English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  August 05/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
 Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
Luke 11/37-41: "While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table.The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you."

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 04-05/2025
On the Fifth Anniversary of the Beirut Port Explosion: Hezbollah’s Crime That Will Never Be Erased from Lebanon’s Memory/Elias Bejjani/August 04/2025
On the Anniversary of Hezbollah’s Terrorist Assassination of Elias Al-Hasrouni: A Crime That Time Will Not Erase/Elias Bejjani/August 02/2025
Video link to an interview with engineer Alfred Madi, head of the "Other Opinion" Movement.
Who is Ali Suleiman Abu Abbas, the target of the Israeli airstrike on Khiam?
Lebanon president promises justice 5 years after Beirut port blast
Tuesday's cabinet session: Latest developments
Marking port blast anniversary, US urges 'justice for victims, not protections for elites'
Five years later, justice delayed: Beirut blast indictment held up by legal battles and political roadblocks
HRW and Amnesty say road to justice in port case 'remains littered with challenges'
Moment of silence held at 6:07 PM to mark Beirut Port explosion anniversary
Israeli artillery shells areas in Bint Jbeil district
Lebanon’s First Lady visits Red Cross blood center on Beirut Port explosion anniversary
Samy Gemayel calls for justice and state sovereignty on Beirut Port explosion anniversary
EU says ending impunity essential for Lebanon's recovery
A father's grief and a nation's hope: Lebanon awaits justice 5 years after Beirut blast
UN special coordinator says progress in port case 'necessary and long overdue'
Lebanese state and Hezbollah face their most difficult hour/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat./August 04, 2025
Lebanon At A Crossroads, Between Sovereignty And Continued Control By Hizbullah And Its Weapons/By N. Mozes/MEMRI/August 04/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 03-04/2025
Israel detects missile launch from Yemen, working to intercept it
World ‘cannot act surprised,’ says UN expert who warned last year of starvation in Gaza
US links $1.9 billion in state disaster funds to Israel boycott stance
Yedioth Ahronoth: Netanyahu aides say Gaza invasion decision final
More Gazans die seeking aid and from hunger, as burial shrouds in short supply
Israeli government votes to dismiss attorney general, escalating standoff with judiciary
Israel to decide next steps in Gaza after ceasefire talks collapse
Saudi embassy in UK working with authorities as man charged with murdering student from Kingdom, family pays tribute
How the UK’s ‘apartheid apologists’ use ‘disingenuous’ antisemitism claims to suppress Israel’s critics
Kurdish-led SDF say five members killed during attack by Daesh in Syria
Zelensky says ‘mercenaries’ from China, Pakistan and other countries fighting for Russia

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 04-05/2025
UN report shows Islamic State and Al Qaeda exploiting post-Assad chaos in Syria/Ahmad Sharawi/| FDD's Long War Journal/August 04/2025
10 Iranian Jails the Regime Uses To Brutalize Political Prisoners/Tzvi Kahn & Janatan Sayeh/FDD/August 04/2025
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and UAE choose action over apathy/Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/August 04, 2025
The Gulf can build future success by looking to the past/Maria Hanif Al-Qassim/Arab News/August 04, 2025
Selected tweets for 04 August/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 04-05/2025
On the Fifth Anniversary of the Beirut Port Explosion: Hezbollah’s Crime That Will Never Be Erased from Lebanon’s Memory
Elias Bejjani/August 04/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/145922/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwuQvSOyu2Q&t=203s
On the fifth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion, we solemnly remember August 04/2020—a day of national horror and disgrace, one of the darkest in the history of Lebanon and modern international crime. That day, Beirut was shattered by a massive explosion at its port—an act of terrorism that stands as the largest non-nuclear explosion in human history. It killed more than 200 innocent people, wounded over 6,000, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and reduced vast sections of the capital to rubble and ash.
This atrocity was no accident. It was the direct result of a vast criminal operation involving Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy militia that occupies Lebanon, and the Assad regime in Syria. The 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored recklessly for years in Hangar 12 at the port were not forgotten or abandoned—they were deliberately stockpiled and protected for use in manufacturing barrel bombs for the Syrian regime and for terrorist operations across Europe. This is not speculation. European security agencies in Cyprus, Germany, and elsewhere have confirmed Hezbollah’s possession and planned use of ammonium nitrate for terror plots.
The trail of blood does not end in Beirut. The same material was used to slaughter thousands of civilians in Syria, and its presence in Lebanon’s capital was not only a criminal act of negligence—it was a calculated threat against both Lebanese sovereignty and international peace.
Since the moment of the blast, Hezbollah has worked relentlessly to bury the truth. As the main party responsible for storing, securing, and benefiting from these explosives, Hezbollah launched a vicious campaign to obstruct the judicial investigation. It threatened and intimidated the judiciary, openly blackmailed investigators, and assassinated key witnesses and officers. Among those silenced were the port officials Joseph Skaf and Mounir Abu Rjeili, the banker Wissam Al-Tarraf, and photographer Joe Bejjani, who was shot dead in his own home in Kahaleh. Their blood cries out for justice.
In a flagrant act of mafia-style intimidation, Hezbollah’s security chief Wafic Safa threatened Judge Tarek Bitar—the last credible investigative judge on the case—forcing the suspension of the probe and shielding from justice the ministers, MPs, and security chiefs implicated in the crime. All of this occurred in full view of a cowardly Lebanese state, whose political class, judiciary, army, and security services have bowed in fear or complicity to Hezbollah’s criminal authority.
For five years, not one perpetrator has been tried. Not one has been jailed. Not one has been hanged. The Lebanese judiciary has become a tool of political paralysis and moral bankruptcy, unable—or unwilling—to deliver justice to the victims and their families. The Lebanese authorities, through their silence and inaction, have become accomplices in the cover-up of this mass murder.
Today, August 4, the families of the victims will gather once again in the streets of Beirut—not to commemorate, but to demand. They demand justice, truth, and accountability. They demand that the criminals be named, tried, and punished. Their tears, their pain, their courage must not go unanswered.
Let it be clear: the Beirut Port explosion was not a tragic accident. It was a premeditated terrorist act—a massacre of innocent civilians facilitated by the cowardice of the Lebanese authorities and executed under the command of Hezbollah, the Iranian regime’s militant arm in Lebanon.
There can be no future for Lebanon without justice. No reform, no sovereignty, no peace—unless those who murdered the people of Beirut are held to account in full, with no deals, no amnesties, and no delay.
Lebanon will rise only when the truth prevails, when justice is served, and when the criminals are finally put behind bars—or better yet, brought to the gallows.

On the Anniversary of Hezbollah’s Terrorist Assassination of Elias Al-Hasrouni: A Crime That Time Will Not Erase
Elias Bejjani/August 02/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/145874/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubjDYs2HE2U&t=60s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TidGqbBZAU&t=9s
The Blood of Elias Al-Hasrouni (Al-Hantoush) Exposes Hezbollah’s Crime and Betrayal of the South
On this day in 2023, the hand of treachery struck again. The hand of darkness, of jihadist terrorism, of Iran’s proxy militia Hezbollah, reached deep into the heart of southern Lebanon — into the steadfast town of Ain Ebel — and assassinated one of its most devoted sons, Elias Al-Hasrouni, known affectionately as “Al-Hantoush.” They tried to pass off the murder as a car accident, but God, truth, and technology exposed them. Surveillance cameras recorded the crime and unmasked the killers. The lie fell. Once again, Hezbollah was caught in its own web of deceit. From that moment on, Hezbollah moved to suppress justice — threatening the victim’s family, silencing questions, and blocking the investigation entirely. Shockingly, official investigators told Al-Hasrouni’s family that there would be no investigation, simply because the “Party” does not allow it. What kind of country is this, where justice requires Hezbollah’s permission?
Elias Al-Hasrouni: The Voice of a Free South
Elias Al-Hasrouni was not a random victim — he was a target. He was a man who stood for the Lebanese state, not the state-within-a-state. A believer in peace, not war. In coexistence, not sectarianism. In a Lebanese south, not an Iranian satellite. In Ain Ebel, he was a beloved figure — selfless, compassionate, and committed to serving his people. He worked tirelessly to promote coexistence between communities, and he stood as a proud and active member of the Lebanese Forces, a party deeply rooted in the struggle for Lebanon’s sovereignty. He carried no weapon — only conviction. He spread no hatred — only hope. And that is why they killed him.
A Bloodstained Record: Hezbollah’s Trail of Crimes
The assassination of Elias Al-Hasrouni is not an isolated incident — it is part of a long and bloody history of violence by Hezbollah:
The May 7, 2008 invasion of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, aimed at crushing political opponents.
The assassination of photojournalist Joe Bejjani, who had captured footage of the Beirut Port blast.
The deliberate obstruction of the Beirut Port investigation, with judges intimidated and replaced.
The murder of MP Gebran Tueni and his fellow journalists at An-Nahar newspaper.
The assassination of Rafik Hariri, and the cover-up that followed.
The execution-style killing of Lokman Slim, a Shiite intellectual who dared to say “No.”
The dozens — if not hundreds — of other assassinations of journalists, politicians, and activists.
Hezbollah does not know dialogue — only bullets. It does not believe in democracy — only obedience to Iran. It is not a resistance — it is a criminal enterprise.
Hezbollah: Iran’s Terror Armed Proxy in Lebanon
It is no longer a secret that Hezbollah is not a Lebanese party. It is an Iranian military wing, a direct extension of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It does not take orders from Beirut, but from Tehran and Qom. It claims to defend Lebanon, but it destroys it. It claims to protect dignity, but it murders the dignified. It claims to resist the enemy, but it occupies the homeland. There can be no salvation for Lebanon as long as this armed, sectarian, foreign-controlled militia is allowed to operate with impunity.
No Lebanon Without Disarmament and Justice
Lebanon cannot rise unless Hezbollah is disarmed, its leadership arrested and tried, and its military and security infrastructure dismantled, in accordance with international resolutions:
UNSCR 1559 (calling for disarmament of militias),
UNSCR 1701 (enforcing the cessation of hostilities and deployment of the Lebanese Army in the south),
UNSCR 1680, and The Ceasefire Agreement that Hezbollah violates daily.
A sovereign, free, and peaceful Lebanon cannot coexist with a private army that answers to foreign rulers.
In Conclusion
On the anniversary of Elias Al-Hasrouni’s martyrdom, we bow our heads in reverence before his sacred blood. We vow that his memory will not fade, and that his cause will live on — not just in the hearts of the people of Ain Ebel, but in every Lebanese soul that still believes in justice, in truth, in freedom.
O martyr of free Lebanon and of sovereign politics, O hero Elias Al-Hasrouni – Al-Hantoush, your voice still echoes through Ain Ebel, the South, and all of Lebanon, crying out: No to Iran, no to the terrorist Hezbollah, no to crime — and yes to justice and to Lebanon.

Video link to an interview with engineer Alfred Madi, head of the "Other Opinion" Movement.
Episode's main titles: Leadership is taken, not given – The only viable solution is to place Lebanon under Chapter VII, since current leaders live in denial, are incompetent, and unwilling to take responsibility.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/145939/
August 04/2025
The interview was conducted by journalist Antoine Saadeh as part of the show "Kalem Ywassel", aired on VTV, Akhbar El Balad, and Sawt Kol Lebanon.
Key takeaways from the interview with engineer Alfred Madi
*Hezbollah’s weapons will be confiscated—either by the army, voluntarily by the party, or by Netanyahu. Its role is over.
The vast differences between Bachir the leader and our current leaders, who lack even the ABCs of true leadership.
*An assessment of President Joseph Aoun’s performance and the conduct of his presidential advisors.
*Commentary on the appointment of the Financial Prosecutor and the alleged deal between the Kataeb Party and Nabih Berri.
*Parallels between the cases of the North Governor and the Casino du Liban.
*The North Governor was arrested but was held accountable.
*Casino du Liban officials were imprisoned without clear charges.*Hezbollah’s weapons haven’t even protected its own leaders.
*The Lebanese Army has only ever used force against Christians.
*The majority of Christians, Druze, and Sunnis, and at least half of the Shiites, oppose Hezbollah and its weapons. Accordingly no civil war
*Hezbollah isn’t strong — it’s those opposing it who are weak.
*If Mahmoud Qomati knows where the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb weapons are stored, he should inform the Army so they can seize them.
*Hafez al-Assad entered Lebanon based on Israeli conditions.
*Some recollections with President Amine Gemayel and the U.S. withdrawal from Lebanon.
NB/Transcription and headline drafting by Elias Bejjani with complete freedom

Who is Ali Suleiman Abu Abbas, the target of the Israeli airstrike on Khiam?
South/August 4, 2025
Israeli aircraft launched a drone strike on a civilian car in the eastern neighborhood of the southern Lebanese city of Khiam on Monday, killing one person and wounding four others, including children. The Ministry of Health said in an official statement that the final toll from the strike was "one martyr and four wounded." Al-Akhbar newspaper also reported that two children sustained varying degrees of injuries and were immediately transferred with the others to the government hospital in Marjayoun for treatment. Al-Arabiya reported that the strike killed a Hezbollah member who was inside the targeted car in the town, while nearby homes and shops were damaged. Pro-Hezbollah pages reported that "the martyr of the Israeli drone strike on Khiam is Ali Suleiman Abu Abbas." This attack comes amid continued Israeli violations of the southern Lebanese border in recent weeks, with the occupation forces recently intensifying their raids, targeting sites believed to be affiliated with Hezbollah or the movements of its members. Israel claims to be assassinating Hezbollah military officials and says it is also targeting missile and drone depots.

Lebanon president promises justice 5 years after Beirut port blast
AFP/August 04, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday vowed that “justice is coming,” five years after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port for which nobody has been held to account. The blast on August 4, 2020 was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions, devastating swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500. The explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials. Aoun said that the Lebanese state “is committed to uncovering the whole truth, no matter the obstacles or how high the positions” involved. “The law applies to all, without exception,” Aoun said in a statement. Monday has been declared a day of national mourning, and rallies demanding justice are planned later in the day, converging on the port. “The blood of your loved ones will not be in vain,” the president told victims’ families, adding: “Justice is coming, accountability is coming.”After more than a two-year impasse following political and judicial obstruction, investigating judge Tarek Bitar has finished questioning defendants and suspects, a judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Bitar is waiting for some procedures to be completed and for a response to requests last month to several Arab and European countries for “information on specific incidents,” the official added, without elaborating. The judge will then finalize the investigation and refer the file to the public prosecution for its opinion before he issues an indictment decision, the official said. President Aoun said that “we are working with all available means to ensure the investigations are completed with transparency and integrity.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a former International Court of Justice judge, said on Sunday that knowing the truth and ensuring accountability were national issues, decrying decades of official impunity. Bitar resumed his inquiry after Aoun and Salam took office this year pledging to uphold judicial independence, after the balance of power shifted following a devastating war between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.Bitar’s probe stalled after the Iran-backed group, long a dominant force in Lebanese politics but weakened by the latest war, had accused him of bias and demanded his removal. Mariana Fodoulian from the association of victims’ families said that “for five years, officials have been trying to evade accountability, always thinking they are above the law.”“We’re not asking for anything more than the truth,” she told AFP.“We won’t stop until we get comprehensive justice.”On Sunday, Culture Minister Ghassan Salame said the port’s gutted and partially collapsed wheat silos would be included on a list of historic buildings. Victims’ families have long demanded their preservation as a memorial of the catastrophe.

