2024 by the numbers โ from victims of war to a warming planet
Out with the old, in with the … old. Familiar trends characterized a year of elections and bloodshed.
southern Lebanon
White House optimistic about Gaza cease-fire as talks stall over holidays
Hamas is to blame for raising last-minute obstacles, per White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
Israel shutting embassy in Ireland as relations plummet over Palestine
Israeli foreign minister denounces the Irish for “extreme anti-Israel policies” in a move that follows Irelandโs recognition of Palestinian statehood and its accusations of genocide in Gaza.
Israel says its air strikes destroyed most of Syriaโs strategic weapons stockpiles
The scale of the Israeli strikes echoed a similar wave of attacks in southern Lebanon in September that destroyed a significant quantity of Hezbollah’s missile stocks.
The post Israel says its air strikes destroyed most of Syria’s strategic weapo…
Israel and Hezbollah ceasefire in jeopardy after southern Lebanon attacks
Israel and Hezbollah ceasefire in jeopardy after southern Lebanon attacks
Trumpโs effect on the Middle East
For good or ill, Trump is already shaping the calculations of combatants in the region, but much depends on how Hezbollahโs bosses in Tehran proceed.
Israel to Trump: It would be โbetterโ to stay in the Paris Agreement
Middle East conflict has been inescapable at the COP29 climate talks.
Trumpย usesย Liz Cheneyย to make his case toย Arab and Muslim votersย in Michigan
โMany Muslim and Arab Americans have friends and family living in the Middle East, and Kamala is campaigning with warmongers like Liz Cheney,โ Trump said.
Christian leader sees Lebanonโs moment to defang Hezbollah
Civil war veteran Samir Geagea hopes the Shiite militia will be pressed into a position where it has no choice but to disarm.
While war continues, Lebanon is trapped
One of the country’s biggest exasperations is Western policymakers trying to strong-arm them into hasty political reform.
Fears grow that Israel is seeking to reopen Lebanonโs internal fault lines
Israel wants ‘to set sectarian groups at each others’ throats’ says the spiritual leader of the Druze community.
Macron pledges โฌ100M for Lebanon aid
International delegates have gathered in Paris to help the war-ravaged country.
Saudis urge US to suspend weapons to Israel until Gaza aid resumes
Ambassador to the U.K. Prince Khalidย bin Bandar Al Saud criticized Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct in Lebanon as well.
Ireland ready to go it alone and restrict trade ties with Israel, taoiseach says
Ireland โwill not wait for everybody in Europe to move on the issue of trade in the occupied Palestinian territories,โ PM Simon Harris tells reporters.
Macronย warnsย Netanyahuย heย โmust not forgetโ Israel was created by UN decision
Tensions between France and Israel have been on the rise as the situation deteriorates in Lebanon.
Doing a Gaza in Lebanon isnโt the answer
Even staunch Lebanese opponents of Hezbollah, who have long hoped to see the back of Iranโs most important regional ally, are recoiling at a military campaign thatโs triggered the countryโs biggest population displacement in over four decades.
US sending air defense systems, troops to Israel
The move โunderscores the United Statesโ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel,โ a Pentagon spokesperson said.
40 countries โstrongly condemnโ Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers
At least five members of UNIFIL peacekeeping mission have been wounded in south Lebanon in recent days.
Med9 states call for Middle East ceasefire
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned as “unacceptable” Israeli firing on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, a stance echoed by Spain’s prime minister.
Irish troops ‘accounted for’ after reported Lebanon strike
Israeli troops reportedly opened fire at three positions held by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Thursday.
Israeli tank fire injures peacekeepers in Lebanon, UN says
The United Nations said Israeli forces have “repeatedly hit” its positions in recent days.
Hezbollahโs fatal miscalculations
Lebanon could well turn into a quagmire for Israel, and its belief that it can achieve โtotal victoryโ is premature. However, there can be no doubt that Iran and Hezbollah are on the back foot.
Israel hits Hamas, Hezbollah hard on Oct. 7 anniversary
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feuds with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ireland slams Israelโs โoutrageousโ demands to its peacekeepers
Irish president rejects Israeli calls for UN battalion to withdraw from southern Lebanon
Thousands worldwide protest Mideast war ahead of 1-year mark
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators were marching in cities across the globe to demand an end to the conflict.
Israel bombards northern Gaza and southern Beirut, stepping up attacks on Iran proxies
Escalated bombings come on eve of anniversary of Hamas attack on Israel last October.
Iran open to cease-fire efforts in Lebanon โ if Israel stops bombing Gaza
Iranโs Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits Beirut as Israeli airstrikes continue to target top Hezbollah commanders.
EU countries continue to evacuate citizens from Lebanon as fighting escalates
These evacuations happened as the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders for communities in southern Lebanon, signalling that it may widen the ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.
Israel targets Beirut in a fresh wave of strikes
The attacks on Lebanon’s capital come as Israeli troops battle Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.
The EUโs most pointless job
Josep Borrell loves to condemn things โ sometimes in the “strongest possible terms.” Does it ever have any impact?
EU eyes migration routes as humanitarian crisis in Lebanon unfolds
With one million people displaced in Lebanon following Israel’s ground invasion, EU foreign ministers are discussing the possibility of more migrant inflows to the European Union. Tune into the podcast to hear what the experts have to say.