English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  November 04/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 17/01-08/:"After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me."

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 03-04/2025
Anniversary of the Signing of the Catastrophic Cairo Agreement That Legitimated Occupations and Traded Sovereignty for Undelivered Security/Elias Bejjani/November 03/2025
Faith Reflections on the Meaning and Background of All Souls' Day/Elias Bejjani/November 02/2025
Elias Bejjani/Indeed, Lebanon is a failed state, just as Tom Barrack described its illness. The only solution is placing it under international mandate pursuant to Chapter VI/Elias Bejjani/November 01, 2025
Faith Reflections on the Feast of All Saints/Elias Bejjani/November 01/2025
Lebanon’s president says ‘no choice but to negotiate with Israel using diplomatic language’
Lebanon Says Israeli Strikes on South Kill Two
Qmati: No choice but to cling to resistance even if we all get martyred
Netanyahu calls on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, says Israel to 'act as necessary'
Israeli official threatens Dahieh if Hezbollah not disarmed, confirms Egyptian mediation
Lebanon offered $16 billion in return for Hezbollah disarmament
US official voices support for Lebanese govt., urges Hezbollah disarmament
Naharnet/November 03, 2025
Israeli report says 'increased Hezbollah activity' detected in several Lebanese areas
Hundreds in south Lebanon mourn Hezbollah members killed in Israeli attacks
Libyan Delegation in Beirut Seeks Release of Hannibal Gaddafi
Egypt Advises Lebanon to Seek Trump Support to End Conflict with Israel
Cairo Urges Tel Aviv to Withdraw from Five Strategic Points inside Lebanon
As Israel ratchets up military pressure on Lebanon, US wants direct talks eyeing Syria as model
Saydet al-Jabal Urges Lebanon to Negotiate with Israel and Reclaim Control of Weapons
Financial Times Revives Debate Over Hezbollah’s Funding in Lebanon
Time Is Running Out for Lebanon to Avoid the Price of Hollow Politics/Dr. Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/November 03/2025
Innovation’ in Destruction: The Forgery of University Degrees/Michel Touma/This is Beirut/November 03/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 03-04/2025
Israeli Fire Kills Three People in Gaza, Medics Say, Further Testing Ceasefire
Israel Hands over Bodies of 45 Palestinians After Hamas Returned the Remains of 3 Soldiers
Hamas 'Determined' to Stick to Gaza Truce, Says Erdogan
Israel Advances Bill Proposing Death Penalty for Deadly Terror Attacks
In Gaza Cemeteries, Some Displaced Palestinians Live among the Dead
Arab League Urges Global Community to Actively Contribute to Gaza Relief, Reconstruction
Türkiye, Muslim Allies Say Palestinian Self-rule Key to Gaza Future
Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Cooperation with US Not Possible While It Backs Israel
Syria Seeking ‘Very Strong Strategic Partnership’ with US
Iran Banking on Iraq Vote to Retain Regional Influence
Iraq Can Disarm Factions Only When the US Withdraws, Prime Minister Says
‘IISS Manama Dialogue’ Concludes, Addresses Political Transformations, Security Challenges
Famine Spreads to Two More Areas in Sudan, Global Hunger Authority Says