Tuesday's cabinet session: Latest developments
Naharnet/August 04/2025
The country’s political forces are holding intensive contacts ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet session that will discuss the thorny issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, amid an inclination toward consensus, with some media reports suggesting that no final decision would be taken in the session and that discussions would continue in another session on Thursday. President Joseph Aoun is keen that the final format be acceptable to all political forces, media reports said, adding that the Lebanese Forces ministers will present a proposal that does not seem to be acceptable to the other political forces.
Speaker Nabih Berri, who has asked the Shiite Duo ministers to attend the session and take part in discussions, is meanwhile refusing to give a final stance on any proposal before the ministers look into it in Tuesday’s session, the reports said. The reports added that there is major coordination between Aoun and Berri out of their desire to “prevent any domestic political clash that would torpedo cabinet sessions.”“The U.S. response to the Lebanese paper contained minor amendments, but it mentioned the need for Lebanon to take the first step in the issue of arms monopolization, something considered by Hezbollah to be against the Ministerial Statement, which mentions the ceasefire, Israel withdrawal and addressing the issue of arms,” the reports said. “That’s why Hezbollah will announce its adherence to the content of the Ministerial Statement and will demand its full implementation,” the reports added.

Marking port blast anniversary, US urges 'justice for victims, not protections for elites'
Naharnet/August 04/2025
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Monday said Washington stands with the people of Lebanon in “their call for accountability” in the Beirut port blast case.“Lebanon deserves an independent and impartial judicial system that delivers justice for the victims, not protections for the elites,” the Embassy said in a post on X marking five years since the tragedy. “The United States remains committed to a sovereign, stable, and prosperous Lebanon shaped by its people -- not outside forces,” :it added.

Five years later, justice delayed: Beirut blast indictment held up by legal battles and political roadblocks
LBCI/August 04/2025
On the fifth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion, the indictment in the case has yet to be issued. However, in 2025, the investigating judge, Tarek Bitar, resumed judicial procedures in January by indicting ten military and civilian officials and scheduling interrogation sessions, following a period of political obstruction that stalled the investigation. Despite Judge Bitar resuming work and completing more than 90% of the investigation amid changing political circumstances, the indictment has not been issued and may require additional time due to three main factors. First, Judge Bitar is still awaiting responses to international requests for judicial assistance sent to six countries. These requests are crucial to the investigation’s progress but have been delayed due to a lack of cooperation from the public prosecutor’s office in the previous period. The second point concerns 42 lawsuits filed against Judge Bitar, including motions for his recusal and allegations of abuse of power, according to a count by Annahar newspaper. Sources say Bitar can issue the indictment regardless of these lawsuits, but there are concerns this could disrupt accountability before the special court and halt the trial. Therefore, sources suggest it is better for Bitar to wait until the lawsuits are resolved, especially since judicial bodies, including the Court of Cassation, have been formed and are competent to decide on these cases. Resolving the lawsuits before issuing the indictment would allow Bitar to proceed without legal obstacles. Third, even if Bitar closes the investigation without waiting for replies to the international requests or rulings on the lawsuits against him, the file will be referred to the public prosecutor’s office to provide its opinion on the facts and responsibilities, which also requires time. Based on this, relevant courts are urged to expedite resolving the lawsuits against Judge Bitar to help uncover the truth and ensure accountability in the catastrophic explosion case.

HRW and Amnesty say road to justice in port case 'remains littered with challenges'
Agence France Presse/August 04/2025
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a joint statement on Monday that "despite the resumption of the investigation" into the 2020 Beirut port blast, "the road to justice remains littered with political and legal challenges."The statement marks the fifth anniversary of the devastating explosion, which killed more than 220 people and wounded over 6,000 others. Mariana Fodoulian from the association of victims' families meanwhile said that "for five years, officials have been trying to evade accountability, always thinking they are above the law.""We're not asking for anything more than the truth," she told AFP. "We won't stop until we get comprehensive justice," she added.

Moment of silence held at 6:07 PM to mark Beirut Port explosion anniversary
LBCI/August 04/2025
Lebanese citizens observed a minute of silence at 6:07 PM on Monday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion, which devastated the capital on August 4, 2020.

State Security marks Beirut Port explosion anniversary
LBCI/August 04/2025
On the anniversary of the August 4 Beirut Port explosion, the General Directorate of State Security posted on X: "We remember our victims, both military and civilian, and we remain committed to protecting the homeland above all pain."

Israeli artillery shells areas in Bint Jbeil district
LBCI/August 04/2025
The Israeli army shelled areas between the towns of Maroun El Ras and Yaroun in the Bint Jbeil district, according to the National News Agency. The report added that Israeli forces also fired artillery and sound bombs toward the towns of Rmaich and Aita al-Shaab.

Lebanon’s First Lady visits Red Cross blood center on Beirut Port explosion anniversary
LBCI/August 04/2025
On the fifth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion, Lebanon’s First Lady Neemat Aoun visited the Lebanese Red Cross blood center in Gemmayze, which was severely damaged in the 2020 blast. She was received by Red Cross President and senior officials from the blood transfusion sector. The team briefed her on the extent of the damage and the rapid reconstruction efforts that allowed the center to resume operations in record time. First Lady Aoun praised the dedication of the medics and staff, commending their role in restoring the center and continuing to serve all residents of Lebanon without discrimination. She also emphasized the importance of supporting blood banks nationwide and encouraged the development of a national plan to maintain sufficient reserves for emergencies.

Samy Gemayel calls for justice and state sovereignty on Beirut Port explosion anniversary
LBCI/August 04/2025
The Kataeb Party commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion by honoring its late Secretary-General Nazar Najarian and all those who were killed in the blast. Kataeb leader MP Samy Gemayel said the pain remains: “We are still mourning our beloved brothers and comrades, and we are entrusted with carrying forward the path of justice.”He stressed that such a devastating explosion could not have occurred under a fully functioning state. “Our goal is for this tragedy—and the latest war—to mark the end of Lebanese sorrow,” he said. Gemayel called on President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to recognize the gravity of the current moment: “People expect them to lead Lebanon out of lawlessness, impunity, and militia rule, and toward a state governed by the rule of law, where the judiciary performs its duty and no weapons exist outside state authority.”Addressing the issue of Hezbollah's arsenal, Gemayel said, “Those rejecting the handover of weapons today are doing so under the pretext of protection, but the real protection lies in building the state.”He described Tuesday’s upcoming cabinet session as “historic,” urging the government to make a decisive move toward restricting weapons to the state alone—not to appease external actors, but as a necessary step to building a real state.

EU says ending impunity essential for Lebanon's recovery
Naharnet/August 04/2025
On the fifth anniversary of the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut on 4 August 2020, the European Union and its Member States have reiterated their solidarity with the families of the victims and with those whose lives, homes, and livelihoods were tragically impacted by the explosion. “We welcome the steps taken in recent months that have enabled progress in the investigation, in line with the Cabinet’s ministerial statement. We call upon the relevant authorities to make sure the conditions are in place so the investigation can be concluded in a thorough, impartial, and transparent way, so the families of the victims and the Lebanese people may receive the justice and accountability they deserve,” the EU and its Member States said in a statement. “Ending impunity is essential for Lebanon’s recovery, and this requires an independent and empowered judiciary free from political interference. We hope that the Law on the Independence of the Judiciary that has just been adopted, will achieve that objective,” they added. The European Union and its Member States also affirmed that they “continue to stand by Lebanon and its people and to support its stability, sovereignty, and quest for peace and development.”

A father's grief and a nation's hope: Lebanon awaits justice 5 years after Beirut blast
Naharnet/August 04/2025
George Bezdjian remembers searching for his daughter, Jessica, after a massive explosion at Beirut's port five years ago. He found her at the St. Georges Hospital where she worked as a nurse. The hospital was in the path of the blast and was heavily damaged. He found his daughter lying on the floor as her colleagues tried to revive her. They weren't able to save her. She was one of four medical staff killed there. "I started telling God that living for 60 years is more than enough. If you're going to take someone from the family, take me and leave her alive," he told The Associated Press from his home in Bsalim, some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from the port. He sat in a corner where he put up portraits of Jessica next to burning incense to honor her. "I begged him, but he didn't reply to me."
The Aug. 4, 2020 blast in Beirut's port tore through the Lebanese capital after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse. The gigantic explosion killed at least 218 people, according to an AP count, wounded more than 6,000 others and devastated large swathes of Beirut, causing billions of dollars in damages. It further angered the nation, already in economic free-fall after decades of corruption and financial crimes. Many family members of the victims pinned their hopes on Judge Tarek Bitar, who was tasked with investigating the explosion. The maverick judge shook the country's ruling elite, pursuing top officials, who for years obstructed his investigation. But five years after the blast, no official has been convicted as the probe stalled. And the widespread rage over the explosion and years of apparent negligence from a web of political, security and judicial officials has faded as Lebanon's economy further crumbled and conflict rocked the country.Judge Bitar had aimed to release the indictment last year but it was stalled by months of war between Israel and Hezbollah that decimated large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, killing some 4,000 people.
In early 2025, Lebanon elected President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a Cabinet that came to power on reformist platforms. They vowed that completing the port probe and holding the perpetrators to account would be a priority.
"There will be no settlement in the port case before there is accountability," Salam said Sunday. Bitar, apparently galvanized by these developments, summoned a handful of senior political and security officials in July, as well as three judges in a new push for the case, but was unable to release an indictment over the summer as had been widely expected.
However, the judge has been working on an additional phase of his investigation — now some 1,200 pages in length — aiming for the indictment to be out by the end of the year, according to four judicial officials and two security officials. They all spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Before completing his own report, he is waiting to receive a fourth and final report from France, which has conducted its own probe into the blast given that several of those killed are citizens of the European country. Bitar since 2021 had received three technical reports, while the fourth will be the French investigation's conclusion, which also looks at the cause of the explosion, the officials added.
Bitar is also looking to hear the testimonies of some 15 witnesses, and is reaching out to European and Arab countries for legal cooperation, the officials said. He hopes that some European suspects can be questioned about the shipment of ammonium nitrate and the vessel carrying them that ended up in the Beirut Port. Despite the malaise across much of the troubled country, Kayan Tlais, brother of port supervisor Mohammad Tlais who was killed in the blast, is hopeful that the indictment will see the light of day. He says he's encouraged by Bitar's tenacity and Lebanon's new leadership. "We do have judges with integrity," he said. "The president, prime minister, and all those who came and were voted in do give us hope … they are all the right people in the right place."The port and the surrounding Beirut neighborhoods that were leveled in the deadly blast appear functional again, but there are still scars. The most visible are what's left standing of the mammoth grain silos at the port, which withstood the force of the blast but later partly collapsed in 2022 after a series of fires. Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh Sunday classified them as historical monuments.
There was no centralized effort by the cash-strapped Lebanese government to rebuild the surrounding neighborhoods. An initiative by the World Bank, Europe and United Nations to fund recovery projects was slow to kick off, while larger reconstruction projects were contingent on reforms that never came. Many family and business owners fixed their damaged property out of pocket or reached out to charities and grassroots initiatives.
A 2022 survey by the Beirut Urban Lab, a research center at the American University of Beirut, found that 60% to 80% of apartments and businesses damaged in the blast had been repaired. "This was a reconstruction primarily driven by nonprofits and funded by diaspora streams," said Mona Harb, a professor of urban studies and politics at AUB and co-founder of the research center. But regardless of how much of the city is rebuilt and through what means, Aug. 4 will always be a "dark day of sadness," says Bezdjian. All that matters to him is the indictment and to find who the perpetrators are. He tries to stay calm, but struggles to control how he feels. "We will do to them what every mother and father would do if someone killed their child, and if they knew who killed their son or daughter," he said. "What do you think they would do?"

UN special coordinator says progress in port case 'necessary and long overdue'
Naharnet/August 04/2025
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Monday said progress in the port blast case is “both necessary and long overdue.”“Five years have passed since the explosion at the Beirut Port shattered lives and neighborhoods and shocked the world. The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, today expressed solidarity with all those affected by the blast, many of whom continue to bravely pursue justice,” her office said in a statement. Following a meeting with families of several victims last week, the Special Coordinator stressed that “progress in judicial proceedings is both necessary and long overdue.”She stated, “Five years on, tragedy and pain are compounded by the glaring absence of justice. Survivors and victims, and their families, deserve full accountability. And, they deserve it now.”Hennis-Plasschaert, while welcoming recent momentum in the investigation, alongside “positive steps towards the strengthening of State institutions,” underscored the need for the Government to take all necessary action to expedite progress in judicial proceedings related to the explosion.She also congratulated the Lebanese Parliament on the recent adoption of the Judicial Independence Law, hailing it as “an important contribution to the rebuilding of trust between the Lebanese people and the institutions built to serve them.”

