English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  August 07/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.August07.25.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006 

Click On The Below Link To Join Elias Bejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام لكروب Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group

Elias Bejjani/Click on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس بجاني/اضغط على الرابط في أسفل للإشتراك في موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw

Bible Quotations For today
Woe to you Pharisees! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11/47-51/:”Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute”, so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 06-07/2025
Text and Video: Naim Qassem Invents a New Taif and Hides Behind Iran's Sectarian "National Pact" While Boasting of Victories That Are, in Reality, Crushing Defeats/Elias Bejjani/August 06/2025
The Feast of the Divine Transfiguration: The Light of Glory That Dispels the Shadows of Despair/Elias Bejjani/August 06/2025
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
Lebanese army carries out special operation, eliminates 3 notorious drug lords in Baalbek
Can Lebanon disarm Hezbollah?
Lebanese Government Instructs Army to Develop Plan for State Monopoly on Weapons as Hezbollah Refuses to Disarm
Lebanon’s Army Says Its Troops Have Killed 3 of the Country’s Most Wanted Drug Dealers
Hezbollah Says Lebanon Cabinet Decision to Seek State Monopoly on Arms Is 'Grave Sin'
Israel Says It Killed Hezbollah Operative in East Lebanon
Israeli airstrike targets the town of Tulin in the south
This is the structure of Hezbollah/Imad Moussa/Nidaa Al Watan/August 7, 2025
A presidential move with foundational dimensions exposes the "party's" hypocrisy... A triumph of state culture over the "May 7" demagoguery/Samer Zureik/Nidaa Al Watan/August 7, 2025
The "Session" to Protect Shiites/Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/August 7, 2025
Lebanon Enters a New Path: Arms Exclusivity or Hezbollah Escalation

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 06-07/2025
Iran executes one man accused of spying for Israel and another for Islamic State links
Syria's Sharaa to British Official: We Are Open to Any Initiative that Leads to Regional Stability
Israeli military chief warns against takeover of Gaza as Netanyahu considers ‘full conquest’ of besieged territory
Egyptian minister calls West’s response to Gaza suffering shameful
If the IDF has nothing to hide with its military and aid operation, it should allow international journalists into Gaza
Trump's Reaction To Israel Potentially Expanding Its Gaza Offensive Is Nothing Short Of Alarming
'Pick Up The Phone!' Starmer Urged To Speak To Trump Amid Fears Israel May Reoccupy Gaza
Muslims leaders say anti-Palestinian racism is casting a chill on free speech
The secret system Hamas uses to pay government salaries
Dozens killed seeking aid in Gaza as Israel weighs further military action
Israeli President decries Hamas 'manipulation' after German media exposes 'staged' Gaza photography
With only one nuclear arms pact left between the US and Russia, a new arms race is possible

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 06-07/2025
What Follows the Shattering of the 'Axis of Resistance!'/Hassan Al Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
Political Rationality in a Region Exhausted by Ideology/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
Mideast crises deserve more than amateurs/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06, 2025
Qatar Is Powering Syria/Ahmad Sharawi and Natalie Ecanow/August 06/2025
U.S. Cancellation of Sudan Talks Was a Mistake/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/FDD/August 06/2025
7 UN Organizations That Undermine Israel and the U.S./David May & Jake Schlanger/FDD/August 06/2025
Afghans in Iran have significant national security implications for the Tehran regime/Janatan Sayeh/FDD's Long War Journal/August 06/2025
Clashes erupt in Syria’s Suwayda following US-brokered ceasefire/Ahmad Sharawi/FDD's Long War Journal/August 06/2025
Ahmad Sharawi/FDD's Long War Journal/August 06/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 06-07/2025
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Naim Qassem Invents a New Taif and Hides Behind Iran's Sectarian "National Pact" While Boasting of Victories That Are, in Reality, Crushing Defeats
Elias Bejjani/August 06/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/145979/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17awvWmIC5Y&t=66s
Once again, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Secretary-General of the terrorist group Hezbollah, delivered a speech that exemplifies deception and blatant distortion. With no sense of shame, he invoked slogans of patriotism, the Taif Agreement, sovereignty, the National Pact, and resistance—all in the service of a sectarian militia project subservient to the Iranian regime. This project has nothing to do with Lebanon or the interests of its people.
Anyone who followed his speech on August 5, 2025, would immediately see that Qassem speaks not for Lebanon or its citizens, but solely for Iran’s Supreme Leader. Hezbollah is the military and security arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and since 2005, it has been occupying Lebanon. Hezbollah refuses to cede this occupation to the Lebanese state, constitution, or sovereignty. Instead, through violence and intimidation, it seeks to crush the state, enslave the people, and empty the Lebanese entity to serve the Iranian project of Wilayat al-Faqih (Rule of the Jurisprudent).
1. A Speech of Lies and Delusions
Not a single word in Qassem’s speech reflects truth, reality, or the decaying state of Hezbollah’s capabilities. He transitioned from one falsehood to another with astonishing audacity, insulting the intelligence of the Lebanese people. He falsely claimed that the Taif Agreement legitimized Hezbollah’s weapons and that its arsenal is a “constitutional right” that cannot be touched without full national consensus. Astonishingly, he equated Hezbollah’s weapons with the National Pact that guarantees Christian-Muslim coexistence—despite Christians being a numerical minority.
2. A Flagrant Falsification of the Taif Agreement and the Constitution
Let us remind Qassem and those parroting these lies that the Taif Agreement never mentioned Hezbollah or any so-called "resistance." On the contrary, it explicitly stated:
“All Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias shall be disbanded. Their weapons shall be collected and delivered to the Lebanese state within a specified timeframe.”
(Paragraph E, Section A – Political Reforms – Taif Agreement)
“The Lebanese state shall extend its authority over all Lebanese territories through its own forces, with no partner or rival.”
(Paragraph G, Section A – Taif Agreement)
Thus, the continued existence of Hezbollah’s arsenal is a direct violation of the constitution, the National Pact, the will of the people, and international resolutions—from 1559 to 1701 and beyond.
The National Pact does not grant legitimacy to illegal weapons or sectarian militias taking orders from Tehran. It mandates that vital national decisions be made within legitimate state institutions, under the rule of law and the constitution.
3. The Myth of Weapons as Sectarian “Guarantees”
In a dangerous and divisive move, Qassem attempted to frighten Christians by invoking Lebanon’s demographic imbalance—a narrative that is entirely rejected. Lebanon is not protected by militias. It is protected by its constitution, state institutions, army, and judiciary.
Christians, Shiites, and all Lebanese do not need sectarian militias for protection. They need a strong, sovereign, and just state. Hezbollah does not protect the Shiite community; it holds it hostage and sends its youth to die in Iran’s proxy wars inside and outside Lebanon—wars that serve Tehran, not Lebanon.
4. The Lie of “Victory” – A Defeat Too Massive to Conceal
Qassem proudly claimed that Hezbollah “prevented Israel from reaching Beirut.” In reality, Israel has not only reached Beirut—it has repeatedly bombed Hezbollah’s stronghold in Dahiyeh, assassinated top commanders, and destroyed weapons depots, command centers, and infrastructure across Lebanon. The cost? Thousands dead, tens of thousands displaced, an economy in ruins, and total infrastructure collapse.
Israeli jets now fly over Lebanon with impunity, striking Hezbollah operatives at will. Yet Qassem shamelessly calls this a “victory.”
5. The Crime of the Beirut Port
Qassem cynically mentioned the anniversary of the Beirut port explosion—as if Hezbollah were blameless. In truth, Hezbollah has obstructed the investigation, eliminated key witnesses, and shielded those responsible.
According to both international and local investigations, Hezbollah used the port as a weapons depot and a smuggling hub for the Assad regime. This is not a conspiracy—it is documented, undeniable evidence. No empty rhetoric can erase this crime.
6. Hezbollah Killed in Syria—Not Resisted
Hezbollah dispatched thousands of fighters to Syria to prop up Bashar al-Assad’s murderous regime. In doing so, it played a direct role in destroying cities, displacing millions, and massacring civilians—under the banner of the so-called “Axis of Resistance.” What resistance kills other peoples to defend a dictator?
7. Refusal to Disarm = Declaration of War on the State
Hezbollah’s insistence on retaining weapons outside state control is a declaration of war on the Lebanese people, on the state, and on sovereignty. Its alleged willingness to “discuss a defense strategy” is a ruse—this so-called strategy is nothing more than a scheme to retain its weapons indefinitely under Iranian command.
Let it be clear:
There is no legitimacy for any weapon outside the Lebanese Army.
There is no compromise on murder.
There can be no partnership in smuggling, kidnapping, and assassination.
It is either one state with one army—or no state at all.
8. Hezbollah Is Defeated… and Iran Is Crumbling
Despite the propaganda, Hezbollah has suffered major defeats both in Lebanon and abroad. Israel has shattered its deterrence and exposed its vulnerabilities. The Iranian project it serves has collapsed under domestic uprisings and foreign strikes in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
The false slogans of “resistance” and “liberation” have been debunked. The “Jerusalem cause” has been used, abused, and ultimately exposed as a front for a sectarian imperial project. Iran's expansionist dreams are crumbling.
9. Final Message: Lebanon Cannot Be Saved Until Hezbollah Is Disarmed
Lebanon will never rise as long as Hezbollah holds the reins of power, controls war and peace, and dominates the ports, airport, politics, and economy.
The state must act. If it does not, the international community—or even Israel—will not tolerate the continued existence of this terrorist entity.
The coming stage will be unforgiving. The choice is clear:
Either implement international resolutions and disarm Hezbollah—or face the alternative: Israeli intervention, the collapse of southern Lebanon into a buffer zone, and possible mass displacement.
Conclusion:
Hezbollah’s era must end.
Its weapons must go.
Only then can Lebanon breathe, rebuild, and reclaim its sovereignty.

The Feast of the Divine Transfiguration: The Light of Glory That Dispels the Shadows of Despair
Elias Bejjani/August 06/2025
Every year on the sixth of August, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, one of the major Feasts of the Lord—also known as the Great Feasts—which mark key events in the life and mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The term "Feasts of the Lord" refers to those holy days that center directly on Christ’s divine mission—His Nativity, Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, and, indeed, His Transfiguration. In Eastern churches such as the Maronite, Syriac, and Chaldean traditions, these feasts are accompanied by a body of liturgical readings and homilies known in Syriac as Peskita (ܦܣܝܟܬܐ)—a term designating the solemn scriptural and homiletic heritage reserved for the Church’s most sacred days.
The Transfiguration is not merely the remembrance of a miraculous event in Christ’s earthly life. Rather, it is an eternal revelation of His divine nature, a glimpse of the glory that is His from before all ages—hidden in the flesh but now unveiled in radiant light.
On this sacred day, we behold Jesus ascending a high mountain—believed to be Mount Tabor—accompanied by three of His apostles: Peter, James, and John. There, before their eyes, “He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). Appearing with Him were Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets—standing in awe before the One who fulfills them both. From the bright cloud came the voice of the Father: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5).
The Transfiguration is a foreshadowing of the Resurrection, a bursting forth of the unconquerable light of divinity, and a beacon of hope amid trials and darkness. It assures us that suffering is not the end, and that the path of the Cross leads to the brilliance of divine life.
Theological and Spiritual Meanings of the Feast
1. Proclamation of Christ’s Divinity
In shining face and dazzling garments, Christ reveals His divine nature. He is “Light from Light, true God from true God,” no longer veiled, but radiant in truth.
2. A Glimpse of the Resurrection
The event occurs before the Passion to strengthen the disciples, giving them a foretaste of Christ’s victory over death. It is a promise that suffering will give way to glory.
3. Union of the Old and New Covenants
Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, which now find their fulfillment in Christ. The Transfiguration unites the Old Testament with the New.
4. A Call to Faithfulness
The Father’s voice says: “Listen to Him.” It is a divine command for all generations—to remain faithful to Christ even when the days grow dark and uncertain.
Scriptural Accounts of the Transfiguration
In the New Testament:
Matthew 17:1–8
“Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them…”
Mark 9:2–8
“He was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them…”
Luke 9:28–36
“As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor…”
2 Peter 1:16–18
“We were eyewitnesses of His majesty… For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory…”
Foreshadowings in the Old Testament:
Exodus 24:15–18 — Moses ascends the mountain, and the cloud of God’s glory covers it.
Exodus 34:29–35 — Moses’ face shines after speaking with the Lord.
1 Kings 19:8–13 — Elijah encounters God on Mount Horeb, not in the storm but in a gentle whisper.
Historical Establishment of the Feast
The Feast of the Transfiguration was celebrated in the Christian East as early as the fourth century. It became an official feast for the whole Church when Pope Callixtus III declared it so in 1457, commemorating the miraculous Christian victory over the Ottoman forces in the Battle of Belgrade, which took place on August 6 of that year. The feast, already known in the East, was thus fixed in the Roman liturgical calendar under Pope Nicholas V and later ratified under Callixtus. Since then, it has stood as a symbol of Christian light triumphing over the shadows of tyranny and conquest.
Lebanon and the Transfiguration: From Calvary to the Dawn
Today, Lebanon lives its own Calvary—crucified under the yoke of a brutal, sectarian, and imperial occupation spearheaded by the Iranian regime and its local Trojan horse: the so-called “Hezbollah.” This militia has stolen the dreams and dignity of all Lebanese, especially the Shiite youth who have been sacrificed to its foreign agenda.
But just as Golgotha did not end in the tomb, so too Lebanon shall not remain in the darkness of this foreign barbaric oppression. As the Lord said to His terrified disciples: “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 17:7), so too He says to the people of Lebanon today: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
In the Transfiguration, Jesus changed His appearance and transformed the mountain’s gloom into divine radiance. We, the faithful and free sons and daughters of Lebanon, believe that the day will come when the light of sovereignty, liberty, and true independence will break forth upon our land. Every idol of tyranny will fall, and every altar of deception, terrorism, fundamentalism, and illegal arms shall crumble.
Final Prayer
O Lord of Glory, who was transfigured before Your chosen ones, Shine Your divine light upon our darkened paths.
Open our eyes, as You did with Your disciples, That we may behold Your face even amid our suffering.
Remove the veil from our hearts, and let us see Your presence in our trials.
Deliver Lebanon, scatter the clouds of oppression, And rise upon our nation with the light of Your peace and truth.
May we, like You on the mountain, be transfigured—From slaves of fear into children of light.
Amen.