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on November 03-04/2025
How Hamas Is Exploiting the Trump Plan to Maintain Control of Gaza/Khaled Abu Toameh/November 03/2025
Abu Lulu and the Mines/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Iran and the Advice of the Omani Minister/Mishari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 3, 2025
Selected X Tweets For November 03/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 03-04/2025
Anniversary of the Signing of the Catastrophic Cairo Agreement That Legitimated Occupations and Traded Sovereignty for Undelivered Security
Elias Bejjani/November 03/2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWDqlptsr-U
Today, we remember with anger and sorrow the Cairo Agreement, the crime and national catastrophe that was signed between Lebanon the State and the terrorist Palestinian organizations. This agreement destroyed Lebanon, eliminated its unity, undermined its independence, and handed over its decision-making to foreign terrorists, Arab nationalists, leftists, and jihadists who occupied Lebanon and continue to do so, starting with the Palestinian organizations, then the Syrian occupation, and currently the Iranian occupation through the terrorist and jihadist Hezbollah. What were the backgrounds of this voided agreement? What are its catastrophic consequences that continue to this day? And who was responsible for the signing and the surrender of Lebanon, and why?
Undoubtedly, the Cairo Agreement, signed on November 3, 1969, was not merely a military accord, but a catastrophic turning point in modern Lebanese history. It undermined its sovereignty, legitimized an armed presence outside state authority, and paved the way for the wars that Lebanon was subjected to and which are still raging, serving Palestinian, Syrian, Nasserist Arab nationalist, jihadist, and Iranian agendas.
Date of Signing, Signatories, and Background of the Cairo Agreement
Date and Place of Signing: The agreement was signed in Cairo, the capital of the United Arab Republic (Egypt at the time), on November 3, 1969.
Signatories and Parties:
On the Lebanese side: General Emile Boustani, Commander of the Army, during the presidency of Charles Helou.
On the Palestinian Organizations side: Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Egyptian Presence and Influence: The signing was attended by Mr. Mahmoud Riad (Egyptian Foreign Minister) and General Mohamed Fawzi (Egyptian Minister of War). The late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser played a pivotal role in summoning Arafat and the Lebanese authorities and pressuring for the swift conclusion of the agreement. It is reported that he warned General Boustani upon signing the agreement, saying: "The agreement is not in your interest."
The Bloody Background: The agreement came in the wake of bloody and fierce clashes that lasted for months between the Lebanese Army and the local Christian popular forces rejecting the Palestinian occupation, and the Palestinian resistance factions whose power was escalating through their alliance with Lebanese leftist and nationalist political forces (later known as the Lebanese National Movement). The core of the conflict was the rejection by the majority of Lebanese Christian parties and organizations of using Lebanon as a platform for military operations against Israel or an arena for ideological Arab wars, at the expense of Lebanese state sovereignty and stability.
Text Of The Cairo Agreement 1969
IN 1969, under the authority of the then president Charles Helou, the following document was signed by the Head of the Lebanese Delegation General Emile Bustani, and the Head of the Palestinian Delegation Yasser Arafat.
Text
On Monday, 3rd November 1969, the Lebanese delegation headed by Army Commander General Emile al-Bustani, and the Palestine Liberation Organization delegation, headed by Mr. Yasir 'Arafat, chairman of the organization, met in Cairo in the presence of the United Arab Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmud Riyad, and the War Minister, General Muhammad Fawzi.
In consonance with the bonds of brotherhood and common destiny, relations between Lebanon and the Palestinian revolution must always be conducted on the bases of confidence, frankness, and positive cooperation for the benefit of Lebanon and the Palestinian revolution and within the framework of Lebanon's sovereignty and security. The two delegations agreed on the following principles and measures:
The Palestinian Presence
It was agreed to reorganize the Palestinian presence in Lebanon on the following bases:
1. The right to work, residence, and movement for Palestinians currently residing in Lebanon;
2. The formation of local committees composed of Palestinians in the camps to care for the interests of Palestinians residing in these camps in cooperation with the local Lebanese authorities within the framework of Lebanese sovereignty;
3. The establishment of posts of the Palestinian Armed Struggle [PASC] inside the camps for the purpose of cooperation with the local committees to ensure good relations with the Lebanese authorities. These posts shall undertake the task of regulating and determining the presence of arms in the camps within the framework of Lebanese security and the interests of the Palestinian revolution;
4. Palestinians resident in Lebanon are to be permitted to participate in the Palestinian revolution through the Armed Struggle and in accordance with the principles of the sovereignty and security of Lebanon.
Commando Activity
It was agreed to facilitate commando activity by means of:
1. Facilitating the passage of commandos and specifying points of passage and reconnaissance in the border areas;
2. Safeguarding the road to the 'Arqub region;
3. The Armed Struggle shall undertake to control the conduct of all the members of its organizations and [to ensure] their non-interference in Lebanese affairs;
4. Establishing a joint command control of the Armed Struggle and the Lebanese Army;
5. Ending the propaganda campaigns by both sides;
6. Conducting a census of Armed Struggle personnel in Lebanon by their command.
7. Appointing Armed Struggle representatives at Lebanese Army headquarters to participate in the resolution of all emergency matters;
8. Studying the distribution of all suitable points of concentration in border areas which will be agreed with the Lebanese Army command;
9. Regulating the entry, exit, and circulation of Armed Struggle personnel;
10. Removal of the Jiyrun base.
11. The Lebanese Army shall facilitate the operation of medical, evacuation, and supply centers for commando activity;
12. Releasing detained personnel and confiscated arms;
13. It is understood that the Lebanese authorities, both civil and military, shall continue to exercise all their prerogatives and responsibilities in all areas of Lebanon in all circumstances;
14. The two delegations affirm that the Palestinian armed struggle is in the interest of Lebanon as well as in that of the Palestinian revolution and all Arabs;
15. This agreement shall remain Top Secret and for the eyes of the commands only.
Head of Lebanese delegation
Emile Bustani
Head of Palestinian delegation
Yasir Arafat
Resolution adopted by the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies, 21 May 1987
1. Abrogation of the law issued by the Chamber of Deputies on 14 June 1983, authorizing the Government to ratify the agreement signed by the Government of the Lebanese Republic and the Government of the State of Israel on 17 May 1983.
2. The agreement signed on 3 November 1969 between the head of the Lebanese delegation General Emile Bustani and the Chairman of the PLO and which is known as the "Cairo Agreement" is hereby null and void as if it had never existed. Further, all annexes and measures related to the Cairo Agreement are hereby null and void as if they had never existed.
**The Catastrophic and Ongoing Consequences of the Agreement
Despite the apparent attempt to mitigate tension, the Cairo Agreement constituted an explicit authorization for an armed foreign group to possess weapons on Lebanese soil, leading to:
Erosion of Sovereignty and National Decision: The agreement established a "state within a state," where areas controlled by armed Palestinians, especially the camps and Southern Lebanon, became entirely outside the authority of the Lebanese state.
Abandonment of the South: Allowing the "securing of the road to the Arqoub area" and facilitating operations from the South transformed this region into an arena for direct conflict with Israel. This initiated the cycle of destruction and displacement in Southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese state bearing the consequences of a war it did not decide.
Turning Lebanon into a War Zone: Lebanon became an "open arena" for Feda'een actions and counter-military operations, leading to the destruction of infrastructure, destabilization of security, and the eruption of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) as a direct result of clashes between Lebanese militias rejecting the situation and Palestinian militias allied with Lebanese leftist forces.
Transforming Camps into Security Enclaves: Palestinian camps remain outside state authority to this day, becoming safe havens for "merchants of the resistance lie," drug dealers, fugitives from justice, and fertile ground for extremist organizations and chaos.
Fourth: Loss of Sovereignty and the Continuation of Disasters
Since the signing of the Cairo Agreement, it can be said that Lebanon lost a significant part of its sovereignty and independent decision. This was not limited to armed Palestinian influence but extended to open the door wide to other regional powers:
Syrian Influence: The Assad regime exploited the agreement and then the Civil War to intervene militarily and politically, transforming Lebanon into a bargaining chip in its hand.
Iranian Hezbollah Occupation: The "crime of the Cairo Agreement" was repeated with the emergence and growth of Hezbollah (which holds Iranian identity and goals). It possesses weapons outside state authority, wages wars, and dominates Lebanon's sovereign decision, representing a continuation of the "illegitimate weapons" approach established by the Cairo Agreement.
Fifth: The Nullification of the Agreement and the Crime of Repetition
The Death of the Agreement (The Lebanese Barter):
The Cairo Agreement died and was officially annulled on May 20, 1987, shortly after the expiration of the effect of the "May 17 Agreement" (1983) signed by Lebanon and Israel.
"The Cairo Agreement died, as it was born, in the blink of an eye that lasted about 18 years... thus, the barter was nullification for nullification."
The armed Palestinian revolution departed from Beirut in 1982 following the Israeli invasion, thereby ending the effective and open armed presence of the PLO legitimized by the agreement, before it was officially annulled afterward.
The Repetition of the Cairo Agreement Crime:
The current situation in Lebanon, under the control of Hezbollah's weapon, is a repetition of the Cairo Agreement crime but with different local and regional tools.
The Lost Wars: Lebanon continues to pay the price for the "lost wars" waged by Hezbollah against Israel, which devastate the South and place the country on the brink of a comprehensive war. It remains unwilling to implement the recent ceasefire agreement and all international resolutions: 1559, 1701, 1680, in addition to its refusal to respect the Lebanese Constitution after its amendment through the Taif Agreement, which demands the dissolution of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and the imposition of state authority through its own forces over all Lebanese territories.
Appeasement and Empowerment: The actions of the current Lebanese government and the Army leadership at present, in terms of appeasing Hezbollah and not compelling it to surrender its weapons to the state, are a repetition of the same historical mistake committed by the Lebanese leadership in 1969: the surrender of the state's sovereign decision in exchange for temporary calm or under regional pressure, thus ensuring the continuation of the national catastrophe.
Conclusion: Every time sovereignty was abandoned in exchange for purported security, the country was the loser and the Lebanese were the victims, because sovereignty belongs to the state alone and not to any armed groups, whether Lebanese or non-Lebanese