Lebanese state and Hezbollah face their most difficult hour
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat./August 04, 2025
Can Lebanon become a normal state again, one that makes decisions through state institutions and that respects its commitments in line with international laws? Can Hezbollah acknowledge that the “Axis of Resistance” is no more, and that it has no choice but to return to Lebanon and close the chapter of the “regional player?” Can the party agree to a lesser role for Lebanon if Iran agrees to a lesser role in the region in recognition of the new balance of power? It does not take a genius to recognize that the situation in Lebanon has not changed, even though the features of this new reality have yet to be fully formed. Joseph Aoun was sworn in as president with Arab and international backing and under the slogan of reclaiming the state with all of its institutions. Nawaf Salam was named prime minister with the same goals.
However, it was evident that Lebanon would not enjoy regional and international support for its reconstruction unless the decisions that are carried out in the south are restored to the state alone.
I recalled what an Arab politician once told me. He said the Axis of Resistance was based on three pillars: The first was Gen. Qassem Soleimani, with his unique position in the Iranian supreme leader’s circle and role in exporting the revolution that is enshrined in the Iranian constitution.The second was Hassan Nasrallah, who was Soleimani’s partner in building the axis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. The third was Syria, which acted as the supply route for arms, “advisers,” and funds from Tehran to Beirut passing through Iraq.
What is left of Hezbollah’s regional role now that Soleimani and Nasrallah are dead, and the Syrian “bridge” has been severed with the ousting of former leader Bashar Assad?
The politician said Hezbollah is undoubtedly going through the most difficult phase since its establishment in the wake of the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982. Nasrallah and Soleimani are no more, and the Syrian Arab Republic President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has not forgotten what the pair did to keep Assad’s regime alive. Tehran has suffered from Israeli jets breaching its skies. There is no doubt that Hezbollah fought fiercely, but there can be no denying Israel’s superiority and how it succeeded in eliminating the pillars of the axis.
This reality prompted Aoun to dare to declare the facts as they are after he realized that Lebanon was at risk of more Israeli violations and that it would not get out from under the rubble without paying a price — Hezbollah and its weapons. So, he openly declared what his predecessors had avoided saying explicitly: The possession of weapons should be restricted to the army and Hezbollah must disarm.
Hezbollah is obviously having a hard time accepting this demand, which is effectively calling on it to abandon its regional exploits and become a local party that does not monopolize the decision of war and peace and has no military arsenal. In other words, it no longer has the right to name presidents and veto any Lebanese decisions that do not align with its regional vision. In early summer 2004, I held a meeting with Assad, with discussions focusing on the US invasion of Iraq and its impact on the region. I had to ask about Lebanon, where Syrian troops were deployed throughout its territories and where Syria held sway over its decisions. The country was then ruled by President Emile Lahoud. Assad said that his term would end in the fall. I asked him about the rumors that the term would be extended, to which he replied: “Wasn’t the extension of Elias Hrawi’s term costly?” I agreed, and Assad added: “Don’t you think Lahoud’s extension will be even more costly?” And I had to agree.
Assad revealed that he had a list of possible presidential candidates, including Jean Obeid, whom he said was skilled at politics, but would be no match for Rafik Hariri. Asked who his preferred candidate was, he tried to imply that the Lebanese themselves would decide in the end. I told him that I was not some ignorant stranger and that I knew how things worked in Lebanon. At my insistence, Assad told me he favored Suleiman Frangieh, whom he praised. Will Hezbollah assume the responsibility for the isolation that will befall Lebanon if it insists on hanging on to its arsenal?
In the end, Lahoud’s term was extended and Frangieh was ruled out as a candidate, perhaps because he was a family friend of the Assads. I returned to Syria that fall and asked Assad what prompted the extension, to which he replied that a “friend” advised him that Frangieh needed to forge more foreign relations, especially in the region. Frangieh would later reveal to me that the “friend” was none other than Nasrallah, who urged Assad to extend Lahoud’s term, a decision that would be costly for Syria after Hariri’s assassination.
Hezbollah made presidents and governments in Lebanon. It kept the presidential palace vacant for two-and-half years so that it would be able to elect Michel Aoun as president, putting him at odds with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri from day one of his term.
Can a party that used to change Assad’s decisions and that sent advisers to Yemen and Iraq return to the Lebanese map without its rockets? Will the party assume the responsibility for the isolation that will befall Lebanon if it insists on hanging on to its arsenal or if it sparks a new Israeli war on Lebanon?
The party has lost its strong leader, its influence in Syria, and its ability to fight Israel, so what role does its arsenal have left to play? Can it take the decision to lay down its arms?

