English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 29/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.Take note, I have told you beforehand
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 24/23-31: “If anyone says to you, “Look! Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, “Look! He is in the wilderness”, do not go out. If they say, “Look! He is in the inner rooms”, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. ‘Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 28-29/2024
Elias Bejjani/The Nero of Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah, Burns the Country from His Hidden Bunker
A Retrospective by Colonel Charbel Barakat on the Occasion of Hassan Nasrallah’s Eulogy Today: Shedding Light on His Terrorist Legacy for Lebanon and His Own People."
Writer and Director Yousef Y. Khoury: “I will not mourn, nor will I respond to any call for grief over Hassan Nasrallah.”
Amer Foundation: A New Dawn for Lebanon
Hezbollah confirms leader Nasrallah's death
Hashem Safieddine: Possible successor to Hezbollah chief Nasrallah
Israeli airstrikes pound Beirut's southern suburbs
Middle East reacts to Nasrallah's assassination
Destabilization of Lebanon 'not in Israel's security interest', says Berlin
US orders some Beirut embassy staff members to leave Lebanon
Lebanon’s economy to contract amid ongoing armed conflict, as region faces challenging 2024
Lebanon’s health minister: Israeli attacks on medics constitute a war crime
Why Lebanon is seen as trapped ‘between mafia and militia’/RAY HANANIA & GABRIELE MALVISI/Arab News/September 28, 2024
What next after Nasrallah’s assassination?/DR. DANIA KOLEILAT KHATIB/Arab News/September 28, 2024
Aside from Israel, Lebanon needs to be protected from another enemy: itself/FAISAL J. ABBAS/Arab News/September 28, 2024
Nasrallah’s death is a wake-up call for the Arab world/HANI HAZAIMEH/Arab News/September 28, 2024

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 28-29/2024
War monitor says 12 dead in strikes targeting pro-Iranian fighters in Syria
Iran’s supreme leader taken to secure location, sources say
Iran VP says Nasrallah's killing will lead to Israel's 'destruction'
Iran Revolutionary Guard general died in Israeli strike that killed Nasrallah
Biden describes Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as ‘measure of justice’
Iran says Nasrallah's 'path to continue' despite his killing
Houthis fire missile at Tel Aviv shortly after Netanyahu lands
Russia 'decisively condemns' Nasrallah's killing
Khamenei condemns 'short-sighted' Israeli policy after Lebanon strikes

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 28-29/2024
Killing Nasrallah ...Israel shows America how to win wars/Lee Smith/The Tablet/September 28/2024
Question: “What must I believe to be saved?”/GotQuestions.org/September 28/2024
When the Iranian Regime Intervenes in US Elections/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/September 28, 2024
This might be Israel’s ultimate strategic gamble/YOSSI MEKELBERG/Arab News/September 28, 2024
This is what a post-American Middle East looks like/CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS/Arab News/September 28, 2024

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 27-28/2024
Elias Bejjani/The Nero of Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah, Burns the Country from His Hidden Bunker
Elias Bejjani/September 28/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/134984/
The satanic, terrorist, and Persian-backed Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a ticking time bomb, with the Shiite communities bearing the brunt of its destructive ambitions. Hezbollah’s reckless stockpiling of weapons and ammunition in civilian areas has placed the entire country, particularly the Shiite regions, on the brink of catastrophe. Israel, fully aware of these explosive caches, has begun detonating them, resulting in devastating explosions that are killing hundreds of innocent civilians.
Nasrallah, the criminal mastermind, has laced residential areas with death traps, even in the neighborhoods he claims as part of his "Shiite stronghold" in the southern suburbs, Bekaa, and the South. Israel’s strikes are igniting these Hezbollah warehouses, and fires are engulfing the surroundings. As of today, the death toll is expected to soar into the thousands, with many victims still buried beneath the rubble, their lives extinguished by Hezbollah’s greed and Iran's sinister influence.
Nasrallah, Lebanon’s Nero, may very well meet his end in this fiery chaos, buried deep in his bunker as Lebanon burns above him. His downfall, however, will not absolve the devastation he and his Iranian handlers have wrought upon Lebanon, particularly the Shiite community that he falsely claims to protect.

A Retrospective by Colonel Charbel Barakat on the Occasion of Hassan Nasrallah’s Eulogy Today: Shedding Light on His Terrorist Legacy for Lebanon and His Own People."
LCCC website editor & Publisher/September 28/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/116387/
Colonel Charbel Barakat's 2023 piece offers a critical examination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and the destructive influence of his Iranian-backed agenda on Lebanon and the broader Arab world. Barakat traces Nasrallah's trajectory from his roots in Lebanon to his rise within Hezbollah, portraying him as a figure whose legacy is marked by devastation rather than progress.
Barakat compares Nasrallah's propaganda machine to that of Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propagandist, emphasizing how both sought to manipulate public perception for their regimes' benefit. However, just as Goebbels ultimately failed, Barakat suggests that Nasrallah's influence is destined to wane, especially as his actions increasingly alienate the Lebanese people.
Barakat describes Nasrallah's early life, noting his connection to the Shia "Sayyid" lineage, and his education in Najaf, Iraq, where he became influenced by the teachings of Ayatollah Khomeini. Upon his return to Lebanon, Nasrallah joined Hezbollah, embracing its ideology of establishing an Islamic state under the rule of the Iranian Supreme Leader. This allegiance to Iran's theocratic regime led Nasrallah to prioritize Tehran's interests over Lebanon's sovereignty.
The article delves into Nasrallah's role in transforming Hezbollah into a powerful militant group, largely funded and armed by Iran. Barakat argues that Nasrallah's leadership has resulted in widespread destruction, including the 2006 war with Israel, which led to significant loss of life and infrastructure in Lebanon. He highlights Nasrallah's infamous admission after the war, "If I had known," as an example of his disregard for the consequences of his actions on the Lebanese people.
Barakat predicts the downfall of Nasrallah and Hezbollah, likening it to the collapse of other dictatorial regimes that relied on fear and oppression. He suggests that the end will come through external forces, likely Israel, which has already demonstrated its capability to target Hezbollah's leadership and infrastructure. Barakat concludes that Nasrallah's legacy will be one of betrayal—of Lebanon, its people, and even his followers—through his unwavering loyalty to Iran and its destructive ambitions.
This summary encapsulates Barakat's critical analysis of Nasrallah, attributing the fall of Hezbollah and its leader to the group's subservience to Iranian interests, which ultimately leads to their demise. "Nasrallah's eventual assassination by Israel, along with the demise of all Hezbollah leaders, stands as a testament to Baraket's expectations—the ultimate disastrous end awaiting all who despise peace, embrace terrorism, uphold dictatorship, and worship death."

Writer and Director Yousef Y. Khoury: “I will not mourn, nor will I respond to any call for grief over Hassan Nasrallah.”
LCCC website publishes & editor /September 28/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/135006/
In a bold statement addressing the assassination of the terrorist and jihadist Hassan Nasrallah, writer and director Yousef Y. Khoury expressed his unapologetic stance, drawing comparisons to the elimination of other notorious terrorists like Osama bin Laden. Khoury declared, “I will not mourn, nor will I respond to any call for grief over Hassan Nasrallah. I will be brief and direct in my position on his killing, just as he was direct with us in his promises and stances.”
Khoury unapologetically stated, “I am sorry, Mr. Nasrallah, that you left before I could witness your being brought to justice for destroying Lebanon twice and occupying the will of its decision-makers. Allow me to be clear: I will not mourn you, and I will be angered if the state declares mourning and lowers the flags for you.” He continued, emphasizing the relief felt by many at Nasrallah’s demise: “The beauty of your departure is that we will no longer have to endure the hallucinations of your mouthpieces on television. I hope that broadcasters will not follow suit with false displays of mourning.”
Khoury also urged for a reevaluation of Lebanese history in light of Nasrallah’s death: “The first thing I will do is call for the abolition of the so-called ‘Liberation Day’ and the restoration of May 25th, because before your blessed departure, you ensured the Israelis would once again violate our sovereignty, and perhaps soon occupy parts of our land.”In a final blow, Khoury rejected any notion of mercy for Nasrallah, stating, “I will not pray for your soul because you left the Lebanese people pleading for mercy due to your irresponsible actions and your betrayal of the Lebanese nation, its constitution, and the sovereignty of its people.”Khoury concluded with a powerful reminder that the fight against Nasrallah was never hidden: “What I have said is not out of malice, for we have never concealed our battle against you since 2006. Today, our fight against you ends, but it continues against your axis until it is uprooted from Lebanon.”
Khoury’s statement reflects a broader sentiment that the world is better off without this Iranian-made and decorated jihadist and criminal, marking Nasrallah’s death as the inevitable end of every terrorist and advocate of death.

Amer Foundation: A New Dawn for Lebanon
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
September 28, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/135027/
The Amer Foundation welcomes the news of Hassan Nasrallah's passing as a potential turning point for Lebanon. This development offers hope for a future where Lebanon can move beyond the shadow of Hezbollah and towards true stability and peace.
Founded in honor of Amer Fakhoury, who suffered unjust detention under direct orders of Hassan Nasrallah, the Amer Foundation is committed to advocating for justice and reform in the region and standing with all victims of illegal detention. We believe that Lebanon now has a unique opportunity to rebuild and foster a future Lebanon without the intervention of the Islamic Republic.
We are also excited to introduce "Silenced in Beirut," a newly launched book by the Amer Foundation's co-founders: Guila, Amanda, Macy, and Zoya Fakhoury. This book highlights the impact of oppression and the enduring spirit of those who seek justice. It is a testament to the resilience and hope that can drive Lebanon towards a brighter future.
Macy Fakhoury, co-founder of the Amer Foundation, shared her thoughts: "This news brings us a step closer to accountability and justice for what happened to my father. It is a significant moment for all those who have been affected by Hezbollah's actions."
The Amer Foundation remains dedicated to supporting initiatives that promote stability and reconciliation. We invite you to join us in this mission and explore "Silenced in Beirut" to understand the vital narratives that shape our journey.
For more information about the Amer Foundation and its ongoing work to promote human rights and accountability, visit www.amerfoundation.org or contact team@amerfoundation.org
**About the Amer Foundation**
The Amer Foundation is a non-profit organization established in memory of Amer Fakhoury, a U.S. citizen who faced illegal detention and torture in Lebanon. The Amer Foundation is dedicated to advancing justice and human rights in the Middle East. Through advocacy, education, and community involvement, we strive to support a peaceful and prosperous Middle East.