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.

Lebanese army carries out special operation, eliminates 3 notorious drug lords in Baalbek
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/August 06, 2025
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army Command confirmed on Wednesday the death of three of the country’s most notorious and dangerous drug traffickers, who were killed during an armed clash between army units and the wanted individuals in Baalbek. The security operation, hailed by Lebanese media as “a major milestone in the war on drugs” and “a clear message to fugitives that the era of impunity is nearing its end,” took place less than 24 hours after the Cabinet instructed “the army to develop a plan for seizing illegal weapons by year’s end and submit it to the government by the end of August. The Army Command announced in a statement that “during the pursuit of a vehicle carrying wanted members of the Zeaiter family in the Sharawneh neighborhood of Baalbek, a clash broke out between the suspects and army units, resulting in their deaths.” The individuals have been identified as Ali Monzer Zeaiter, Abbas Ali Saadoun Zeaiter, and Fayyad Salem Zeaiter and were wanted for a series of serious crimes, including the killing of soldiers, kidnapping, armed assaults on army posts and patrols, and armed robbery. The Directorate of Orientation reported that “the wanted individuals had been involved for years in large-scale drug trafficking across multiple Lebanese regions, contributing to the rise of crime and drawing thousands, especially youth, into lives of crime.”
It added that previous operations to bring the individuals to justice failed, with some resulting in injuries among its soldiers.
The Army Command denied reports that homes or relatives of the wanted individuals, or any residents, had been targeted during the operation. It also refuted claims of any clashes between residents and army personnel. Baalbek is predominantly influenced by powerful tribal families, many of which have historically served as a supportive base for Hezbollah. Some wanted individuals have long been shielded by both the party and their tribal affiliations. Sharawneh, the Baalbek neighborhood targeted in the army raid, has become a refuge for dozens of wanted arms and drug traffickers, many equipped with rockets and machine guns. The area is notoriously difficult for security forces to access, operating as a closed zone under the influence of complex and deeply rooted tribal influence. Eyewitnesses in the city reported that the army “deployed drones during the operation to conduct precision strikes in the area.”
Ali Monzer, regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the Bekaa Valley’s drug trade, is infamous for repeatedly evading security prosecution. He was wanted on hundreds of arrest warrants for crimes including drug trafficking, armed assaults, and kidnappings. Around five years ago, he moved to Baalbek’s Sharawneh neighborhood. A military source revealed: “The operation was the result of meticulous surveillance of his movements. The aim was not only to capture him, but also to deliver a significant blow to the drug networks that have entrenched themselves in the Sharawneh neighborhood.”
The kingpin was previously involved in a 2022 armed attack on a Lebanese army patrol, which left a sergeant dead and several others wounded. During that raid, Ali Monzer sustained two gunshot wounds but managed to escape despite his critical injuries.
On July 24, the army tracked him using a drone, suspecting him to be among a group of wanted individuals fleeing in a four-wheel-drive vehicle through the Bekaa Valley. The drone launched a missile near the vehicle, successfully disabling it. However, he escaped before army forces could reach the scene.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah issued a statement rejecting the Cabinet’s decision, passed during its Tuesday night session, to restrict the possession of weapons to the state. The party accused Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government of “committing a major sin by adopting a resolution that strips Lebanon of its ability to resist the Israeli enemy, effectively granting Israel what it failed to achieve through military aggression.” Hezbollah further claimed the decision was driven by pressure from US Envoy Thomas Barrack, calling it “part of a surrender strategy” and “a clear betrayal of the core principles of Lebanon’s sovereignty.”However, in the same statement, Hezbollah affirmed its “openness for dialogue aimed at ending Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating occupied territories, securing the release of prisoners, rebuilding what was destroyed by the aggression, and contributing to the construction of a strong state.” The party “expressed its willingness to discuss a national security strategy but emphasized that such discussions must not take place under the threat of aggression,” adding that Tel Aviv “must first fulfill its obligations.” The group also called on the Lebanese government to “prioritize all necessary measures to liberate Lebanese territories still under occupation, in accordance with its ministerial declaration.”Meanwhile, Israel continued its strikes on Hezbollah, launching a drone attack on a motorcycle in the town of Touline, killing a child and injuring his father, who were both riding the vehicle. An Israeli airstrike late Tuesday night targeted the Baalbek region deep within Lebanon, reportedly striking “a vehicle carrying a Hezbollah member.” According to Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, “the individual, identified as Hossam Qassem Ghorab, was a Hezbollah operative accused of operating from Lebanese territory to coordinate cells in Syria, planning rocket attacks on the Golan Heights.”

Can Lebanon disarm Hezbollah?
Reuters/August 06, 2025
US envoy proposed a roadmap to Lebanese officials to fully disarm Hezbollah in exchange for Israel halting strikes and withdrawing troops
Lebanese army has a deadline to submit a disarmament plan of Hezbollah to the government by the end of August
Lebanon’s cabinet has told the army to draw up a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms in a challenge to the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, which rejects calls to disarm.
WHY IS THERE A PUSH TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH NOW?
Israel pummelled Hezbollah last year in a war sparked by the conflict in Gaza, killing many of its top brass and 5,000 of its fighters before a November truce brokered by the United States. That deal committed Lebanon to restricting arms to six specific state security forces, and further stipulated that it should confiscate unauthorized weapons and prevent rearmament by non-state groups. In the months since, a new Lebanese government vowed to confine arms across the country to state control, Hezbollah’s main arms route was cut when its Syrian ally Bashar Assad was ousted in December and Israel attacked its sponsor Iran in June. The government is facing pressure from Washington and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to act swiftly amid fears that Israel could intensify air strikes on Lebanon. Despite November’s ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.
HOW IS THE UNITED STATES INVOLVED?
In June, US envoy Thomas Barrack proposed a roadmap to Lebanese officials to fully disarm Hezbollah in exchange for Israel halting its strikes on Lebanon and withdrawing its troops from five points they still occupy in southern Lebanon. But Hezbollah and its main Shiite ally the Amal Movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, say the sequencing should be reversed, with Israel withdrawing and halting strikes before any talks on Hezbollah’s arms. Washington has grown impatient, demanding the Beirut government make the first move with a formal commitment to disarm Hezbollah.
WHY IS HEZBOLLAH SO WELL-ARMED?
After Lebanon’s 15-year civil war ended in 1990 Hezbollah, founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, was the only group allowed to keep its weapons on the grounds that it was fighting Israel’s occupation of the country’s south. After Israel withdrew in 2000 the group did not give up its arms, arguing its ability to fight was still a critical element of national defense against future Israeli aggression. A ceasefire agreement after a war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 was backed by a UN resolution demanding the disarmament of all militant groups — but Hezbollah again kept its weapons, accusing Israel of having violated other parts of the truce deal, which Israel denies. Hezbollah took over parts of Beirut in fighting in 2008, underscoring its dominance. The group exercised decisive sway over state affairs in the following years as its power grew.
WHAT DOES HEZBOLLAH SAY AND COULD THERE BE CIVIL STRIFE?
Hezbollah has called the government’s decision to ask the army to draw up plans to disarm it a “grave sin” that “fully serves Israel’s interest.”Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem rejected each clause in Barrack’s roadmap and when he spoke on Tuesday, dozens of motorcycles with men carrying Hezbollah flags drove around the group’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs — a show of its enduring strength. Hovering over any attempt to force Hezbollah to disarm is the spectre of previous bouts of civil unrest, including the 2008 fighting, triggered by the government’s attempt to shut down the group’s military telecoms network — an important facility for the group, but still less central than its arms.
WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL COMPLICATIONS?
Lebanon’s power-sharing system apportions public sector posts — including in parliament, the cabinet and other roles — to different religious sects according to quotas. The system is meant to ensure no sect is cut out of decision making, but critics say it leads to political paralysis.
Shiite representation in both parliament and cabinet is dominated by Hezbollah and its political ally Amal. Two Shiite ministers were traveling during Tuesday’s cabinet session, and the other two walked out in the final moments as the decision was being taken. Qassem has said any government decision would require a national consensus and may challenge the legitimacy of cabinet decisions taken without Shiites.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The cabinet decision gave the army a deadline to submit a disarmament plan to the government by the end of August. Another session scheduled for Thursday will discuss Barrack’s proposal. Some Lebanese parties may keep trying to find a workaround that avoids a confrontation between Hezbollah and the state while warding off heavier Israeli strikes.

Lebanese Government Instructs Army to Develop Plan for State Monopoly on Weapons as Hezbollah Refuses to Disarm
FDD/August 06/2025
Latest Developments
‘Strengthening the Authority of the State’: Lebanon’s cabinet on August 5 tasked the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with developing a plan by the end of 2025 to consolidate all arms in the country under state security forces, presenting a direct challenge to Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. “We are committed to strengthening the authority of the state,” said Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam following the nearly six-hour-long meeting held at Lebanon’s presidential palace, adding that the LAF had “been instructed to prepare a detailed plan to ensure that all arms in the country are brought under legitimate government oversight by year’s end.” The move was decided upon following Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s calls on July 31 for Hezbollah’s disarmament. Hezbollah’s Qassem Defiant: The announcement followed a defiant televised speech by Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, who told the Lebanese government not to “waste time on the storms stirred up by external dictates,” referring to U.S. demands for Beirut to disarm the terrorist organization. “Solve the problem of the (Israeli) aggression, and then we will discuss the issue of the weapons,” he added. Qassem also threatened that missiles would be launched against “the Israeli entity, and all the security they have built over eight months will collapse within an hour” were Israel to engage in “large-scale aggression” against Lebanon.U.S. Pressure on Beirut: Lebanon’s latest step toward implementing a state monopoly on domestic arms comes amidst increasing pressure on Beirut to formally commit to disarming Hezbollah. Without this commitment, Washington will no longer dispatch U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and regional envoy Tom Barrack to oversee negotiations with the Lebanese government, nor press Israel to halt military operations and withdraw from the country. “The credibility of Lebanon’s government rests on its ability to match principle with practice,” Barrack stated on July 27, adding, “As long as Hezbollah retains arms, words will not suffice.”
FDD Expert Response
“The Lebanese government tasking the LAF with drawing up a plan to monopolize arms is a tremendous first step for Lebanon — one that resulted from relentless Israeli military and American diplomatic pressure, not from Lebanese opposition or imaginary Shia defections from Hezbollah’s support base. That same pressure must be maintained to get Lebanon to carry this decision to the finish line and finally disarm Hezbollah while reminding the Lebanese government that if it squanders this historic opportunity, it is on its own.” — David Daoud, Senior Fellow
“Qassem’s defiance regarding the Lebanese government’s apparent plan to create a viable roadmap to disarm Hezbollah placed the government and Hezbollah on a collision course. The United States should be cautious with any optimism over this announcement, as there is always the likelihood of the Lebanese government backtracking out of fear of a potential confrontation with Hezbollah and its Shia support base.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst

Lebanon’s Army Says Its Troops Have Killed 3 of the Country’s Most Wanted Drug Dealers
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
The Lebanese army on Wednesday said it killed three of the country’s most wanted drug dealers, who also had been involved in killing members of the military. The shooting in the northeastern city of Baalbek comes as the cash-strapped military tries to exert its presence across the country, including along the border with Syria.For years, the porous border has been a key route for weapons and drug smuggling, notably cannabis and the amphetamine-like stimulant captagon.The army said in a statement an exchange of fire occurred as members of the military were chasing the car used by the three Lebanese citizens, leading to their death. “They were among the most wanted and dangerous drug dealers,” the army said. It added that the three had been involved in shooting at army posts and patrols as well as kidnapping and theft. Two judicial officials said one of the men had 115 arrest warrants against him and was involved in the 2023 kidnapping of a foreigner in Beirut. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Hezbollah Says Lebanon Cabinet Decision to Seek State Monopoly on Arms Is 'Grave Sin'
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
Hezbollah said on Wednesday the Lebanese government was committing a "grave sin" by tasking the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms, sharpening a national divide over calls for the Shiite group to disarm. Despite unprecedented pressure from Washington and from its domestic rivals, the Iran-backed group has refused to fully relinquish its arsenal, which it retained after Lebanon's civil war ended in 1990 even as other militias disarmed. Now, the US has demanded Lebanon's cabinet explicitly pledge to strip Hezbollah of its weapons - a move that risks reigniting tensions in Lebanon, a nation of multiple sects where Hezbollah retains significant support among Shiites.The cabinet on Tuesday tasked the Lebanese army with drawing up a plan to confine arms across the country to six official security forces by year's end. Hezbollah rejected the decision in a written statement on Wednesday, saying it was a result of US "diktats" and that it would "deal with it as if it does not exist". "The government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam committed a grave sin by taking a decision to strip Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy... This decision fully serves Israel's interest," the group said.
The statement said Shiite ministers walked out of the cabinet session before the decision was reached as "an expression of the resistance's (Hezbollah's) rejection of this decision".
The group said it remained ready to discuss a broader national security strategy and called on its supporters to remain patient.
WAR WITH ISRAEL
The session at Lebanon's presidential palace was the first time the cabinet addressed Hezbollah's weapons - unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power before a devastating war with Israel last year. A US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel in November ended that conflict, called on Lebanon to confiscate all "unauthorized" weapons across the country and said Israel would stop offensive operations against Lebanese targets. But Israel has kept its troops at five points in Lebanon's southern border region and has continued air strikes against what it says are Hezbollah fighters and arms depots.In June, the US submitted a roadmap to Lebanese officials that proposed Hezbollah fully disarm in exchange for Israel withdrawing its troops and halting its strikes.Hezbollah and its main ally, the Amal Movement led by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, have demanded the order be reversed, saying Israel must halt its strikes before any discussion on weapons can be held. On Wednesday, Amal said Lebanon's government should focus on consolidating the November ceasefire and said the next cabinet session on Thursday would be a chance to correct course. Ministers will meet again on Thursday to continue discussions on the US proposal. Imad Salamey, chairman of the Lebanese-American University's Department of Political and International Studies, said the country's Shiite community, hit hardest by last year's war, was now concerned that relinquishing Hezbollah's arms would leave them vulnerable to further Israeli attacks.
"We are most probably going into a polarized political landscape," he told Reuters.

