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Rubio Says Both Lebanon, Israel Agree on Dismantling Hezbollah

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the State Department, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the State Department, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
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Rubio Says Both Lebanon, Israel Agree on Dismantling Hezbollah

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the State Department, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the State Department, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that both the Lebanese and the Israeli governments want the same thing: peace and Hezbollah gone.

In an interview with Fox News, Rubio said the Lebanese people are the victim of the pro-Iran organization, claiming that Israel has no territorial claims on Lebanon.

Asked about the Trump administration’s efforts to try and reach an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the Secretary of State said the current ceasefire between the two nations “is very unique” because Lebanon and Israel are not at war.

“Israel’s problem is with Hezbollah. Unfortunately, Hezbollah happens to be inside of Lebanon conducting attacks against Israel,” he explained.

The top diplomat said both the Lebanese and the Israelis seek peace.

“They have no problem with one another. Israel has no territorial claims on Lebanon. There isn’t some part of Lebanon that Israel claims belongs to them.”

According to Rubio, the problem Israel has is not with Lebanon but with Hezbollah inside of Lebanon.

Also, he noted, the Lebanese have acknowledged that Hezbollah is a problem for them. “Not only is Israel the victim of Hezbollah, but so are the Lebanese.”

The US official noted that the efforts now focus on the ceasefire and to make sure that Israel has a right to defend itself from an imminent attack or an ongoing attack from Hezbollah elements, who will do everything they can to disrupt the ceasefire.

He said both sides agree that the answer is a Lebanese Armed Forces with the capability to go after and disarm and dismantle Hezbollah inside of their country.

“And that’s what we’re working towards establishing, is a system that actually works where vetted units within the Lebanese Armed Forces have the training, the equipment, and the capability to go after elements of Hezbollah and dismantle them so Israel doesn’t have to do it,” he added.

Rubio said US officials urged Israelis to measure themselves in their response, to make sure their responses are proportional and targeted, and so far that appears to be the case.

“I don’t know what’s happened since I’ve been in this room with you, but that’s so far the case because that’s important,” he said, adding that it’s acknowledged in the agreement that Israel has a right to deal with threats that Lebanon can’t deal with.

Asked whether he sees a scenario where Lebanon joins the Abraham Accords, Rubio said: “We’re not there yet.”

He added: “I mean, obviously that would be very promising, but we’re not at that point. I think what we perceive – and it’s pretty clear – is by and large there is no Lebanese-Israeli conflict per se.”

The Secretary of State said he thinks what needs to happen inside Lebanon is not just that the overwhelming majority of the country, the Sunnis and the Christians, say Hezbollah has been a nightmare for us, but even within the Shiite population that there be a rejection of Hezbollah.

“There should be one government, one armed forces inside of Lebanon, and it should belong to the Lebanese government. And that’s who we should be empowering,” he affirmed.

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Arab World

Syria Arrests Cell Leader over Security Force Deaths

Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)
Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)
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Syria Arrests Cell Leader over Security Force Deaths

Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)
Members of the Internal Security Forces in Syria (SANA)

Syrian authorities said on Saturday they arrested a leader of a cell involved in the deaths of three security force personnel during an anti-extremists operation in the south.

"The internal security forces of Daraa province have arrested Walid al-Fallah, one of the main leaders of the cell involved" in the deaths of the personnel in the town of Al-Sanamein in Daraa province, state news agency SANA reported.

The security force members were killed as they were attempting to arrest a member of the ISIS group, a local government official had told AFP.

The group has been territorially defeated in Syria but maintains sleeper cells.

Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said the anti-extremists operation, which saw five people arrested, "succeeded in dismantling criminal cells and others linked to ISIS that were coordinating with each other".

ISIS used to control vast areas of Syria and neighboring Iraq before being defeated in the two countries in 2019 and 2017, respectively.

However, in Syria it continues to periodically claim attacks against government forces, particularly in the vast desert region, as well as in the north and northeast.

It had also been established in the past in Daraa province, where its leader Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed in October 2022 in clashes with local gunmen.

Last year, the new Syrian authorities, who overthrew president Bashar al-Assad in 2024, joined the US-led international coalition against ISIS.

Arab World

EU Urges US to Reconsider Visa Denial to Palestinian Delegation for UN Meeting

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video conference during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2025. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video conference during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2025. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
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EU Urges US to Reconsider Visa Denial to Palestinian Delegation for UN Meeting

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video conference during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2025. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video conference during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 25 September 2025. EPA/SARAH YENESEL

The European Union said on Saturday it regretted Washington's decision to deny visas for the second year running to Palestinian officials seeking to attend the UN General Assembly, urging a rethink, AFP said.

The US State Department said this week it was refusing to grant visas to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and other members of his delegation ahead of next week's meeting in New York.

"We regret the decision to extend the denial of entry visas for members of the Palestinian delegation for a second year in a row," said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesman for the EU's diplomatic service.

"In light of its existing headquarters agreements with the UN and its obligations as host state, we urge the United States for this decision to be reconsidered."