Lebanon At A Crossroads, Between Sovereignty And Continued Control By Hizbullah And Its Weapons
By N. Mozes/MEMRI/August 04/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/145946/
Introduction
On August 5, 2025, the Lebanese government is expected to convene for a session on the issue of disarming Hizbullah. This will be the second discussion on the matter since the government’s establishment on February 8, after the first discussion, in April, yielded no results.[1]
The upcoming session takes place as Lebanon once again faces a crucial juncture in its history, fifty years after the outbreak of civil war: will it extricate itself from the grip of Hizbullah and Iran and embark on a new path – that of a sovereign state, free from the control of sectarian militias loyal to another state? Or will it once more miss the opportunity and allow Hizbullah to maintain its status as a state-within-a-state, while retaining its weapons and using them to impose its will and the will of its patron Iran on the Lebanese state?
Disarming the terror organization Hizbullah is the primary challenge now facing Lebanon, alongside the rebuilding of the country and its economy. On the face of it, this task should be easier today, after the organization has lost much of its power, both inside Lebanon and outside it, as a result of the war with Israel. Within Lebanon, most of its top command has been eliminated, starting with its previous secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who brought Hizbullah to its present standing in Lebanon and abroad. The organization has also lost numerous fighters and weapons, its prestige has waned, and it has lost support even among its own base. Hizbulah’s political clout has waned as well, following the election of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, figures who are not part of the resistance camp. In addition, it seems that the barrier of fear surrounding the organization in Lebanon has been breached, and today more and more voices are challenging the legitimacy of its weapons and its presence as a military force, and there are increasing calls to prosecute its operatives who were involved in crimes against Lebanese citizens.
On the regional level, too, Hizbullah has lost many of its sources of power, starting with the resistance axis itself, headed by its patron Iran, which sustained severe blows in the war. Moreover, the conception advanced by this axis, of “the unity of the fronts” in fighting Israel, has collapsed. Iran itself sustained severe blows during its 12-day war with Israel and later also with the U.S. Although the Iranian regime did not fall, it lost many of its commanders and its military capabilities; furthermore, the war worsened the economic crisis in the country, which will no doubt detract from Iran’s ability to fund the terrorist organizations it sponsors.
That said, even today Hizbullah must not be underestimated – neither in terms of its weapons and fighters nor in terms of the popular support it enjoys. Despite the blows it has suffered, it remains a significant and dangerous force, particularly inside Lebanon. It is now working to rebuild its military might, in direct contravention of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which was signed with the mediation and approval of the organization’s ally, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and with the consent of the organization itself.[2]
In fact, Hizbullah began to undermine the ceasefire agreement immediately after it was signed, by claiming that it does not demand its complete disarmament but applies only to South Lebanon. In actuality, the agreement calls for the armed forces to dismantle unauthorized military infrastructures and positions and seize unauthorized weapons “starting with the southern Litani area.”[3] In other words, the agreement implies that this activity should begin with South Lebanon but also continue beyond this region.
In an attempt to justify its position, Hizbullah claims that its weapons are vital to the country’s security and defense, and calls for dialogue about Lebanon’s “national defense strategy.” Moreover, it has defined the general outlines of this dialogue in advance by declaring that its weapons must remain a central part of it. Furthermore, despite its claims that its weapons are directed only at external enemies, Hizbullah directs accusation of treason at any Lebanese who calls to disarm it and threatens to “sever the hand” of anyone who dares to do so – thus validating its opponents’ claims that it weapons are also directed at its rivals at home. The organization is also exploiting the events in Syria – namely the attacks by elements affiliated with the new regime, headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, on concentrations of minorities, as well as the Israeli attacks in Syria – to justify retaining its weapons.
The organization’s opponents, for their part, are trying to leverage Hizbullah’s relative weakness and the American, European and Gulf support for disarming it, and are therefore sharpening their tone against it. They are urging the state and the president to meet their obligation to dismantle the organization’s military framework, as required by international resolutions and the ceasefire agreement, and recently there have even been calls to outlaw Hizbullah.
Caught in the middle are Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun, who assumed their roles after the ceasefire agreement with Israel and face tremendous pressure – from both inside and outside the country – to accomplish a series of goals: extricate Lebanon from the financial crisis that threatens to bring it to the brink of bankruptcy; rehabilitate it following the war; and extend the state’s sovereignty over all its territory. The president and prime minister have both declared their commitment to fully implement the ceasefire agreement and the UN Security Council resolutions that explicitly call to disarm Hizbullah. President Aoun is apparently the one leading this effort, for he has declared on numerous occasions that he intends to achieve this objective, albeit by means of dialogue and not by force. However, this dialogue has yet to begin, and if it does begin, it may enable Hizbullah to buy time to rebuild itself and threaten its opponents, as it is already doing.
It should be stressed that the longer the government and the president delay in dealing with the issue of Hizbullah’s disarmament, the more difficult this task will become, due to the organization’s efforts to recover and regain its political and military power, and the likelihood that global attention, which at present is still focused to some extent on Lebanon and this issue, will gradually wane.
The challenge now rests with Lebanon and Israel, as well as the U.S. and France, which are guarantors of the agreement: will they manage to leverage the shift in the regional power balance to force Hizbullah to disarm – a task they did not manage to accomplish after the war between Hizbullah and Israel in 2006? As of this writing, and despite its relatively strong position, the first to back down was actually the U.S. In late June 2025, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack proposed a softer approach to Hizbullah and its weapons, an approach that essentially adopts the French position, which distinguishes between Hizbullah’s political and military wings. Barrack also stressed that disarming Hizbullah was an internal matter to be decided by the Lebanese state, and that the U.S. had no intention of interfering in it. Furthermore, the roadmap he proposed to Lebanese officials focused on Hizbullah surrendering only its heavy weapons.[4]
This report reviews the positions of the various elements in Lebanon on the issue of Hizbullah’s disarmament.
Hizbullah’s Position: Retaining Its Arms And Minimizing The Ceasefire Agreement While Threatening UNIFIL And Opponents At Home
Although Hizbullah sustained painful blows during its year of fighting against Israel, it was not vanquished. It retains its weapons and threatens to use them against Israel again, if necessary. The ceasefire provides it with an opportunity to refurbish its image and standing within Lebanon and to rebuild its military wing, which is “the essence of Hizbullah,” according to Mahmoud Qamati, member of the organization’s Political Council.[5]
It should be stressed that the ceasefire agreement is essentially a road map for disarming Hizbullah,[6] and that the organization apparently never intended to fully comply with it. At present it is trying to prevent the implementation of its main part, namely the disarmament, without being seen as violating the agreement. To this end, since signing the agreement it has been implementing it only partially, while reinterpreting it unilaterally to suit its interests. In fact, the organization continues to follow the strategy it has adopted since its establishment: of placing responsibility for its actions on the state and hiding behind the state when convenient, while threatening its opponents at home. Currently, Hizbullah is demanding that the state repair the damage caused by the war it started without the state’s consent, and also expects the state to protect it from Israeli attacks, which are intended to prevent Hizbullah from violating the ceasefire agreement it agreed to.
Hizbullah: We Will Hold On To Our Weapons; The Ceasefire Agreement Applies Only To The Area South Of The Litani
Immediately after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, Hizbullah clarified that it would retain its weapons and began to undermine the agreement by seeking to redefine its geographical scope. It claims that the agreement applies only to the area south of the Litani and that the fate of its weapons beyond that area is an internal Lebanese matter to be determined through dialogue. In other words, according to Hizbullah, this issue is not part of the agreement and therefore is not within the purview of the international body charged with monitoring the agreement’s implementation, namely the International Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism (IMIM), led by the U.S. and including Israel, Lebanon, France and UNIFIL.
Furthermore, Hizbullah has declared its intention to rebuild its military wing, without government oversight. In a December 14, 2024 speech, Hizbullah Secretary-General Na’im Qassem asserted that the ceasefire agreement “applies only south of the Litani River. [It stipulates that] Israel must withdraw to its border with Lebanon and the Lebanese army must deploy as the sole [force] authorized to bear arms… The agreement has nothing to do with internal Lebanese affairs, [such as] the relationship between the resistance [i.e., Hizbullah] and the state and armed forces, and the existence of [Hizbullah’s] weapons.” Qassem admitted that, due to the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Hizbullah “has currently stopped [receiving] military supplies via Syria,” but stressed that this would not prevent it from rearming, saying: “The new [Syrian] regime may renew this [supply] route, otherwise we will look for alternative routes.”[7]
About six months later, in an interview with the Al-Mayadeen television channel that was shot on June 11 and broadcast about a month later, Qassem claimed that his organization was rebuilding itself, saying: “We are prepared. We are recovering and rehabilitating ourselves…”[8]
In addition, the organization insists on describing itself as “resistance,” which, according to its officials, is a principle accepted by the international community and anchored in UN Security Council resolutions. Accordingly, it argues that UN Security Council Resolutions 1680 and 1559, which are cited in Resolution 1701 and in the ceasefire agreement, do not apply to it because they refer to disarming the “armed militias” in Lebanon, and Hizbullah is not “a militia” but rather legitimate and accepted resistance force.
As for the discussions about its weapons, Hizbullah contends that they should be part of formulating Lebanon’s “national defense strategy,” and has recently even set terms regarding the timing and content of these discussions. It asserts that they must begin only after Israel withdraws from South Lebanon and ceases its military operations there, and after the state pledges to start repairing the damages caused by the war. In this manner the organization seeks to defuse the leverage of its rivals at home and abroad, who contend that Israel’s withdrawal and the rebuilding of Lebanon cannot happen before the organization surrenders its weapons.
Recently, Hizbullah toughened its position even further and set additional conditions for the start of the talks on this matter, in an attempt to postpone it for as long as possible. For instance, in a July 18 speech, Secretary-General Qassem said: “Today, Lebanon faces three real dangers. The first danger is Israel on its southern border, which threatens all of Lebanon and its future. The second danger is ISIS on its eastern border [i.e., in Syria]… The third danger is the tyranny of America, which seeks to control Lebanon and force its patronage upon it…” Qassem went on to say that only when these dangers are eliminated will it be possible to commence discussions on Lebanon’s national defense strategy.[9] In a speech he delivered on July 30, 2025, Qassem reiterated his outright rejection of the demand that Hizbullah disarm and confine itself to political activity. He asserted: “Our weapons [exist] to oppose Israel. They have nothing to do with Lebanon’s internal [affairs]. Our weapons are [a source of] strength for Lebanon. We say that we are willing to discuss how these weapons will be part of Lebanon’s strength, but we will not allow them to be handed over to Israel. Today, anyone who demands that the weapons be surrendered is in essence demanding that they be handed over to Israel… Don’t anybody play this game with us. We will never be among those who deliver weapons to Israel… Anyone who now demands that the weapons be surrendered – be he in Lebanon or abroad, an Arab or an international [figure] – is serving the Israeli plan…”[10]
As for the content of the discussions, Hizbullah views itself as a significant component of Lebanon’s defense strategy, alongside the armed forces. This is evident from remarks by Mahmoud Qamati, a member of Hizbullah’s Political Council, who stressed that the organization was prepared to discuss weapons only as part of talks about the country’s defense strategy, “which includes the resistance, alongside the Lebanese army, people and state.”[11]
Hizbullah Secretary-General Qassem even took it upon himself to outline the boundaries between the state’s powers and Hizbullah’s, saying: “We [agree] that the weapons should be only in the hands of the state. But which weapons? Those that protect the citizens, [Lebanon’s] internal security. The weapons of the resistance, on the other hand, are dedicated solely to confronting the Israeli enemy, and have nothing to do with internal [security]…”[12]
It Is The Responsibility Of The State To Force Israel To Meet Its Obligations; If It Fails, We Will Act
The heads of the organization repeatedly stress that the Lebanese state, which signed the ceasefire agreement with Israel, is also the one that must force Israel to implement it, and that the ability to do so is a test of the government’s competence. If it fails, they say, it will demonstrate the need for Hizbullah’s weapons, proving what has already been proved in the past: that Hizbullah is the only one that can force Israel to withdraw. The organization officials also emphasize that, if needed, Hizbullah will not hesitate to act against Israel just as it did in the past – namely without the state’s consent. In a June 28 speech, Qassem said: “…[The agreement] has created a new situation, headed ‘the responsibility of the state’… We have complied with the agreement in full… [and] now they tell us to ‘hand over the weapons’… Are we to dismantle our means of power, which frightened [Israel] and affected it, and compelled it to reach an agreement, while Israel is still in [our territory] and is not meeting all its obligations?… We are committed to the agreement while the Israelis are not. [Dealing with Israel’s] ongoing aggression and violations is the responsibility of the Lebanese state. The state must exert pressure and fulfill all its obligations… Do you think we will remain silent forever? No, there’s a limit to everything… We have only one choice… We will fulfill our obligation. We will remain in the field, and we will pray to Allah and trust Him to send us His angels and help us succeed. If not on the first day, then on the second or third. If not in the first month, then in the second or third. And if not at our hands, then at the hands of someone else. We always win, by attaining either victory or martyrdom.”[13]
Threats To Use Weapons Against Hizbullah’s Opponents: Any Hand That Reaches For Our Weapons Will Be Severed
Despite Qassem’s abovementioned claim, that Hizbullah’s weapons “are dedicated solely to confronting the Israeli enemy, and have nothing to do with internal [security],” the organization continues to use its weapons to threaten its rivals at home. For example, Qassem warned that “we will not let anyone take the weapons of Hizbullah or the resistance… The phrase ‘taking the weapons’ should be erased from the lexicon. We will not let anyone take the weapons of the resistance, which are its supporting pillar… [In fact,] we will confront anyone who harms the resistance and attempts to take its weapons… whether it is Israel, America or their proxies, just as we confronted Israel…”[14]
Hizbullah Political Council member Mahmoud Qamati went so far as to threaten President Aoun after the latter expressed hope that, in 2025, weapons would remain only in the hands of the state.[15] Qamati said that “the hand reaching for Hizbullah’s weapons will be severed.”[16] After his statements sparked a furor, Qamati refused to apologize and clarified that he had said them in response to the “provocative discourse in Lebanon.”[17]
Shi’ite mufti Ahmad Qabalan, who is close to Hizbullah, also warned: “Beware of playing with fire, because we… have nothing to lose… The fuse of civil war is in the hands of those who insist on besieging, punishing and strangling us and would even bury us alive if they could…”[18]
Action Against UNIFIL In South Lebanon Disguised As “Popular Resistance” By “Locals”
In the recent months, there were reports of several incidents in which South Lebanon “locals” intercepted UNIFIL patrols and prevented them from entering certain areas on the pretext that they were not escorted by the Lebanese army.[19] Hizbullah also used this method in the period before the recent war, when its operatives, disguised as locals, initiated confrontations with UNIFIL forces tasked with preventing the presence of armed Hizbullah fighters in South Lebanon. Among these incidents was the December 14, 2022 confrontation between “locals” and UNIFIL forces in which UNIFIL soldier Sean Rooney was killed and three others were wounded – all of them members of the organizations Irish peacekeeping force. Contrary to Hizbullah’s claims, these were not spontaneous local incidents but rather planned operations by its operatives.
Moreover, about a month after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, there were indications that Hizbullah was laying the groundwork for renewed military activity in South Lebanon in the guise of “popular resistance,” when two previously unknown groups appeared and declared they would undertake armed resistance against the IDF forces deployed there. Figures close to Hizbullah signaled their approval of these activities by stating that they understood “the anger of the locals” who “refuse to ignore” the activities of the IDF.[20] In light of this, Hizbullah may also conduct armed operations against UNIFIL, disguised as “popular resistance by locals,” and perhaps even target the Lebanese security forces, if they overstep the boundaries Hizbullah has drawn for them.
Lebanon’s President And Government Caught Between Their Good Intentions And Fear Of Confronting Hizbullah
For the first time in many years, Hizbullah faces a government and a president who do not accept its authority. One of the main issues on the agenda of the president and the government is Hizbullah’s future as a military force, i.e., the future of its weapons and its fighters. Regarding the former, the president, the prime minister and many of the government ministers have repeatedly stressed that the question isn’t whether Hizbullah will be disarmed, but only when and how this will happen. In his inaugural speech, President Aoun asserted “the right of the state to be the only body holding weapons, and to invest in its army so as to control its borders,” and stressed his determination to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity and implement the international resolutions.[21] The government, headed by Prime Minister Salam, pledged in its guidelines to implement the president’s statements regarding “the state’s obligation to be exclusively authorized to possess weapons.” Also, for the first time in years, these guidelines did not include the principle imposed by Hizbullah that proclaims “the army, the people and the resistance” to be the key components of Lebanon’s defense strategy and thereby legitimizes Hizbullah’s weapons.[22]
However, despite the decisive statements from the Lebanese heads of state, for more than six months after assuming office these leaders were seemingly apprehensive about confronting Hizbullah. They appeared to be handling the issue in a way that would allow them to claim, to audiences inside and outside the country, that they were acting to disarm Hizbullah, as required by the ceasefire agreement, but without reaching the point of a direct clash with the organization. President Aoun, who is leading the process vis-à-vis Hizbullah, stressed that he intended to do so through dialogue with it, so as to reach “solutions accepted by all Lebanese.”[23] In fact, he clarified his concerns about confronting Hizbullah, saying, “”We will deal with the issue in a responsible manner, for that is crucial to ensure the security of the public… Any intra-Lebanese dispute can only be resolved based on the rationale of reconciliation. We will implement the issue of confining the weapons [to the state], but we are waiting for the right circumstances to determine how this should be done.”[24] The president did not explain what these circumstances were, and his remarks imply that there is no deadline for implementing the process.
This impression is confirmed by the fact that, despite repeated calls from MPs and politicians, Aoun did not convene the Supreme Defense Council until May 2, some five months after assuming the presidency. When it finally convened its discussions focused not on Hizbullah but rather on the Palestinian weapons inside Lebanon, or, more precisely, on Hamas’s weapons.
In late July 2025, there seemed to be a shift in the stance of the president and the government, possibly as a result of internal and external pressure, and also due to Hizbullah’s increasingly harsh rhetoric regarding its weapons. For the first time in many months, Prime Minister Salam announced that the government session on August 5 would address the issue of Hizbullah’s arms. In a July 31 speech, just a few days before the session, President Aoun reiterated the call for Hizbullah to disarm, saying: “Out of loyalty to the fallen and their sacrifice… we must stop the deaths in this land and put an end to the destruction and suicide, especially when the wars have become futile and are prolonged for the benefit of others… We must seize this historic opportunity and emphasize without hesitation that the weapons must be only in the hands of the army and the security forces, throughout Lebanon’s territory. [This must happen] sooner rather than later, in order to restore the world’s confidence in us and in the state’s ability to maintain its security…
Referring to the roadmap presented to Lebanese officials by U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack, Aoun stated that it had undergone “significant changes” and would be presented to the government “to determine a timeline for its implementation.” According to him, Lebanon’s main demands from the envoy were for Israel to immediately cease its offensive activity in Lebanon, including the targeted attacks, withdraw beyond the internationally-recognized border and release the prisoners it is holding. On the domestic front, Aoun called for “extending state control over all of Lebanon’s territory and for all armed groups, including Hizbullah, to surrender their weapons to the Lebanese army.” On the international level, he called for the Lebanese armed forces to receive ten billion dollars in financial aid over ten years, for the convening of an international conference on Lebanon’s reconstruction, and for the demarcation of the Lebanon-Syria border, among other demands.
Aoun asserted that all these steps must be taken “simultaneously.” That is, he effectively rejected Hizbullah’s demand that the discussion about its weapons take place only Israel complies with the aforementioned demands. At the same time, he also implicitly dismissed the opposite demand made by the U.S. and Israel – that Hizbullah disarm before Israel takes these steps.
It should be emphasized that, despite these firm statements, particularly regarding Hizbullah’s weapons, President Aoun did not set a definite timetable for the disarmament of Hizbullah and the other militias. Nor did he address the mechanism by which this would be accomplished.
It remains to be seen whether Hizbullah will respond to this call, and what steps the government and President Aoun will take to ensure that the process actually takes place.
The Future Of Hizbullah’s Fighters
Alongside the debate about the future of Hizbullah’s weapons, there is also the question of its fighters. According to various estimates, the organization has several tens of thousands of skilled and trained men, many of whom have families to support, which means that dismantling Hizbullah’s military wing may create an economic and employment crisis among the organization’s members and support base.
Perhaps in an attempt to sweeten the pill and in a nod to Hizbullah, President Aoun suggested integrating its fighters into the Lebanese Armed Forces in accordance with their skills and the army’s needs. Reports in the Lebanese and Arab media suggest that other proposals have been floated as well, all of them allowing the organization’s fighters to continue operating in or alongside the Lebanese army and security forces. Some of these proposals even came from senior Hizbullah officials whose identity was not disclosed. Among the proposals are: replicating the model of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU); establishing a separate unit that will operate alongside the army, and forming a sort of civilian border guard unit that will operate under the army’s auspices. Significantly, all these ideas leave Hizbullah’s military organizational framework intact, or, at the very least, maintain the operational fitness of its fighters. It is also possible that these ideas were floated as trial balloons to gauge the reactions of the organization and its opponents at home and abroad.
Integrating Hizbullah’s Fighters Into Various Units Of The Lebanese Armed Forces
This idea was put forward by President Aoun when he described his favored option to the Qatari daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, ahead of his visit to Qatar in April 2025. He said that Hizbullah’s operatives “are ultimately Lebanese. [So] if they want to join the army, they can join recruitment courses, like the operatives of the Progressive Socialist Party [headed by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt] and the members of the [Christian] Lebanese Forces party [did after the civil war ended in 1990]. If they meet the conditions and requirements in terms of education, medical condition and age, they will be accepted. What applies to all Lebanese will also apply to the young men of Hizbullah. We have not discussed this with them, but this is my view. We will apply the [National] Defense Law to them and to others.”[25]
It should be noted that, although integrating Hizbullah’s fighters in the army as individuals and not as an organizational unit will indeed dismantle or at least weaken Hizbullah, it is also likely to affect the character and functioning of the Lebanese army. Absorbing thousands or even tens of thousands of Hizbullah fighters into the Lebanese army, which currently has about 80,000 servicemen, will completely alter its identity and operation, especially if they attain positions of command. Furthermore, Hizbullah opponents claim that its members are ideologically motivated and loyal first and foremost to the Ruling Jurisprudent, i.e., the Supreme Leader of Iran, and not to the Lebanese state. In other words, there is a possibility that they will function as a fifth column within the Lebanese army.
Replicating The PMU Model
According to Lebanese and Arab media, the idea of replicating the Iraqi PMU model was also floated, but was unequivocally rejected by both President Aoun and opponents of Hizbullah. The PMU was established in Iraq in 2014 – with the support and guidance of Iran and based on a fatwa by Iraqi Shi’ite leader Ali Al-Sistani – as an umbrella organization of numerous militias, most of them Shi’ite, officially tasked with fighting the Sunni jihad organization ISIS. In 2016, the Iraqi parliament passed a law making the PMU subordinate to the Irai prime minister and part of Iraq’s armed forces. But, despite this, its member militias are also permitted to operate independently. For the militias, this is an optimal situation: they and their weapons are sanctioned by the state and receive state funding as forces combatting ISIS, but they also maintain their independence. And as a matter of fact, most of these militias remain loyal to the Iranian regime, which maintains close and direct contact with them.
According to this model, Hizbullah could maintain its military organizational framework, even if officially subordinate to the president or the government and funded by the state. President Aoun is apparently leery of this idea because, when asked about it by the Qatari daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, he replied, “No, no way. No PMU and no independent unit within the army.”[26]
Establishing Independent Military Frameworks Attached To The Army
The third option, proposed even before the signing of the ceasefire agreement, involves establishing military frameworks for Hizbullah’s operatives that would be administratively attached to the army and operate under its command. One proposal was to reestablish the “Supporters of the Army” (Ansar Al-Jaysh), a force that existed in Lebanon in the 1970s and consisted of armed “civilians” who operated in the border villages of South Lebanon. They were paid by the army, and tasked with gathering intelligence, building fortifications and performing guard duty. This model is apparently being promoted by Hizbullah itself. The Al-Nahar daily quoted an unnamed Hizbullah official who praised the model, saying that these operatives enjoyed “great leeway” in operating against Israel.[27] Mahdi Akil, an expert on regional issues who publishes in the Al-Akhbar daily and on the Al-Mayadeen website, both of which are affiliated with Hizbullah, wrote about the need to establish “an auxiliary army” due to the quantitative and qualitative “weakness” of the Lebanese army, and in light of the great threat to posed by Israel to Lebanon. Akil claimed that the “Supporters of the Army” model could provide an appropriate solution to this problem.[28]
It should be mentioned that, prior to the ceasefire, elements close to Hizbullah raised similar proposals, aimed mainly at granting Hizbullah’s military wing official standing as a legitimate fighting force alongside the state security apparatuses. For instance, Arab media reported that associates of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is an ally of Hizbullah, suggested establishing a “South Brigade,” comprising 10,000 to 15,000 Hizbullah operatives, which would be responsible for security in South Lebanon. Another proposal was to cancel the position of Chief of Staff and replace it with a ‘joint headquarters’ of several military bodies, including a missile unit commanded by Hizbullah.’[29]
Position Of Hizbullah’s Opponents: Hizbullah Not Legitimate; No Room For Dialogue About Its Weapons; It Should Be Disarmed, By Force If Necessary
Conversely, there are growing voices in Lebanon – including within the government – calling to disarm Hizbullah completely and immediately, with no debate or dialogue. These voices also warn of Hizbullah attempts to evade implementing the ceasefire agreement and to rebuild itself. They reject the proposals to integrate Hizbullah into the Lebanese security forces, viewing this as a way for Hizbullah to retain its military power.
Among these voices are Hizbullah’s “traditional” opponents, including the Lebanese Forces party, headed by Samir Geagea; the Phalanges, or Kataeb Party, headed by Samy Gemayel, and the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi. Joining them are former senior politicians such as former Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, former prime minister Fouad Siniora and several Shi’ites who oppose Hizbullah, such as journalist Ali Al-Amin. Also in this camp are elements that were previously allied with Hizbullah but in the past year have joined its opponents, most prominently the Free Patriotic Movement party, led by Gebran Bassil.Dialogue Or Debate About Hizbullah Weapons Is A Waste Of Time
Hizbullah’s opponents reject its legitimacy as a military force and its demand to discuss its weapons as part of formulating a national defense strategy, viewing this as an attempt to buy time. For example, Ma’rouf Al-Da’ouq, a columnist for the Lebanese Al-Liwa daily, wrote: “Hizbullah is trying once again to drag the country into the trap of dialogue. This is a clear attempt to buy time, in hopes that there will be regional or international developments that will serve [Hizbullah’s] interests and ultimately enable it to retain its weapons with no restrictions…” Al-Da’ouq added that, based on past experience, Hizbullah will not hesitate to dodge its commitments before the ink is even dry.[30]
Hizbullah’s Weapons Do Not Protect Lebanon But Rather Cause It To Be Attacked
Hizbullah’s opponents stress that disarming it is an important condition for extending the state’s sovereignty over all its territory, and reject the organization\s claim that its weapons are vital to Lebanon’s national security, noting that these weapons are actually the reason for attacks by Israel, as demonstrated in the latest war. In his 2025 Easter sermon, Maronite Patriarch Al-Rahi said: “We are in complete agreement that weapons outside the framework of the state or its decisions endanger Lebanon’s interests for many reasons. The time has come for all of us to say that the state, the army and the official security forces are the ones [responsible for] defending Lebanon…”[31]
Lebanese MP Ghassan Hasbani, of the Lebanese Forces party, said that Hizbullah’s weapons do not defend Lebanon, but actually caused the war. He said to Al-Jadeed TV: “[In Lebanon] there are weapons that are not in the hands of the state… These weapons led to a very large attack by an enormous military power in the region… that no regional country can stop… The existence of Hizbullah’s weapons justifies these Israeli attacks…”[32] Independent MP Ibrahim Mneimneh said: “These weapons bring no benefit, and are used only for internal needs and threats. They have no legitimacy and should be immediately handed over to the state.”[33]
The Ceasefire Agreement Applies Throughout Lebanon; Hizbullah Must Be Disarmed Completely, Even By Force
Hizbullah’s opponents repeatedly stress that the ceasefire agreement applies to all parts of Lebanon and insist that the state must completely disarm the organization as part of this agreement, i.e., under international oversight. They contend that these weapons expose Lebanon to the danger of Israeli attacks or civil war and prevent it from receiving international aid and support.
Former Lebanese president Michel Suleiman said after the funeral of slain Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah: “It’s time to leave behind us the [era] of [Hizbullah’s] statelet-within-a-state, [which took] decisions about war in every direction and arena. It’s time for the [Lebanese] state to be exclusively in charge of sovereignty and foreign policy, and for weapons to be in the hands of Lebanon’s army. The armed organizations that are outside the legitimate framework must be dismantled… We must start to build the state, its institutions and its military forces and to put all our resources in its service, instead of devoting time to rehabilitating the resistance and its various institutions.”[34] On another occasion Suleiman said that Hizbullah’s claim that it is permitted to retain its weapons in the area north of the Litani River “is totally contrary to Resolution 1701 and to the recent ceasefire agreement. This is another death blow to peace, [which means] the continuation of the war, the collapse of the economy and Lebanon’s isolation in the international arena.”[35]
Lebanese MP Camille Cham’oun, of the Strong Republic bloc, head of the Free National Party, remarked: “Hizbullah agreed to the ceasefire agreement and to Resolution 1701, which stipulates that weapons must be surrendered in all of Lebanon’s territory. The U.S. and the international community are linking the rehabilitation [of the country] to the surrender of the weapons… The claim that weapons can be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations is an old one… Hizbullah must… hand over its weapons peacefully.”[36] Wehbe Katicha, a former Lebanese MP from the Lebanese Forces party, remarked that Lebanon should disarm Hizbullah, even by force, if it refuses.[37]
Criticism Directed At Lebanon’s State Institutions: They Are Not Fulfilling Their Roles And Are Endangering The Country
Hizbullah’s opponents are directing their criticism not only at the organization itself but also at Lebanon’s government and president, although many of them are among the president’s and government’s supporters. They accuse them for being tardy in fulfilling their duties and thereby exposing Lebanon to sanctions or to Israeli attacks, and some even claim that they are adopting Hizbullah’s stance. They also argue that it was the state’s evasion of its obligation to disarm the militias that led to the deadly civil war in the mid-70s, and that Hizbullah is likely to once again use its weapons to fight its rivals at home and to thwart government decisions, as it did on May 7, 2008.[38]
Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party, harshly criticized the president’s and the government’s conduct and their response to the roadmap presented by U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack in June 2025, and accused them of adopting Hizbulah’s stance. “Despite all that has happened and everything we are suffering to this day,” he said, “the response of Lebanon’s leaders to some of the American proposals conforms almost exactly to what Hizbullah wants, with the exception of some cosmetic points.” He added: “The illegitimate weapons in Lebanon are not an American problem, and after the 2024 war they are not an Israeli problem, either. They are primarily a Lebanese problem. The presence of illegitimate military and security organizations in Lebanon, chief of them Hizbullah, has crushed and continues to crush the Lebanese state.” The demand to disarm these organizations, he stressed, comes from most of the Lebanese people and from Lebanon’s friends in the East and the West.[39]
Criticism of Aoun’s stance in favor of holding talks with Hizbullah about its disarmament was also voiced by MP Camille Chamoun, who said: “Weapons and dialogue are two things that don’t mix. Talks with Hizbullah on this matter are a waste of time. This is evident from the remarks of Hizbullah Secretary-General Na’im Qassem and the Hizbullah MPs who threatened to sever any hand that reached for the weapons…”[40]
Lebanese journalist Ali Hamada wrote: “Some government members are addicted to making deals with Hizbullah in every domain, especially those who are hoping for a promotion or to make profits in some specific area. They make light of the issue of the treasonous weapons and take part in distracting [us] from the danger these weapons pose to the Lebanese – to the extent of believing that Hizbullah’s weapons and its military and security apparatus are not top priorities, and that [eliminating them] is not a precondition for statehood and reform. These senior officials’ deliberate neglect of the issue of the weapons must be seen as collaboration or capitulation. We direct the attention of several government members to their duty to the Lebanese and to the country… The weapons [that still exit] to the south and the north of the Litani, and everywhere else, are the foremost challenge [we face], which supersedes all others. This challenge is the key to the [hoped-for] correction and to defending the reform that the president and the government are talking about.” Hamada urged the president and the government “to increase the pressure on the relevant party to conclude the matter of the weapons and of the military and security mechanisms that are operating outside the legitimate framework. Without this,” he said, “there won’t be a state or anything else.”[41]
In an article in the daily Nida Al-Watan, Elie Mahfoud, head of the Forces of Change bloc in the Lebanese parliament, which is affiliated with the Christian Lebanese Forces party, urged the government to present Hizbullah with two options: either announce, of its own free will, the dismantling of its military, security and intelligence arm and become a political party, and then implement all this within 60 days, or else be faced with a government decision that would essentially outlaw Hizbullah. Mahfoud warned: “If the government does not do this and make some progress in the process of saving [the country], it will supply oxygen to a group that is [just] waiting for an opportunity to pounce on what has already been achieved, and then we will be faced with a disaster that will take us back to the time of ‘the Black Shirts’[42] and May 7, 2008.”[43]
* N. Mozes is a research fellow at MEMRI.
[1] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), April 17, 2025.
[2] In an interview with the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen, Hizbullah Secretary-General Na’im Qassem said that the ceasefire had been “approved unanimously by the [organization’s] Shura [Council],” and added that even Hizbullah’s fighters on the front considered the proposal of a ceasefire “reasonable, after [the war] had reached the point of attrition without purpose.” Al-Mayadeen.net, July 8, 2025.
[3] Facebook page of the Prime Minister’s Office (Facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1173883898071318&id=100063491569022&rdid=Hm3TED1msq#ePqSYf), November 27, 2024.
[4] For more information about this softened U.S. stance, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 12089, U.S. Softens Its Position On Hizbullah And Its Weapons; Special Envoy Thomas Barrack: Hizbullah Is ‘A Political Party,’ It Will Hand Over Only Its Heavy Weapons, And Only Over Time, July 21, 2025.
[5] Youtube.com/watch?v=t2_h6zbFh2c, May 12, 2025.
[6] As stated, according to this agreement, Lebanon’s security forces are exclusively authorized to bear arms and will act to dismantle unauthorized military infrastructures and positions and seize unauthorized weapons “starting with the southern Litani area.” In other words, this process is meant to continue in the rest of Lebanon’s territory as well. The agreement states further that, “in order to prevent the reestablishment and rebuilding of non-state armed groups in Lebanon, any sales or supply of arms and related materiel into Lebanon will be regulated and controlled by the Government of Lebanon. Additionally, all production of arms and related materiel will be regulated and controlled by the Government of Lebanon.” (Facebook of the Prime Minister’s Office *Facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1173883898071318&id=100063491569022&rdid=Hm3TED1msq#ePqSYf), November 27, 2024).
[7] Alahednews.news, December 14, 2024.
[8] Almayadeen.net, July 8, 2025.
[9] Alahednews.news, July 18, 2025.
[10] Alahednews.news, July 30, 2025.
[11] Youtube.com/watch?v=MaU3aFR2o7U, April 10, 2025.
[12] Alahednews.news, April 18, 2025.
[13] Alahednews.news, June 28, 2025.
[14] Alahednews.news, April 18, 2025.
[15] Al-Arabi Al-Jadid (Lebanon), April 16, 2025.
[16] Lebanonon.com, April 16, 2025.
[17] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), April 16, 2025.
[18] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), March 31, 2025
[19] For instance, on July 19, it was reported that “locals” in the town of Ain Baal had stopped a UNIFIL patrol that had “lost its way” and entered an inner road of the town (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, July 19, 2025). On July 10 young men blocked a UNIFIL force in Wadi Al-Sultaniyah on the pretext that it was not escorted by the army (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, July 10, 2025), and a similar incident occurred in the town of Ebel Al-Saqi on June 28 (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, June 28, 2025). On May 16, UNIFIL reported that “many people in civilian clothing” had intercepted one of its patrols near the village of Jmeijmeh (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, May 16, 2025), and on May 12, a group of people reportedly blocked a UNIFIL patrol in the town of Shebaa (Elnashra.com, May 12, 2025). Similar incidents were reported on May 11 in the Yater area (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, May 11, 2025), on May 1 in the town of Al-Abbasiyya (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, May 1, 2025), on April 30 in the town of Seddiqine (Elnashra.com, April 30, 2025), on April 29 in the town of Bint Jbeil and on April 25 near the town of Tayr Debba (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, April 25, 29, 2025).
[20] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11766, Indications That Hizbullah Is Preparing The Ground For Continued Military Action In South Lebanon Under The Guise Of ‘Popular Resistance’, January 6, 2025.
[21] Leb.today, January 10, 2025.
[22] Al-Liwa (Lebanon), February 26, 2025.
[23] Aljazeera.net, February 17, 2025.
[24] Al-Arab (London), January 20, 2025.
[25] Al-Arabi Al-Jadid (London), April 16, 2025.
[26] Al-Arabi Al-Jadid (London), April 16, 2025. It should be noted that Aoun’s remarks sparked anger in Iraq, which even summoned the Lebanese ambassador to express its displeasure. In response to the Iraqi anger, President Aoun hastened to phone Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani to clarify his remarks and stress the importance of the relations between the two countries (Eremnews.com, April 18, 2025).
[27] Al-Nahar (Lebanon), April 9, 2025.
[28] Almayadeen.net, April 21,2025.
[29] Independentarabia.com, October 27, 2024.
[30] Al-Liwa (Lebanon), April 24, 2025.
[31] Nida Al-Watan (Lebanon), April 20, 2025.
[32] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 12001, Lebanese MP Ghassan Hasbani: Hizbullah’s Weapons Were The Cause Of The War, The Justification For Israeli Violations Of The Ceasefire; Hamas Is The Reason For The Palestinian Situation In Gaza, April 29, 2025.
[33] Elnashra.com, April 19, 2025.
[34] Al-Liwa (Lebanon), February 24, 2025.
[35] Nida Al-Watan (Lebanon), March 2, 2025.
[36] Almarkazia.com, May 3, 2025.
[37] X.com/LalihtilallR, May 12, 2025.
[38] On May 6, 2008, the Lebanese government, headed by Fouad Siniora, decided to outlaw Hizbullah’s private communications network on the grounds that it violated the state’s sovereignty, to prosecute those who established this network, and to fire the head of security at Beirut airport, who was affiliated with Hizbullah. In response, armed Hizbullah fighters took control of areas in of Beirut and in other parts of Lebanon in order to force the government to revoke its decisions, which was indeed the result. See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series No.436, A Clean Sweep: Amal, Hizbullah Take Much of Beirut in Redux of Hamas’ Gaza Takeover, June 27, 2008; MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 437, The Lebanon Crisis (2): Hizbullah’s Victory and its Regional Implications, March 31, 2009.
[39] Facebook.com/LFParrtyOcfficial, July 22, 2025.
[40] Almarkazia.com, May 3, 2025.
[41] Al-Nahar (Lebanon), May 8, 2025.
[42] The ‘Black Shirts’ is an informal name for Hizbullah activists, who often wear black shirts in the organization’s parades. For instance, on January 19, 2011, hundreds of Hizbullah activists in black shirts put on a show of force in Beirut and other Lebanese cities following the publication of the findings of the UN commission that investigated the death of Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri and implicated Hizbullah in his assassination.
[43] Nida Al-Watan (Lebanon), May 10, 2025.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 04-05/2025
Israel detects missile launch from Yemen, working to intercept it
Reuters/August 05, 2025
The Israeli military said early on Tuesday it identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israel with aerial defense systems operating to intercept the threat.