Israel Says It Killed Hezbollah Operative in East Lebanon
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
The Israeli army said Wednesday that it killed a Hezbollah operative in the Bekaa region of east Lebanon who it said was directing militant cells in Syria. "Yesterday evening (Tuesday), the (Israeli air force)... struck the terrorist Hossam Qasem Ghorab, a Hezbollah terrorist who operated from Lebanese territory to direct terrorist cells in Syria," the army said in a statement.The Syria-based cells "planned to launch rocket attacks toward the Golan Heights," it added, referring the area occupied by Israel following the 1967 war with Syria. Lebanon's cabinet on Tuesday tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah by the end of the year, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago. The decision followed heavy US pressure and came as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah including two months of all-out war. The confrontation left the party badly weakened, though it retains part of its arsenal.

Israeli airstrike targets the town of Tulin in the south
Al-Modon/August 6, 2025
An Israeli drone targeted a house in the town of Tulin in southern Lebanon, killing 11-year-old Abbas Merhi. His father was also seriously injured in the drone strike on the garage of a house in the town of Tulin. It was also reported that an Israeli helicopter dropped a sound bomb over the town of Yaroun, and a hostile drone dropped two sound bombs in the town of Khiyam. This comes at a time when Lebanon is experiencing a state of cautious anticipation regarding the political developments following yesterday's cabinet session and the decision issued therein to restrict the control of arms to the state. This comes amid a security crisis, with the doors wide open to various possibilities of escalation, while Israel continues to implement its agenda of attacking Lebanon and striking its targets deep inside. The toll of the Israeli attack on the Bekaa Valley yesterday was revealed by Israeli army spokesman Avichay Edraee, who claimed in a post on his Twitter account that "an IAF aircraft attacked yesterday evening in the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon and killed Hussam Qasim Ghrab." Edraee claimed that Ghrab is "a Hezbollah operative who operated from within Lebanese territory to direct cells in Syria that planned to launch rockets towards the Golan Heights." He continued: "The operative's activities posed a threat to Israel and its citizens, and the IDF will continue to work to eliminate any threat to Israel."

This is the structure of Hezbollah
Imad Moussa/Nidaa Al Watan/August 7, 2025
The Secretary-General usually ranks third in the hierarchy of most parties. This means that Pascal Abcha, Secretary-General of the "Lana Party," or Michel Helou, Secretary-General of the late Raymond Eddé's bloc, do not have the same status as Sheikh Naim, nor even as high as Hanna Gharib, Secretary-General of the transcontinental "Communist Party." If you, dear citizen, want to find a Secretary-General of Sheikh Naim's stature on the face of the earth, you should consider Pedro Sanchez, Secretary-General of the Socialist International, and "Taloo." The gap between party Secretaries-General is vast. For example, Serge Dagher, Secretary-General of the Lebanese Phalange, was appointed by Sheikh Sami, while the Secretary-General of the "Party" was appointed by God Almighty. It is clear to both the visible and the blind that Sheikh Naim, in addition to his party responsibilities as the head of the pyramid, has appointed himself Supreme Guide of the Republic and Head of the Taif Diagnostic Authority, to whom legal experts turn to read the past, undo spells, and exorcise demons from minds. The Secretary-General is assisted by a Shura Council that prepares, produces, and implements the decision, and "informs" us about it.
Unlike all other political parties, Hezbollah was born 43 years ago without the knowledge or permission of the Ministry of Interior. It was formed with knowledge, information, and a license. Its structure includes a number of units, including a media support unit, special financial, health, and educational units, and six scouting brigades known as the Mahdi Scouts, which do not recognize the founding leader, Baden-Powell. It is well known that the Mahdi Scouts are the soulmates of the Hussein Scouts in Iraq. Militarily, the party's members are divided into the Badr, Nasr, and Aziz units, the Dahiya Unit, the Radwan Unit (a Shiite shock unit), the highly trained Abbas Brigades, and the Al-Hadad Regiment. The party's discipline resembles that of an ideological gendarmerie. And if we forget, we must not forget the Lebanese Resistance Brigades, which the former Secretary-General wanted to unite fighters from all Christian and Mohammedan sects who believe in the Guardianship of the Jurist. In addition to the above, the party established the Highwaymen's Corps, the Black Shirts Brigade, and four Mustache Battalions: the CC 50 Battalion, which operates within the southern suburbs; the CC 150 VESPA Battalion, which specializes in riots behind enemy lines (Achrafieh, Ain el-Rummaneh, Hazmieh, Kfarshima, Badaro, and Gemmayze); the CC 200 Battalion, for grand international parades and patrols on Khomeini Avenue and formerly Hafez al-Assad Avenue; and the CC 250 Battalion, for surveillance, monitoring, and patrols. The party also has the First Locals' Regiment, tasked with monitoring the implementation mechanisms of Resolution 1701 and pursuing UNIFIL vehicles. The Trumpet Regiment; the Raddadi Airborne Regiment; the Ghub al-Talab Tribal Regiment; and the Poisonous Insects Regiment on the X platform. Khalas Amr Regiment, may God have mercy on him and grant him a spacious place in Paradise.
Zainabiyat Regiment.
Logistics Regiment: (Dust, rubble, and solid waste).
"Rapid" Regiment... Its motto: "Go, for Hezbollah's eye will watch over you."

A presidential move with foundational dimensions exposes the "party's" hypocrisy... A triumph of state culture over the "May 7" demagoguery
Samer Zureik/Nidaa Al Watan/August 7, 2025
Presidents Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam are credited with their courage in refusing to succumb to Hezbollah's intimidating pressures and carefully balancing the enormous external pressures and internal threats to make a decision to "exclusively control arms" in the hands of the state, written in the blood of martyrs. This step represents a turning point in a process that consolidates the triumph of state culture and democratic values over the "May 7" demagogic mentality. From the outset, President Joseph Aoun chose a non-confrontational approach based on scoring points. After seven months of containment, during which Hezbollah failed to take any serious steps toward integration into the state, and in light of Iran's refusal to engage in any dialogue regarding the fate of its loyal son, the President of the Republic scored a new milestone by agreeing with the Prime Minister on a softened wording of the arms exclusivity decision. This presents Hezbollah with a fait accompli and forces it to engage in a detailed discussion at the political and military levels regarding the manner of surrendering its weapons, leaving room for compromise on executive measures. While Hezbollah launched a violent counterattack against the government, accusing it of carrying out a political coup, the military operation against drug barons in Baalbek sent a message, on the eve of the resumption of discussions on the American paper, demonstrating the army's seriousness in implementing the political decision. Before that, while Sheikh Naim Qassem was babbling about incendiary positions, the President of the Republic scored a new point with his proposal, outside the agenda, to name the road linking Rafik Hariri Airport to Beirut "Ziad Rahbani Avenue." He proposed removing Hafez al-Assad's name from the road and from collective memory, in a move that bore the foundational dimensions of a new national identity that would erase the legacy of murder and tyranny. The significance of this move lies in its attempt to expose the hypocrisy of the "party," placing it between two fires: relinquishing its claim to monopolize the legacy of the creative Ziad Rahbani, or relinquishing its moral connection to Hafez al-Assad. The positions expressed by its youth reflected its abandonment of its feigned infatuation in order to cling to Assad. This is an identity-based connotation linked to an axis that does not recognize the borders of the nation-state, and is also connected to the occasion on which Naim Qassem made his generous statements: the eulogy of a general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. This brings us back to the core of the debate. While Hezbollah is employing all its influence to mislead public opinion and cloak its justification for maintaining its weapons in the name of the Israeli occupation and the state's incompetence, the priority today is to remove Lebanon from being a regional battlefield between Israel and Iran and prevent it from being exposed to scenarios similar to the one in Gaza. In light of the blatant imbalance of power, realism forces states to make difficult choices to preserve their existence. Should Hezbollah insist on its arrogance, incited by the Ayatollahs, this threatens to declare it a rebel organization against legitimacy, forcing the state to confront it with all available political tools, including requests for foreign assistance.

The "Session" to Protect Shiites
Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/August 7, 2025
Last Tuesday's cabinet session was anything but ordinary.
Chaired by the President of the Republic and with the Prime Minister playing a pivotal role, it took a decision that was undoubtedly among the most daring in years: setting a timetable for the withdrawal of Hezbollah's weapons. This decision is historic not only in its content, but also in its pivotal political moment. These are its most significant effects:
First, before the session, Hezbollah exerted maximum pressure and intimidation, threatening to use the street and revive the scenes of violence that the Lebanese experienced on May 7. All of this was in a blatant attempt to prevent the government from even considering tampering with the "sanctity" of its weapons. Even Sheikh Naim Qassem's speech, which coincided with the session, was nothing more than a clear warning to the government: Your limits are here; do not cross them. But the government did not submit. For the first time in a long time, the prestige of the weapons was broken, and the word of the state rose above the voice of threats. It is the beginning of a process that must be completed by dismantling the elements and logic of the statelet and restoring respect for the constitution.
Second, the hopes placed on Presidents Aoun and Salam have diminished over the past period, as it appeared that compromise and avoiding confrontation with "Hezbollah" had become the norm in dealing with its influence. Hesitation and laxity transformed the presidency into a crisis management rather than a rescue project. This was expressed by President Aoun himself, when he openly admitted from the Ministry of Defense that he had lost significant popularity due to this course of action. Hence, Tuesday's session represented a real glimmer of hope for restoring trust between the people and the authorities. For the first time, a clear stance has been taken against the power of the armed forces, translated into an official decision by the Council of Ministers.
If this decision is accompanied by courageous executive steps, strict reform decisions, and tangible improvements in the performance of state institutions and their services to citizens, the two presidents can restore confidence and prove that the state project is still possible. Third, had the government not taken this decision, the country would have entered an unknown tunnel rife with multiple dangers, the most prominent of which was the possibility of an Israeli military escalation, especially since the deadline given to Lebanon to address the arms issue was about to expire. With this decision, the government spared the Shiite community a new round of destruction and death. A suicidal round that Sheikh Naim Qassem clearly declared that Hezbollah was prepared to wage, even at the expense of the blood of Shiites. Therefore, the government's decision serves as a protection for the Shiites from being dragged time after time into wars from which they only return with more graves and destruction.The August 5, 2025 session will not be recorded in Lebanese history as an ordinary session, but rather as a pivotal moment that opened the door to a new political phase. Its outcome was not limited to completely removing Hezbollah's weapons, nor laying the first foundation for restoring the state's prestige. Rather, it went deeper and more far-reaching. What happened, in essence, is the true beginning of overthrowing the legacy of the 1969 Cairo Agreement, which transformed the south into an open arena for regional conflicts, inherited and exploited by local and regional powers at the expense of the people's security, dignity, and future. Today, for the first time, the protection of Shiites is being proposed—not through slogans—but rather by removing them from the logic of exploitation and exploitation, and by realizing the interests of the people of the south by living in a state that protects them, not in a mini-state that drains them. Tuesday's session is not the end of the road, but it is certainly its beginning. The greatest challenge now is to become a turning point upon which the elements of a state can accumulate.