Faith Reflections on the Meaning and Background of All Souls' Day
Elias Bejjani/November 02/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/148802/
The Catholic Church celebrates the "Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed" on the second day of November each year. This day is a profound occasion for prayer and faith reflection. What, then, are the backgrounds of this commemoration, and what are the spiritual concepts and meanings that call us to prayer and hope?
The Meaning and Faith Significance of This Holy Day
This day is known in the Catholic Church as "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed" (All Souls' Day), celebrated on November 2nd of each year, immediately following All Saints' Day. It offers believers an opportunity to pray for the souls of their deceased loved ones who passed away "sleeping in the hope of the resurrection." The faith significance lies in embodying the doctrine of the "Communion of Saints," which affirms the spiritual bond between: the Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Militant. It is a call to remember that death does not sever the bonds of faith and love that connect us to our departed loved ones.
2. Background: When Was It Instituted by the Catholic Church?
The standardization of the commemoration of All Souls' Day on November 2nd in the Western Church dates back to the 10th century, specifically around the year 998 AD, when it was instituted by Saint Odilo, the Abbot of Cluny in France, as a practice for the Cluniac Order, which then gradually spread throughout the Catholic Church. It was not instituted by a single specific Vatican Pope for the Universal Church at that time, but rather developed and spread through the influence of the powerful Cluniac Order, after which the Church as a whole adopted it.
3. The Concept of Death in the Gospel: Sleep in the Hope of Resurrection
The Bible presents death for believers not as an end or absolute annihilation, but as a "passing from death to life" (John 5:24), and a temporary "sleep" in the "hope of the resurrection." The Gospel often uses the term "sleep" or "slumber" to describe the death of believers, indicating that the body awaits the glorious resurrection. The Gospel affirms that on the glorious day of Christ's return and His descent from heaven, the departed faithful sleeping will be the first to be raised to meet Him.
Selected Verses:
1 Thessalonians 4:14: "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."
1 Corinthians 15:22: "For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ."
1 Thessalonians 4:16: "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command... And the dead in Christ will rise first."
4. The Importance of Prayer and Visiting Graves
In the Catholic tradition, praying for the dead is considered an expression of love and solidarity within the "Communion of Saints." The purpose of the prayer is to aid those souls who died in God's grace but require further purification (Purgatory) to attain the fullness of happiness in Heaven. Visiting graves and placing wreaths is a traditional practice that carries profound meanings: showing love and fidelity, hope in the resurrection (as wreaths and flowers symbolize eternal life), and a reminder of mortality.
5. The Evangelical Concept of Death
The Evangelical concept of death for the believer is "gain" and "rest." Death is the moment of immediate transition into the presence of the Lord (Philippians 1:21-23), even though the body is "asleep" awaiting the resurrection.
Philippians 1:21: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Revelation 14:13: "...“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord... that they may rest from their labors.”
6. Christian Reasons Justifying Prayer for the Dead
In Catholic doctrine, the justifying reasons for praying for the dead include:
Love and Fraternal Solidarity.
The Doctrine of Purgatory: Assisting souls who require purification.
Communion of Saints: Affirming the unity between the Church in heaven, on earth, and in Purgatory.
Atonement for Imperfection of the deceased during their lives.
Traditional Practice (based on ancient Church tradition).
7. For Whom is the Prayer Made?
According to the Catholic ecclesiastical concept, prayers are offered for the faithful departed resting in Purgatory.
Prayers are not offered for the Saints (as they are in Heaven).
Prayers are not offered for those condemned in Hell (as their fate is sealed).
The prayer is specifically raised for the suffering souls in Purgatory, who died in friendship with God, but whose holiness was not yet perfected.
8. Prayers Offered and the Objectives of Prayer
A. Prayers in Catholic Churches
A special mass known as the Requiem Mass is celebrated. A famous prayer recited is: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them."
The Lebanese Maronite Church
The Maronite Liturgy emphasizes the "Commemoration of the Faithful Departed" within the "Three Weeks of Commemoration" during the Season of the Epiphany. The model prayer seeks rest for their souls and acceptance into the dwelling of the righteous. Part of the Evening Prayer: "O God of the spirits and of all flesh, accept our evening prayer... in commemoration of the faithful departed who are resting in the hope of the resurrection. Make it a mercy for all who have eaten your holy Body and drunk your forgiving Blood... Amen."
C. Objectives of Praying for the Dead
Mercy and Forgiveness.
Heavenly Acceptance.
Consolation for the Living.
Renewal of Hope.
**Contextual Note: In the Maronite tradition, the commemoration of the faithful departed often takes place on a specific Sunday, known as "Sunday of the Faithful Departed" (in the Season of Epiphany), which is separate from the November 2nd date in the Roman Calendar.
Video Link: Evening Prayer for the Sunday of the Faithful Departed, from the Lebanese Maronite Order Website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E57yblMR2bw&t=1s