Hezbollah confirms leader Nasrallah's death
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Hezbollah on Saturday confirmed its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had been killed, after Israel said it had "eliminated" him in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier. "Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years," Hezbollah said in a statement. The statement confirmed he was killed with other group members "following the treacherous Zionist strike on the southern suburbs" of Beirut. In central Beirut, AFP journalists heard a passerby screaming, "Oh my God", while women wept in the streets right after Hezbollah announced the news. Gunfire could also be heard in Beirut, a gesture to mourn the fallen leader, a charismatic religious figure who is idolized by supporters. An AFP correspondent saw a woman wearing a black veil on the street who yelled: "Don't believe them, they're lying, Sayyed is well" -- a reference to Nasrallah. Israeli jets pounded Beirut's southern suburbs and its outskirts throughout the night into Saturday in the most intense attacks on the Hezbollah stronghold since the group and Israel last went to war in 2006. Nasrallah had rarely been seen in public since 2006.
He was elected secretary general of Hezbollah in 1992, aged 32, after an Israeli helicopter gunship killed his predecessor Abbas al-Moussawi.

Hashem Safieddine: Possible successor to Hezbollah chief Nasrallah
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to his slain cousin Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is one of Hezbollah's most prominent figures and has deep religious and family ties to group's patron Iran. Safieddine bears a striking resemblance to his charismatic maternal cousin Nasrallah but is several years his junior, aged in his late 50s or early 60s. A source close to Hezbollah, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the grey-bearded, bespectacled Safieddine was the "most likely" candidate for party's top job. The United States and Saudi Arabia put Safieddine, who is a member of Hezbollah's powerful decision-making Shura Council, on their respective lists of designated "terrorists" in 2017. The U.S. Treasury described him as "a senior leader" in Hezbollah and "a key member" of its executive. While Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem automatically takes over the Hezbollah leadership after Nasrallah's death, the Shura Council must meet to elect a new secretary-general. Safieddine has strong ties with Iran after undertaking religious studies in the holy city of Qom. His son is married to the daughter of General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm who was killed in a 2020 U.S. strike in Iraq. Safieddine has the title of Sayyed, his black turban marking him, like Nasrallah, as a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. Unlike Nasrallah, who lived in hiding for years, Safieddine has appeared openly at recent political and religious events.
'Strongest contender' -
Usually presenting a calm demeanor, he has upped the fiery rhetoric during the funerals of Hezbollah fighters killed in nearly a year of cross-border clashes with Israel. Nasrallah said his forces were acting in support of Palestinian Hamas militants fighting Israel in Gaza.
Amal Saad, a Lebanese researcher on Hezbollah based at Cardiff University, said that for years people have been saying that Safieddine was "the most likely successor" to Nasrallah. "The next leader has to be on the Shura Council, which has a handful of members, and he has to be a religious figure," she said.Safieddine "has a lot of authority... he's the strongest contender" she added. Hezbollah was created at the initiative of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and gained its moniker as "the Resistance" by fighting Israeli troops who occupied southern Lebanon until 2000. The group was founded during the Lebanese civil war after Israel besieged the capital Beirut in 1982. In July in a speech in Beirut's southern suburbs, Safieddine alluded to how Hezbollah views its leadership succession. "In our resistance... when any leader is martyred, another takes up the flag and goes on with new, certain, strong determination," he said.

Israeli airstrikes pound Beirut's southern suburbs
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Israeli fighter jets bombarded the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut overnight into Saturday, sending panicked families fleeing massive strikes of which one reportedly targeted Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.Israel said it was attacking Hezbollah's headquarters and weapons facilities, while U.S. and Israeli media reported that Nasrallah was the target of the first strike. The explosions that shook southern Beirut were the fiercest to hit the Iran-backed movement's stronghold since Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006. After heavy shelling sounded across the Mediterranean city on Friday, Israel issued fresh warnings for people to leave part of the densely populated Dahieh suburbs before dawn on Saturday. Hundreds of families spent the night on the streets, seeking shelter in downtown Beirut's Martyrs' Square or along the seaside boardwalk area. Syrian refugee and father of six Radwan Msallam said they had "nowhere to go". "We were at home when there was the call to evacuate. We took our identity papers, some belongings and we left," he told AFP. The Israeli army declined to comment on Nasrallah but claimed on Saturday to have killed "Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah's missile unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy" as well as "other senior officials". Hours earlier at the U.N. General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep fighting Hezbollah until the country's border with Lebanon was secured. "Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safe," he said. Hezbollah began low-intensity attacks across the border a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7. Israel has in the past days shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 700 people and sparked an exodus of around 118,000 people.
Nasrallah
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday that a "precise strike" hit Hezbollah's "central headquarters" located underneath residential buildings in Dahiyeh. A source close to Hezbollah said the initial wave of strikes levelled six buildings. According to a preliminary toll from Lebanon's health ministry, six people were killed and 91 wounded. In the Haret Hreik neighborhood, an AFP photographer saw the blasts left craters up to five meters (16 feet) wide. Ambulances careened into the area, while families scrambled out. A second wave of attacks on the same southern suburbs followed on Saturday, as the Israeli military said it warned civilians to get away from three buildings in the heart of Dahieh. Israel also announced strikes on the Bekaa area in eastern Lebanon and Tyre in the south. U.S. and Israeli media reported that Israel's strikes on Dahieh aimed to kill Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. Rarely seen in public, Nasrallah enjoys cult status among his supporters and is the only man in Lebanon with the power to wage war or make peace. After a relentless night, the strikes appeared to stop around 6:00 am (0300 GMT) before resuming in an intermittent way in the morning. "I felt like the building was going to collapse on top of me," said Abir Hammoud, a teacher in her 40s. After the wave of strikes on Beirut, Hezbollah claimed a rocket attack on kibbutz Kabri in northern Israel, "defending Lebanon and its people."
The Israeli military said sirens sounded in the north.
'Deadliest in a generation'
Israel this week raised the prospect of a ground operation against Hezbollah, prompting widespread concern for an all-out regional war."We must avoid a regional war at all costs," U.N. chief Antonio Guterres told world leaders, while appealing again for a ceasefire. In Israel, too, many were weary of the violence. "It is incredibly exhausting to be in this situation. We don't really know what's going to happen, there's talk of a ground offensive or a major operation," said Lital Shmuelovich, a physiotherapy student. In New York, Netanyahu also addressed the war in Gaza, saying that Israel's military would continue to fight Hamas until it achieved "total victory". Diplomats have said efforts to end the war in Gaza were key to halting the fighting in Lebanon and bringing the region back from the brink. "The path to diplomacy may seem difficult to see at this moment, but it is there, and in our judgement, it is necessary," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Hamas' October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
'Change the rules'
The Lebanon violence has raised fears of spillover, with Iran-backed militants across the Middle East vowing to keep up their fight with Israel. Netanyahu took aim at Iran in his U.N. General Assembly address, saying: "I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you." He added: "There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East."Analysts have said Iran would try to resist being dragged into the conflict. But following the Beirut strikes, Iran's embassy in Lebanon said: "This reprehensible crime... represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game."Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian later condemned the strikes, branding them a "flagrant war crime."

Middle East reacts to Nasrallah's assassination
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Middle East nations and Hezbollah's allies in the Tehran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" reacted on Saturday to the killing of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah after the Lebanon-based group confirmed their leader's death in Israeli strikes. Military officials in Israel announced on Saturday morning that Nasrallah, who headed Hezbollah for more than three decades, died in bombardment targeting the group's headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut Friday night.
Hezbollah officially confirmed the death hours later.
Hezbollah -
Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that Nasrallah had been killed, saying he had "joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years." The group said he was killed with other members "following the treacherous Zionist strike on the southern suburbs" of Beirut.
Israel -
The Israeli military described the Hezbollah chief as one of Israel's "greatest enemies of all time."
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, "His elimination makes the world a safer place," but Hagari added the group's remaining senior members would still be targeted.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Nasrallah "deserved" to die. "The elimination of arch-terrorist Nasrallah is one of the most justified counter-terrorism actions Israel has ever taken," Katz said in a post on social media platform X.
Iran -
Iran, which arms and finances Hezbollah, said the direction Nasrallah set for the Lebanese group, which for nearly a year had engaged in cross-border fire with Israeli forces, would be maintained.
"The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realized in the liberation of Quds (Jerusalem), God willing," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said. Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref issued a warning to Israel's leaders "that the unjust bloodshed... especially of Hezbollah's secretary general, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, will bring about their destruction," Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Aref as saying.
Hamas -
Palestinian militant group Hamas condemned Nasrallah's assassination "in the strongest terms" and criticized the strikes on southern Beirut as "barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings." "We consider it a cowardly terrorist act," the group said in a statement that offered "condolences, and solidarity with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon on the martyrdom of... Nasrallah."The Hezbollah chief had said his fighters' rocket fire over the border into Israel was in "support" of Hamas.
Yemen's Houthis -
Yemen's Houthi rebels said Nasrallah's killing would strengthen their determination to confront their Israeli foes. "The martyrdom of... Hassan Nasrallah will increase the flame of sacrifice, the heat of enthusiasm, the strength of resolve," the rebels' leadership council said in a statement, vowing to achieve "victory and the demise of the Israeli enemy."
Iraq -
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the slaying of the Hezbollah chief as a "crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines." In a statement, he called the Israeli strikes on south Beirut a "shameful attack" and described Nasrallah as "a martyr on the path of the righteous."

Destabilization of Lebanon 'not in Israel's security interest', says Berlin
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
The German government said Saturday that the killing of long-time Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon could have negative repercussions for Israel's own security. In an interview to German TV channel ARD, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the "highly dangerous" situation after Nasrallah's death "threatens destabilization for the whole of Lebanon," adding: "That is in no way in Israel's security interest."

US orders some Beirut embassy staff members to leave Lebanon
REUTERS/September 29, 2024
WASHINGTON: The US Department of State on Saturday ordered some employees at its embassy in Beirut and their eligible family members to the leave Lebanon amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah by Israel.
“US Embassy Beirut personnel are restricted from personal travel without advance permission,” the State Department said in a statement. “Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on US personnel under Chief of Mission security responsibility, with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.” The advisory covered eligible family members as well as non-essential employees. The State Department also urged Americans in the country to leave, warning the currently limited options to depart might become unavailable if the security situation worsened.
“The US embassy strongly encourages US citizens in Southern Lebanon, near the borders with Syria, and or in refugee settlements to depart those areas immediately,” it said.

