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iraq’s main Shiite political forces, said negotiations to bring all weapons under state control had made no tangible progress, with several factions yet to hand over the rockets and drones in their possession.

However, the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that some alliance leaders considered it unlikely that the factions would attack countries in the region in support of Iran if the war resumed, given the potential repercussions for Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government, which could face mounting regional and international pressure.

Nujaba Reaffirms Refusal to Surrender Weapons

Those assessments have failed to ease fears that smaller armed groups could resume attacks that would be difficult to attribute directly to major factions, amid rising regional tensions and continuing divisions in Iraq over weapons outside state control.

Underscoring resistance to any change in the factions’ military status, Abdul Qadir al-Karbalai, military deputy of the Harakat al-Nujaba movement, said Wednesday that the group would not participate in the political process and that its position remained unchanged.

In a statement, al-Karbalai rejected the terms “placing weapons under state control,” “handing over weapons” and “disarmament” in reference to what the group calls resistance weapons.

His remarks pose an additional challenge to the government’s efforts to bring weapons under state control, with concerns extending beyond the political standoff between Baghdad and the factions to the possibility of renewed attacks on regional targets from Iraqi territory.

‘Shadow Factions’

Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada, citing informed sources, reported that the closure of the al-Sheeb border crossing with Iran in Maysan province was not solely related to the technical reasons cited by the government.

The move also came amid security fears of a return by so-called “shadow factions,” small groups of five to 10 members suspected of being used to carry out attacks that would be difficult to trace to those responsible.

Security agencies have stepped up surveillance of suspected attack sites over the past two weeks, the newspaper’s sources said, after attacks targeting Saudi Arabia reportedly shifted from areas in the Najaf desert in July to locations near the al-Sheeb crossing in September.

The developments suggest that armed groups may be changing tactics, avoiding heavily monitored sites and seeking new areas from which to operate.

The assessments and the identities of those behind the reported attacks could not be independently verified.

The Iraqi government has maintained that the crossing’s closure is temporary and intended to improve operational efficiency.

Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi denied any political motive, describing the closure as “a purely administrative measure that requires no political interpretation.”

Meanwhile, Prime Ministerial adviser Abdul Amir Taiban accused the Iranian side of “serious violations” of Iraqi sovereignty, creating chaos along the shared border and deliberately undermining Iraq’s economy through the smuggling of counterfeit currency and drugs.

Mounting US Pressure

The closure comes as Washington steps up pressure on Baghdad over cross-border trade with Iran.

AFP quoted an Iraqi source Wednesday confirming the closure, while an Iranian official said border crossings with Iraq remained open to travelers, although truck traffic was experiencing delays.

Two political sources said Washington was pressing Baghdad to close additional crossings with Iran. One said the US Treasury Department had raised the issue with al-Zaidi during his visit to New York last month.

Security concerns also extend beyond Iraq’s land borders.

A security source in Basra province said Wednesday that a drone fell into the sea about 200 meters from an oil tanker identified as the Corden Eikel, after its crew alerted Iraqi naval forces to the presence of two drones.

One crashed into the water, while the other disappeared from sight, the source said.

Meanwhile, Baghdad is pursuing diplomatic contacts with regional countries in an effort to contain the escalation.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussed by phone ways to create conditions conducive to peaceful understandings that could ease regional tensions and strengthen security and stability.