Elias Bejjani/Indeed, Lebanon is a failed state, just as Tom Barrack described its illness. The only solution is placing it under international mandate pursuant to Chapter VI
Elias Bejjani/November 01, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/148785/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTs1P5jTGyU
Ambassador Tom Barrack has correctly diagnosed the problems plaguing Lebanon, which reflect the grave and undeniable status quo. However, his proposed plan for salvation is unrealistic.
The salvation of Lebanon cannot come from within the current Lebanese regime, its corrupt politicians, or the politically subservient (“dhimmitude”) parties.
This is due to the undeniable fact that Lebanon, since the 1970s, has been systematically stripped of its sovereignty and was and remains completely under the control of successive external and internal forces:
First, the Arafat gangs.
Then, the Syrian occupation.
And, since 2005, and continuing to this day, under the full hegemony of Hezbollah, the Iranian terrorist-jihadist proxy.
The Only Viable Solution: UN Intervention and Full International Guardianship
The solution must therefore materialize through external and decisive action by the international community.
The only realistic path to salvation is for Lebanon to be declared a failed state and, accordingly, designated a rogue state, and placed under full international guardianship. The international community must then enable the United Nations (UN) to take over and place the country under Chapter VII of the UN Charter for a transitional period.
This UN Chapter VII mandate would be essential to:
Implement all relevant international resolutions (1559, 1701, 1680), the Lebanese Constitution, and the latest ceasefire agreement.
Reconstruct the state institutions free from corruption and external control.
Rehabilitate the Lebanese people to empower them to govern themselves effectively and independently again.