Lebanon Enters a New Path: Arms Exclusivity or Hezbollah Escalation
Al-Modon/August 6, 2025
The scene in Lebanon was divided into two images. One was the Lebanese government making a clear decision to implement the arms monopoly within a deadline extending until the end of this year, with the Lebanese Army tasked with preparing an implementation plan for this within this month. The other was Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, who emphasized that the resistance is part of the state and refuses to surrender weapons or adhere to the timetable. He emphasized that the Taif Agreement recognized the right of resistance and could not be approved by a vote. Through its position, the government sought to indicate that Lebanon had entered a new phase in the transformations taking place in the region. Hezbollah, on the other hand, sought to return to an earlier era, because a close examination of the details and content of Sheikh Naim Qassem's statements indicated a return to August 2024, especially when he spoke of preparing for a confrontation and launching missiles at Israel. Lebanon was subjected to significant international pressure to issue this resolution. Alongside this pressure, US envoy Tom Barak's carrot-and-stick formula was revived. The stick of pressure was present, alongside the carrot of aid, reconstruction, and forcing Israel to withdraw after reaching the third phase of disarmament. This is particularly true given that the phases are divided over 120 days, beginning in early September. The first phase, spanning 30 days, involves the withdrawal of weapons north of the Litani River, including heavy weapons, including missiles and drones. This is followed by the second phase, spanning 30 to 60 days, to complete the disarmament process and deploy the army north of the Litani River. The third phase, spanning the 60th to 90th day, involves the disarmament of weapons from the Bekaa Valley, Beirut, and their suburbs, in exchange for Israel beginning to withdraw from the positions it occupies. The fourth phase is dedicated to the release of prisoners and Lebanon's full disarmament process. Negotiations are also to be initiated to demarcate the final border with Israel and Syria, in addition to holding a conference to assist Lebanon and launch the reconstruction process. The Decision and the Challenge of Implementation
There are no guarantees that Israeli attacks and strikes will cease throughout this period. Furthermore, the main challenge facing Lebanon relates to implementation, especially since Hezbollah has not yet agreed to this path. Meanwhile, the army is supposed to present its plan, which faces difficulties and obstacles, in addition to the need for significant financial, military, and logistical assistance to enable it, in addition to the political decision. Certainly, Hezbollah was not willing to reach such a decision issued by the government, because it would effectively strip it of its legitimacy, given that its Secretary-General has emphasized that the resistance is part of the state and its right is guaranteed by the constitution. When Qassem announces this, in a manner that is linked to the importance of dialogue and consensus among the Lebanese, and the engagement in a defensive or national security strategy, he is opening the door to another area where he cannot agree to withdrawing cover from the party. Therefore, linking the constitution, the Taif Accord, and the defensive strategy may carry an indication of serious discussions about Hezbollah introducing amendments to the Taif Accord and obtaining security and military guarantees and political gains that may open the door to demands for a constitutional amendment, or the integration of the military force possessed by the party into the official state institutions, especially since Qassem emphasized the issue of Lebanon benefiting from the power possessed by Hezbollah. Lebanon has practically entered a new path, the foundation of which remains tied to what this new path will entail, amid challenges facing Lebanon in the mechanism for implementing what has been decided, and how Hezbollah will deal with this development, especially since the party does not appear ready to take the step of handing over its weapons. Here, viewpoints vary, between those who believe that Hezbollah cannot remain silent about what has happened and will resort to escalation, and those who believe that a decision has been taken by the Lebanese state, and that Hezbollah cannot confront it unless it decides to disrupt the implementation mechanism, while others believe that the issue will be linked to a broader negotiating mechanism at the regional level.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 06-07/2025
Iran executes one man accused of spying for Israel and another for Islamic State links
Kieran Guilbert/Euronews/August 6, 2025
Iran executed two men in separate cases on Wednesday, having accused one of spying for Israel and another of being a member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, state media reported. Judiciary news outlet Mizan identified the alleged spy as Rouzbeh Vadi, who was accused of relaying classified information to Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad.Authorities said Vadi provided information about an Iranian nuclear scientist who was killed during Israel's June airstrikes on Iran, according to Mizan. Its report did not identify the scientist or the time and place of Vadi's arrest. Vadi was reportedly recruited online and met the Mossad officers five times in the Austrian capital Vienna. He worked in one of Iran’s "important and sensitive organisations" and "committed a wide range of crimes against the country’s internal and external security", Mizan reported. Israel's ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, said in June that Israel's 12-day war on Iran included targeted strikes that killed at least 14 physicists and engineers involved with Iran's nuclear programme. Mehdi Asgharzadeh was accused of being an IS member who participated in military training in Syria and Iraq before illegally entering Iran with a four-member team who were killed in a fight with Iranian security, according to the outlet. Authorities said Iran's Supreme Court upheld the sentences of lower courts and followed full legal procedures before executing both men, Mizan reported. The number of executions in Iran rose to at least 901 last year, the highest annual figure since 2015, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Amnesty International last week said that nearly 700 people had been hanged in Iran so far this year. The group urged Iran to halt all planned executions and "establish an official moratorium on all executions with a view to completely abolishing the use of the death penalty".

Syria's Sharaa to British Official: We Are Open to Any Initiative that Leads to Regional Stability
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa received in Damascus on Tuesday UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell for talks on bilateral ties and regional and international developments, reported Syria’s state news agency (SANA).Sharaa stressed that Syria is open to any sincere initiatives aimed at achieving regional security and stability, on condition that they support his country’s sovereignty and independent voice. The meeting was attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and head of intelligence Hussein al-Salama. Britain announced in July that it was restoring diplomatic relations with Syria. Its foreign minister David Lammy visited Damascus in July to hold talks with Sharaa. It was the first visit by a British foreign secretary in 14 years. He “emphasized that the UK will support the Syrian Government to deliver its commitments to build a more secure and prosperous future for Syrians, increasing security in the wider region and the UK,” said a statement from the British government at the time.

Israeli military chief warns against takeover of Gaza as Netanyahu considers ‘full conquest’ of besieged territory
Tal Shalev, Dana Karni, Ibrahim Dahman, Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN/August 6, 2025
Israel’s military chief warned against a full takeover of Gaza, according to three Israeli sources familiar with the discussions, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers ordering the “conquest’ of the besieged territory. In a meeting with top officials on Tuesday evening, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir cautioned that fully conquering Gaza would trap the military within the enclave and put the remaining hostages at risk, the sources said. Such a move, Zamir said, would also increase the burden on Israeli forces when the military is already suffering from attrition and burnout rates amongst reservist forces. According to two of the sources, Zamir’s plan called for encircling Gaza City and other neighborhoods in which hostages might be held, while Netanyahu was pushing for a more intrusive operation into the heart of the areas. Netanyahu will urge a meeting of the security cabinet Thursday to support the full “conquest of the Strip”, CNN has previously reported, in what would mark a major escalation of the Israeli campaign at a time when the government is under international pressure for a truce. The latest disagreement underscores the growing discord between Israel’s military leadership and its political echelon. Israel’s military has recommended pursuing diplomacy to end the war, while Netanyahu and his government have pushed for maximalist war goals. The Israeli military says it already controls approximately 75% of Gaza following nearly two years of war which has left much of the territory in ruins and triggered a humanitarian crisis. Israel withdrew from Gaza two decades ago, but Zamir warned that a complete military occupation could ensnare the IDF anew. Zamir’s warning once again put the new military chief at odds with the far-right parties in Israel’s government, who have repeatedly called for broadening Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza to destroy Hamas, something Israel has been unable to do despite nearly two years of fighting. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded on social media that Zamir publicly state “in his own voice” that he will follow the country’s political leadership, “even if a decision is made regarding conquest and decisive action.”After Tuesday’s meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office issued an official statement stating that, “the IDF is prepared to implement any decision made by the Security Cabinet.”On Wednesday, Netanyahu also met with the leader of Israel’s opposition, Yair Lapid, who issued a video statement afterwards calling the conquest of Gaza “a very bad idea.”“You don’t embark on such a move unless most of the nation is behind you,” said Lapid. The people of Israel are not interested in this war - we will pay too have a price for it.”
Polling has repeatedly shown that the majority of Israelis favor an end to the war in exchange for the release of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza. Gaza’s health ministry meanwhile reported its highest death toll in weeks on Wednesday, with 138 killed in the past 24 hours. Five people died of hunger in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said Wednesday, bringing the total number of those who died of starvation and malnutrition to 193, including 96 children. COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for bringing aid into Gaza, said close to 300 trucks entered Gaza and were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations on Tuesday, adding that 110 pallets of aid were airdropped in cooperation with the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Germany, Canada and Belgium. However, the Hamas-controlled Media Office said that only 84 trucks made it into the enclave on Tuesday, adding that the strip needs at least 600 relief and fuel trucks daily to meet the basic needs of the population.

Egyptian minister calls West’s response to Gaza suffering shameful
AP/August 06, 2025
ATHENS: Egypt’s foreign minister, on a visit to Greece on Wednesday, described the international response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as shameful and urged powerful Western nations to increase pressure on Israel. “The international community should be ashamed of the tragic situation unfolding in Gaza and the devastating actions being carried out by Israel,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters in Athens. “What is unfolding is a human tragedy, and the suffering witnessed is a stain on the conscience of the international community,” he said. Widespread reports of hunger in Gaza have heightened international concern over the devastating consequences of Israeli military operations launched nearly two years ago, following deadly attacks by Hamas-led militants inside Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Egyptian minister described Israel’s military campaign in the territory as a “systematic genocide,” but reiterated his government’s position that it “firmly rejects any displacement of the Palestinian people from their ancestral lands.”Abdelatty held a two-hour meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis to discuss a planned undersea electricity grid connector between the two countries and an ongoing dispute between Greece and Libya over sea boundaries for offshore oil and gas exploration. Greece and Egypt are also in talks over the legal status of the sixth-century Monastery of Saint Catherine in Egypt’s Sinai Desert.Gerapetritis said that he had received assurances Wednesday of Cairo’s continued cooperation on both issues.

If the IDF has nothing to hide with its military and aid operation, it should allow international journalists into Gaza
Sky News/Sky News/August 6, 2025
Escalating Israel's military operation in Gaza to the max - which is reportedly what Israel's prime minister is leaning towards - will stretch an already exhausted army.
No wonder Eyal Zamir, Israel's chief of staff, is reportedly reluctant to go down that route, however much of the messaging from the top has been that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will follow whatever the political echelon decides. No wonder, then, that IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani was reluctant to flesh out the implications of an expanded operation or what a full military "occupation" - touted now as having entered Benjamin Netanyahu's lexicon - will look like. As he pointed out, Hamas benefits from international outrage over the spectre of famine in Gaza. It turns the tide of public opinion against Israel, taking the pressure off Hamas. That may be, in part, why the latest round of ceasefire talks collapsed. The IDF refuses to accept responsibility for Gaza being on the brink of famine, instead accusing the UN of failing to do their part in an ongoing war of words, although Lt Col Shoshani acknowledged that distributing aid in a war zone is "not simple".That is why it should have been left to experts in humanitarian aid distribution - the UN and its agencies, not to US military contractors. Given the large number of aid-related deaths reported daily, not just by Gaza's health ministry but also by doctors who are treating the injured and tying up the body bags, there should be greater accountability. Lt Col Shoshani said the missing link is the proof that it is IDF soldiers doing the shooting. He is right. If international journalists were granted access to Gaza, to support Palestinian colleagues whose every day involves both the danger of operating in a war zone and the search for food and supplies for their families, then there might be greater accountability. It is not sufficient to claim that the IDF operates "in accordance with our values, with our procedures and with international law", which is what Lt Col Shoshani told Sky News. That may suffice for Israeli audiences who see very little on their screens of the reality on the ground, but it is not enough for the rest of us - not after 61,000 deaths. If the IDF has nothing to hide, it should allow international journalists in. That would alleviate the burden of reporting on Palestinian journalists, at least 175 of whom have lost their lives since the war began. It would also allow a degree more clarity on what is happening and who is to blame for the hell inside Gaza now.

Trump's Reaction To Israel Potentially Expanding Its Gaza Offensive Is Nothing Short Of Alarming
Kate Nicholson/HuffPost UK/August 6, 2025
President Donald Trump has signalled that he is not concerned about Israel potentially expanding its Gaza offensive. via Associated Press Donald Trump effectively shrugged when he was asked about reports that Israel is considering expanding its already brutal offensive in Gaza last night. The US president told journalists: “That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel.”Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold a war cabinet meeting with his senior ministers on Thursday where he will allegedly weigh up ordering his army to seize the whole of the Gaza strip. That means the war could be about to get a whole lot worse. Trump’s nonchalance is particularly concerning because he is Israel’s most powerful ally – and the only world leader who might be able to dissuade Netanyahu from executing a full takeover. Expanding the military offensive would also be the exact opposite of what the UK, France, Canada and other allies have been trying to pressure Israel to do: reach a ceasefire with Hamas. Keir Starmer has pledged to recognise Palestinian statehood next month, unless Israel “takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza” and commit to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution before then. France and Canada have also announced plans to recognise a Palestine state during next month’s UN General Assembly. If all three go through with it, 149 countries will officially recognise a Palestinian state out of 193 UN members. But Trump has made it clear he will not be following suit, and his administration has slammed such a “clumsy” move from their allies. It’s worth remembering Trump once said the US should control the whole of Gaza, force all Palestinians out – at least temporarily – and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
There is one issue where the US president has criticised Israel, though – he recently split from Netanyahu and condemned the mass starvation seen across Gaza in recent weeks. The White House has reportedly been discussing plans to increase the US’s role in distributing aid to the Palestinian territory, too. But the president has clearly overlooked that widening the military operation would put more lives in danger, including the remaining Hamas hostages, and likely worsen the humanitarian crisis. Existing regional tensions spiked when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and killed 1,200 people while taking 250 others hostage. Israel declared war, imposed a blockade on Gaza and began a brutal military offensive. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed over the last 22 months, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

'Pick Up The Phone!' Starmer Urged To Speak To Trump Amid Fears Israel May Reoccupy Gaza
Kate Nicholson/HuffPost UK/August 6, 2025
Keir Starmer has been urged to “pick up the phone” and speak to Donald Trump amid growing concerns that Israel is going to reoccupy Gaza. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a war cabinet meeting on Thursday, and there are reports that he is considering ordering the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to expand its military offensive. Israel would then control the whole of the Palestinian strip – something it has not done since 2005. But Trump, Israel’s most powerful ally, shrugged off worries about any such moves, telling reporters last night: “That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel.”So the UK prime minister is now facing calls to exercise his own strong relationship with Trump, to pressure Israel not to deepen the conflict in Gaza. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “Netanyahu’s latest proposals for the occupation of all of Gaza are utterly horrifying.
“If realised, they will only wreak yet more destruction on Gazans – while gravely endangering the lives of the hostages still held in Hamas’ captivity. “Keir Starmer needs to pick up the phone to President Trump ahead of the Israeli security cabinet’s meeting tomorrow, and get him to do the right thing – placing genuine pressure on Netanyahu to drop these proposals. “Only renewed diplomacy can end the suffering in Gaza and get the hostages home. “Rather than sitting on its hands, the UK government needs to show leadership in this moment.” Meanwhile, Green Party MP Ellie Chowns called for Britain to publicly denounce Netanyahu’s plan. She wrote: “Netanyahu’s reported decision to fully occupy Gaza is yet another declaration of intent to commit war crimes. “This brutal plan will only deepen suffering and entrench injustice. The UK must denounce this plan and act to protect Palestinian lives and uphold international law.”Starmer did recently announce the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September, unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation” in Gaza – which is the exact opposite of the message Netanyahu would send out with an extended offensive.