Lebanon’s economy to contract amid ongoing armed conflict, as region faces challenging 2024
MIGUEL HADCHITY/Arab News/September 28, 2024
RIYADH: Lebanon’s economy is projected to contract by 1 percent in 2024 under the severe weight of armed conflict and a deepening political and economic crisis, though a return to growth remains possible. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s latest Regional Economic Prospects report highlighted that these factors have created an environment of extreme instability, further undermining gross domestic product growth prospects due to stalled reforms and the lack of progress on an International Monetary Fund program.
Inflation, which had soared to a peak of 352 percent in March 2023, decreased to 35.4 percent by July 2024. Nonetheless, unemployment remains high, with over a third of the workforce without a job, highlighting the dire socio-economic conditions.
The EBRD report noted that a return to modest growth is possible, saying: “Growth could return to a forecast 2 percent in 2025, provided regional tensions subside with some progress on reforms and an IMF program in place.”
The adoption of the 2024 budget law, aligning the exchange rate closer to market rates, has provided some stabilization, but Lebanon’s economy remains vulnerable.
Regional outlook for 2024 and beyond
Economic growth in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region is set to face a challenging year in 2024, with countries contending with the impacts of conflict, slowing investments, and climate-related disruptions, according to the report.
Growth is forecast at 2.1 percent for the first half of the year, rising modestly to 2.8 percent for the full year. This marks a downward revision from earlier estimates, driven primarily by slower-than-anticipated investment recovery in Egypt and the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The outlook, however, remains uncertain and depends on several factors, including the resolution of ongoing conflicts, a rebound in private and public investments, and effective responses to climate challenges. Severe droughts in Morocco and Tunisia, alongside energy sector disruptions in Egypt, continue to pose significant risks to the region’s growth potential.
The report underscores the urgent need for continued reforms and stabilization efforts across the SEMED region to ensure sustained economic growth in the coming years.
Egypt: Slow recovery amid energy sector disruptions
Egypt, one of the region’s largest economies, is expected to have grown by 2.7 percent in the fiscal year that ended in June, rising to 4 percent in 2024-25 as the country continues its recovery from a prolonged period of economic strain. On a calendar-year basis, growth is forecast at 3.2 percent in 2024 and 4.5 percent in 2025, marking a steady return to pre-crisis levels, according to the EBRD. The recovery is being bolstered by expansions in sectors such as retail, wholesale trade, agriculture, communications, and real estate. However, the energy sector continues to face disruptions, and inflation, while moderating, remains a challenge at 25.7 percent as of July, down from its peak of 38 percent in September 2023.
“The budget deficit stood at 3.6 percent of GDP in FY24 (fiscal year ending June) and the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to fall to 83 percent in FY25,” the report said. Egypt’s external accounts have recovered since the devaluation of its currency in March, with foreign exchange reserves reaching a five-year high. Financial inflows from international partners and investors have also provided critical support. However, risks remain, particularly with continued disruptions in energy supply and delays in structural reforms under the IMF program.
Jordan: War in Gaza weighs on economic prospects
Jordan’s economy is forecast to grow at a slower rate of 2.2 percent in 2024, with the ongoing Gaza conflict having a pronounced impact on its tourism sector and investment flows.
The conflict has increased uncertainty among consumers, who are now holding back on large expenditures, further dampening growth. The EBRD said a modest recovery to 2.6 percent growth is possible by 2025, contingent on an easing of geopolitical tensions and continued progress on economic reforms.“Jordan’s heavy reliance on imports makes it vulnerable to geopolitical instability in the region, as well as to shocks in energy and food prices and disruptions in global supply chains,” the report explained. The country’s inflation remains moderate, standing at 1.9 percent in July, but unemployment remains persistently high at 21.4 percent, with significantly higher rates for women – 34.7 percent – and the youth population at 43.7 percent.
The Central Bank of Jordan has maintained a stable policy interest rate, following the lead of the US Federal Reserve, as part of its efforts to preserve the currency peg.
Morocco: Agricultural struggles amid drought, tourism recovery
Morocco is grappling with severe drought, which is affecting its agricultural output — a key driver of the country’s economy. Growth is expected to reach 2.9 percent in 2024, with a rise to 3.6 percent in 2025, driven by a recovery in the manufacturing and tourism sectors, the EBRD forecasts. The easing of inflation, which fell to 1.3 percent in July, has provided some relief, while exports and domestic demand continue to support economic activity.
Morocco’s government has embarked on fiscal consolidation measures, reducing the budget deficit to 4.3 percent of GDP in 2023. The outlook for 2025 is more positive, provided that weather conditions improve and agricultural output recovers.
Downside risks remain for Morocco due to its dependence on energy imports and the vulnerabilities posed by climate change.
Severe droughts are expected to weigh on growth in the short term, but the country’s recovery in tourism, remittances, and exports of automobiles and electric products should help sustain moderate growth. Turkiye’s economic shift toward orthodoxy
In 2023, Turkiye reverted to more conventional economic policies, tightening monetary and fiscal measures to combat inflation. The Central Bank raised the policy rate by 4,150 basis points, holding it at 50 percent, while the Treasury’s efficiency package aimed to reduce the fiscal deficit, excluding earthquake-related expenses. The decision to forgo a mid-year minimum wage hike in July helped stabilize inflation expectations. Investor confidence improved with Turkiye’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list, as indicated by a drop in credit default swap premiums and upgrades in sovereign ratings. The current account deficit shrank to $19.1 billion in July, while foreign exchange reserves increased to $147.9 billion. The economy grew by 3.8 percent in the first half of 2024, down from 4.6 percent a year earlier, with private consumption still leading growth despite a slowdown in manufacturing.
Annual inflation fell to 52 percent in August from a peak of 75.4 percent in May, necessitating continued tight monetary policy to meet the revised inflation target of 41.5 percent by year-end.
Economic growth is forecasted to decline to 2.7 percent in 2024, amid risks from high inflation and geopolitical tensions. Tunisia: Modest growth but ongoing fiscal struggles
Tunisia’s economy is expected to post modest growth of 1.2 percent in 2024, rising slightly to 1.8 percent in 2025. While inflation has decreased to a 30-month low of 7 percent as of July, the country continues to face significant economic challenges. These include a large external debt burden, limited fiscal space, and vulnerability to external shocks, according to the report.
Despite contractions in agriculture and mining, Tunisia has experienced growth in tourism, financial services, and other industrial sectors, providing some support to the economy.
Tunisia’s fiscal struggles have been partially alleviated by an improvement in the current account deficit and higher tax revenues. However, the country’s reliance on external funding and its slow progress on IMF-supported programs continue to pose significant risks to its economic stability.

Lebanon’s health minister: Israeli attacks on medics constitute a war crime
ARAB NEWS/September 28, 2024
DUBAI: Dr. Firass Abiad, Lebanon’s minister of public health, has strongly condemned Israeli attacks on healthcare workers and medical infrastructure, describing them as war crimes under international humanitarian law. “Do we consider this a war crime? Of course, we consider this a war crime,” said Abiad, adding that this was not just the view of the Lebanese government but echoed by international legal bodies. “When we listen to the International Court of Justice, these are the experts on what is international humanitarian law and whether it has been violated. So, these are the experts telling us that what Israel is doing constitutes war crimes.”
Abiad made the comments during an appearance on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking” amid escalating violence between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, which now threatens to spill over into a major regional war.
Abiad told Frankly Speaking that the Lebanese government had established 400 public shelters, which currently house about 70,000 people, amid the Israeli bombardment. (AN Photo)
On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli strike on the group’s Dahiyeh stronghold in Beirut. The attack follows days of Israeli strikes across Lebanon, which have left 1,030 people dead — including 156 women and 87 children.
Hezbollah began rocketing northern Israel last October in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Israel retaliated by mounting strikes on Hezbollah targets, including its leadership.
In early September, the tit-for-tat suddenly escalated when Hezbollah communication devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, suddenly exploded simultaneously in a sophisticated coordinated attack blamed on Israel. Since then, Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets across the country have rapidly escalated, with significant collateral damage to residential areas. Health workers and medical infrastructure have not been spared amid the carnage.
“This is something that did not start these past few weeks,” Abiad told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen. “This is something that we have seen from the start of the hostilities, since last October. “Even before the detonation of communication devices, we had recorded 25 healthcare professionals who had been killed, whether they were paramedics or whether they were healthcare professionals. And unfortunately, in the past two weeks, we have seen that number rise to almost 40 healthcare workers who have been killed in the atrocious attacks.”
The ongoing conflict has created a massive humanitarian crisis, with widespread displacement across the country. According to the Lebanese government’s estimates, nearly 500,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to escalating violence.
Abiad explained the magnitude of the displacement. “Before the attacks, the number released by the disaster management side was 130,000 displaced,” he said.
“Remember that by that time, there was an escalation of hostilities by Israel, and the populations were internally displaced still into southern areas.”
However, last Monday’s airstrikes, which saw the killing of approximately 600 people, including nine healthcare workers and two UN staff, in the single deadliest day in Lebanon since the 2006 war, was a watershed moment in the long-running crisis.
“That created this environment of terror, and really, this is where we saw people leave en masse from the targeted areas,” said Abiad. Lebanese highways were quickly overwhelmed with people fleeing their homes, causing massive traffic jams. Many spent up to 18 hours on the road, desperately seeking safety.
Abiad said the Lebanese government has established 400 public shelters, which currently house about 70,000 people. However, he said the total number of displaced people is far higher.
“We estimate that usually, from our past experience in the 2006 war, the number of people, whether they are living with friends, family, in homes they rented, or even across the border into neighboring countries, is four to five times as many as there are in shelters,” he said.
“And that’s why we really believe that the tally of people who have been displaced is probably around 400,000 to 500,000.”

Why Lebanon is seen as trapped ‘between mafia and militia’
RAY HANANIA & GABRIELE MALVISI/Arab News/September 28, 2024
CHICAGO/LONDON: Lebanese experts have painted a bleak picture of the country’s imminent future, describing the nation as trapped “between mafia and militia” and criticizing the failure of the US to intervene effectively in the region. Speaking on the Ray Hanania Radio Show, Hamoud Salhi, a political science professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills, and Jean AbiNader, vice president for policy at the American Task Force on Lebanon, highlighted the strategic missteps being taken by the US, especially as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah intensify. The US “is strategically being affected. Number one, can you afford continuing to sponsor this war?” Salhi said, adding that further escalation could draw Hezbollah and Iran’s regional allies, such as Yemen and Iraq, into a broader conflict. He explained that up to this point the US had attempted to leverage its influence in the region through Israel to counterbalance growing powers such as Russia and China. However, after nearly a year of conflict, Salhi questioned the sustainability of the current US approach, saying: “The US cannot sustain that. And more than anything else, Israel cannot sustain this war.” He warned that continued regional instability could lead to mass protests, putting “huge pressure” on the US and its Arab allies.
“The US could potentially lose its allies in the region, the leaders they are working with,” Salhi said, adding that any potential normalization efforts must include a solution to the Palestinian’s cause.
FASTFACTS
• A Hezbollah statement on Saturday said Hassan Nasrallah ‘has joined his fellow martyrs.’
• Israeli military said Ali Karki, commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and several other commanders, were also killed in the attack.
• Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said ‘the resistance movement, heading by Hezbollah, will decide the fate of the region.’
He anticipated that any significant changes in Washington’s position would likely occur only after the US presidential election on Nov. 5. At that point President Joe Biden, no longer constrained by election concerns and with just over two more months left in office before the inauguration of his successor on Jan. 20 2025, “could get away with adopting decisions that could favor the region.” Judging by events on Thursday, when Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New York to address the UN General Assembly, US influence over Israel is weakening.
The day before Netanyahu’s arrival, in a joint statement, the US and 11 allies, including France, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, had called for “an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy toward the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows maps as he speaks during the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City on September 27, 2024. (AFP)
The White House and French officials indicated the ceasefire plan had been coordinated directly with Netanyahu. But faced with pressure from the rightwing members of his government, Netanyahu’s first act on touching down in the US was to disown the proposal, with a spokesperson claiming that he had not even responded to it.
Instead, the prime minister’s office said, he had “instructed the IDF to continue fighting at full force, according to the plans that were presented to him.”
In recent months, the US, alongside Qatar and Egypt, has been a primary broker in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had indicated that similar efforts could also halt the hostilities between Hezbollah and Tel Aviv.
However, in the past week, both Hezbollah and Israel have escalated their attacks, and on Saturday Israeli aircraft carried out a massive airstrike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb, killing Nasrallah along with several other Hezbollah figures and possibly some Islamic Revolutionary Guards commanders.