World ‘cannot act surprised,’ says UN expert who warned last year of starvation in Gaza
Arab News/August 04, 2025
LONDON: A UN expert who raised the alarm over deliberate mass starvation in Gaza a year and a half ago said governments and corporations “cannot act surprised” now at the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in the territory. “Israel has built the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine,” Michael Fakhri, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, told The Guardian newspaper on Monday. “So while it’s always shocking to see people being starved, no one should act surprised. All the information has been out in the open since early 2024.
“Israel is starving Gaza. It’s genocide. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s a war crime. I have been repeating it and repeating it and repeating it; I feel like Cassandra,” he added, referencing the Greek mythological figure whose accurate prophecies were ignored.
In a recent alert, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned that “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza.
Fakhri was one of the first to sound the alarm about the crisis. In February 2024, he told The Guardian: “We have never seen a civilian population made to go so hungry so quickly and so completely; that is the consensus among starvation experts. Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. This is now a situation of genocide.”The following month, the International Court of Justice acknowledged the risk of genocide and ordered Israel to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine. In May, following an investigation by the International Criminal Court, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s defense minister at the time, Yoav Gallant, became the first individuals formally accused by an international court of deliberate starvation, a war crime. A group of UN experts, including Fakhri, declared famine in Gaza in July 2024 after the first deaths from starvation were reported. Fakhri also published a UN report documenting Israel’s long-standing control over food supplies in Gaza, a stranglehold that meant 80 percent of Gazans were aid-dependent even before the current siege started. Despite this, little action has been taken to stop what Fakhri described as a systematic campaign by Israeli authorities. “Famine is always political, always predictable and always preventable,” he said. “But there is no verb to famine. We don’t famine people, we starve them — and that inevitably leads to famine if no political action is taken to avoid it. “But to frame the mass starvation as a consequence of the most recent blockade is a misunderstanding of how starvation works and what’s going on in Gaza. People don’t all of a sudden starve, children don’t wither away that quickly. This is because they have been deliberately weakened for so long.“The State of Israel itself has used food as a weapon since its creation. It can and does loosen and tighten its starvation machine in response to pressure; it has been fine-tuning this for 25 years.”Netanyahu continues to deny such accusations, stating last week that “there is no policy of starvation in Gaza.” But aid agencies, including UNICEF, say malnutrition has surged since March this year, when Israel reimposed a total blockade on the territory following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
In May, Israel and the Trump administration backed the creation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private logistics group that replaced hundreds of established UN aid hubs with just four distribution sites secured by private contractors and Israeli troops. On June 1, 32 people were reportedly killed trying to obtain food at the foundation’s sites, followed by more than 1,300 others since then.
“This is using aid not for humanitarian purposes but to control populations, to move them, to humiliate and weaken people as part of their military tactics,” said Fakhri. “The GHF is so frightening because it might be the new militarized dystopia of aid of the future.”The GHF has dismissed reports of deaths at its sites as “false and exaggerated statistics,” and accuses the UN of failing to cooperate. “If the UN and other groups would collaborate with us, we could end the starvation, desperation and violent incidents almost overnight,” a spokesperson for the foundation said.
The deaths from starvation are in addition to at least 60,000 Palestinians reported killed by Israeli air and ground attacks since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023. Researchers say the true death toll is likely to be higher, though international media and observers remain barred from entering Gaza.Fakhri and other UN officials have urged governments and businesses to take concrete steps, including the introduction of international sanctions and the halting of arms sales, to stop the violence and famine. “I see stronger political language, more condemnation, more plans proposed, but despite the change in rhetoric we’re still in the phase of inaction,” he said. “The politicians and corporations have no excuse; they’re really shameful. “The fact that millions of people are mobilizing in growing numbers shows that everyone in the world understands how many different countries, corporations and individuals are culpable.”The UN General Assembly must step in to deploy peacekeepers and provide escorts for humanitarian aid, Fakhri added. “They have the majority of votes and, most importantly, millions of people are demanding this,” he said. “Ordinary people are trying to break through an illegal blockade to deliver humanitarian aid, to implement international law their governments are failing to do. Why else do we have peacekeepers if not to end genocide and prevent starvation?” Special rapporteurs are part of what is known as the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. They are independent experts who work on a voluntary basis, are not members of UN staff and are not paid for their work.