Muslims leaders say anti-Palestinian racism is casting a chill on free speech
Dylan Robertson/The Canadian Press/August 6, 2025
OTTAWA — Public and private institutions are violating the speech rights of those speaking out against Israel's war in Gaza, say Muslim leaders who are calling for official government recognition of anti-Palestinian racism. York University professor Nadia Hasan says schools and employers are linking Palestinian culture with terrorism and retaliating against people already traumatized by the war in Gaza. Hasan, who runs the Islamophobia Research Hub, says there has not been enough prosecution or public pushback in response to incidents of anti-Muslim hate, which further emboldens those committing violence. Her group has released a report that says corporations were quick to issue statements of support for Jewish Canadians after the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, but have not spoken out about Israeli policies causing mass death and hunger. Amira Elghawaby, Ottawa's special representative on combating Islamophobia, says students are being bullied or officially punished for wearing a traditional scarf called a kaffiyeh, or for posting a Palestinian flag on social media. The report urges all levels of government to officially recognize anti-Palestinian racism and calls on Ottawa to crack down on foreign interference that targets Muslims in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.

The secret system Hamas uses to pay government salaries
Rushdi Abualouf - Gaza correspondent/BBC/August 6, 2025
After nearly two years of war, Hamas's military capability is severely weakened and its political leadership under intense pressure. Yet, throughout the war Hamas has managed to continue to use a secret cash-based payment system to pay 30,000 civil servants' salaries totalling $7m (£5.3m). The BBC has spoken to three civil servants who have confirmed they have received nearly $300 each within the last week. It's believed they are among tens of thousands of employees who have continued to receive a maximum of just over 20% of their pre-war salary every 10 weeks. Amid soaring inflation, the token salary - a fraction of the full amount - is causing rising resentment among the party faithful. Severe food shortages – which aid agencies blame on Israeli restrictions - and rising cases of acute malnutrition continue in Gaza, where a kilogramme of flour in recent weeks has cost as much as $80 - an all-time high. With no functioning banking system in Gaza, even receiving the salary is complex and at times, dangerous. Israel regularly identifies and targets Hamas salary distributors, seeking to disrupt the group's ability to govern. Employees, from police officers to tax officials, often receive an encrypted message on their own phones or their spouses' instructing them to go to a specific location at a specific time to "meet a friend for tea". At the meeting point, the employee is approached by a man - or occasionally a woman - who discreetly hands over a sealed envelope containing the money before vanishing without further interaction. An employee at the Hamas Ministry of Religious Affairs, who doesn't want to give his name for safety reasons, described the dangers involved in collecting his wages.
"Every time I go to pick up my salary, I say goodbye to my wife and children. I know that I may not return," he said. "On several occasions, Israeli strikes have hit the salary distribution points. I survived one that targeted a busy market in Gaza City." Alaa, whose name we have changed to protect his identity, is a schoolteacher employed by the Hamas-run government and the sole provider for a family of six. "I received 1,000 shekels (about $300) in worn-out banknotes - no trader would accept them. Only 200 shekels were usable - the rest, I honestly don't know what to do with," he told the BBC.
"After two-and-a-half months of hunger, they pay us in tattered cash. "I'm often forced to go to aid distribution points in the hope of getting some flour to feed my children. Sometimes I succeed in bringing home a little, but most of the time I fail." In March the Israeli military said they had killed the head of Hamas's finances, Ismail Barhoum, in a strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. They accused him of channelling funds to Hamas's military wing. It remains unclear how Hamas has managed to continue funding salary payments given the destruction of much of its administrative and financial infrastructure. One senior Hamas employee, who served in high positions and is familiar with Hamas's financial operations, told the BBC that the group had stockpiled approximately $700m in cash and hundreds of millions of shekels in underground tunnels prior to the group's deadly 7 October 2023 attack in southern Israel, which sparked the devastating Israeli military campaign. These were allegedly overseen directly by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed - both of whom have since been killed by Israeli forces.
Anger at reward for Hamas supporters
Hamas has historically relied on funding from heavy import duties and taxes imposed on Gaza's population, as well as receiving millions of dollars of support from Qatar. The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing which operates through a separate financial system, is financed mainly by Iran. A senior official from the banned Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most influential Islamist organisations in the world, has said that around 10% of their budget was also directed to Hamas. Bowen: Air dropping aid is an act of desperation that won't end hunger in Gaza. Netanyahu to propose full reoccupation of Gaza, Israeli media report
Hamas refuses to disarm until Palestinian state established
In order to generate revenue during the war, Hamas has also continued to levy taxes on traders and has sold large quantities of cigarettes at inflated prices up to 100 times their original cost. Before the war, a box of 20 cigarettes cost $5 - that has now risen to more than $170. In addition to cash payments, Hamas has distributed food parcels to its members and their families via local emergency committees whose leadership is frequently rotated due to repeated Israeli strikes. That has fuelled public anger, with many residents in Gaza accusing Hamas of distributing aid only to its supporters and excluding the wider population.
Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid that has entered Gaza during the ceasefire earlier this year, something Hamas denies. However BBC sources in Gaza have said that significant quantities of aid were taken by Hamas during this time.
Nisreen Khaled, a widow left caring for three children after her husband died of cancer five years ago, told the BBC: "When the hunger worsened, my children were crying not only from pain but also from watching our Hamas-affiliated neighbours receive food parcels and sacks of flour. "Are they not the reason for our suffering? Why didn't they secure food, water, and medicine before launching their 7 October adventure?"

Dozens killed seeking aid in Gaza as Israel weighs further military action
AP/August 06, 2025
DEIR AL-BALAH: At least 38 Palestinians were killed overnight and into Wednesday in the Gaza Strip while seeking aid from United Nations convoys and sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, according to local health officials. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots when crowds approached its forces.
Another 25 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to local hospitals in Gaza. There was no comment from the Israeli military on the strikes.
The latest deaths came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to announced further military action — and possibly plans for Israel to fully reoccupy Gaza. Experts say Israel’s ongoing military offensive and blockade are already pushing the territory of some 2 million Palestinians into famine.
Another escalation of the nearly 22-month war could put the lives of countless Palestinians and around 20 living Israeli hostages at risk, and would draw fierce opposition both internationally and within Israel. Netanyahu’s far-right coalition allies have long called for the war to be expanded, and for Israel to eventually take over Gaza, relocate much of its population and rebuild Jewish settlements there. US President Donald Trump, asked by a reporter Tuesday whether he supported the reoccupation of Gaza, said he wasn’t aware of the “suggestion” but that “it’s going to be pretty much up to Israel.”
More Palestinians killed in scramble for food
Of the 38 Palestinians killed while seeking aid, at least 28 died in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN convoys have been repeatedly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds in recent days, and where witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire.
The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots as Palestinians advanced toward them, and that it was not aware of any casualties. Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor. The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites.Two of the Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza City, in the north of the territory, killing 13 people there, including six children and five women, according to the Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the bodies. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its militants are entrenched in heavily populated areas.
UN experts say Israeli-backed aid group should be dismantled
Israel facilitated the establishment of four GHF sites in May after blocking the entry of all food, medicine and other goods for 2 1/2 months. Israeli and US officials said a new system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off humanitarian aid. The United Nations, which has delivered aid to hundreds of distribution points across Gaza throughout the war when conditions allow, has rejected the new system, saying it forces Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food, and that it allows Israel to control who gets aid, potentially using it to advance plans for further mass displacement.
The UN human rights office said last week that some 1,400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid since May, mostly near GHF sites but also along UN convoy routes where trucks have been overwhelmed by crowds. It says nearly all were killed by Israeli fire.
This week, a group of UN special rapporteurs and independent human rights experts called for the GHF to be disbanded, saying it is “an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law.”
The experts work with the UN but do not represent the world body.
The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots when crowds threatened its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly crowding at its sites.
Israel’s blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible for anyone to safely deliver aid, and aid groups say recent Israeli measures to facilitate more assistance are far from sufficient. Hospitals recorded four more malnutrition-related deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 193 people, including 96 children, since the war began in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Jordan says aid convoy attacked by Israeli settlers
Jordan said Israeli settlers blocked roads and hurled stones at a convoy of four trucks carrying aid bound for Gaza after they drove across the border into the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli far-right activists have repeatedly sought to halt aid from entering Gaza.
Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammed Al-Momani condemned the attack, which he said had shattered the windshields of the trucks, according to the Jordanian state-run Petra News Agency.
The Israeli military said security forces went to the scene to disperse the gathering and accompanied the trucks to their destination. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted another 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Of the 50 still held in Gaza, around 20 are believed to be alive. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. It is part of the now largely defunct Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source for the number of war casualties.

Israeli President decries Hamas 'manipulation' after German media exposes 'staged' Gaza photography
The Press Service of Israel/Pesach Benson/National Post/August 6, 2025
Jerusalem — During a visit to Tallinn, Estonia, on Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog used a joint press appearance with Estonia’s president to call out what he described as Hamas-led propaganda efforts, citing recent investigative reports from leading German newspapers that revealed “staged” images from Gaza. Herzog contrasted these fabricated scenes with the very real suffering of Israeli hostages, exposing what he called Hamas’ “hypocrisy and manipulation.”Standing alongside President Alar Karis at the Estonian Presidential Palace, Herzog held up two photos: one of Israeli hostage Eviatar David, a Nova music festival attendee now emaciated after months in captivity; and another of Rom Breslavsky, who appeared in a recent Hamas video. Herzog juxtaposed these with a now-controversial image from Gaza showing Palestinians holding empty pots in front of a food distribution centre. “It was all staged,” Herzog said. “There was food in the next room — the hostages who escaped from tunnels told us this. The captors are not starving. Our people are.”His remarks follow revelations from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which published an exposé on Hamas’ use of staged imagery to sway international opinion. According to the investigation, professional photographers — some working with international news agencies — were found directing civilians to pose with empty pots and in fabricated scenarios meant to convey starvation. “At least some of the images were presented in a false or misleading context,” the paper concluded.
One such photographer identified by Bild was hired by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. The photographer, according to the report, regularly posts anti-Israel content on social media, including expletive-laden messages and calls to “Free Palestine.” His photographs have been published in major outlets such as the BBC and CNN.
“Why are German and international news agencies continuing to use his images when many are clearly biased or staged?” Bild asked. The manipulation of war photography triggered alarm within Germany’s press circles. The German Journalists’ Association (DJV) issued a statement warning of “manipulation attempts through professionally produced press photography.”DJV Chair Mika Beuster noted that “all parties involved in this war — including media and intelligence services — are using the power of imagery like never before to shape public perception.”A historian and visual documentation expert interviewed by Süddeutsche Zeitung added that while not all such images are outright fakes, they are often “positioned a certain way or paired with misleading captions that tap into our visual memory and emotions.”Herzog urged the international community to resist falling for such distortions. “We do not deny the humanitarian need in Gaza,” he said, “but we ask the world not to fall for Hamas’ lies. Condemn Hamas and tell them: You want to move forward? Release the hostages.”He emphasized that Israel has drastically increased its humanitarian aid efforts, saying: “In the last week alone, we’ve brought in 30,000 tons of aid — 30 tons by air yesterday alone. The UN has almost 800 trucks they could distribute — and failed to do so. So a lot could have been done.”A special report by The Press Service of Israel on Thursday found that according to the UN’s own numbers, a staggering 85 per cent of the aid entering the Gaza Strip by truck since May 19 has been stolen. The investigation found that a combination of black market profiteers and inflation have made much of the aid in Gaza markets unaffordable for most Palestinians. Palestinian sources inside Gaza told TPS-IL that much of the food in the markets originated from international aid for months — including American shipments — but is resold at inflated prices, sometimes 300 per cent. Basic staples like flour and rice, originally meant for free distribution, are reportedly diverted to private vendors.
One Palestinian in Gaza City told TPS-IL: “The flour — when it enters Gaza, they steal it. And now they’re going to raise the price from 30 to 60 shekels ($8.80 to $17.70). It’s unbelievable.”Professor Eytan Gilboa, an expert in international relations and media at Reichman University in Herzliya, told TPS-IL, “There is some hunger in Gaza, and it exists only in places Hamas is pursuing it, not in other areas.”In 2024, experts told TPS-IL that two Gaza-based Palestinian freelance journalists committed war crimes by entering Israel during Hamas’s October 7 massacres.
Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage, in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.
Richard Robertson: Carney's Palestine recognition a foreign policy blunder
Families of October 7 victims sue Meta for $1B for allowing atrocity footage on Facebook