The administration of US President Donald Trump denied visas for the Palestinian delegation also last year, forcing Abbas, a regular at the UN General Assembly, to address the body of global leadership by video.

The General Assembly voted 152-3 on Thursday for Abbas to be able to appear virtually once again this year.

As it stands, only members of the Palestinian mission to the UN will be able to attend the meeting, which begins Tuesday.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed regret at Washington's decision, adding he was concerned about its impact "on the ability of the State of Palestine to participate fully in the work of the United Nations".

The United States and Israel have objected to the Palestinian Authority's historical payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.

The PA recently reformed this system, allocating welfare payments to families on a needs basis rather than political affiliation or prisoner status.

The State Department said Washington also opposed Palestinian "actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition".

They accused them of "continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks".

The United States is at odds with the 142 UN member states that recognized a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.

The decision to deny Abbas a US entry visa comes as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has escalated in recent months in the West Bank.

Arab World

Mokha after Houthi Takeover: Looting, Poverty, Fear and Displacement

Houthi militia members returning from Mokha to Sanaa escort a convoy believed to be carrying looted goods and detainees (AP) 
Houthi militia members returning from Mokha to Sanaa escort a convoy believed to be carrying looted goods and detainees (AP) 
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Mokha after Houthi Takeover: Looting, Poverty, Fear and Displacement

Houthi militia members returning from Mokha to Sanaa escort a convoy believed to be carrying looted goods and detainees (AP) 
Houthi militia members returning from Mokha to Sanaa escort a convoy believed to be carrying looted goods and detainees (AP) 

Since the Houthis seized the western Yemeni coastal city of Mokha a week ago, widespread looting has targeted homes, private property, government facilities and humanitarian organizations, while deteriorating basic services and soaring prices have added to pressure on residents, thousands of whom have fled fearing Houthi reprisals.

Local sources reported that Houthis raided dozens of homes and apartments, in Al-Hali neighborhood, seizing furniture, appliances and other belongings and transporting them out of Mokha by truck. Government offices were also subjected to looting directed by senior leaders, with their contents taken to unknown locations.

According to the sources, the Houthi militia entered the city’s airport and initially tried to remove some items before masked gunmen, believed to belong to Houthi intelligence services, arrived, prevented the removal of the looted property and took control of the entire civilian facility, barring other armed men from the site and its surroundings.

Another group of masked men in civilian clothes appeared, based on their look, bags and actions, to be an engineering team tasked with dismantling equipment and packing it into special boxes and bags.

The masked men left several hours later in three small vehicles with tinted windows. When the earlier group returned, the sources recounted, the airport had been stripped of equipment, files and records.

They also described the looting of records, files and computers from Mokha’s local authority headquarters, along with contents from the city’s branch of the Central Bank of Yemen. It was not known where the items were taken.

Houthi leaders also targeted homes belonging to officers in the National Resistance forces, while raids extended to the homes of civilian employees. Residents recounted that Houthi members justified some of the looting by claiming the properties belonged to people linked to forces led by Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh.

Aid and Services Hit

Relief and charity workers reported that the Houthi militia seized the offices of humanitarian organizations and charities and transported their contents outside the city under the supervision of unidentified individuals believed to belong to Houthi security and intelligence agencies.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs condemned the seizure of a humanitarian compound housing UN agencies and international organizations in Mokha, reporting that Houthi members confiscated eight vehicles belonging to the city’s UN humanitarian center after storming it.

Multiple rights sources estimated that raids on humanitarian organizations and charities affected around 18,000 families that had been receiving food assistance from the United Nations and local organizations, as poor households face worsening living conditions.

Houthi military operations, looting and seizures also halted support for 30 health facilities across six coastal districts: Mokha, Dhubab, Al-Wazi’iyah and Mawza in Taiz, and Hays and Al-Khawkhah in Hodeidah, affecting medicines, medical supplies and staff salaries.

Loss of Security

More than 1,500 humanitarian workers have been left without jobs or sources of income after several organizations suspended or halted operations, amid disrupted services and rising prices.

Mokha residents complained that electricity had been almost completely cut off since the Houthi takeover. The price of a household gas cylinder rose from about $3.50, or 5,400 Yemeni rials, to $11.60, or 18,000 rials, based on the exchange rate in government-held areas of 1,550 rials to the dollar.

The Houthis have begun imposing the exchange rate used in areas under their control, 535 rials to the dollar, while banning banknotes issued by the Central Bank in Aden and replacing them with old, worn banknotes or newly introduced alternative coins approved by the group. Many residents of Mokha and Yemen’s western coast rely on fishing and daily manual work.

Marsadak, the Media Freedoms Observatory affiliated with the Studies and Economic Media Center, announced that 117 journalists, media workers and employees of media organizations were displaced in September. It noted that most had left their homes fearing arrest or abduction, while others reported raids on journalists’ homes and the looting of their contents.

The developments have left Mokha residents facing a crisis extending beyond the loss of property, with displacement and fears of arrest compounded by deteriorating services and the disruption of some humanitarian assistance as the city grapples with the consequences of its sudden transition to Houthi control.