What next after Nasrallah’s assassination?
DR. DANIA KOLEILAT KHATIB/Arab News/September 28, 2024
The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the organization’s underground headquarters in southern Beirut the previous night. The question is, what happens in the wake of Nasrallah’s death? Where will his assassination take Lebanon and the region?
What will be the effect on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Iran — and what role will the US try to play to juggle all the events? Netanyahu knows that in the lead-up to the US elections there is a power vacuum. He has an opportunity until Nov. 5, hence he will use it to the maximum. Following the successful pager attack, the Israeli leader went after Nasrallah. Now that this threat to Israel has been eliminated, what will Netanyahu do? Will he be deterred? This is unlikely because he will see an opportunity to change the current status quo, and impose new conditions on countries in the region, definitely on Lebanon. The events can either lead to a de-escalation and a regional deal, or to further escalation. It all depends on the ability of the US to restrain Netanyahu. Typically, Washington should leverage the assassination to pressure Netanyahu to end the war on Lebanon and, ideally, on Gaza. However, the current administration is focused on the election and will not take any decision. Lebanon has no deterrence. For Israel, Iran deterrence is also punctured. Hezbollah was Iran’s front line against Israel. Therefore, we need to closely watch how Netanyahu behaves in the next two months.
The assassination is likely to embolden Netanyahu, who now sees the opportunity to impose a new paradigm. It is unlikely that Israel will stop the bombing of Lebanon. Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said that they would eliminate anyone who constitutes a threat. It is also unlikely that Hezbollah is totally destroyed. Israel wants the group to raise the white flag, which they will not.
The killing of a prominent figure such as Nasrallah is a major achievement that Netanyahu can sell to his people as a victory, and use that to end the war and do a hostage deal with Hamas. However, he does not seem interested in stopping. He will try to use the next two months to reap maximum benefits. So far Netanyahu has faced resistance from his neighbors. King Abdullah of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt have categorically refused any Palestinian displacement to their countries. This is why the campaign that Israel conducted to eradicate “terror groups and cells” in the West Bank was stopped.
It is time to realize that the US is busy with its election.
Unless there is someone to steer events, an unbridled Netanyahu will drive the region into more chaos. In his speech at the UN General Assembly, he vowed not to stop until total victory was reached. Therefore, it is unlikely that he will portray the killing of Nasrallah as the victory, and use it to move to a diplomatic solution. Israel has used each war to gain more land, and increase its hegemony. This is the war in which Netanyahu wants to establish Israel as the regional hegemon that no one can challenge, especially since Iran remained all but idle in this fight. Now, with the killing of Hezbollah’s leader, Iran is emasculated. Will anyone stand in Netanyahu’s way? Unlikely. He will use this opportunity to impose new conditions on everyone.
However, this grim scenario can be avoided if the region comes together, puts differences aside, and crafts a solution. The region can no longer wait for the US. The US will not do anything before the election — if it decides to do anything at all. To wait for the election will be too late. The damage that Netanyahu can inflict in the next 40 days could be irreversible. The threat represented by Netanyahu should push everyone to come together. They should do that quickly. Lebanon cannot endure another 40 days of Netanyahu’s actions, and neither can Gaza or the region.
The problem in our region is we always wait for a solution from outside. It is time to realize that the US is busy with its election and is unlikely to pressure the Israeli leader. Netanyahu, on the other hand, with a taste of victory, will want more and more. Turkiye, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt should come together and decide to put an end to this madness. The starting point would be Iran. Tehran should rein in its proxies creating chaos in the region in return for security guarantees from its neighbors. After all, for Iran the proxies act as a deterrence in a hostile neighborhood. The region should take its fate into its own hands — it cannot wait for the US to pressure Israel. It should act now before we have a new catastrophe and a new displacement like 1967.
• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.

Aside from Israel, Lebanon needs to be protected from another enemy: itself
FAISAL J. ABBAS/Arab News/September 28, 2024
The assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will undoubtedly be a game-changer, not just for Lebanon, but for the whole region as well. Will this be the end of the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its tight grip on Lebanon, which has lasted for decades? Time will tell. However, given the fact that Israel has also assassinated a large number of Hezbollah’s top-ranking generals and division leaders means that, even if the group were to live on, it would most likely be a caricature of its former self.
This is especially true when we take recent events into consideration. The carefully planned attacks that took place before Nasrallah’s assassination — such as when pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in the hands of 3,000 Hezbollah commanders and soldiers this month and the series of targeted assassinations that took out the likes of Fouad Shukr — clearly indicate that Israel has superior intelligence capabilities or that Hezbollah has been infiltrated, or most probably both.
This makes it unlikely that Hezbollah is capable of responding meaningfully or painfully as Israel will likely know about any attack in advance. (The fact that the most gruesome attack Hezbollah has successfully carried out this year destroyed only a chicken coop in northern Israel in July might support this argument.) The other alternative is that this will mean an all-out war of revenge backed by the party’s biggest supporter, the Iranian regime. However, the most recent events show no evidence that this will be the case. In New York last week, the Iranian president hinted that he was willing to talk with the US, while the leadership in Tehran is yet to avenge the killing of more senior officials that are closer to its heart, such as Maj. Gen. Mohammed Reza Zahedi, the Quds Force’s top commander in Syria and Lebanon, who was killed in the attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus in April, and even the 2020 assassination of General Qassem Soleimani. li Khamenei that all Muslims should “stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the … wicked regime (of Israel)” could either be perceived as mere lip service or could actually trigger a retaliation.
In a country already plagued by sectarianism, lawlessness, and plenty of guns, such a contrast between glee and grief is a recipe for disaster.
What is tragic for both normal Palestinians and Lebanese, who have nothing to do with either Hamas or Hezbollah, is that such rhetoric only strengthens Israel, no matter what happens.
If Iran, and its militias, fail to respond, it means Israel also wins psychologically yet again. If Hezbollah retaliates as a group, or if any of its followers worldwide acts individually, this would distract global public opinion from the mounting accusations of war crimes committed in Gaza and Lebanon, and allow the Israeli government to repeat, yet again, that it is only defending itself.
In parallel, the biggest threat to Lebanon is not only the indiscriminate bombing of civilians and infrastructure by Israel, but the potential outbreak of a new civil war.
Given that the country has a leadership vacuum, a weak army, and an outburst of contrasting emotions — given the divisive nature of the late Hezbollah leader — another civil war is not an unlikely scenario.
We need to remember that to his avid followers, the late Nasrallah was considered a hero and even a saint. To his opponents, he was a traitor who served the interests of Iran, not Lebanon. In a country already plagued by sectarianism, lawlessness, and plenty of guns, such a contrast between glee and grief is a recipe for disaster. Indeed, Nasrallah was both the resistance leader and liberator of the south on one hand; and an enemy of the state on another. Many in Lebanon, and beyond, will never forgive him for turning the nation into a failed state, for being the architect of the 2005 assassination of reformist former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and for taking over Beirut by force in 2008. Meanwhile, many Arab nations still have limited relations with Lebanon because Nasrallah oversaw the export of drugs, weapons, fighters, and radical ideology to them.
This is why, apart from Israel, Lebanon needs to be protected from itself as well at this stage. It desperately needs unity and a patriotic, strong and wise government now more than ever. Its sectarian leaders must act immediately to rein in their followers, the international community needs to impose a ceasefire as soon as possible, and foreign humanitarian aid and assistance to the wounded and displaced needs to start pouring in to prevent the situation from deteriorating any further.
As for Israel, it needs also to remember that only a two-state solution will guarantee its safety. The more innocent men, women and children it kills in Gaza and Lebanon, the more it is contributing to Hamas and Hezbollah 2.0.
**Faisal J. Abbas is the Editor-in-Chief of Arab News. X: @FaisalJAbbas