Faith Reflections on the Feast of All Saints
Elias Bejjani/November 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/148768/
The Catholic Church celebrates All Saints’ Day every year on November 1st, a solemn feast also observed by the Eastern Churches in communion with her, including the Maronite Church of Lebanon.
What follows explains the historical background, spiritual meaning, and faith significance of this feast that unites heaven and earth, reminding all believers that holiness is not a distant dream but a path of life to which Christ calls each person by name.
1. The Date and the Pope Who Established It
All Saints’ Day was officially instituted in the Catholic Church during the papacy of Pope Gregory III (731–741 AD), who dedicated November 1st as a day to honor all saints, both known and unknown. Later, Pope Gregory IV (827–844 AD) extended the celebration to the entire universal Church, establishing it as a solemn feast throughout the Catholic world.
2. The Background and the Reason for Its Establishment
This feast arose from the Church’s desire to honor all the saints who lived faithful and holy lives but were never formally canonized. In the early centuries, Christians commemorated the martyrs on the anniversaries of their deaths, but as persecutions increased, the number of martyrs became too great for each to have a separate day of remembrance. Therefore, the Church established one universal day to celebrate all those who have completed their journey of faith and now share in eternal glory.
3. The Spiritual Meaning and Concepts of the Feast
At its heart, All Saints’ Day proclaims the universal call to holiness. It reminds us that sainthood is not reserved for priests or religious alone but is a vocation for every baptized person, in every walk of life. It is a feast of spiritual joy that binds heaven and earth together, calling each believer to reflect on eternal life and to follow the saints’ example in humility, love, repentance, and service. This celebration reminds us that the saints are not distant historical figures, but living witnesses whose prayers and intercessions continue to accompany us. Holiness begins in the ordinary — in the family, in daily work, and in love that perseveres.
4. The Celebrations in the Lebanese Maronite Church
The Lebanese Maronite Church celebrates this day with a solemn mass in every parish.
During the liturgy, the Hymn of the Saints is sung, and special prayers are offered for both the living and the departed. The Gospel of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12) is read, emphasizing the virtues that lead to true holiness. Churches are beautifully adorned with flowers and candles, and many believers visit cemeteries to pray for their loved ones, expressing the unity between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven. Priests remind the faithful that holiness begins in family life, daily work, and acts of love and fidelity, in carrying the cross with faith and trust in God.
5. The Prayers Recited on This Day
The prayers offered on All Saints’ Day express the profound communion between the faithful and the saints. Among them are:
A prayer of thanksgiving to God, who has completed His work of grace in the saints.
A prayer of intercession, asking the saints to protect the Church and all believers.
The reading of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12), describing the true path of holiness through humility, mercy, purity, and peace.
The Prayer of the Faithful, lifting intentions for peace, mercy, salvation, and growth in love throughout the world.
6. Faith and the Role of Saints in Catholic Teaching
In Catholic belief, the saints are faithful witnesses of Christ who lived the Gospel heroically and now share eternal glory. The Church does not worship the saints—worship belongs to God alone—but rather asks for their intercession, meaning their loving prayers to God on our behalf. Intercession, in Christian understanding, is a spiritual act of love and communion that expresses the unity of the Body of Christ between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven. All Saints’ Day is therefore a reminder that holiness is possible, and that every believer, no matter his or her circumstances, is called to walk toward God in faith, hope, and love.
7. A Special Prayer for All Saints’ Day
Lord of Holiness and Source of All Grace,
You crown with eternal glory all those who have loved and served You faithfully.
On this blessed day, enlighten our hearts with the grace of Your Holy Spirit,
that we may bear witness to You as Your saints did before us.
Strengthen our faith, fill us with love, and help us to walk the paths of holiness,
carrying Your light to everyone we meet.
Through the intercession of all Your saints,
grant that we may one day share in their everlasting joy in heaven.
Amen.
8. A Final Reflection
All Saints’ Day is not only a celebration of those who have already reached heaven, but also a call to each of us to begin the same journey toward sanctity.
Every act of kindness, every word of truth, every silent prayer becomes a step along the road to holiness.
The saints remind us that perfection is not achieved by greatness, but by faithfulness — by loving God and others in the simplicity of daily life.
Let this feast renew in our hearts the desire to live as children of light, trusting that God’s grace can make saints even from the weakest among us.
Through their example and prayers, may we one day join them in the eternal joy of God’s kingdom.