US links $1.9 billion in state disaster funds to Israel boycott stance
Reuters/August 04, 2025
U.S. states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its "terms and conditions." Those conditions require them to certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding. The requirement applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.The requirement is the Trump administration's latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.

Yedioth Ahronoth: Netanyahu aides say Gaza invasion decision final
LBCI/August 04, 2025
Close associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have confirmed that the decision to invade Gaza has been made, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. The sources reportedly stated that if the Chief of Staff opposes the move, “he should resign,” signaling escalating tensions within Israel's security and political establishments. The report added that Netanyahu’s inner circle claims to have received a green light from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to intensify military operations in Gaza.

More Gazans die seeking aid and from hunger, as burial shrouds in short supply
Reuters/August 04, 2025
CAIRO/GAZA: At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Gaza on Monday, including 10 seeking aid, health authorities said, adding another five had died of starvation in what humanitarian agencies warn may be an unfolding famine.
The 10 died in two separate incidents near aid sites belonging to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in central and southern Gaza, local medics said. The United Nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in the enclave since the GHF began operating in May 2025, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. “Everyone who goes there, comes back either with a bag of flour or carried back (on a wooden stretcher) as a martyr, or injured. No one comes back safe,” said 40-year-old Palestinian Bilal Thari. He was among mourners at Gaza City’s Al Shifa hospital on Monday who had gathered to collect the bodies of their loved ones killed a day earlier by Israeli fire as they sought aid, according to Gaza’s health officials. At least 13 Palestinians were killed on Sunday while waiting for the arrival of UN aid trucks at the Zikim crossing on the Israeli border with the northern Gaza Strip, the officials added. At the hospital, some bodies were wrapped in thick patterned blankets because white shrouds, which hold special significance in Islamic burials, were in short supply due to continued Israeli border restrictions and the mounting number of daily deaths, Palestinians said. “We don’t want war, we want peace, we want this misery to end. We are out on the streets, we all are hungry, we are all in bad shape, women are out there on the streets, we have nothing available for us to live a normal life like all human beings, there’s no life,” Thari told Reuters. There was no immediate comment by Israel on the incidents of shootings on Sunday and Monday. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops, and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.
Deaths from hunger
Meanwhile, five more people died of starvation or malnutrition over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from hunger to 180, including 93 children, since the war began. UN agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease access to it. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said that during the past week, over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by UN and other international organizations. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that more than 600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. Palestinian and UN officials said Gaza needs around 600 aid trucks to enter per day to meet the humanitarian requirements -the number Israel used to allow into Gaza before the war. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Israeli government votes to dismiss attorney general, escalating standoff with judiciary
AP/August 05, 2025
JERUSALEM: The Israeli Cabinet on Monday voted unanimously to fire the attorney general, escalating a long-running standoff between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the judiciary that critics see as a threat to the country’s democratic institutions.
The Supreme Court froze the move while it considers the legality. Netanyahu and his supporters accuse Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of exceeding her powers by blocking decisions by the elected government, including a move to fire the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, another ostensibly apolitical office. She has said there is a conflict of interest because Netanyahu and several former aides face a series of criminal investigations. Critics accuse Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, of undermining judicial independence and seeking to concentrate power in the hands of his coalition government, the most nationalist and religious in Israel’s history. Netanyahu denies the allegations and says he is the victim of a witch hunt by hostile judicial officials egged on by the media. An attempt by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judiciary in 2023 sparked months of mass protests, and many believe it weakened the country ahead of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack later that year that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a prominent watchdog group, said it filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court following Monday’s vote. It said more than 15,000 citizens have joined the petition, calling the dismissal “illegal” and “unprecedented.”In a statement, the group accused the government of changing dismissal procedures only after failing to legally remove Baharav-Miara under the existing rules. It also cited a conflict of interest related to Netanyahu’s ongoing trial. “This decision turns the role of the attorney general into a political appointment,” the group said. “The legal battle will continue until this flawed decision is overturned.”

Israel to decide next steps in Gaza after ceasefire talks collapse
Reuters/August 04, 2025
JERUSALEM: Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel’s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option. Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza.
But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the military offensive in Gaza and annexing parts of the shattered enclave. The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel. After Netanyahu met Witkoff last Thursday, a senior Israeli official said that “an understanding was emerging between Washington and Israel,” of a need to shift from a truce to a comprehensive deal that would “release all the hostages, disarm Hamas, and demilitarize the Gaza Strip,” — Israel’s key conditions for ending the war.A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the envoy’s visit was seen in Israel as “very significant.” But later on Sunday, the Israeli official signalled that pursuit of a deal would be pointless, threatening more force: “An understanding is emerging that Hamas is not interested in a deal and therefore the prime minister is pushing to release the hostages while pressing for military defeat.”
“Strategic clarity”
What a “military defeat” might mean, however, is up for debate within the Israeli leadership. Some Israeli officials have suggested that Israel might declare it was annexing parts of Gaza as a means to pressure the militant group. Others, like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir want to see Israel impose military rule in Gaza before annexing it and re-establishing the Jewish settlements Israel evicted 20 years ago. The Israeli military, which has pushed back at such ideas throughout the war, was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defense officials. While some in the political leadership are pushing for expanding the offensive, the military is concerned that doing so will endanger the 20 hostages who are still alive, the officials said.
Israeli Army Radio reported on Monday that military chief Eyal Zamir has become increasingly frustrated with what he describes as a lack of strategic clarity by the political leadership, concerned about being dragged into a war of attrition with Hamas militants.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the report but said that the military has plans in store. “We have different ways to fight the terror organization, and that’s what the army does,” Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which included a call on Hamas to hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Hamas has repeatedly said it won’t lay down arms. But it has told mediators it was willing to quit governance in Gaza for a non-partisan ruling body, according to three Hamas officials.It insists that the post-war Gaza arrangement must be agreed upon among the Palestinians themselves and not dictated by foreign powers. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar suggested on Monday that the gaps were still too wide to bridge. “We would like to have all our hostages back. We would like to see the end of this war. We always prefer to get there by diplomatic means, if possible. But of course, the big question is, what will be the conditions for the end of the war?” he told journalists in Jerusalem.

Saudi embassy in UK working with authorities as man charged with murdering student from Kingdom, family pays tribute
Arab News/August 04, 2025
LONDON: The Saudi Embassy in London said on Monday that it was coordinating with British authorities to discover the full circumstances of an incident in the English city of Cambridge in which a Saudi citizen was fatally stabbed. Officers responding to reports of violence in the Mill Park area of the city shortly before midnight on Friday found 20-year-old Mohammed Al-Qasim with serious injuries. He died at the scene soon after. A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Tuesday. 21-year-old Chas Corrigan, from Cambridge, was charged with murder and possession of a knife in a public place and appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Cambridgeshire Police said. He has been remanded in custody until a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday. A 50-year-old man, also from the city, who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender remains in custody, the force added.
READ MORE: 2 arrested after ‘unprovoked’ fatal stabbing of Saudi student in Cambridge
The incident is being treated as an “unprovoked attack,” police also said on Monday. Al-Qasim was studying at a language school in the city on a 10-week placement, they added.
The Saudi embassy said it was following up on an assault on a Saudi citizen that led to his death, and continues to liaise with UK agencies to discover the full circumstances surrounding the incident and to facilitate the repatriation of the victim’s body to Saudi Arabia. “The embassy and all its staff extend their sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the deceased,” it added. In a statement, the family of Al-Qasim said he was a “young man brimming with enthusiasm, brimming with chivalry and courage.”
The family continued: “He was a dutiful son, a loving brother, and the leader of the family in spirit, not in appearance. He was cheerful, chivalrous, pure of heart, quick to give, and passionate about others. Over time, he became the family’s charisma, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy in every gathering. He was his father’s support, his familiar companion, and the assistant to his uncles and maternal uncles. He was the most compassionate person to ever visit a mother’s heart and the closest to his sisters’ embrace.”

How the UK’s ‘apartheid apologists’ use ‘disingenuous’ antisemitism claims to suppress Israel’s critics
Jonathan Gornall/Arab News/August 04, 2025
UKLFI and Campaign Against Antisemitism are accused of making “dishonest complaints” to “suppress and criminalize support for Palestine” LONDON: In the initial weeks of the war in Gaza, Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon, worked day and night at Al-Shifa Hospital as part of a team from the medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres. During that time, Abu-Sitta regularly posted updates on X about the injuries he was treating. On returning to London, he held a press conference at which journalists were shown some of the footage he had deemed too distressing to post online.
He also shared photographs of some of the children he had treated who had been left with life-changing injuries. Underscoring the scale of suffering, Abu-Sitta said he had performed six amputations on child patients in one night alone. 60,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gazan health authorities. (AFP/File)
Israel mounted its military campaign in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which saw 1,200 killed — the majority of them civilians — and 250 taken hostage. Twenty-two months later, Israeli operations have destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure, created famine conditions, and left about 60,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gazan health authorities. After returning to the UK, Abu-Sitta gave evidence to London’s Metropolitan Police Service, which had appealed for anyone who had been to Israel or Palestine to come forward if they had “witnessed or been a victim of terrorism, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.”
That was the cue for an organization called UK Lawyers for Israel, or UKLFI, to act. It reported Abu-Sitta to the UK health care regulator, the General Medical Council, seeking to have him suspended. At the same time, according to a new report from CAGE International exposing the activities of two influential pro-Israel lobby groups in the UK, Abu-Sitta “became the target of an online campaign to malign his work, resulting in his entry to France, Germany, and the Netherlands being barred when invited to deliver lectures.”
The GMC tribunal threw out the complaint, finding there was “no evidence that there was any potential risk to patients … arising from the concerns about Dr. Abu-Sitta’s social media posts.”It also rejected the submission that he would discriminate against Jewish or Israeli patients “because the only evidence before the Tribunal on this point suggested the contrary — that Dr. Abu-Sitta did not discriminate against any particular group of patients.”
The tribunal acknowledged “the long history of humanitarian overseas work by Dr. Abu-Sitta,” adding “it was not in the public interest to be deprived of a competent doctor.”
The definition of antisemitism framed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, widely adopted by global organizations, has been criticized as a shield to protect Israel. (AFP)
But the campaign against Abu-Sitta is just one of dozens of examples of what CAGE International called a flood of “disingenuous and dishonest complaints of antisemitism, seeking to suppress and criminalize support for Palestine in the UK,” perpetuated by UKLFI and the Campaign Against Antisemitism, or CAA. In a new report, “Britain’s Apartheid Apologists,” CAGE focuses on the organizations as just two among “the constellation of efforts to provide cover to Zionism” which, it says, “regularly support the apartheid state of Israel.” UKLFI is a limited company with a separate charitable wing. The CAA, a registered charity, “ostensibly seeks to highlight acts of antisemitism in the UK, but much of its activities are geared toward reporting on those who criticize or oppose Israel.”
CAGE has reported both organizations to the UK’s Charity Commission for allegedly breaching the commission’s code of conduct, “which prohibits support for policies that violate fundamental human rights, and have misused their platforms to shield Israel from accountability.”Both groups, it says, “regularly instrumentalize regulatory authorities to attack and harass those who criticize and protest against Zionist apartheid and its settler colonial and genocidal activity. “Through the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, they seek to inhibit and disrupt genuine criticism of Israeli crimes under international law.”
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission confirmed it had “ongoing compliance cases into Campaign Against Antisemitism and UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust. We will assess any issues raised to determine what, if any, role there is for us as regulator.”
The CAGE report accuses UKLFI of “bad-faith lawfare, opacity of finances and governance, and institutional racism.”
In April 2024 Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, engineered a confrontation with Metropolitan police officers during a pro-Palestine march in London. (X)
The organization, it says, “has become adept at weaponizing professional regulation, bombarding regulators like the General Medical Council, Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, Bar Standards Board, and Charity Commission with vexatious complaints designed to harass and silence Palestinian rights advocates.” CAGE also questions the source of UKLFI’s funding. “Despite clear evidence of coordination with the Israeli state and its objectives, UKLFI continues to conceal its funding sources, refusing to disclose the financial backers driving its campaign of professional harassment.”The report labels the CAA as “UKLFI’s less respectable twin, exploiting legitimate concerns about antisemitism to silence criticism of Israel and Zionism through strategic deployment of the dysfunctional, and arguably now totally broken, IHRA working definition.”
The definition of antisemitism framed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, widely adopted by global organizations, has been criticized as a shield to protect Israel.
The report says the CAA’s “relentless pressure on universities, local councils, and public bodies has created a climate of fear in British public life and particularly in academia, where scholars now routinely self-censor Palestine-related research to avoid being smeared as antisemites.” Like UKLFI, “CAA maintains close ties to both Labour and Conservative Party figures and pro-Israel lobby groups while refusing to come clean about its funding — a glaring lack of transparency for an organization that demands accountability from others.”
The report includes a long list of organizations and individuals targeted by both groups, and that in many cases, “the reactions of the organizations concerned has highlighted the pervasive fear of being labelled antisemitic.”In February 2023, UKLFI claimed Jewish patients visiting Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London had been left feeling “vulnerable, harassed and victimized” by an exhibition of artwork made by Palestinian children in Gaza. The decorated plates, part of a collaborative project with the hospital’s community school, were removed after UKLFI wrote to the hospital trust.
Later, a freedom of information request by Jewish Voice for Labour found that the hospital had received no complaints from patients about the artwork.
The CAA, says the report, operates in much the same way as UKLFI, “regularly … complaining to public and private bodies with claims of antisemitism — complaints which quite frequently amount to a criticism of Israel.” This “conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Zionism has not only produced a chilling effect on freedom of speech, but in many cases has had devastating consequences on the lives of those who have been impacted by such spurious complaints.”The CAA made unfavorable headlines in the UK in August 2024 when its chair, Gideon Falter, confronted police officers marshalling a pro-Palestine demonstration and released a video in which an officer described him as “openly Jewish.” The meaning of the exchange became clear when an edited version of the video revealed the officer was simply trying to prevent Falter provoking marchers, for his own safety. “The stunt,” says CAGE, was “an attempt to bring down (Metropolitan Police chief Mark) Rowley, following his failure to rein in and/or ban the national Palestine demonstrations, as Falter and the CAA had been calling for since at least November 2023.” CAGE says the evidence in its report “underscores the profound and systemic role played by UK Lawyers for Israel and the Campaign Against Antisemitism in perpetuating a climate of censorship and institutional complicity with Israel’s apartheid regime.”
London-based CAGE International was founded during Ramadan 2003 as CagePrisoners, highlighting “the status and whereabouts of prisoners seized under the war on terror.” It describes itself as “an independent advocacy organization that aspires to a just world.”
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, said “there is a coordinated, long-term campaign to prevent proper and free discussion of the situation facing Palestinians so that it becomes harder to discuss and stand up for Palestinian rights, to talk about the crimes committed against them, the violations of international law, and even the genocide. “Even carrying a Palestinian flag or expressing solidarity with Palestinians becomes subject to attack.”
Groups such as UKLFI, he said, were “trying to shut down the debate” and there were “widespread false accusations of antisemitism, whether it’s calling the UN antisemitic, the pope antisemitic, or the BBC antisemitic — that is all part of this campaign of intimidation.”
It was, he added, “thoroughly scurrilous, but it also undermines the very legitimate campaign against actual antisemitism.” Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, told Arab News the organization received messages from “hundreds of worried and frightened informants in many fields including education, local government, medical, legal, the arts, travel, sport and retail, who are intimidated and distressed by various antisemitic or anti-Israel actions.”
UKLFI, she added, “do not make frivolous or malicious complaints to suppress pro-Palestine voices. We believe in freedom of speech if it is lawful and avoids antisemitism and harassment. “Unfortunately, there have been many examples of professionals who have potentially committed criminal offenses by expressing views supportive of proscribed terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, or expressed antisemitic views on social media.”The CAA did not respond to a request for comment.