With only one nuclear arms pact left between the US and Russia, a new arms race is possible
Emma Burrows/The Associated Press/ August 6, 2025
For decades, the threat of nuclear conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union hung over humanity — and occasionally the superpowers edged toward the brink, as with the Cuban missile crisis. But beginning in the 1970s, American and Soviet leaders started taking steps toward de-escalation, leading to a handful of critical treaties, including the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty that eliminated an entire class of nuclear-capable missiles. The pact was terminated in 2019 after the U.S. withdrew. On Tuesday, Russia announced it was ending self-imposed restrictions on the deployment of the missiles covered in the agreement. That leaves just one nuclear arms pact between Moscow and Washington still standing: New START, which experts say is on the ropes and set to expire in February in any case. While the end of nuclear weapons agreements between the U.S. and Russia does not necessarily make nuclear war more likely, “it certainly doesn’t make it less likely,” said Alexander Bollfrass, an expert on nuclear arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Moscow and Washington are still signatories to multilateral international treaties that aim to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons, but the increasingly erratic relationship between the countries, combined with the dwindling treaties, has many worried. Survivors of the atomic bomb dropped 80 years ago Wednesday by the U.S. on the Japanese city of Hiroshima expressed frustration about the growing support of global leaders for nuclear weapons as a deterrence.
US and Russia have far fewer warheads than decades ago
In 1986, the Soviet Union had more than 40,000 nuclear warheads, while the U.S. had more than 20,000, according to the Federation of American Scientists. A series of arms control agreements sharply reduced those stockpiles. The federation estimated in March 2025 that Russia has 5,459 deployed and non-deployed nuclear warheads, while the U.S. has 5,177. Together, that’s about 87% of the world’s nuclear weapons.
Washington and Moscow have signed a series of key treaties
In May 1972 — a decade after the Cuban missile crisis — the U.S. and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks I, or SALT I, which was the first treaty that placed limits on the number of missiles, bombers and submarines carrying nuclear weapons.
At the same time, they also signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, or ABM, putting restrictions on missile defense systems that protect against a nuclear strike. Then, in 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan inked the INF treaty, banning missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,410 miles). U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact during his first term, citing Russian violations that Moscow denied. The White House also said it placed the U.S. at a strategic disadvantage to China and Iran, neither of which was party to the agreement and each of which it said had more than 1,000 INF-range missiles. The Kremlin initially said it would abide by its provisions, but on Tuesday, it ended that pledge. Even before that, Moscow test-fired its new intermediate-range Oreshnik hypersonic missile at Ukraine in November. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said those missiles will be deployed to Russia’s neighbor and ally Belarus later this year. Meanwhile, the START I nuclear arms reduction treaty signed in 1991 reduced the strategic arsenals of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads, as well as missiles, bombers and submarines carrying them. It has since expired. Another treaty, START II, was signed but never entered into force. In 2002, then-U.S. President George W. Bush withdrew from the ABM agreement after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks because of concerns that the agreement limited U.S. capabilities to counter attacks, including from countries such as Iran or North Korea. Russia strongly opposed the move, fearing that it would allow the U.S. to develop a capability that would erode its nuclear deterrent.
The last remaining bilateral treaty — New START, signed in April 2010 — aimed to set limits on deployed nuclear weapons and launchers and enforce on-site inspections. It, too, is “functionally dead,” said Sidharth Kaushal, a senior fellow in military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
It expires on Feb. 5, 2026, and Russia already suspended its participation after its invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a halt of on-the-ground inspections of Russian nuclear sites. Moscow said, however, it would continue to abide by the pact's limits on its nuclear forces.
Russia and the US aren't the only players The INF and New START treaties, in particular, led to “serious on-the-ground inspections” that lowered tensions in Europe, Bollfrass said. Their end could rachet up tensions between the two Cold War adversaries, experts said.
But they also reflect a broader interest in conventionally armed intermediate-range missiles, the experts said, pointing to the planned U.S. deployment of such missiles to Europe and the Pacific, as well as Israel's and Iran's use of missiles during their recent war.
New bilateral agreements on nuclear weapons between the U.S. and Russia in the immediate future are “highly unlikely” because the level of trust necessary to negotiate and follow through with an arms control agreement does not exist, Kaushal at RUSI said.
And the U.S. is increasingly looking at other threats. Both the Bush and Trump administrations withdrew from treaties with Russia partly by citing concerns that the agreements didn't place limits on other countries' build-up of nuclear weapons.
As China increasingly becomes a nuclear peer of the U.S. and Russia, it could drive a “competitive spiral” in which Washington could develop more nuclear, as well as conventional, weapons to counter what it perceives as a threat from Beijing, Kaushal said.
Any increase in U.S. intermediate- or long-range weapons could, in turn, drive Russia to increase its own nuclear arsenal, he said. But even as Cold War treaties end, Cold War thinking may endure. The possibility of mutually assured destruction may still demand restraint, the experts said.
*The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 06-07/2025
What Follows the Shattering of the 'Axis of Resistance!'
Hassan Al Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
The attack of October 7, 2023, triggered a chain of events: Israel attacked Iran and a 12-day war between the two countries followed; it escalated against Hezbollah in South Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburb, continuing to strike the party even after the announcement of a ceasefire; operations against Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, and military strikes (albeit with limited impact) on the Houthis in Yemen have not ended either. This trajectory has left the “Axis of Resistance” in retreat, with regional and international shifts redrawing influence in the Middle East. One cannot overlook the dramatic collapse of the Assad regime in Syria after Syria had long served Iran’s linchpin, allowing it to equip its proxies militarily.
The new regional power dynamic, despite the brutality we are seeing on a daily basis in Gaza, including systematic starvation, forced displacement, and targeting of civilians, alongside clashes in Syria and Tel Aviv’s efforts to exploit these contradictions to change the region after having been intoxicated with triumphalism. All this has raised many questions about the future of sectarian and ethnic communities in the Middle East: will one dominate the others?
Anyone following the tectonic shifts that have shaken several countries since October 7 understands clearly that division along religious, sectarian, or ethnic lines has become untenable. The future must be shared by all communities. Either peace prevails across the region, and all its peoples will benefit from it, or chaos will hurt everyone. Israel, with its extremist policies, will be the biggest winner, creating a vacuum that fundamentalist groups will seek to exploit.
One commonplace reading of this phase is that the “Axis of Resistance” shattering and the Assad regime falling will necessarily undercut the power of Shiites in Arab countries, and with Iran and Hezbollah weakened, the Shiites will become marginal communities in their respective states. To reassert the communities’ strength and prestige, this view holds, the “Axis of Resistance” must revitalize itself and rebuild.
Despite the popularity of the earlier narrative, it amounts to a fallacy. The decline of the “Axis of Resistance” does not, as some have claimed, weaken Shiites in the Arab world. On the contrary, it is a pivotal moment that could allow Arab Shiites to break free of the grip of a transnational political project in which sectarianism was used as an ideological tool rather than a form of legitimate religious or doctrinal diversity.
The “Axis of Resistance” was founded on slogans of confronting Israel and the United States; in practice, however, it became entangled in sectarian conflicts and disregarded statehood, empowering militias and transnational loyalties at its expense. This approach contributed to shaping an image of Shiites as proxies serving a foreign agenda, fostering an atmosphere of sectarian tension that turned religious affiliation into a political dispute.
No sensible person with a moral conscience can justify the Israeli assaults that have targeted unarmed civilians and killed thousands of children, women, and the elderly; these are clear war crimes and violations of international law. At the same time, these strikes and their consequences can also be read as actions that were not merely military, but political and security-related. Israel has exposed the fragility of the “Axis of Resistance’s” security apparatus and its inability to deter and hurt the Jewish state. Its attacks also exposed the limits of Iran’s capacity to protect its allies, particularly in light of its aggravating domestic and economic crises.Moreover, with an influential elite of national Shiite figures in the Gulf, Iraq, and Lebanon now distanced from this “Axis,” and with their open criticisms and calls for a “national civic project,” a fundamental rupture has undercut the traditional “Resistance” narrative, which had long sought to monopolize Shiite identity. Shiite citizens in the Gulf, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen are not fleeting or anomalous communities; they are key components of their societies. They have contributed to building their countries’ modern states and have been part of the administrative, cultural, and economic elite. Their loyalty is tied to the political leadership of their respective homelands. In light of the above, it is essential (especially at this critical juncture) to reinforce the independence of national decision-making among Arab Shiites. This can be done by developing a political and cultural discourse that affirms the primacy of national belonging and rejects subservience to transnational projects, as well as promoting a spirit of free and critical civic thinking.Further, the importance of breathing new life into the "social contract" across the Arab world is also an obvious need. Entrenching the principles of the rule of law and equal citizenship, and expanding the space for equal opportunity, would close the door to external powers seeking to interfere in Arabs’ domestic affairs and sow discord. To prevent transnational forces from exerting influence, we relentlessly push back against sectarian discourse that fuels conflict and scrutinize religious rhetoric of all sects. Arab media and cultural elites must be vigilant against normalizing "political sectarianism"- it poses serious risks to civil peace.The foundations for a national, civil, Arab, and domestic vision must be laid- a vision one grounded in equality and justice. The future does not belong to one sect. It cannot come at the expense of a sect. The future belongs to every citizen who sees the state as the only legitimate framework, nothing more, nothing less.

Political Rationality in a Region Exhausted by Ideology
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06/2025
A political climate that is founded on a simple idea is spreading in our region: stability begins from within, and that development is the foundation of legitimacy. This political wave does not raise grand ideological slogans or promise radical shifts in the balance of power through constant violent confrontations. Instead, it is redefining politics as a tool for governance and the common good. Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s recent speech Throne Day is one example. Stretching a hand is a policy that the king reaffirmed, making a positive gesture to Algeria that echoed the “AlUla Reconciliation” of January 2021 that ended the Gulf crisis with Qatar and the Saudi-Iranian agreement brokered by China in March 2023. This posture’s credibility and strategic depth is reinforced by Morocco’s pursuit of ambitious projects for regional cooperation; co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal is one example. In choosing cooperation despite its disputes with Spain, Morocco is prioritizing the enhancement of its position in the southern Mediterranean over the identitarian politics and incitement.
The Throne Day speech’s emphasis on national infrastructure development, economic diversification, regional integration projects, and environmental, climate, and renewable energy is fully aligned with the Arab countries embrace of political rationality in a region exhausted by grand ideologies and ideological slogans divorced from the real challenges facing the Arab individual.
An Arab trajectory is taking root at a tense moment for the region. This push is clearly seeking to redefine politics not merely in terms of power structures, but through tools, humanistic projects, and needs.
The significance of these emerging inclinations, which are increasingly supported by the public, lies in the fact that they come after two bitter decades. The first was shaped by the US war on terror and its attempts to impose democratization by force. The second was shaped by the years of the “Arab Spring,” which led to a devastating collapse of nation-states’ foundations. In contrast, this emerging political project promises a form of practical stability and policies that further the public benefit, bridging interests, and pragmatically negotiate the replacement of slogans that bring chaotic democratic change.
Moreover, the states pushing this Arab rationalist current are asserting their regional and international influence through balanced and credible performance, without relying on ideological alliances or rhetorical posturing. From Morocco, which has become an energy and trade hub linking Europe and Africa, to the Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar mediating the resolution of complex global crises like the war in Ukraine and the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, to their strategic positioning in the Chinese-American cold war, these states have risen to become rational actors capable of impartial mediation.
This mediating role took on new dimensions after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing multi-front war that culminated in an unprecedented clash between Iran and Israel. Several Arab capitals swiftly sought to contain the explosion and prevent an all-out war, leveraging their balanced relationships with the conflicting parties. Most importantly, led by Saudi Arabia, they reintroduced rationality into the Palestinian question through the international conference for implementing the two-state solution at the United Nations in New York, framing it as an issue that needs a pragmatic political settlement and paving the way for its liberation from slogans and one-upmanship.
This “neo-rationality” has three main frameworks for asserting itself: tangible, measurable achievements (infrastructure, energy, tourism, etc.); flexible diplomatic openness that prioritizes managing disputes over escalation, and rhetoric that distances states from ideological tones.
And because it does not often speak for itself, it becomes all the more important to highlight Morocco’s recent Throne Day speech, alongside similar Arab speeches. This is necessary for shaping the political and media agenda, which remains hostage to recycled narratives that obscure these significant regional shifts. The speech did not only address the Moroccan public; it also spoke to an Arab world aspiring to a “post-conflict” world, without denying or disavowing historical issues. It is no secret that the region is undergoing a rapid shift in expectations, especially among youth. Interest in slogans and identity-based conflicts is declining amid a growing demand for services, opportunities, administrative efficiency, and governance. This shift is redefining the relationship between the state and society that goes beyond the binary of “loyalty or rupture.”Moreover, the political appeal of “ideological radicalism,” whether religious or nationalist, is in decline, even among its traditional base. This is due to the accumulated failures of these projects, which have not managed to govern societies or offer realistic solutions. From Morocco to the UAE, and from Saudi Arabia to Egypt and Jordan, a map of a more self-assured Arab political rationality is taking shape. It reflects a strong convergence of priorities without erasing the particularities of each state united by this sharp awareness that performance is the foundation of political legitimacy and social stability.