Lebanon’s president says ‘no choice but to negotiate with Israel using diplomatic language’
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/November 03, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday reiterated his commitment to negotiate with Israel, saying that his country had “no option” in the matter. However, he said: “Negotiation is not conducted with a friend or ally, but with an enemy.
“The language of negotiation is more important than the language of war, which we have seen what it has done to us.”The media office at the Presidential Palace quoted Aoun as reaffirming his commitment to “the diplomatic language adopted by all of us, from Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.”Lebanon remains committed to the framework of negotiation “through the Mechanism Committee,” which is limited to military representatives, with the possibility of including civilians in accordance with an American proposal put forward last week by Morgan Ortagus to Lebanese officials. Aoun’s remarks came in the wake of Israel’s intensification of its attacks on southern Lebanon aimed at increasing the pressure on Hezbollah to disarm. An Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in Aita Al-Shaab, killing its driver, in the second strike within a few hours. News outlets close to Hezbollah reported that the man killed was Youssef Naameh, the brother of two others previously killed in Israeli strikes. In an earlier strike, Israel Defense Forces targeted the town of Doueir in the Nabatieh district, killing one person and injuring seven, according to a statement from the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Multiple Lebanese news outlets reported that the man killed was Hezbollah commander Mohammed Ali Hadid, who had previously been wounded in a pager explosion carried out by Mossad in September 2024 — an operation for which Israel never officially claimed responsibility. According to reports, Hadid had survived a prior Israeli strike on Sunday in the southern town of Zefta, where Israeli drones launched at least three missiles at a target. However, these strikes failed to hit their intended objective. Footage circulated online showed the targeted car engulfed in heavy flames as firefighting teams fought the effects of the strike which had also resulted in several parked cars catching fire. A commercial complex containing shops and restaurants was also damaged. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the recent Israeli attacks followed comments from an “Israeli security source” on Sunday. The source said that “the Lebanese state does not enter certain areas where Hezbollah operates and, if we are asked to act, we know how to increase the pace of attacks in Lebanon if necessary.”These escalating Israeli strikes have raised the death toll to 16 in less than a week, most of them members of Hezbollah. A deadly airstrike on Saturday on the town of Kfar Roummane in Nabatieh killed four Hezbollah members and wounded three passersby. A security source has been quoted as expecting an escalation of Israeli attacks during the remaining months of the year, which is the deadline given by the Lebanese army to complete the disarmament plan south of the Litani Line. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Hezbollah on Sunday of “playing with fire.” He said he was holding the Lebanese government and the Lebanese president “responsible for procrastinating in fulfilling their commitments regarding the disarmament of the party and its withdrawal from the south.”He also affirmed that “Israel will continue to implement a policy of maximum response in its military operations and will not allow any threat targeting northern residents,” calling on the Lebanese authorities to “assume their full responsibilities to ensure stability and prevent escalation.”