Kurdish-led SDF say five members killed during attack by Daesh in Syria
Reuters/August 05, 2025
The Daesh has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia
CAIRO: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Daesh militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31. The Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Monday. The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Daesh in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq. The Daesh has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Daesh in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.

Zelensky says ‘mercenaries’ from China, Pakistan and other countries fighting for Russia
Reuters/August 04, 2025
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukrainian troops in northeastern Ukraine were fighting foreign “mercenaries” from various countries including China, Pakistan and parts of Africa, and vowed a response. Zelensky has previously accused Moscow of recruiting Chinese fighters for its war effort against Ukraine, charges Beijing denied, while North Korea has also provided thousands of its own troops in Russia’s Kursk region. “We spoke with commanders about the frontline situation, the defense of Vovchansk, and the dynamics of the battles,” Zelensky wrote on X after visiting a frontline area in the northeastern Kharkiv region. “Our warriors in this sector are reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war. We will respond.”Reuters contacted the embassies of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan in Kyiv to request comment. Russia did not immediately comment publicly on Zelensky’s comments.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 04-05/2025
UN report shows Islamic State and Al Qaeda exploiting post-Assad chaos in Syria
Ahmad Sharawi/| FDD's Long War Journal/August 04/2025
On July 29, the United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team released its latest report detailing terrorist group activities around the world. The section on Syria discussed the most recent developments related to the resurgence of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, in addition to the difficulties of integrating various groups into the country’s military.
The UN Monitoring Team report notes that “at least 9 out of 23 [Syrian government] ministers are directly or indirectly linked” to Hayat Tahir al Sham (HTS), the former Islamist coalition led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa that took over Syria and overthrew former dictator Bashar al Assad. HTS succeeded Jabhat al Nusrah, Al Qaeda’s former branch in Syria. Among the HTS-affiliated officials are the heads of the most prominent ministries: foreign affairs, defense, interior, and justice.
The report also highlights the rising sectarian violence in Syria, most importantly, the massacres on the Syrian coast in March 2025, where HTS affiliates, Turkish-backed Syrian National Army factions, and Hurras al Din, Al Qaeda’s current affiliate in Syria, took part. UN Monitoring Team further states that “many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views than the HTS leader and interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who are generally regarded as more pragmatic than ideological.” Finally, the report claims that there are “no active ties between Al-Qaeda and HTS.”
The UN Monitoring Team details how, in the aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime, both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda took advantage of the chaos and “seized stockpiles of heavy weaponry held by the previous government.” Prisoners affiliated with both groups also managed to escape from prisons. The most recent escape was in March, when 70 detainees fled a prison in Aleppo. In total, 500 detainees linked to both terrorist organizations have been released since the fall of the Assad regime.
The UN Monitoring Team report assesses that the Islamic State “exploited shifting security conditions in the Syrian Arab Republic, where some key leaders remained based, and maintained up to 3,000 fighters across Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic.”
The primary location of the Islamic State’s cells has been the Syrian Desert, with a smaller presence “near Damascus and the Aleppo countryside, Homs and southern regions.”
According to the report, the Islamic State “also tried to incite sectarian tensions and ran multilingual campaigns to discredit al-Sharaa, recruiting some dissatisfied fighters, foreign terrorist fighters and former regime soldiers.”
While the UN Monitoring Team does not name specific groups linked to the Islamic State, Saraya Ansar al Sunnah—a group that claims it splintered from Hayat Tahrir al Sham—can be linked to the Islamic State, given that it has continuously criticized Sharaa and incited against minorities in Syria. The report claims that the Islamic State “carried out more than 90 attacks across the country, mostly targeting Syrian Democratic Forces in north-eastern Syrian Arab Republic, where about 400 ISIL (Da’esh) fighters remain active.”
Regarding Al Qaeda and its affiliates, the report claims that Hurras al Din saw its decision to dissolve as “largely symbolic.” The report adds that the “group retained approximately 2,000 fighters.” The group’s leaders are Samir Hijazi and Sami al Aridi, who are present in northwest Syria and have coordinated with “HTS defectors to form new factions in Idlib and the coastal countryside.”
The report further claims that some members within Hurras al Din are “exploring relocation to Afghanistan, Africa, or Yemen under al-Qaida leadership.”
The UN Monitoring Team report also raised the issue of “foreign terrorist fighters,” stating that the number of them “at large in the Syrian Arab Republic [is] estimated at more than 5,000.” It further claimed that “certain foreign terrorist fighters (in particular from Central Asia) retained external ambitions, were dissatisfied with the interim government’s approach, and may operate beyond its control.”
Notably, the Trump administration has greenlit the integration of foreign fighters into Syria’s armed forces. Despite the integration of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an Al Qaeda-affiliated Uighur jihadist group that operates in both Afghanistan and Syria, into the Syrian army under the 84th Division, the report mentioned that the “interim government had not asserted full control over all factions, including some that held extremist ideologies.”
One of those independent groups is Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, a US-designated terrorist organization. Other organizations mentioned by the report are “Ajnad al-Kawkaz, Ansar al-Tawhid, Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Din, [and] Katibad al-Ghoraba al-Faransiya.” Some of these groups still have a relationship with Al Qaeda affiliates and share logistics.
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2025/08/un-report-shows-islamic-state-and-al-qaeda-exploiting-post-assad-chaos-in-syria.php
*Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the levant.