Nasrallah’s death is a wake-up call for the Arab world
HANI HAZAIMEH/Arab News/September 28, 2024
In a stunning turn of events, the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike should serve as a crucial moment of reflection for the Arab world. This moment is not only about Hezbollah or Nasrallah himself, but also about the deeper realization that Iran — the key backer of Hezbollah — is an unreliable ally whose interests starkly diverge from those of the broader Arab and Muslim world.
For decades, Iran has positioned itself as the self-styled defender of Palestinian rights, and the vanguard of resistance against Israel. Through proxy groups such as Hezbollah, Tehran has wielded influence in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, claiming to be at the forefront of the fight against Western and Israeli aggression. But behind the facade of resistance lies a pattern of betrayal, where Arab and Muslim interests have consistently been sacrificed on the altar of Iran’s own geopolitical ambitions.
Time and again, Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah, have made fiery declarations of their intent to “wipe Israel off the map.” Yet, in every significant confrontation, these threats have amounted to little more than rhetorical bluster. Iran’s military and proxy forces have been largely defensive, often failing to follow through on their vows of decisive action against Israel. Hezbollah, while maintaining its strength as a militia, has not posed a genuine existential threat to Israel. The organization, under Nasrallah’s leadership, has relied on sporadic skirmishes and isolated rocket attacks — all of which Israel has swiftly and forcefully repelled. This pattern of inaction extends beyond Hezbollah. In the broader Arab world, there is a growing awareness that Iran’s promises of “resistance” have only deepened regional instability, resulting in endless cycles of conflict and devastation, particularly in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Nasrallah’s incendiary speeches painted a picture of eventual triumph over Israel, but on the ground Hezbollah’s actions yielded little progress in the Palestinian cause, only further isolating Lebanon in its perpetual state of conflict.
Nasrallah’s assassination marks the latest episode in a series of Iranian failures to protect or advance the interests of its allies. From Syria’s civil war to the collapse of Iraq’s fragile institutions, Iran has often leveraged its regional partners as pawns, sacrificing their well-being for its strategic interests.
Take Syria, for example: Iran’s unwavering support for Bashar Assad has contributed to one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time, with over half a million dead and millions displaced. This support has cemented Assad’s regime, but has alienated Iran from much of the Arab world. Likewise, in Yemen, Tehran’s backing of the Houthi rebels has led to a devastating war with Saudi Arabia, resulting in a humanitarian catastrophe that has harmed the Arab and Muslim world’s most vulnerable populations.
For too long, many have been misled by Iran’s narrative of resistance
These regional entanglements have not only failed to bring about the promised victories over Israel, but also alienated Iran’s allies and led to increased suffering among its so-called beneficiaries. In each case, Iran’s support has come at a high cost for Arab states, with little to show in terms of tangible gains against Israel or Western hegemony. The killing of Hassan Nasrallah should be a moment of reckoning for Arabs across the region. For too long, many have been misled by Iran’s narrative of resistance. But the reality is that Tehran’s interests lie not in the liberation of Palestine or the betterment of Arab nations, but in expanding its influence and securing its own strategic foothold in the Middle East.
Iran’s manipulation of sectarian divides — primarily between Shiite and Sunni communities — has further fragmented the Arab world, making it easier for external powers to exploit those divisions. By backing militias and non-state actors such as Hezbollah, Iran has sought to undermine Arab sovereignty and create chaos, all the while claiming to champion the Palestinian cause. It is time for Arabs and Muslims to reassess who their true allies are and where their own best interests lie. Nasrallah’s death should serve as a reminder that while Iran talks a big game, its actions have often left its allies — and the broader Arab world — weaker, more divided, and further from achieving true peace and stability in the region.
Rather than continuing to be swayed by Tehran’s hollow promises, the Arab world must take charge of its own destiny. Iran’s involvement in Arab affairs has neither brought liberation nor victory; it has brought instead destruction, division, and instability. The assassination of Nasrallah might be the final straw that brings misled Arabs to their senses, encouraging them to pursue alliances that are based on mutual respect, shared interests, and the real prospect of peace.
The Arab world must prioritize unity, both within and among nations, to face its challenges. Only through collective strength, rather than reliance on external powers with their own agendas, can the region hope to chart a course toward peace, stability, and justice for Palestinians and all Arabs alike. The time has come to acknowledge that Iran is not the solution to the Arab world’s challenges — it is part of the problem.
• Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor, based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 28-29/2024
War monitor says 12 dead in strikes targeting pro-Iranian fighters in Syria
AFP/September 29, 2024
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Twelve pro-Iranian fighters have been killed in air strikes of unknown origin in eastern Syria, a war monitor said Sunday, adding that a large number of people were wounded. “Twelve pro-Iranian fighters were killed in air strikes of unknown origin targeting their positions in the city of Deir Ezzor and to the east of the city, as well as the Boukamal region, near the border with Iraq,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes were not immediately claimed by any entity, according to the monitor. Five of the strikes had targeted military positions near Deir Ezzor airport, it added. Iran has been providing military aid to Syria since the civil war there began in 2011, while Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes targeting pro-Iranian groups in eastern Syria. The United States has also targeted such groups in the country’s east. Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there. Israel has launched an intense bombing campaign against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon in recent days, intensifying fears of a regional war. The Israeli army has also repeatedly targeted the movement’s arms supply routes on the Syrian-Lebanese border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Iran’s supreme leader taken to secure location, sources say
REUTERS/September 29, 2024
DUBAI: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been taken to a secure location inside Iran amid heightened security, sources told Reuters, a day after Israel killed the head of Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah in a strike on Beirut. The move to safeguard Iran’s top decision-maker is the latest show of nervousness by the Iranian authorities as Israel launched a series of devastating attacks on Hezbollah, Iran’s best armed and most well-equipped ally in the region. Reuters reported this month that Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, the ideological guardians of the Islamic Republic, had ordered all of members to stop using any type of communication devices after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah blew up. Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel was behind the pager and walkie-talkie attacks. Israel neither denied nor confirmed involvement. The two regional officials briefed by Tehran and who told Reuters that Khamenei had been moved to a safe location also said Iran was in contact with Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Nasrallah’s killing.
The sources declined to be identified further due to the sensitivity of the matter. As well as killing Nasrallah, Friday’s strikes by Israel on Beirut killed Revolutionary Guards’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan, Iranian media reported on Saturday. Other Revolutionary Guard’s commanders have also been killed since the Gaza War erupted last year and violence flared elsewhere. Khamenei issued a statement later on Saturday, following Israel’s announcement that Nasrallah had been killed, saying: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront.” “The blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged,” he said in a separate statement, in which he announced five days of mourning to mark Nasrallah’s death. Nasrallah’s death is a major blow to Iran, removing an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah into the linchpin of Tehran’s constellation of allied groups in the Arab world. Iran’s network of regional allies, known as the ‘Axis of Resistance’, stretch from Hezbollah in Lebanon to Hamas in Gaza, Iran-backed militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. Hamas has been fighting a war with Israel for almost a year, since its fighters stormed into Israel on Oct. 7. The Houthis, meanwhile, have launched missiles at Israel and at ships sailing in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea along the Yemeni coast. Hezbollah has been engaged in exchanges of fire across the Lebanese border throughout the Gaza War and has repeatedly said it would not stop until there was a ceasefire in Gaza.
After the pager and walkie-talkies strikes, one Iranian security official told Reuters that a large-scale operation was underway by the Revolutionary Guards to inspect all communications devices. He said most of these devices were either homemade or imported from China and Russia. The official said Iran was concerned about infiltration by Israeli agents, including Iranians on Israel’s payroll and a thorough investigation of personnel has already begun, targeting mid and high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Guards. In another statement on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States had played a role in Nasrallah’s killing as a supplier of weapons to Israel. “The Americans cannot deny their complicity with the Zionists,” he said in the statement carried by state media.

Iran VP says Nasrallah's killing will lead to Israel's 'destruction'
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said Saturday that the killing of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in the Lebanese capital will bring about Israel's "destruction." "We warn the leaders of the occupying regime that the unjust bloodshed... especially of Hezbollah's secretary general, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, will bring about their destruction," Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Aref as saying.

Iran Revolutionary Guard general died in Israeli strike that killed Nasrallah
Associated Press/September 28/2024
A prominent general in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard died in an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Iranian media reported Saturday. The killing of Gen. Abbas Nilforushan marks the latest casualty suffered by Iran as the nearly yearlong Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip teeters on the edge of becoming a regional conflict. His death further ratchets up pressure on Iran to respond, even as Tehran has signaled in recent months that it wants to negotiate with the West over sanctions crushing its economy. Nilforushan, 58, was killed Friday in the strike in Lebanon that killed Nasrallah, the state-owned Tehran Times reported. Ahmad Reza Pour Khaghan, the deputy head of Iran's judiciary, also confirmed Nilforushan's death, describing him as a "guest to the people of Lebanon," the state-run IRNA news agency said.Khaghan also reportedly said that Iran had the right to retaliate under international law. The U.S. Treasury had identified Nilforushan as the deputy commander for operations in the Guard. It sanctioned him in 2022 and said he had led an organization "directly in charge of protest suppression." Those sanctions came amid the monthslong protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly not wearing her headscarf, or hijab, to the liking of police. Nilforushan also served in Syria, backing President Bashar Assad in his country's decades-long war that grew out of the 2011 Arab Spring. Like many of his colleagues, he began his military career in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. In 2020, Iranian state television called him a "comrade" of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of its expeditionary Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in Baghdad that year.

Biden describes Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as ‘measure of justice’
ARAB NEWS/September 28, 2024
LONDON: US President Joe Biden on Saturday described the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a “measure of justice” for his thousands of victims. Biden was speaking after Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day. Biden said “taking out” Nasrallah happened in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 last year. “Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in a statement. He also noted that Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s watch had been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians. Biden said that he had directed US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to “further enhance the defense posture of US military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.” Washington’s goal was to “deescalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,” he added. However, Biden and his administration have repeatedly said that they had no prior knowledge of the latest Israeli attack, a strike that some officials have spoken out against. “Nasrallah was a bad guy, but it is frustrating that the Israelis are doing this without consulting us and then ask that we clean up when it comes to deterring Iran,” one US official told Axios. Another American official said “Nasrallah has blood on his hands,” but that the Biden administration did not see how Israel’s “whack-a-mole” approach will address the larger strategic picture, Axios added.* With AFP

Iran says Nasrallah's 'path to continue' despite his killing
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Iran's foreign ministry said Saturday the path of Hezbollah's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will continue despite his killing in an Israeli air strike after a year of cross-border clashes between the two sides. "The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realized in the liberation of Quds (Jerusalem), God willing," said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in a post on social media X mourning his death.

Houthis fire missile at Tel Aviv shortly after Netanyahu lands
Associated Press/September 28/2024
Air raid sirens sounded across central Israel, including at the Tel Aviv international airport, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed after a trip to the U.S. The Israeli military said a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted shortly after the sirens were heard. There were no reports of injuries. It was not immediately known if the missile strike was aimed at Netanyahu's flight. Netanyahu cut short his trip to the U.S. to deal with the growing crisis in Israel's battle against Hezbollah. Hezbollah confirmed earlier on Saturday that its leader and one of its founders, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's suburbs the previous day.

Russia 'decisively condemns' Nasrallah's killing
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Russia on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for killing Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and urged it to immediately cease military action in Lebanon. "We decisively condemn the latest political murder carried out by Israel," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding: "We once again insistently urge Israel to immediately cease military action."