Lebanon Says Israeli Strikes on South Kill Two
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed two people and wounded seven others on Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said, after Israel threatened to expand its attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah. In a preliminary toll, the ministry said that an Israeli strike on the town of Doueir in Nabatiyeh province killed one person and wounded seven others. The second strike on Aita al-Shaab in the same province also killed one person, according to the ministry. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone targeted a car in Doueir, causing it to catch fire. An AFP photographer at the scene witnessed firefighters extinguishing the flames in the targeted vehicle and around five other damaged cars. He also saw workers removing shattered glass from shops damaged by the blast. The NNA said that the strike caused damage to a local shopping center.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, escalating attacks in recent days. It warned on Sunday that it would intensify its attacks against the group, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claiming Hezbollah was "playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet".Hezbollah was badly weakened during the war, and the United States has pressured Lebanon to disarm the group. On Saturday, four people were killed in an Israeli strike on a car in Nabatiyeh province, according to the Lebanese health ministry. On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of responding to his offer to negotiate by intensifying its air strikes. While Lebanese authorities have held indirect talks with Israel in the past, US envoy Tom Barrack told reporters in Bahrain on Saturday that his country was pushing for direct negotiations.

Qmati: No choice but to cling to resistance even if we all get martyred
Naharnet/November 03, 2025
Hezbollah political bureau member Mahmoud Qmati has said that the “equation” that Israel is “trying to impose on Lebanon” will not continue and “will change.” “As Lebanon, the state, diplomatic relations and Lebanese army and resistance, we will not allow that this equation remain above our heads and that this aggression continue against our land. The state must fulfill its promises and responsibilities, after it said that it will liberate the land and the captives, put an end to violations and begin reconstruction,” Qmati added. “Why do they want Lebanon to negotiate with the Israeli enemy while there is an existent agreement and Israel is refraining from implementing any of its terms for around a year now,” the Hezbollah official wondered. He accordingly called on the countries sponsoring the agreement to “press the enemy to implement it, after which we would discuss all matters domestically and on the Lebanese level, in cooperation with all officials and the three presidents, now and in the future.”“As we cling to our weapons, we extend our hand for domestic cooperation and understanding with all of the country’s parties and our partners in the country,” Qmati added. “We only have resilience, clinging to the resistance and arms, and cooperating with the Lebanese parties to the utmost extent in order to protect our country and we have no other choices at all,” the Hezbollah official went on to say.He added that what has happened in Gaza and the region was “a lesson that without resistance, peoples get annihilated and nations get humiliated.”
“We have no choice but to cling to the resistance, even if that leads to the martyrdom of all of us,” Qmati added.

Netanyahu calls on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, says Israel to 'act as necessary'
Agence France Presse/November 03, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Hezbollah is attempting to "rearm" itself. "We expect the Lebanese government to fulfill its commitment -- to disarm Hezbollah -- but it is clear we will exercise our right of self-defense under the terms of ceasefire," Netanyahu told the Israeli cabinet at its weekly meeting on Sunday. "We will not allow Lebanon to become a renewed front against us, and we will act as necessary," he said, according to a statement issued by his office.

Israeli official threatens Dahieh if Hezbollah not disarmed, confirms Egyptian mediation
Naharnet/November 03, 2025
There are “serious estimations” that Hezbollah has started to regain its capabilities and has succeeded in smuggling hundreds of short-range missiles from Syria, an Israeli official said on Sunday. “Israel has relayed a message to the Lebanese side that it might again bomb Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah is not disarmed,” the official told Al-Arabiya television. “We will not allow the rebuilding of the Lebanese villages that lie directly on the northern border,” the Israeli official added, noting that Israel will not withdraw from the five occupied Lebanese hills in the “foreseeable future.”The official also confirmed that Egypt has launched a mediation to prevent escalation on the Lebanese front.