Mideast crises deserve more than amateurs
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 06, 2025
In 1997, I took part in an international conference hosted by an Arab country and organized by an American institute with global political interests. There, I had the chance to meet distinguished American and Arab thinkers, officials, journalists, and strategic experts. The conference covered various topics related to governance, democracy, and globalization. There were several noteworthy interventions. I recall the remarks of Paul Wolfowitz, who would go on to become an “architect” of the Iraq invasion during his tenure as US deputy secretary of defense, and those of the brilliant American journalist and author Thomas Friedman. For their part, Arab intellectuals and academics made important contributions that enriched discussions, though they did not necessarily bridge the deep gap of “mistrust” between Washington and the Arab world.
In any case, I was especially struck by something Friedman said. He noted that he was often surprised, during his conversations with Arab politicians and intellectuals, by how “enchanted” they had been by the titles of American diplomats and envoys they had met. Friedman added that they would quote and recall every word those diplomats and envoys uttered as though it were gospel, a supreme will that could not be challenged. He explained that his interlocutors failed to realize that most of those who had “enchanted” them with their positions were, in fact, fleeting figures and would be quickly forgotten once they left their roles. He went on to explain that many of their statements were made in order to take a stance, avoid revealing objectives whose time had not yet come, or distract from something that needed to be kept out of the spotlight — not to mention that they might simply reflect a personal opinion that did not bind their administration. Today, Lebanon sees Tom Barrack in a similar light. The current US ambassador to Turkiye and the envoy assigned to handle the Syrian file is of Lebanese descent, and because of the deeply intertwined historical relationship between Syria and Lebanon, his every move and statement have been closely followed, both by the Lebanese public and by the Lebanese-American lobby.
In the latest development regarding Barrack, the US State Department denied rumors in recent days about the termination of the Lebanese component of his mission and the reassignment of the Lebanon file to the former diplomat and intelligence analyst Morgan Ortagus. This denial may temporarily lower the temperature of the chronic and recurring debate around Hezbollah’s weapons. However, it by no means suggests that the Trump administration has a coherent strategic approach, be it in Lebanon or on other hot-button issues in the region. Indeed, many observers still believe that Washington has no clear vision for how to manage international relationships, be it with allies or adversaries.The current regional climate makes military confrontation against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expansionist ambitions untenable. Amid the “tariff wars” and naval fleets’ show of force, even Washington’s closest friends seem confused by an administration whose behavior is far more tactical than strategic. One could say that this state of affairs had been expected from an administration led by Donald Trump, who has made personal loyalty and blind allegiance his primary criteria for political and diplomatic appointments. Indeed, there are no towering intellectual or expert figures in the current administration comparable to Dean Acheson, Henry Kissinger, Anthony Lake, Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright, or Susan Rice. Complex civilizational, historical, and geographical issues have been entrusted to friends, wealthy businessmen, and campaign donors. Steve Witkoff and Barrack, who now find themselves navigating the complexities of the Middle East, are two glaring examples.
This effective absence on the part of Washington could well open the region’s doors to the unknown.
Russia, for example, has not yet “fully retired.” It maintains its strategic footholds in northwestern Syria. Although it has suffered a major setback, Iran remains capable of mounting challenges and disrupting plans. And Turkiye, which has just achieved a major victory with the shift in Damascus, may not settle for the backseat, especially if Israel’s regional influence grows and undermines what Ankara sees as its vital interests.
As for Israel, it sees an opportunity to extract as many gains as possible: This belief is born of several factors. First, exploiting the absence, or tacit blessing, of the US — there is little difference — in order to erase Palestine altogether, both as a people and as a cause. Second, the fact that the current regional climate, particularly in the Arab world, makes military confrontation against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expansionist ambitions untenable. Third, Netanyahu has sought to defend through offense, evading Israel’s domestic political crisis by hiding behind unruly extremist allies who dream of a “Greater Israel” stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. Finally, Israel’s growing concern over the fractures beginning to appear in the alliance of extremists, the Zionist biblical fundamentalists and the white Christian evangelicals in the US.
This alliance had been solidified since the presidency of Ronald Reagan, and continued to consolidate under George W. Bush and the neoconservatives. However, the rising power of white evangelicals in Trump’s camp, alongside the increasingly racist tone of their discourse and the growing prevalence of the biblical backlash against the narrative of “antisemitism,” have recently alerted sensible American Jews to the dangers of leaning too strongly on this discourse. The excessive exploitation of antisemitism has revived racism and brought back chilling memories of 1930s European Nazism to the collective consciousness. Crises of this magnitude only grow deeper and more dangerous in the absence of conscious, fair, and strategic approaches, and when solutions are left in the hands of amateurs and passersby.

Qatar Is Powering Syria
Ahmad Sharawi and Natalie Ecanow/August 06/2025
On July 31, the Qatar Fund for Development announced plans to fund a surge of natural gas deliveries to Syria. Deliveries began on August 2. The gas, which is flowing from Azerbaijan to a power station in Aleppo via Turkey, is expected to boost Syria’s power-generating capacity by 400 megawatts. That means hours more electricity every day for more than 5 million people. At a ceremony inaugurating the project in Kilis, a southern Turkish city bordering Syria, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslam Bayraktar said that the exports “will help activate a power plant with a capacity of around 1,200 megawatts,” and that Turkey “will transport natural gas to Aleppo and from Aleppo to Homs,” enabling “the power plants there to be put into operation in the near future.”The latest pipeline deliveries represent Qatar’s third venture in the Syrian energy market. In March, Qatar began transferring natural gas to the Deir Ali power plant in Damascus via Jordan, adding 400 megawatts of capacity. Two months later, the Syrian government signed a $7 billion memorandum of understanding with the United States, Qatar, and Turkey for the construction of four power plants and one solar farm in Syria. Combined, the installations are expected to satisfy more than 50 percent of Syria’s electricity needs.
Qatar’s Growing Role in Post-Assad Syria
Qatar began expanding its role in Syria immediately after Assad’s fall. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was the first foreign head of state to visit Syria under its new leadership, and Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in Damascus. These moves were hardly surprising given Qatar’s historic support for Syria’s new leaders, who were formerly members of the Al-Nusra Front — al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. Meanwhile, the Syrian government signed a $1.5 billion memorandum of understanding on June 30 with a Qatari entertainment company to establish an “integrated project for a media, film, and tourism production city in Syria” called “Damascus Gate.” Qatari food and dairy manufacturer Baladna is also moving ahead with a $250 million venture to launch “an integrated industrial project comprising a dairy plant, a juice processing plant, a plastic packaging manufacturing facility, and an advanced water treatment facility” in Syria.
Gulf States Compete for Influence in Syria
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also found common ground in efforts to ease Syria’s economic crisis. In May, Qatar rolled out a three-month, $87 million grant to subsidize Syrian public-sector salaries and cleared Syria’s $15.5 million debt to the World Bank in partnership with Saudi Arabia.
But while the Gulf states are able to work together on some aspects of Syria’s reconstruction, the battered nation has become a battleground for influence. So far, Saudi Arabia has taken the lead, not only in investment (Saudi companies have pledged more than $6 billion in investments across key sectors), but also in political engagement with Damascus. Riyadh had repeatedly expressed support for Syria’s territorial unity and has positioned itself as a key protector of the country’s interests. As President Donald Trump noted when announcing sanctions relief in Riyadh, it was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who personally lobbied for lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria, saying, “Oh, what I do for the crown prince.”
U.S. Should Remain Cautious About Terror Finance Regulations
While increasing Syrians’ access to electricity seems like an unqualified good, the United States should remain cautious and closely monitor all investments. It is critical to ensure that entities do not use the funds to finance terrorism. This concern is particularly relevant given that the Syrian army has integrated foreign fighters into its ranks who still have active ties to al-Qaeda. It also continues to host several designated terrorist organizations, such as foreign groups like Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. Washington must remain prepared to reimpose targeted sanctions on any groups or entities in Syria that exploit new investments to facilitate terror financing.
**Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Natalie Ecanow is a senior research analyst. For more analysis from the authors, please subscribe HERE. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. Follow Natalie on X @NatalieEcanow. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

U.S. Cancellation of Sudan Talks Was a Mistake
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/FDD/August 06/2025
The United States unwisely cancelled a key meeting on Sudan’s civil war. The State Department called off a gathering with the Sudan Quad — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates — scheduled for July 30 in Washington, where the Trump administration aimed to propose a peace plan modeled on the Rwanda-Democratic Republic of the Congo agreement. The arrangement would have focused on equitably sharing Sudan’s vast mineral wealth — estimated at $350 billion in oil reserves and $80 billion in gold. The meeting’s cancellation indefinitely stalls this prudent plan, though a source told the Bloomberg news service that the meeting may take place in September. According to Bloomberg, Washington postponed the meeting due to a disagreement over the proposed wording of a joint statement, which said that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) should not play a dominant role in a post-war transitional government.
Divisions Persist on Power-Sharing
To unlock Sudan’s mineral wealth, the SAF, led by Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan’s Sovereignty Council, and the RSF, under Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, must agree on power-sharing. The Manama Agreement, signed in January, outlined steps to end the conflict and govern Sudan, but divisions have since deepened. In May, Burhan appointed Kamel Idriss as prime minister to form what the SAF leader described as the “Cabinet of Hope.” On July 26, the RSF responded by establishing a “presidential council” led by Dagalo, with Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) — one of Sudan’s largest and most organized rebel groups — as deputy. This council named its coalition the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS) and its government the Transitional Peace Government. TASIS, Arabic for “founding,” presents itself as secular, contrasting with the SAF’s “Cabinet of Hope,” which TASIS labels Islamist due to its alignment with the Sudanese Islamic Movement and two rival Muslim Brotherhood factions. The formation of parallel governments thus signals mounting discord, with each faction creating competing bureaucracies, potentially solidifying temporary battle lines into permanent borders.
Violence Continues Throughout Sudan
The international community often blames Sudan’s woes on competing warlords. The U.S. government has accused both SAF and RSF of war crimes. SAF used chemical weapons on the Sudanese, and RSF engaged in ethnic cleansing that the State Department determined constituted genocide.
In March, leveraging its superior firepower, the SAF recaptured Khartoum but has struggled to stabilize or govern the capital. The SAF called on the displaced Sudanese to return from countries like Egypt, but such a call has faced widespread skepticism.
Even in SAF-controlled areas cleared of RSF forces, bloodshed persists, driven by smaller factions, vigilantes, and radical Islamist militias. In Khartoum, Islamist brigades target non-religious groups and individuals, vowing to block them from entering the city, according to activist Sabah al-Hasan. She questioned why the Islamists do not focus on stopping looters and murderers instead of using their muscle to fuel political divisions. Sudan’s economic crisis compounds its instability. The national currency has plummeted to approximately 3,345 Sudanese pounds (SDG) per U.S. dollar, down from 560 SDG before the war began.
Future Peace Plan Must Satisfy Diverse Claims
When Washington eventually brings together the sponsors of Sudan’s warring factions, a comprehensive peace plan must address the competing interests of local, regional, and international actors. By safeguarding each party’s stake in the country’s mineral wealth, Washington can shift Sudan’s focus to curbing radical ideologies, such as the resurgence of Islamism in parts of the country. Sudan’s conflict appears intractable, but the root issue is global disinterest, particularly from Washington. When the world’s leading power remains passive, regional rivals encourage their proxies to escalate violence, fueling atrocities and famine. However, when the United States takes decisive action and applies pressure, regional and local actors are more likely to align and pursue peace.Delaying the Sudan Quad’s meeting in Washington was a mistake and should be rescheduled as soon as possible.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from the author and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Hussain on X @hahussain. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.