Khamenei condemns 'short-sighted' Israeli policy after Lebanon strikes
Agence France Presse/September 28/2024
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned on Saturday what he called an Israeli "massacre" in Lebanon after strikes that Israel said killed the Hezbollah leader. Lebanon's health ministry gave a preliminary toll of six dead and 91 wounded from the latest strikes on Beirut's densely populated southern suburbs since Friday, the fiercest to hit Hezbollah's stronghold since Israel and the group last went to war in 2006. Lebanon's health ministry has said hundreds have been killed in Israeli air raids since Monday, the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, as cross-border exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel escalated. "The massacre of the defenseless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone, and proved the short-sighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime," Khamenei said in a statement, without mentioning the fate of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. On Saturday, Israel's military said Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs the previous night, which was later confirmed by Hezbollah, armed and financed by Iran. Khamenei's statement gave no mention of Nasrallah but he said Israel was "too weak to cause significant damage to the solid construction of Hezbollah in Lebanon." He called on the "Axis of Resistance", Iran-aligned armed groups across the Middle East that have targeted Israel and its U.S. ally, to stand with Hezbollah. "Lebanon will make the aggressor and the evil enemy regretful," said Khamenei.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 28-29/2024
Killing Nasrallah ...Israel shows America how to win wars
Lee Smith/The Tablet/September 28/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/134999/
Friday evening in the Levant, Israel targeted buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut killing Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah. This operation represents a dramatic shift in Israeli strategy. Not only have they finally liquidated an adversary they’ve long been capable of killing, they’ve also turned a deaf ear to their superpower patron of more than half a century. But at this stage, heeding Washington’s advice in war is like taking counsel from the angel of death. Just as the U.S. is no longer willing or able to win the wars it commits Americans to fight, the Joe Biden administration won’t let U.S. allies win wars either.
By ordering the strike on Nasrallah while attending the U.N. General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the Jewish state’s independence from the global consensus that has resolved not to confront terrorists but rather to appease them, whether they’re plotting in the Middle East or living among the local populations of Western nations, including the United States. Israel’s attack also shows that almost everything U.S. and other Western civilian and military leaders have believed about the Middle East for the last 20 years was simply a collection of excuses for losing wars. The questions that senior policymakers and Pentagon officials, think-tank experts and journalists have deliberated over since the invasion of Iraq—questions about the nature of modern warfare and the proper conduct of international relations in a multipolar world, etc.—can now be set aside for good because they have been resolved definitively.
The answers are as they ever were—at least before the start of the “global war on terror.” Contrary to the convictions of George W. Bush-era neoconservatives and the pro-Iran progressives in Barack Obama’s camp, securing a nation’s peace has nothing to do with winning narratives, or nation-building, or balancing U.S. allies against your mutual enemies for the sake of regional equilibrium, or any of the other academic theories generated to mask a generation’s worth of failure. Rather, it means killing your enemies, above all those who advocate and embody the causes that inspire others to exhaust their murderous energies against you. Thus, killing Nasrallah was essential.
Taking down officers demoralizes a force. Wiping out its chain of command cripples it. Hezbollah is a function of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and if allowed to survive the Lebanese militia will be replenished and trained by the IRGC to replace the fallen. Nasrallah issued from a different source. He was the protégé of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Their tenures—until now—were roughly coterminous: Khamenei replaced the founder of the Islamic Republic Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and chose Nasrallah to lead Hezbollah in 1992. The Iranians built around Nasrallah not only a network of proxies stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf but also a comprehensive worldview—permanent resistance. Killing him marks a defining moment capping the end of a 30-year reign of terror.
Wars are won by killing the enemy, above all, those who inspire their people to kill yours.
Israel’s campaign went into high gear on Sept. 17 with the detonation of Hezbollah’s communications devices, which Israeli intelligence had booby-trapped with explosives, decommissioning thousands of the terror organization’s medical and logistical support staff as well as fighters. Because Hezbollah’s communications infrastructure, as well as its supply chain, was compromised, senior officials were forced to meet in person. Consequently, Israel was able to liquidate senior operations commander Ibrahim Aqil—who took part in the 1983 attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine Barracks in Lebanon—and other top commanders from the elite Radwan force in a strike in the southern suburb of Beirut on Sept. 20. In attacks on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon, Israel has killed hundreds of fighters and destroyed thousands of long- and medium-range missiles and launchers. With Nasrallah and virtually all of its senior command dead, Hezbollah has been decapitated.
Israel’s immediate goal is to get the 60,000 Israelis who have been displaced from the north since Oct. 7 back into their homes. Therefore, say Israeli officials, Hezbollah forces must be driven north of the Litani river, roughly 20 miles away from the border. The Biden administration says the Israelis can’t reach their goals through force and the only way forward is through diplomacy. In fact, the harder Israel struck Hezbollah, specifically showcasing its ability to eliminate its leadership, the more desperate the White House became to end IDF operations. The Biden team took advantage of the U.N. General Assembly to work with France on a statement calling for a 21-day ceasefire that would shut down Israel’s campaign and protect Nasrallah.
Even if Israel weren’t proving the White House wrong hourly about its ability to win its goals on the ground, the fact is that U.S. diplomatic assurances regarding Hezbollah are worthless.
U.S. officials brought an end to the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. It stipulated that there were to be no armed personnel or weapons south of the Litani, other than those of the Lebanese government and the U.N. peacekeeping force. The resolution was a farce, as Hezbollah’s presence and capabilities in south Lebanon have only grown in the two decades since it was passed. Obviously, there is no chance the Lebanese government will ever take action against Hezbollah, which controls the government. Nor will the U.S., France, or any other power enforce UNSCR 1701—except to endorse the Lebanese demand for an end to Israeli overflights and indulge Beirut’s border claims.
For Israel, the even bigger problem with 1701 is that since 2006, Hezbollah has become capable of launching missiles from virtually anywhere in Lebanon, as well as Syria, to reach every part of Israel. Pushing Hezbollah off the border would make it harder for the militia to mount a cross-border invasion like Oct. 7, but it would still leave all of Israel under threat from its long- and mid-range missiles. Reports Friday that the Israelis will continue to conduct strikes on the southern suburbs indicate that Jerusalem knows the core issue isn’t on the border but is rather in Beirut, Hezbollah’s capital.
Netanyahu was aware that if he meant to do more than just degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities until it regrouped and resupplied, he had only a small window of time. The Biden White House had done everything in its power to stop Israel’s campaign against Hamas, like withholding ordnance that would have spared Israel risking the lives of its combat troops, while also openly opposing an Israeli campaign in Lebanon. Therefore, it was 11 months before Netanyahu could turn north. But since the delay coincided with unprecedented developments in the U.S. domestic arena—a president retired from active duty and a vice president campaigning for the top spot by hiding from the press—the Israelis seized the opportunity to lay siege to Hezbollah while the Oval Office was effectively vacant.
Unsurprisingly, Israel’s success against Hezbollah the last two weeks alarmed the former Obama officials staffing the current administration. After all, Obama’s strategy to realign U.S. interests with Iran was predicated on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which put Iran’s nuclear weapons program under the umbrella of an international agreement guaranteed by the United States. The Iranians armed Hezbollah with missiles in order to deter Israeli action against their nuclear facilities, which is to say that the Lebanese militia serves not only Iranian interests but also those of the Obama faction.
The Biden team tried to stop Netanyahu from continuing his Hezbollah campaign by outlining how it intends to punish Israel in the period between the November election and the January inauguration with sanctions and other anti-Israel measures. But by telegraphing its intentions, the White House inadvertently incentivized Netanyahu to act quickly. Since a Harris victory ensures four to eight more years of a White House filled by Obama aides determined to protect the Iranians and their proxies, and a Donald Trump win means Biden’s punitive actions go away, Israel saw it had nothing to lose in either case. So on Friday, Netanyahu brought the era of permanent resistance to an end by killing the cult leader the Obama faction so desperately wanted to but could not keep alive.
In the past, Israeli officials warned against targeting the terror chief. They feared it might bring about an even more ruthless leader just as Israel’s 1992 assassination of then-Hezbollah chief Abbas al-Mussawi elevated, in their eyes, the more effective Nasrallah. But what made Nasrallah special, what gave rise to the personality cult around the man whose name means “victory of God,” was his relationship with Khamenei.
In 1989, Nasrallah left Lebanon for Iran, where the 29-year-old cleric was introduced to Khamenei. In the vacuum left by Khomeini’s death, Khamenei was working to consolidate his power, which included taking control of Hezbollah, Tehran’s most significant external asset. He saw Mussawi’s assassination as an opening to put his own man in place, and with Hezbollah’s operations against Israeli forces in Lebanon, Nasrallah’s legend steadily grew. Even Israeli officials credited Hezbollah for driving Israel out of the south in 2000, a singular triumph worthy of the name Nasrallah, a victory against the hated Zionists that no other Arab leader could claim.
But the myth of Nasrallah as Turban Napoleon was dispelled with the disastrous 2006 war which he stumbled into by kidnapping two Israel soldiers. Later he said that had he known Israel was going to respond so forcefully, he’d never have given the order. And yet despite the thousands killed in Lebanon, Hezbollahis and civilians, and the billions of dollars worth of damage, he claimed that Hezbollah won just because he survived. Before his demise, he’d been in hiding since 2006.
Israel’s recent demonstrations of its technological prowess show that Nasrallah survived this long thanks only to the sufferance of the Jerusalem government. Netanyahu and others seem to have hoped the Hezbollah problem would resolve itself once the Americans came to their senses and recognized the threat Iran posed to U.S. regional hegemony. But the Israelis misread the strategic implications of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The George W. Bush administration’s freedom agenda gave Iraq’s Shia majority an insuperable advantage in popular elections. And since virtually all the Shia factions were controlled by Iran, democratizing Iraq laid the foundations for Iran’s regional empire as well as Obama’s realignment strategy, downgrading relations with traditional U.S. allies like Israel and building ties with the anti-American regime. Even Trump, whose January 2020 targeted killing of Iranian terror chief Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi deputy Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was far and away the most meaningful operation ever conducted by U.S. forces on Iraqi soil, couldn’t entirely break the mold cast by his predecessors and which the Pentagon protected like a priceless jewel.
U.S. forces are still based in Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS and any other Sunnis the Iranians and their allies categorize as threats to their interests. The detail seems almost like a medieval curse imposed on the losing side in a war. After the Iranians killed and maimed thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq, and helped kill and wound thousands more by urging their Syrian ally Bashar Assad to usher Sunni fighters from the Damascus airport to the Iraqi front, America’s best and bravest are condemned to eternal bondage requiring them to protect Iranian interests forever.
The idea advanced by conspiracy theorists from the U.S. political and media establishment on the left as well as the right that Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. into a larger regional war with Iran—a thesis sure to be cited repeatedly in the aftermath of Nasrallah’s assassination—is absurd. The Obama faction, of which Biden and Harris are a part, is in Iran’s corner. Moreover, only a fool could be blind to the fact that the Pentagon way of war, three decades into the 21st century and a world away from the United States’ last conclusive victory, means death for all who pursue it.
If Washington and the Europeans are appalled by Israel’s campaign over the last two weeks, it’s because the Israelis have resurfaced the ugly truth that no modish theories of war, international organizations, or even American presidents could long obscure. Wars are won by killing the enemy, above all, those who inspire their people to kill yours. Killing Nasrallah not only anchors Israel’s victory in Lebanon but reestablishes the old paradigm for any Western leaders who take seriously their duty to protect their countrymen and civilization: Kill your enemies.
*Lee Smith is the author of The Permanent Coup: How Enemies Foreign and Domestic Targeted the American President (2020).
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/killing-nasrallah?fbclid=IwY2xjawFkXWxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSDcBybul0MBhfHjRP-g07-u-CcPphlY48F_e3yQqbT4WR9cFroKxRmsMg_aem_mZA9JiqcEQDj7y12ku-OlA&sfnsn=wa