10 Iranian Jails the Regime Uses To Brutalize Political Prisoners
Tzvi Kahn & Janatan Sayeh/FDD/August 04/2025
Iran routinely detains and imprisons citizens who publicly question the regime. The suffering of these political prisoners is immense: Inmates have reported pervasive sexual assault, beatings, sleep deprivation, inedible food, prolonged solitary confinement, overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, denial of medical care, and the extraction of false confessions subsequently broadcast on state television. This brutality violates the Islamic Republic’s own constitution, which affirms personal dignity, justice, due process, and freedom from arbitrary detention and torture. In 2023, the United States sanctioned Gholamali Mohammadi, the head of Iran’s Prisons Organization, which oversees all of Iran’s jails, for his role in serious human rights abuses. While Evin Prison may be the most notorious, other facilities are also well-known in Iran for their cruelty. This publication provides brief profiles of 10 violent prisons, including two smaller, unofficial jails controlled respectively by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence (MOI). Collectively, the profiles paint a portrait of a fundamentally illegitimate regime that imposes its will through force.
Adel Abad Prison
Located in the southwestern city of Shiraz, Adel Abad Prison was the site of 85 executions in 2024, making it the “second most active prison for executions in Iran,” according to the Human Rights Activists New Agency. In 2020, the Islamic Republic hung prominent championship wrestler Navid Afkari, 27, at the prison after torturing him following his 2018 arrest. The United States sanctioned Adel Abad Prison in 2020, citing “incidence of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary detentions, and denials of the right to liberty of those seeking only to practice their faith, peacefully assemble, or to express themselves.” The European Union followed suit in April 2025, noting, “Several hostages from European countries have been unlawfully detained in this prison, where their access to a fair trial has been denied and where they have experienced severe violations of their most basic rights.”
MOI’s Detention Center No. 100
Located in the southwestern Iranian city of Shiraz, this site is one of the MOI’s unofficial facilities used to torture political activists and extract forced confessions. MOI transfers many detainees between the center and Adel Abad Prison. Navid Afkari and his brothers, Habib and Vahid, confessed to fabricated charges after enduring beatings and threats of execution at the center prior to his execution at Adel Abad, according to the news site IranWire. Political prisoners and journalists held in the prison for their participation in the 2009 Green Movement reported severe abuse, including sleep deprivation, hospitalization due to torture, and denial of medication. Labor activist Mohammad Davari faced such abuse in the prison in December 2024. His lawyer reported that he endured torture, with forensic doctors confirming bruising, wounds, and infections. Davari protested with a hunger strike. The regime transferred him to Adel Abad in January 2025.
Qarchak Women’s Prison
Located in Tehran province, Qarchak Women’s Prison is “one of the darkest symbols of systematic human rights violations” in Iran, according to the Norway-based nonprofit Iran Human Rights. The jail has “deplorable conditions, including contaminated water, pest infestations and severe overcrowding,” a March 2025 report of the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran said. “Sanitary pads must be purchased from the prison shop, creating particular hardship for women abandoned by their families and who have no financial resources.” Many children reside with their mothers in the jail.
Prominent political prisoners at Qarchak have included Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, both of whom the regime falsely accused of espionage. The United States sanctioned Qarchak in 2020. A 2021 European Parliament resolution stated that Qarchak officials deliberately housed political prisoner Shakila Monfared with inmates convicted of violent crimes. The European Union sanctioned the prison in 2023, noting that its detainees include “participants in peaceful pro-democracy protests.”
Vakilabad Prison
Located in the city of Mashhad, Vakilabad Prison is home to numerous dissidents and has a history of detaining foreign nationals. Prominent political prisoners include Fatemeh Sepehri, a women’s rights activist who previously signed an open letter calling for the resignation of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The regime imprisoned French blogger and tourist Benjamin Brière in Vakilabad from 2020 to 2023, falsely accusing him of spying and “spreading propaganda against the system.” U.S. Navy veteran Michael White was also a hostage in Vakilabad from 2018 to 2020. Tehran freed him in exchange for America’s early release of a U.S.-Iranian prisoner who had violated U.S. sanctions laws.
In 2010 and 2011, Iran secretly executed more than 365 people in Vakilabad, most on drug charges, including many foreign nationals. The United States sanctioned Vakilabad in 2020.
Zahedan Prison
Located in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Zahedan Prison — described by IranWire as “Hell on Earth” — holds more than 2,000 inmates in a facility designed only for a few hundred. Many Iranians who participated in the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests are held there. “The lack of medical care in the prison contributes to countless deaths,” including protester Jamshid Gorgij, who perished from cardiac arrest as “a direct result of medical neglect,” IranWire reported.
The United States sanctioned Zahedan in 2021, citing the jail’s execution of Hassan Dehvari, a Baluch political prisoner who had peacefully protested and critiqued the regime. The European Union followed suit in 2023, noting “that mass executions have occurred within the penitentiary.” In 2022, the United States sanctioned Morteza Piri, the warden of Zahedan, and Mohammad Hossein Khosravi, a former warden. The European Union and the United Kingdom sanctioned both as well in 2023.
Isfahan Central Prison
Located in central Iran, Isfahan Central Prison — also known as Dastgerd Prison — has housed both famous and lesser-known dissidents. Tehran incarcerated prominent anti-regime Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests for his songs criticizing the Islamic Republic. The regime broadcast a false confession extracted under duress on state television and sentenced him to death, but Iran’s Supreme Court overturned the sentence. The judiciary released him in December 2024. Tehran briefly rearrested him in June 2025.
The United States sanctioned Isfahan Central Prison in 2021, citing the execution there of Mostafa Salehi, an electrical generator repairman, after he protested the regime in December 2017 and January 2018. The European Union sanctioned the prison in 2023, noting that it “is frequently used to detain political prisoners and house them in inadequate conditions.”
Orumiyeh Prison
Located in West Azerbaijan province, Orumiyeh Prison — also known as Urmia Central Prison — routinely tortures and kills political prisoners. In June 2025, the regime executed Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad at the jail on false charges of spying for Israel. In an April 2025 letter, political prisoner Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, currently on death row, accused jail officials of torturing him, including beatings, waterboarding, mock executions, electric shocks, and sleep deprivation. Other inmates have routinely reported similar treatment. Prisoners’ despair has led to suicides.
The United States sanctioned Orumiyeh in 2020, noting that the prison “has subjected members of ethnic and religious minority groups and political prisoners to abuse, including beatings and floggings.” Washington sanctioned the jail’s head, Dariush Bakhshi, in 2023, asserting that prison “officials under Bakshi’s oversight have used their positions of power to coerce women inmates into having sexual relations in exchange for better treatment, such as short furloughs from prison.”
Greater Tehran Penitentiary — Fashafouyeh Prison
Originally designated to house detainees charged with drug trafficking, the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, also known as Fashafouyeh Prison, now holds political prisoners as well, forcing them to share cells with violent offenders. In July 2025, political prisoners reported that jail officials forcibly stripped their female relatives and subjected them to degrading searches during visits, a common method of humiliation intended to pressure inmates. In a 2021 statement, 28 political prisoners described enduring psychological torture in solitary confinement, dehumanizing interrogations, and home raids that extended harassment to their families. The State Department’s 2020 and 2023 reports on human rights practices in Iran highlighted the penitentiary’s “use of cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents,” with the 2020 report also noting that officials at the jail had “flogged protester Mohamad Bagher Souri.” The United States sanctioned the prison in 2020. In 2021, the European Union sanctioned Fashafouyeh for subjecting political prisoners, including minors, to “torture and inhumane treatment” by “wounding them with boiling water and through denial of medical treatment.” In 2022, Washington sanctioned Hedayat Farzadi, a former director of the penitentiary.
Ghezel Hesar Prison
Situated in the north-central Iranian city of Karaj, Ghezel Hesar Prison is notorious for executing political prisoners. Jail officials tortured Mohsen Langarneshin, a political prisoner falsely accused of spying for Israel, for two years, and executed him in April 2025. Among those still imprisoned are Reza Mohammad Hosseini and Arsham Rezai, who face ongoing torture and threats of sexual violence. Ten jailed dissidents reported in 2024 that security forces assaulted them for exposing the growing wave of executions in Ghezel Hesar.
In 2024, the United States sanctioned the prison for “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment” and for “severe beatings of political prisoners” protesting the executions carried out at the jail. While the European Union has not sanctioned the prison, the European Parliament adopted a motion in April 2025 condemning the death sentences handed down to political activists Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo and Mehdi Hassani, who remained on death row at the facility until their execution on July 26.
IRGC’s Sarallah A-1 Detention Center
This secret jail operates under the Sarallah IRGC Command, a base tasked with quashing civic movements by coordinating between various pillars of the regime’s repression apparatus. Testimonies from former prisoners, corroborated by the Iran Prison Atlas, indicate the facility is likely located near Tehran, though its exact location remains undisclosed. Prison officials blindfold detainees throughout the transfer from the arrest site, with IRGC guards monitoring them and curtains blocking all views from inside the vehicle.
The Iran Prison Atlas revealed in 2020 that the facility has housed many protesters to extract forced confessions, including those arrested by Basij and IRGC forces during the nationwide 2017-2018 uprising. Prisoners resided in small, solitary cells, faced shortages of hygiene supplies and clothing, and lacked access to outdoor space. Citing former political prisoners, IranWire reported in 2020 that security forces have subjected detainees to threats of sexual violence during interrogations after compelling them to fully undress.
**Tzvi Kahn is a research fellow and senior editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Tzvi and Janatan on X @TzviKahn and @JanatanSayeh. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and UAE choose action over apathy
Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/August 04, 2025
In times of profound geopolitical upheaval, and moral testing, the true character of nations and their leadership is revealed — not through slogans, but through action. As the Arab region continues to witness one of the gravest humanitarian catastrophes in its modern history — the brutal and prolonged assault on Gaza — the disparity between rhetoric and reality grows ever starker. Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the world has watched in horror as entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, children buried under debris, and hospitals transformed into graveyards. The death toll has become a number, numbingly rising with each passing day. Yet amid this unbearable human suffering, the Arab and Islamic world’s response has been mixed. Outrage has been loud, but tangible solidarity has been scarce. In this paradox, we see the stark division between those who choose to act and those who are content to comment. What is deeply alarming is that those who act are often the very targets of baseless criticism. Take, for instance, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE — three Arab states that have taken concrete, coordinated steps to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid to Gaza. These efforts include air-dropped medical supplies, land convoys of food and flour, field hospitals, and even diplomatic pressure to facilitate humanitarian corridors. Rather than being acknowledged, these efforts are often derided or dismissed outright.
Just days ago, Jordanian trucks were seen crossing into Gaza, laden with flour, medicine, and essentials. This came after months of famine and humanitarian blockade. Similar aid from Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been dispatched repeatedly through Egyptian and Jordanian crossings. Yet what did this spark? An avalanche of online criticism, accusations of normalization, and claims of political theater. Some denied the images and videos altogether; others accused us of coordinating with the Israeli occupation, as if helping the wounded and starving somehow equates to betrayal.
This intellectual and moral duplicity not only undermines Jordan’s efforts but also exposes a deeper rot — an obsession with ideological purity over practical compassion. Critics, often ensconced in digital echo chambers and hotel lobbies, prefer slogans over solutions. They vilify aid because it is not coupled with revolution, and they attack those who do something, however small, because it is not everything.
Every child saved today is a future voice for Palestine.
Let us be clear: Jordan’s support for Palestine is neither cosmetic nor contingent. It is rooted in history, blood, and political principle. From the 1948 Nakba to the ongoing siege of Gaza, Jordan has carried a disproportionate burden of the Palestinian tragedy — hosting millions of refugees, advocating at every international forum, and absorbing the political and economic consequences of standing by Palestine. What Jordan has done, and continues to do, is a reflection of state policy grounded in pan-Arab nationalism and a moral worldview.
And Jordan has not stood alone. Saudi Arabia has played a critical diplomatic and financial role, pressing international actors to ceasefire negotiations and providing major aid packages. The UAE, too, has dispatched multiple aid convoys and field hospitals, particularly to northern Gaza. These efforts represent a concerted Arab move to alleviate suffering — not because it is easy, but because it is right.
Do these efforts resolve the core issue of occupation? No. But are they futile? Absolutely not. In a time when Gaza is being starved into submission, every truck, every plane, and every pill becomes an act of resistance — a rejection of death, a declaration of life.
Unfortunately, the loudest critics rarely offer alternatives. Instead of mobilizing support, they mobilize hashtags. Instead of donating, they denounce. Their worldview is binary: either full liberation or full betrayal. This maximalist logic has paralyzed Arab action for decades and helped no one, least of all the Palestinians. More dangerous still is the normalization of nihilism. To claim that no effort matters unless it achieves complete liberation is to ignore the complexity of political struggle. It is to surrender the realm of the possible in favor of performative purity. It is to forget that while the dream of a free Palestine is sacred, it must be pursued through all available means — diplomatic, humanitarian, and, yes, pragmatic.
We in Jordan do not claim sainthood. We acknowledge that Gaza’s needs exceed our capacity. But it is unjust to scapegoat Jordan while wealthier, more capable actors do far less. Our commitment stems not from opportunism but from obligation. And it continues in the face of political backlash, security risks, and logistical nightmares. We understand the frustration of Palestinians in Gaza — the parents burying children, the doctors working without anesthetics, the displaced living without hope. They have every right to be angry. But let their anger be directed toward those who bomb, besiege, and occupy — not those who rush to offer help.To our critics, we say: What have you done? Did you sponsor a child? Did you send food or medicine? Did you speak to your governments or write to your lawmakers? Or did you merely tweet your indignation from a cafe, then move on?
The real betrayal is silence. The real complicity is inaction. In this region’s darkest hour, lighting even a single candle — be it a truck, a medical tent, or a public statement — is infinitely more valuable than screaming into the void. Because in Gaza today, a loaf of bread can mean survival. A dose of insulin can mean life. A warm blanket can mean dignity. Let us not romanticize suffering. Let us not fetishize resistance while ignoring the bleeding wound. Every child saved today is a future voice for Palestine. Every family helped is a shield against despair. And every Arab government that chooses action over apathy is keeping the cause alive — not in museum speeches but in lived reality. Jordan will continue to act. Not because it is easy. Not because it is popular. But because it is right. Our moral compass does not waver with the winds of public opinion. And we remain convinced that Palestine is not a seasonal cause or a trending topic, but a permanent moral obligation. In the end, we do not seek applause. We seek results. We seek to feed the hungry, heal the wounded, and preserve a flicker of hope in a sea of darkness. The path to liberation is long, and it passes through many roads — some political, some humanitarian, some military. But none of these roads are paved by cynicism alone. So let the critics shout. Let the cynics scoff. We will continue lighting candles — because Gaza needs light, not lectures. And when history writes this chapter, it will remember neither the tweets nor the tirades, but the trucks that arrived, the hands that helped, and the hearts that stood firm.
• Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh

The Gulf can build future success by looking to the past
Maria Hanif Al-Qassim/Arab News/August 04, 2025
In the Arabian Gulf, there is an understandable fascination with the future: smart cities, AI clusters, and economic zones that promise diversification beyond oil. But amid this forward momentum, we risk forgetting that the Gulf’s economy was once thriving not because of central planning or industrial zoning, but because of something far more organic: trust, adaptability, and deeply human connections.
Before the modern nation-state drew hard borders across the Arabian Peninsula and southern Iran, the Gulf was part of a far older and more fluid geography. Communities in places such as Qeshm, Dubai, Muscat, and Bandar Abbas did not simply trade — they lived, moved, worked, and married across regions. Their strength lay not in homogeneity or formality, but in intersectionality: the convergence of professions, identities, and roles within and across households and communities.
In my research on the history of trade in the Gulf — families with ancestral and economic ties stretching across the region — I found that their livelihoods were anything but linear. One person might be a pearl diver during the season, a scholar the next, and an informal arbitrator within his community when called on. Women, too, played roles beyond the domestic: managing household finances, facilitating trade relationships, and anchoring family ties across shores. These were not exceptions; they were features of a society that understood economic resilience as a communal endeavor, grounded in social versatility and collective trust. There was no formal “cluster strategy” — but the Gulf functioned like one long before the term existed. People, skills, goods, and ideas came together not through infrastructure, but through relationships: between tribes and towns, merchants and craftsmen, men and women, elders and youth. The economy was informal, yes — but it was remarkably efficient, precisely because it was interconnected.
Today, when we talk about economic clusters, we tend to speak in terms of infrastructure. Zones are carved out, incentives are layered in, and success is measured in contributions to the national economy and employment targets. These are all important. But what made the Gulf economy thrive in the past — and what can make it thrive again — is something harder to quantify: intersectional connectedness.
In an age of fragmentation, intersectionality is not a soft value but a strategic asset.
The UAE’s recent experience building a national food cluster offers a powerful example. Launched in 2024, the cluster was developed not as an isolated zone, but as a living ecosystem built on values deeply rooted in Gulf tradition.
It prioritized trust, adaptability, and collaboration — not just between government and private sector, but across farmers, logistics providers, regulators, entrepreneurs, and researchers. The goal was not just economic output, but a shared sense of purpose and mutual accountability.
This approach echoes the pre-oil way of doing things in the UAE: where public and private blurred, where roles overlapped, and where economic activity was embedded in the rhythms of community life. The food cluster did not just revive a sector; it revived a mindset.
And that mindset is more relevant now than ever. In an age of fragmentation — where technology often isolates, and sectors compete for attention and resources — intersectionality is not a soft value but a strategic asset. It is what allows ecosystems to adapt, what allows people to participate meaningfully in change, and what anchors innovation in lived experience rather than in abstraction. As we build the next phase of the Gulf’s economic transformation, let us not only look outward — to global competitiveness or cross-border trade. Let us look inward, at the web of relationships that have always been our strength. Because long before we had clusters, we had community. And when communities are connected across lines of class, role, geography, and function — that is when real prosperity begins.
Maria Hanif Al-Qassim is an Emirati from Dubai who writes on development, gender and social issues. X: @maria_hanif

Selected tweets for 04 August/2025
U.S. Embassy Beirut
Today marks five years since the tragic Beirut port explosion that claimed over 200 lives and displaced thousands. We stand with the people of Lebanon in their call for accountability. Lebanon deserves an independent and impartial judicial system that delivers justice for the victims, not protections for the elites. The United States remains committed to a sovereign, stable, and prosperous Lebanon shaped by its people—not outside forces.

Ambassador Tom Barrack
Disturbing violence erupted yesterday in Suwayda, and in Manbij. Diplomacy is the best way to stop violence and build a peaceful, lasting solution. 🇺🇸 is proud to have helped mediate a solution in Suwayda and to be co-mediating with 🇫🇷 the reintegration of the northeast into a unified Syria. The path ahead belongs to Syrians — urging all sides to uphold calm and resolve differences through dialogue, not bloodshed. Syria deserves stability. Syrians deserve peace.

Rania Hamzeh
https://x.com/i/status/1952334847424229804
The Syrian Public Security, under the command of transitional president Al-Julani, deployed 20 tanks to As-Suwayda, with 4to 5 positioned directly across from the National Hospital. Without intervention from the Israeli army, these tanks would have bombarded and leveled the hospital and all the surrounding buildings. What kind of government sends tanks to attack wounded civilians in a city? This reflects deep-seated hatred and clear intent to ethnically cleanse the Druze population. Some attackers, carrying Public Security identification, were found to be acting on direct orders from the Syrian government to kill and eradicate the Druze.

wassim Godfrey
800 billions of corruption wealth in lebanon 35 years of organized financial crimes health lives future where taken out from a nation
under the mafiocrat system called Taef
nytimes
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/magazine/corruption-lebanon.html?smid=url-share

Guila Fakhoury
After five years since the August 4 Beirut blast, there has still been no justice for the victims of the Beirut port tragedy. This serves as a reminder that as long as Hezbollah remains armed and part of the Lebanese government, threatening the wellbeing of the Lebanese people, true justice will remain elusive for everyone.

Marc Zell
Speaker Mike Johnson says that the mountains of Judea and Samaria are the rightful property of the Jewish People. He criticizes those erstwhile allies of Israel who are calling to recognize a palestinian state. He closes with a statement that as the U.S. begins to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the US should use the occasion to remind the American people of its Judeo-Christian foundations that were formed here in the Land of Israel.

Amine Bar-Julius Iskandar
“The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have someone write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was.”
Milan Kundera

Elie Abou Abou Aoun
Today marks five years since Beirut was shattered by one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in modern history. Two thoughts come to my mind:
1- More than 200 lives were lost, and around 7,000 people were injured. Yet, there has been no progress in uncovering the truth or holding those responsible accountable. Impunity must never be normalized. It is deeply disheartening to witness a public narrative that treats the blast as if it were caused by a ghost—an event with no origin, no culprits, and no consequences.
2- Amid the devastation, one of Lebanon’s most efficient and transparent NGOs, @arcenciel, rose to the occasion, providing unwavering support to the victims and their families, sending a powerful message about the strength of Lebanese civil society, even in the face of unjust demonization campaigns. Arcenciel deserves everyone’s support.