7 UN Organizations That Undermine Israel and the U.S.
David May & Jake Schlanger/FDD/August 06/2025
The Trump administration announced on July 22 its departure from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the end of 2026. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated, “Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” citing “anti-Israel rhetoric” as one of several reasons for the move. As the White House reviews U.S. support for the United Nations, the Trump administration should build on its departure from UNESCO and defund and/or demand reform from the additional six UN bodies and organizations, which are chief among UN organs working to delegitimize the Jewish state and undermine America’s global standing.
1. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
The Trump administration exited UNESCO amid the body’s years-long campaign to attack Israel and erase the Jewish connection to the Holy Land. UNESCO has classified biblical sites, such as Jericho, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, as “Palestinian” and downplayed their deep connection to Judaism.
UNESCO has also sought to minimize the centrality of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount to Judaism. UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount — Judaism’s holiest location — exclusively by its Arabic name, al-Haram al-Sharif.
In 2011, UNESCO circumvented established UN procedures — which grant the Security Council the exclusive right to admit states — by becoming the first UN body to admit the Palestinian delegation as a full member state. President Barack Obama ended U.S. funding for UNESCO in 2011, in accordance with federal law, which prohibits U.S. funding for any UN body or agency that accords Palestine the same standing as member states.
2. United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
A disproportionate number of UNHRC resolutions, special sessions, and commissions of inquiry (COIs) have targeted Israel, making it easier for authoritarians to avoid scrutiny. The council’s only open-ended COI has a mandate designed to find Israel guilty of “systematic discrimination.” One of the commission’s members, Miloon Kothari, said the “Jewish lobby” largely controls social media. All members of this COI resigned in July.
The UNHRC’s only special rapporteur with an open-ended mandate is the one focused solely on investigating Israel. Holders of this post, including current Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, have displayed overt antisemitism. Prior to receiving her position in 2022, she said in 2014 that the United States is “subjugated by the Jewish lobby.” She has also dismissed reports of Hamas rapes on October 7 and compared Israel to the “Third Reich” and its racial purity laws.
The UNHRC also maintains Agenda Item 7, making Israel the only country subject to a permanent item focused solely on its alleged human rights abuses.
3. United Nations Children’s Fund — Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNICEF-oPt)
The UNICEF-oPt office, UNICEF’s operations center for Gaza and the West Bank, led the No Way to Treat a Child Campaign, which successfully placed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the UN Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) — the same category as Hamas’s armed factions and ISIS. This list serves as a tool for activists seeking to boycott Israel.
UNICEF-oPt jump-started the campaign when it published a flawed and misleading report that alleged massive IDF human rights violations against Palestinian children. Following the report’s publication, UNICEF-oPt worked with dozens of nongovernmental organizations to publish misinformation on Israeli practices and lobby the UN Secretariat, which runs the CAAC watchlist.
UNICEF-oPt has also partnered with Defense for Children International — Palestine, designated by Israel as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization, and Addameer, sanctioned by Israel and the United States for its PFLP ties, to monitor and collect data on alleged children’s rights violations.
4. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid — Occupied Palestinian Territory (OCHA-oPt)
OCHA-oPt has republished Hamas-issued casualty numbers despite extensive problems with the data, such as failing to distinguish between civilians and combatants and relying on media and unverified sources for data collection, lending UN credibility to the figures and assisting the terror group in its information war against Israel. Additionally, OCHA-OPT’s analysis of the humanitarian challenges in the West Bank and Gaza ignores how terror groups and the Palestinian Authority’s corruption undermine living conditions.
Meanwhile, OCHA acknowledges that its West Bank and Gaza operation is “unique as compared to other OCHA country offices globally” in its prioritization of advocacy on behalf of the Palestinians and dissemination of pro-Palestinian information. For example, OCHA was one of 16 UN bodies that committed $18 million to a program in 2017 to help Palestinian legal advocacy against Israel. Additionally, the organization’s per capita funding for the territories equals or exceeds allocations for far less developed countries, including Niger, Ethiopia, and Haiti.
To accomplish its political objectives, OCHA-OPT works closely with a litany of nongovernmental organizations that are allegedly connected to terror organizations, such as Islamic Relief Worldwide and World Vision. World Vision reportedly diverted aid to Hamas.
5. International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The ICJ’s 2004 advisory opinion undermined Israeli security by determining Israel’s West Bank security barrier to be illegal. In its opinion, which is not legally binding, the court argued that Israel enjoyed no right to self-defense in this case under Article 51 of the UN charter because it was fighting non-state actors. In a 2024 advisory opinion, the ICJ erroneously declared Israel’s continued presence in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Gaza to be illegal.
South Africa has used the ICJ apparatus to attempt to halt Israel’s war against Hamas by falsely accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Chief judge Nawaf Salam, who left the ICJ in January to become prime minister of Lebanon, violated the ICJ’s rules on conflicts of interest by not recusing himself from the case despite having denounced Israel repeatedly as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations.
6. World Health Organization (WHO)
The WHO plays a key role in promoting Hamas disinformation by republishing casualty numbers from Hamas-run bodies in Gaza despite well-documented credibility issues. Nevertheless, a WHO spokesperson told reporters, “Nothing [is] wrong with the data.”
The WHO’s oversight body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), has a standing agenda item devoted exclusively to criticizing Israel, something no other country faces. Moreover, the WHO accused Israel of violating health rights in the “occupied Syrian Golan” despite Israel’s highly rated health care system and the health ramifications for those caught in Syria’s civil war. Demonstrating how anti-Israel bias detracts from the WHO’s core mission, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHA allocated an entire day of an eight-day conference to this agenda item.
7. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
For decades, the UNGA has attacked Israel while inadequately addressing other global issues. While Uyghurs in China faced numerous human rights violations, Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine, and the Sudanese genocide began unfolding, the UNGA passed 17 resolutions in 2024 targeting Israel but only seven on the rest of the world combined. These include an annual resolution condemning Israel for a 2006 “Oil Slick on Lebanese Shores” — which ignores the environmental damage Hezbollah caused in the war it provoked — and a resolution denouncing Israel for not becoming a party to the International Atomic Energy Agency but ignoring Iran’s violations of international law related to its nuclear weapons program.
The UNGA has also established and maintained a network of Palestinian-specific bodies that systematically undermine Israel and the United States. These include the UN Relief and Works Agency, which educates Palestinians to hate Israel and helps propagate Palestinians’ refugee status, and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which helped organize nongovernmental organizations in a campaign to wage economic warfare on Israel. The UNGA’s logistical and media organizations also support these Palestinian-specific UN organizations.
*David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Jake Schlanger was an intern in FDD’s International Organizations Program. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow David on X @DavidSamuelMay. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.

Afghans in Iran have significant national security implications for the Tehran regime
Janatan Sayeh/FDD's Long War Journal/August 06/2025
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly asked the Taliban for access to a leaked list of Afghan nationals who assisted the United Kingdom, aiming to identify individuals affiliated with the MI6 intelligence agency. According to The Telegraph, the IRGC has formed a special committee to track and potentially arrest Afghans who worked with British forces, seeking to use them as leverage ahead of possible negotiations between Tehran and Europe. The database requested by Iran contains the personal information—names, contact details, and affiliations—of over 25,000 Afghans who applied for UK asylum. The list includes former soldiers, intelligence assets, and special forces, as well as the names of more than 100 British operatives who endorsed them. It was accidentally disclosed by a Royal Marine in February 2022 and has since been exploited by the Taliban.
Tehran’s interest in the UK-linked database reflects a broader trend: the regime increasingly views Afghan nationals not just as migrants, but as potential leverage or threats, depending on their affiliations. This shift is evident in both its diplomatic maneuvers and internal crackdowns.
Iran’s reported request to the Taliban comes weeks after Iran expelled over 300,000 Afghan nationals after its 12-day conflict with Israel, with a total of 1.4 million deported since January 2025. Citing security concerns, Iranian government Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani stated on July 2, “We’ve always striven to be good hosts, but national security is a priority, and naturally illegal nationals must return.”State-run media echoed this sentiment, characterizing Afghans who illegally enter Iran as a national security risk. “The fact that thousands of military and security personnel trained by the Americans fled in fear after the fall of Kabul and the country’s dramatic political shift, and that some entered Iran, is self-evident. But the question of why some are now being used as tools by the enemy against us points to both a failure in intelligence and an oversight,” one outlet wrote on July 2.
Iran’s regime security forces targeted numerous Afghan nationals during the 12-day Israel-Iran war, accusing them of acting on Israel’s behalf. On June 16, Basij units in Lorestan Province claimed to have intercepted five Afghans allegedly carrying drones, though no equipment was visible in the arrest footage. Two days later, police in Rey City apprehended another Afghan national, citing his alleged ties to the Mossad and the discovery of drone and bomb-making materials on his phone. On June 19, authorities in Mashhad’s Mehrabad district took 18 Afghans into custody for allegedly assembling explosive and surveillance drones for Israel under the guise of local workshops. Officials said that some of the individuals had received specialized training abroad and were stopped before executing any operations. Quoting anonymous regime officials, the Qatari outlet Middle East Eye reported on August 4 that Tehran sees the influx of undocumented Afghan migrants into Iran as a significant security vulnerability. One government source stated, “Afghans in Iran are not Israeli spies,” but noted that the large number of illegal crossings after the Taliban takeover created a major opportunity for Israeli intelligence. The source described a tactic in which Israeli operatives exploited vulnerable Afghan migrants, paying them to put together components used in drone operations without revealing the end purpose. “They didn’t know who they were working for—they were just following instructions,” the source said.
Despite this framing, the Tehran regime has selectively relied on Afghan nationals when it serves its interests. The Fatemiyoun Brigade, a militia made up largely of Afghan Shiite fighters, played a central role in Tehran’s military campaigns during the Syrian Civil War before the fall of Bashar al Assad.
The Islamic Republic’s strict vetting for security roles prioritizes loyal insiders, meaning Afghan migrants and their descendants do not hold sensitive positions and are of little value to Israeli intelligence. Another motive behind the mass deportations and arrests may be the regime’s desire to claim it successfully disrupted Israeli operations, preserving its image among loyalists. The issue of undocumented Afghan migration has also been a point of internal political contention, and expelling them may serve to stoke nationalist sentiment during wartime, allowing the regime to project that it is taking decisive action.
**Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s regional malign influence.

Clashes erupt in Syria’s Suwayda following US-brokered ceasefire
Ahmad Sharawi/FDD's Long War Journal/August 06/2025
On August 3, clashes between local Druze militias, Sunni Arab tribal forces, and Syrian government troops in Syria’s Suwayda Governorate reignited after a two-week hiatus following a US-brokered ceasefire. The fighting began when Druze militias attacked Tal Hadid and nearby areas near the village of Thaaleh in Suwayda’s western countryside. Tal Hadid, which Syrian government forces had held to separate Sunni tribal fighters from Druze militias, is a strategic high point overlooking Suwayda city, which remains under Druze control. The attack resulted in the deaths of five Syrian government soldiers.
In response, the Syrian government initiated a counterattack against the Druze militias, recapturing all positions seized by what it called “unlawful gangs” in Tal Hadid, Rima Hazm, and Walgha. The Ministry of Interior issued a statement accusing the militias of trying to drag the province into “tension and chaos,” driven by the “personal ambitions” of their leadership. The ministry claimed that these armed groups were stealing aid destined for Druze civilians, fueling internal strife, and violating ceasefire agreements to cover up their abuses. The clashes also forced the temporary closure of the Bosra al Sham Corridor west of Suwayda city, the sole route for relief and aid shipments to Druze civilians in the area. The corridor was reopened the following day, on August 4, after the security situation stabilized. One of the Druze fighters killed was Nashwan al Shaer, a native of Suwayda city. Open-source information indicates that Shaer was a member of the Eagles of the Whirlwind. This militia was affiliated with the Assad regime and serves as the military wing of the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP). The SSNP advocates for the creation of a “Greater Syrian” nation, and some analysts have described it as a “rabidly anti-Semitic, fascist organization.” Internal divisions have also begun to surface among Syria’s Druze factions. A video recently emerged featuring Tareq Shoufi, the leader of the Suwayda Military Council, a militia composed of former Assad regime officers that has called for local autonomy in Suwayda and has pledged allegiance to one of the three Druze spiritual leaders, Hikmat al Hijri, who has publicly called for Israeli intervention to defend the Druze. In the video, Shoufi claimed that an armed group led by Nawras Azzam, who is also affiliated with Hijri and rumored to be involved in the illicit drug trade, stormed a meeting in Suwayda city, kidnapped Shoufi, and forced him to record a statement confessing to coordinating with Syrian government forces. Additionally, a statement attributed to local activists in Suwayda emerged that accused armed factions loyal to Hikmat al Hijri of attempting to separate the city from Syria and establish communication channels with Israel. A group of Syrians who referred to themselves as the “Free people of Suwayda” signed the statement, which rejected any form of separation from the rest of Syria, “no matter how much intimidation and suppression the factions loyal to al-Hijri practice.”
**Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the levant.

Selected tweets for 06 August/2025
Zéna Mansour
Urgent Call to Action.
The IntCommunity must act to prevent devastation & address the consequences of inaction.
SWda faces a crisis:
-10,000 homes burned
-37 towns devastated
-81 Druze women abducted
-2,100 DRZ killed, 5,000 DRZ injured
- Siege & aid obstruction
@POTUS @SecRubio

Swedish_Druze
What does “Allah Akbar” in the context of these crimes?
Julani #terrorists view their #Suwayda venture as Islamic conquest of ethnic cleansing of #Druze from #Syria. Just like their #Ottomans masters, they ethically cleansed #Turkey from #Christians minority, so it’s easier for them to rule over religiously homogenous society to ease their dictatorship grip over the country.

Syria Justice Archive
https://x.com/i/status/1952505577961316772
Suwayda | The Guardian Highlights Sectarian Violence and Druze Killings in Southern Syria.The Guardian reports on last month’s sectarian clashes in southern Syria between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes, with HTS led regime forces also implicated. Footage of executions and abuse surfaced online. Among the victims were three Druze men from the Arnous family—Osama (26), Mouath (24), and Baraa (20)—killed while seeking shelter. Journalist William Christou spoke with Osama’s brother-in-law, Hadi Neman, who shared their final moments.

Youssef Raggi
The government’s momentous decision to place all weapons exclusively under state authority by the end of the year was, above all, a response to the aspirations of the Lebanese people. To them, and to the Arab and international communities, our message is clear: This decision is final and resolute; there is no turning back.

Marc Zell
Chanell 12's Amit Segal notes the extraordinary visit this week by House Speaker Mike Johnson to Samaria, and his meeting with Netanyahu specific ally in Shiloh (not Jerusalem) and asks whether all of this could be a hint by the Trump Administration that it may be prepared to move forward with Israeli sovereignty over Judea & Samaria. Me: I think this week's visit may well be part of President Trump's negotiating strategy about Gaza and the hostages. Hamas believes that the spate of recent announcements by prominent international actors favoring recognition of a Palestinian state proves that its October 7th strategy is working and that there is no reason to continue to negotiate with the Israelis and the Trump Administration. The controversial visits this week to Judea & Samaria are a signal to the terrorists that they do have something to lose and that their deadly gambit is about to backfire. I believe Speaker Johnson and Ambassador Huckabee, like many of us in Israel, favor extending Israeli sovereignty over the cradle of the Jewish People for deeply rooted religious, historical and moral reasons. But the possibility of American endorsement of Israeli sovereignty over these areas also is a brilliant diplomatic negotiating tactic which may prove effective in ending the Gaza crisis.

MRM58
A Christian Lebanon will -and undeniably- go to a Peace Treaty and Full Normalization with Israel . We as Christians and Jews have a historical alliance rooted in our religions.The only ones against this are Arabs hence Sunni KSA and Iranians Shia Islamic State and proxies

Guila Fakhoury
Well this is a first! The Lebanese army is finally taking action against individuals who commit crimes and have been able to evade justice simply because they are affiliated with Hezbollah. We hope to see more military efforts like this in the future.

Guila Fakhoury
Following yesterday’s events in Lebanon, the Lebanese government for the first time discussed the disarmament of Hezbollah. They gave the Lebanese Army two weeks to develop a plan to achieve this goal, with the government asserting that Hezbollah will be disarmed before the end of 2025. Today, Hezbollah-affiliated media and journalists issued a statement rejecting the government’s strategy, labeling Lebanon’s president and government as traitors and Zionists. Hezbollah also declared that they will ignore any plans devised by the Lebanese government. Will the new Lebanese government be able to assert authority over Hezbollah, or will Hezbollah continue to dictate the terms? Is Lebanon on the path to liberation from Hezbollah’s influence, or are these developments just empty words and negotiations? Only time will tell…