Question: “What must I believe to be saved?”
GotQuestions.org/September 28/2024
Answer: The question of what we must believe to be saved takes us to the core of the gospel. It is about knowing who we are and why Jesus entered the world to save us. Once these truths are believed and accepted, we receive the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23) and become children of God (John 1:12–13).
Part of receiving the gospel is admitting that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This is important because it acknowledges why Jesus entered the world to save us. If we do not believe we need to be saved, we will not care about salvation. Passages such as Acts 16:31 and Romans 10:9 say that we must believe in Christ to be saved, and this belief starts with admitting that we have not lived up to the perfect moral standard of a holy, righteous, and just God (see 1 John 1:8–10). Indeed, we cannot meet the demand of His perfect moral standard because of our depravity: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV; cf. Matthew 7:21–23).
The seriousness of sin is seen in its consequences: spiritual death and the reality of divine wrath. In John 3:36, Jesus contrasts those who believe in the Son and those who do not, saying, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” The consequence of sin is more than dying; it is also being eternally separated from God in a fiery hell. The gospel, however, is a message of hope: we can have eternal life through faith in Christ. So, while sin separates us from God, belief in Christ draws us close to Him (John 17:3). In Christ, our sins are forgiven (Acts 13:38).
To be saved, we must believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sin. The only way to fix our sin problem is through faith in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. As the incarnate and perfect Son of God, Jesus is the only one who could absorb the punishment for our sins and save us from God’s wrath (see Isaiah 53). He is the only one who could die in our place (1 Peter 2:24).
To be saved, we must believe in the resurrection of Christ. The physical, bodily resurrection of the Lord is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. This momentous event proves that Jesus overcame Satan, sin, and death. If He did not rise again, then we would remain stuck in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). But He did rise from the grave, powerfully demonstrating that all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will live with Him for eternity. As Jesus told His disciples, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).
The gospel is not complicated. We aren’t required to perform religious rituals, say a series of incantations, or understand a cryptic set of facts. Just the opposite: we must cease from our works, lay down our pride, and accept the grace of God by faith. To be saved, we must believe that Jesus, the Savior, died for our sins and rose again to life eternal. We place our full trust in Him. We stake our eternal destiny on Him and His goodness. He forgives and saves us, not because of anything we have done or could do, but because He is loving, kind, gracious, and merciful (Titus 3:5). Today, will you believe in Him for salvation?
Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have read here? If so, please click on the “I have accepted Christ today” button below.

When the Iranian Regime Intervenes in US Elections
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/September 28, 2024
These remarks highlight Trump's concerns about foreign interference and its potential impact on the integrity of U.S. elections....
In the past four years, significant funds, nearly $60 billion, have effectively been given to Iran's mullahs by the Biden-Harris administration.
Starting a war against Israel through its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, closing off the Suez Canal, and firing on US troops in the region more than 150 times just since October was apparently Iran's gracious way of saying thank you.
That the Iranian regime is meddling in U.S. elections to support the Harris campaign, should serve as a jarring warning that Harris's approach to Iran policy is one that would enable this expansionist regime to keep wreaking horrors on the world, both by itself and through its proxies, especially after it acquires nuclear capability. Why should Iran's government, which treats its own people atrociously, be expected to treat others any better?
That the Iranian regime is meddling in U.S. elections to support the Harris campaign, should serve as a jarring warning that Harris's approach to Iran policy is one that would enable this expansionist regime to keep wreaking horrors on the world, both by itself and through its proxies, especially after it acquires nuclear capability. Pictured: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a 'Qasem Soleimani' missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
In a significant move that, since the establishment of Iran's Islamist regime, Iranian leaders have actively extended their influence to support a political party and candidate in a U.S. presidential race. This notable intervention is directed towards aiding the Democratic ticket headed by Vice President Kamala Harris. It is a move that signals that Iran's regime hopes to secure an even deeper geopolitical alignment after the upcoming U.S. elections.
The FBI recently confirmed that information stolen by the Iranian regime agents, through their hacking of Donald Trump's campaign, was disseminated to individuals connected to the Democratic campaign.
In a joint statement released on September 18, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency revealed that Iranian agents executed a malicious operation, whereby they "sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden's campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump's campaign as text in the emails." This disclosure only underscores how far-reaching Tehran's cyber capabilities have become.
A particularly striking element of this revelation is the Democratic campaign's silence regarding the stolen information. Despite having received the data that originated from the Trump campaign, the Democratic camp refrained from acknowledging it until the FBI publicly disclosed the fact on September 18. On September 19, the Harris campaign finally responded, pointing out that it had not utilized any materials that Iranian hackers had allegedly collected from Trump's email accounts.
The Trump campaign, swiftly reacting to this news, issued a statement demanding accountability from Harris. Trump's camp stated that she must "come clean on whether they used the hacked material."
On September 18, former Trump took to Truth Social, where he posted a scathing message:
"FBI CAUGHT IRAN SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GIVING ALL OF THE INFORMATION TO THE KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN. THEREFORE SHE AND HER CAMPAIGN WERE ILLEGALLY SPYING ON ME."
Trump continued:
"TO BE KNOWN AS THE IRAN, IRAN, IRAN CASE! WILL KAMALA RESIGN IN DISGRACE FROM POLITICS? WILL THE COMMUNIST LEFT PICK A NEW CANDIDATE TO REPLACE HER?"
These remarks highlight Trump's concerns about foreign interference and its potential impact on the integrity of U.S. elections, particularly in relation to candidacy of Harris.
What adds more intrigue to the story is the apparent desire of the Iranian regime to assist the Democratic Party. There appear to be several underlying reasons why Tehran favors a Harris victory.
First, Harris would likely continue the current administration's extremely lenient approach to enforcing sanctions on Iran. Under the current U.S. administration, Iran has been able to sell oil at record levels and engage in lucrative trade with European nations – exponentiating Iran's revenues.
Second, the Iranian regime anticipates that billions of dollars will continue to be released under a Harris administration. In the past four years, significant funds, nearly $60 billion, have effectively been given to Iran's mullahs by the Biden-Harris administration. The windfall has enriched the regime and bolstered both its economic and military capabilities. Iranian leaders see the continuation of this financial flow as critical to their long-term strategy of expanding Iran's influence in the Middle East and beyond.
Starting a war against Israel through its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, closing off the Suez Canal, and firing on US troops in the region more than 150 times just since October was apparently Iran's gracious way of saying thank you.
Third, the Iranian regime must be ecstatic over on Harris' reluctance to confront their galloping advancements in nuclear technology. Iran's nuclear program reached its highest level of progress under the Biden-Harris administration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in July that Iran's nuclear weapons were only "1-2 weeks away." Iran appears dangerously close to having nuclear bombs with which to do anything the mullahs want.
Fourth, Iran expects that under a Harris presidency, the U.S. will remain passive in response to Tehran's military support for Russia in the ongoing war against Ukraine. From the perspective of the Iranian regime, Harris would similarly ignore Iran's efforts, through its military proxies and terror networks, to annihilate Israel as well as Tehran's rising influence in the US backyard, Latin America, which has increasingly become a geopolitical interest for Iran.
That the Iranian regime is meddling in U.S. elections to support the Harris campaign, should serve as a jarring warning that Harris's approach to Iran policy is one that would enable this expansionist regime to keep wreaking horrors on the world, both by itself and through its proxies, especially after it acquires nuclear capability. Why should Iran's government, which treats its own people atrociously, be expected to treat others any better?
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

This might be Israel’s ultimate strategic gamble
YOSSI MEKELBERG/Arab News/September 28, 2024
For weeks, there has been an air of inevitability in Israel about an imminent escalation in hostilities with Hezbollah. Both sides stand on the brink of a full-scale war that could potentially engulf the entire region. Alternatively, they could agree to a last-ditch international effort to secure a ceasefire. The assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was a bold, although dangerous, message by Israel that it was prepared to risk regional escalation.
Having spoken over the past two weeks to officials in Israel and some of the few residents who remain in the north of the country after a year of Hezbollah rocket, missile, and drone attacks on their towns and villages, I found a broad consensus that the current situation is intolerable, and demands that the government do something to change an equation that has handed Hezbollah, and by extension Iran, a strategic victory by displacing 60,000 residents from their homes, leaving part of the country mostly uninhabited and on the verge of economic collapse.
For more than a decade, Israeli politicians and senior military commanders argued, not without justification, that of all the theaters of conflict bordering their country, Hezbollah in Lebanon posed the most dangerous, long-term strategic threat. This is because of its massive weapons stockpiles and a military force, estimated to be 40,000 strong, that includes the elite Radwan Force, the presence of which so close to the border has required constant vigilance to prevent an incursion.
Israeli authorities have devoted considerable attention to efforts to prevent the delivery of weapons and ammunition from Iran to Hezbollah. In pursuit of this, they acquired accurate intelligence that led to many operations beyond Israel’s borders. This was all in preparation, following the last major conflict between the two sides in 2006, for another direct confrontation.
There is a school of thought in Israel that views Iran as the head of an octopus, with its allies and proxies the tentacles. Of all those tentacles, Hezbollah is the most militarily potent and, compared with the Houthis or militant groups in Iraq, its proximity to Israel makes it a more valuable asset to Tehran. Consequently, as the massive Israeli bombardment in Lebanon and the assassination of most of the Hezbollah leadership illustrates, the aim of escalating the confrontation is not to bring the group to the negotiation table but to set it back many years in terms of the threat it poses to Israel.
Over the years, Hezbollah’s increasing military capabilities and exchanges of inflammatory rhetoric with Israeli authorities, expressing hostile intentions, have ensured that an eventual, full-blown confrontation between the two was not only a very real possibility, but one that could drag the entire region into a war, including external powers such as Iran.
In April this year, the US, UK, France, and Jordan joined forces to assist Israeli efforts to intercept hundreds of missiles and drones launched by Iran. There is no reason to think that should Tehran launch another similar or bigger attack against Israel in an attempt to ease some of the pressure on its Lebanese ally, an ad-hoc coalition led by the US would not once again come to its aid. A common mantra over the years has been that neither Israel nor Hezbollah, despite the constant exchanges of vitriol and mutual provocations, has the appetite for a full-scale confrontation, mainly because the damage inflicted on both sides during the 2006 war left them under no illusion about the consequences of another such conflict.
At the same time, the so-called “ring of fire” of pro-Iranian militant movements that exist on Israel’s borders has remained a constant and unnerving threat to its security.
Unlike the Palestinian issue, which includes a territorial dispute and an occupation, since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, following the ill-conceived invasion of its northern neighbor 18 years earlier, there has been no Israeli military presence there.
For more than a decade, Israeli politicians and senior military commanders argued, not without justification, that of all the theaters of conflict bordering their country, Hezbollah in Lebanon posed the most dangerous, long-term strategic threat.
The prioritization by Hezbollah of enmity with Israel is a cynical means of preserving its own power and control over much of Lebanese politics and society, with the group presenting itself as the champion of the Palestinian cause.
The war in Gaza is mired in some sort of stalemate, and efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that would include the release of hostages and the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza is obviously not a priority for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As a result, some in his government, led by Defense Minister Yoav Galant and senior military personnel, have forcefully declared that an opportunity exists to hit Hezbollah and hit it hard. The objective would be to diminish the group’s offensive capabilities by creating a military buffer zone that can ensure the security of northern Israel, and the rest of the country, with the additional aim of delivering a hammer blow to Tehran’s hegemonic aspirations.
The discovery in 2018 of Hamas-like tunnels running from Lebanon deep into northern Israel, along with Hezbollah’s plans to take over parts of that territory, sparked concerns that the fate of Israelis living close to the border might be similar to those who lived along the border with Gaza. Those concerns increased following the attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.
One of the unknowns in all this is whether the attack in Lebanon two weeks ago using thousands of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies — if we make the extremely reasonable assumption that it was carried out by Israeli authorities — is the prelude to a wider military operation than the one already taking place.
Or perhaps Israel acted out of fear that Hezbollah was about to discover the explosives planted in the devices and detonated them, following this up with a military operation that included the elimination of many senior Hezbollah commanders in an effort to translate a successful covert operation into a military, and eventually a political, achievement. While the extensive use of Israel’s air force was only to be expected, there remains the threat that this might be followed by the use of ground troops. Following the killing of Nasrallah, further escalation, perhaps beyond Lebanon, is a possibility, which only a swift response by the international community can avert.
Certainly, Israel’s military plans rely heavily on a best-case scenario that is far from guaranteed. While there is no love lost between Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, or many people across the region, if Israel is indeed intent on using force in Lebanon in the way it has been doing in Gaza, it is hardly likely to drive a wedge between the people of the country and Hezbollah.
Moreover, massive civilian casualties would certainly deepen and broaden the criticisms by the international community, including among those countries Israel would need support from most in case of a regional conflict, who are already critical of the manner in which the war on Gaza has been conducted.
There is also a danger of “mission creep,” especially if an incursion by ground troops intended to be short-term drags on and lasts for months or even years, leaving Israel to deal with damaging guerrilla warfare.
Above all, it might bring us a step closer to fulfilling Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s dream of a regional war. This might also suit Netanyahu’s administration, in the belief that it would drag the US and its allies into a war with Iran that might result in the destruction of Tehran’s nuclear and other military capabilities.
But these are extreme scenarios with potentially dangerous and unforeseen consequences, although after Friday night’s events we might be one step closer to them.
• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg

This is what a post-American Middle East looks like
CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS/Arab News/September 28, 2024
The outbreak of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah begins to look depressingly familiar. Many have noted similarities with the 2006 war, while Lebanese and Israeli civilians fear a return to the sustained destruction of that 34-day conflict.
However, there is already a significant difference from 2006: the scale of the violence. In 2006, the total number of deaths in Lebanon was 1,100, while 43 Israelis were killed, according to Amnesty International. The same organization noted that last Monday, 558 Lebanese, including 50 children and 94 women, were killed. Already the casualty figures for the first week of conflict are getting close to the numbers killed in just over a month in 2006.
The same shift in scale has been visible in the Gaza conflict. The Oct. 7 attacks saw 1,139 killed in Israel, including 695 civilians — the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Since then, according to the UN, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed. By way of comparison, in the various Gaza conflicts and attacks between 2008 and 2023, over 6,400 Palestinians and 308 Israelis died.
So, why is the scale in both conflicts so much greater? There are many possible explanations: The extent of trauma in Israel after Oct. 7 prompted its government to react more violently than in the past; Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government is arguably the most hawkish in Israel’s history; the uncompromising nature of Hamas’ leadership; and Hezbollah’s willingness to strike deeper into Israel. All have likely played some role in escalating the violence.
But another factor is also at play: the role of the US. In the 2006 war, and again in Israel’s various conflicts in Gaza such as in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, Washington sanctioned Israel’s assaults, but eventually weighed in to pressure its ally into a ceasefire. Today, however, the influence of the US is far less pronounced. As has been noted by many commentators, the last decade or so has seen the development of a “post-American Middle East,” with Washington stepping back from its self-appointed role as “regional policeman.” The US remains the most powerful external player, but Russia and China now have increased influence. Washington’s powerful regional allies — Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, the UAE and Israel — increasingly act independently of the US, while its enemy Iran has expanded its network of allied militia, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. For many, this comparative retreat of the US is long overdue, especially after its destabilizing interventions following 9/11 in 2001. But there was another aspect to its hegemony: As the only superpower, the US was often able to pressure, cajole, and mediate both allies and enemies in the region at times of crisis. In the case of Israel’s wars, it invariably sided with Israel, but nevertheless appeared able to eventually help bring about ceasefires. In contrast, the aftermath of Oct. 7 has seen President Joe Biden repeatedly fail to restrain Netanyahu, despite the White House’s repeated efforts.
The scale of conflict seen in Lebanon and Gaza could prove a regular feature of the post-American Middle East.
Many have been frustrated at Biden’s unwillingness to halt arms sales to Israel to force Netanyahu’s hand, but in the past such drastic moves were not necessary for Washington to exercise influence. Biden’s weakness may partly be down to an ailing president fearful that too much criticism of Israel will aid Donald Trump’s electoral chances in November. But it may also reflect Netanyahu’s recognition that Washington is not willing to put in the military and economic capital to police the Middle East as it once did. With less fear of censure and consequence from Washington, Netanyahu’s government appears less restrained than Israeli leaderships of the past.
This places the rest of the region in something of a predicament. Many, even among America’s allies, welcome Washington’s stepping back from the region, and few want a return to the military interventions of the early 2000s. There is little indication that either Kamala Harris or Trump wish to reclaim the role of the Middle East’s policeman, while the empowerment of China, Russia, and the regional powers would likely make it far harder to do even if desired.
The post-American Middle East is, therefore, likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and with it could come an environment in which the more powerful players, such as Israel, feel less restrained. How other governments can respond to this is unclear. They could lobby the US to play a more active role once again, as has been the strategy of some since Oct. 7, but without much success. They could urge other external powers to step into the role of “regional policeman,” but Russia lacks the capacity, China lacks the will and, as was seen before, most in the Middle East are not keen on having an outside hegemon anyway. Another option is for regional powers to work together to develop more robust stabilizing mechanisms. If Israel, or others, cannot be restrained by outsiders, are there diplomatic or economic levers regional states could deploy together, such as occurred during the 1973 oil embargo? Of course, such united action requires most Middle Eastern states to put aside their differences in the interests of stabilizing the Levant and preventing further deaths.
In the short term this appears highly improbable. In the long term, though, greater regional cooperation might be something leaders could consider to diminish instability. The scale of conflict seen in Lebanon and Gaza could prove a regular feature of the post-American Middle East, and regional leaders hoping to prevent this may need to explore methods of containing this among themselves.
• Christopher Phillips is professor of international relations at Queen Mary University of London and author of “Battleground: Ten Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East.”

Selected Tweets
Rebecca Bouchebel
When we see the international headlines saying “hiz#bullah and Israel’s war” we seem to overlook this major detail: it’s not a state against state!!! It’s a state against an armed militia financed by a foreign nation to conduct illegitimate military operations on Lebanese soil outside the state authority. No where else in the world would this be accepted as a normal situation. No where else would we the citizens of lebanon and its state say no to war and then be made to bear the full consequences of war! And where any attempt on our part to say this is an unacceptable situation be met with people doubting our patriotism. Enough!
War is not destiny, it’s a choice. And before we blame any enemy, we look inward and root out the actual cause from within without fear! So war doenst happen again.
My 2 cents… long live Lebanon 🇱🇧 and its legitimate army. @Followers @highlight @Everyone

Ibtissam Keedy
Hez$bollah, once seen by many as a resistance force, has now revealed its true nature. They are not fighting for Lebanon, nor for its people, but for their own gain and agenda. They have hijacked our nation, using our land, our resources, and our people as tools in a game that serves only their interests.
While they claim to defend Lebanon, the truth is they are defending a vision of power that benefits no one but themselves and their foreign backers. Hezbollah's actions have only deepened the divisions within our society and driven Lebanon further into isolation, economic ruin, and instability. They have built a state within a state, and their unchecked power has crippled the hopes of a free, sovereign Lebanon. Their military presence, fueled by outside interests, holds our country hostage. They exploit the rhetoric of resistance while standing in the way of progress, democracy, and true national unity. What they call "resistance" is nothing more than a cover for their own criminal activities, smuggling, and political manipulation. Lebanon is suffering because of their grip on power. They do not represent the will of the Lebanese people, but rather a self-serving elite that benefits from our country’s suffering. It’s time we face the truth: Hezbollah is not fighting for Lebanon. They are fighting for their own profit and agenda, and their actions are dragging our nation further into darkness. We must have the courage to stand up and demand that Lebanon belongs to its people, not to a group whose loyalty lies elsewhere. It is time to reclaim our nation and build a future that reflects the values of freedom, justice, and sovereignty.

Monika Borgmann
The glorious memories of 1996, 2000, or 2006 fade gradually as they are replaced by darker ones – the double explosion at the Beirut port, with implicated officials, or the assassination of Shiite opponent Lokman Slim, attributed to the party.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
The $14 billion that we gave to #Israel to defend itself has been one of our best American investments. Israel has just ripped through terrorism and our common enemies like nothing we have seen in modern history. Money very well spent. An ally we’re thankful for.
*I’m Iraqi-Lebanese-American.
The last time I felt such happiness, relief, and hope, was when America helped Iraqis pull down Saddam regime in 2003. I’m thrilled Nasrallah is gone, though not hopeful that the Lebanese would be smarter than the Iraqis in grasping the opportunity.
**There was no replacement for Bin Laden. There was no replacement for Soleimani. There is no replacement for Nasrallah. There will be no replacement for Khamenei.
These tyrannies are built on the person not the institution. “Resistance Axis” is reeling.
**An unpopular opinion in #Lebanon:
If you want to lead the transition post-Hezbollah, your best bet is the aging oligarchs. Get them to restore state sovereignty, then change and reform as much as you can.
You need a starting point. You can’t start from scratch because Islamists will fill vacuum faster than you.
**I’m dancing of joy today like I did when Saddam fell in Baghdad and like I will do when the tyrants of Damascus and Tehran fall.
Sorry, but not sorry…