Strike Hits Beirut's Southern Suburbs after Israeli Warning

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
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Strike Hits Beirut's Southern Suburbs after Israeli Warning

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)

A strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday, AFPTV footage showed, after Israel issued a warning for people in the Hezbollah stronghold to leave.

The strike is the first since Friday in the area, which is now largely deserted since Israel began frequent attacks against Hezbollah in early March.

AFPTV's live broadcast showed plumes of smoke rising from the southern suburbs.

Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Iran was attacked by Israel and the United States. Hezbollah's attack prompted a new Israeli offensive against the group.

Israel has retaliated with wide-ranging air strikes on Lebanon, and Israeli forces are now advancing into numerous towns in southern Lebanon.

Israeli officials say they intend to set up a security zone extending 30 kilometers from the Israeli border to protect those living in northern Israel.



Egypt Says Only Trump Can Stop War, Warns Oil Could Top $200

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a bilateral meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a bilateral meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. (Reuters)
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Egypt Says Only Trump Can Stop War, Warns Oil Could Top $200

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a bilateral meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a bilateral meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. (Reuters)

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged US President Donald Trump on Monday to stop the Iran war and said fears of the oil price going above $200 were not exaggerated.

"I tell President Trump: nobody can stop the war in our region in the Gulf but you," Sisi said at the Egypt Energy Show 2026 energy conference in Cairo.

Noting ‌the impact ‌of supply shortages and price ‌rises, ⁠Sisi cited analysts' concerns ⁠that "the price of a barrel of oil could reach more than $200, and this is not an exaggeration."

Egypt has condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf Arab ⁠states and pushed diplomatic efforts ‌to avoid a wider regional ‌war.

The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council ‌bloc, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, urged the international community ‌to protect vital maritime corridors, condemning Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on regional energy infrastructure.

Addressing the conference virtually, he said Iranian aggression ‌was a threat to the world.

"The brutal Iranian threats against energy ⁠facilities ⁠and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz constitute not only a blatant violation of international law but also a direct threat to global energy," he said.

The GCC, grouping Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, has faced drone and missile attacks. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off a crucial route that previously handled about a fifth of global oil supplies.


Rocket Attack Targets Baghdad Army Base

Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a destroyed healthcare center in the Habbaniyah military base, which was targeted by in an airstrike killing seven security personnel and wounding 13 others, in Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a destroyed healthcare center in the Habbaniyah military base, which was targeted by in an airstrike killing seven security personnel and wounding 13 others, in Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
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Rocket Attack Targets Baghdad Army Base

Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a destroyed healthcare center in the Habbaniyah military base, which was targeted by in an airstrike killing seven security personnel and wounding 13 others, in Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a destroyed healthcare center in the Habbaniyah military base, which was targeted by in an airstrike killing seven security personnel and wounding 13 others, in Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad on March 26, 2026. (AFP)

Rockets fired overnight targeted an Iraqi military base inside the Baghdad airport complex, which also houses a support center for the US embassy, Iraq's defense ministry said Monday.

The base is near a US diplomatic and logistics hub in the airport complex, which has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the war in the Middle East on February 28.

Iraq has been drawn into the conflict despite seeking to avoid it at all costs. Pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups.

Early on Monday morning "an air base was targeted by 122mm Grad rockets launched from the outskirts of Baghdad", a statement from the ministry said.

"This attack resulted in the destruction of an Antonov-132 aircraft belonging to the Iraqi Air Force. No casualties were reported," it added.

A military official told AFP that "rockets fell inside the diplomatic support center early Monday morning, causing a fire".

Earlier this month, a security official told AFP that the US diplomatic hub had evacuated much of its personnel.

Since the outbreak of war, pro-Iran factions -- which have repeatedly claimed attacks against US interests -- have also been targeted by strikes they blame on the US or Israel.

Monday's incident comes after Washington and Baghdad said last week they would "intensify cooperation" to prevent attacks and ensure Iraqi territory is not used to launch assaults against US facilities.

For the first time in 10 days, two drones targeted the US embassy over the weekend but did not hit their targets.

The influential pro-Iran armed group Kataib Hezbollah said on March 19 it would pause such attacks for five days, twice extending.


Lebanese Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike on Checkpoint

This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun on March 29, 2026 shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the outskirts of the village of Yohmor. (Photo by AFP)
This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun on March 29, 2026 shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the outskirts of the village of Yohmor. (Photo by AFP)
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Lebanese Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike on Checkpoint

This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun on March 29, 2026 shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the outskirts of the village of Yohmor. (Photo by AFP)
This picture taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun on March 29, 2026 shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the outskirts of the village of Yohmor. (Photo by AFP)

An Israeli strike has killed a Lebanese soldier at a checkpoint in the country's southern Tyre region, Lebanon's military said Monday.

"An Israeli attack targeted an army checkpoint" in al-Amriyeh near Tyre, "resulting in the death of one soldier and injuries to others", the military said.

A military source told AFP the attack was the first direct targeting of a Lebanese army position since the start of the war.

Also Monday, the Israeli military said a soldier was killed a day earlier in combat in southern Lebanon, bringing to six the number of troops killed since fighting with Hezbollah started earlier in March.

"Sergeant Liran Ben Zion, aged 19, from Holon... fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the military said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered the military to further expand its operations in southern Lebanon, citing continued rocket fire by Hezbollah.

Israel has said it will seize a chunk of southern Lebanon to create a "buffer zone" against Hezbollah, stoking Lebanese fears of Israeli military occupation that could deepen instability and cause further displacement.

Authorities in Lebanon say nearly 1,240 people have been killed there. Over 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since it fired on Israel on March 2, sources told Reuters, but it is unclear if the official death toll includes those fighters.