Lebanon offered $16 billion in return for Hezbollah disarmament
Naharnet/November 03, 2025
The U.S. and the Gulf countries have offered Lebanon $16 billion in return for fully disarming Hezbollah and beginning the reconstruction process, MTV’s correspondent at the White House quoted U.S. sources as saying. “This offer could represent the biggest support and investment package in the country’s history, should the Lebanese state agree to implement the U.S. roadmap that stipulates that the state be the only side that monopolizes arms and decisions,” the sources added.

US official voices support for Lebanese govt., urges Hezbollah disarmament
Naharnet/November 03, 2025
Disarming Hezbollah and other non-state actors as well as “ending Iran’s proxy activities” is crucial to “ensuring peace and stability in Lebanon and across the region," a U.S. State Department official has said. "An armed Hezbollah is a threat to Lebanon and its neighbors. The region and the world are watching carefully. A stable Lebanon will present attractive investment opportunities," the official told Fox News. "The Government of Lebanon has made a courageous and historic decision to disarm Hezbollah, a task it has assigned to the Lebanese Armed Forces as the sole legitimately armed force in Lebanon.  We extend our full support for this decision.  The United States will continue to partner with the Government of Lebanon to make sure that Lebanon is free, prosperous and safe for all Lebanese people," the State Dept. official added.

Israeli report says 'increased Hezbollah activity' detected in several Lebanese areas
Naharnet/November 03, 2025
The Israeli army is readying for several scenarios on the northern front with Lebanon, Israel’s Maariv newspaper said. “Israeli intelligence has detected increased Hezbollah activity in various Lebanese regions, including North Litani, the Bekaa and south Beirut,” the Israeli daily added. “Hezbollah is working on rebuilding al-Radwan Force and extracting weapons from depots previously bombed by Israel,” Maariv said. “Hezbollah is trying to carry out a double process based on rebuilding its strength and calmly and avoiding a direct confrontation with Israel,” the newspaper added.

Hundreds in south Lebanon mourn Hezbollah members killed in Israeli attacks
Agence France Presse/November 03, 2025
Hundreds of people gathered in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh on Sunday to mourn five Hezbollah members killed in recent Israeli attacks, an AFP correspondent said, as Israel warned of intensifying attacks against the Iran-backed group. On Saturday, an Israeli strike killed four people in Kfar Rumman, Nabatiyeh district, the Lebanese health ministry and the Israeli military said. Israel said the four were members of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force. The attack came a day after the Israeli military said it had killed "a Hezbollah maintenance officer" working to re-establish the group's infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon in a strike on the same district. An AFP correspondent at the funeral said hundreds of people gathered in Nabatiyeh city to mourn the five. The men's coffins were draped in Hezbollah's flag while mourners threw petals and chanted "death to Israel, death to America".
Hezbollah fighters in military garb were present, swearing loyalty to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the group's former leader killed by Israel in September 2024, and to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Some held pictures of relatives killed by Israel, he added. "This is a price the south is paying on a daily basis," Rana Hamed, mother of one the five men killed, told AFP. "We know that Israel has been our enemy for decades." Hezbollah first began launching cross-border fire at Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, kicking off a more than year-long conflict that culminated in two months of open war before last year's ceasefire was agreed. Israel, however, has never stopped carrying out air strikes on Lebanon -- usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions and operatives -- and has stepped up the attacks in recent days. It warned on Sunday that it would intensify its attacks against the group, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claiming Hezbollah is "playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet."Hezbollah was badly weakened during the war, and the United States has pressured Lebanon to disarm the Iran-backed group.
On Friday, President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of responding to his offer to negotiate by intensifying its air strikes. While Lebanese authorities held indirect talks with Israel in the past, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack told reporters in Bahrain on Saturday that his country was pushing for direct negotiations.

Libyan Delegation in Beirut Seeks Release of Hannibal Gaddafi
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
A Libyan delegation in Lebanon made progress in talks Monday with judicial officials over the possible release of late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi's son, who has been jailed without trial in Lebanon for a decade. The five-member Libyan delegation held talks over the fate of Hannibal al-Gaddafi with three senior judicial officials, including prosecutor Jamal Hajjar, four Lebanese judicial officials told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Detained in Lebanon since 2015, Gaddafi is accused of withholding information about the fate of Lebanese Shiite Moussa al-Sadr cleric who disappeared during a trip to Libya in 1978, although the late leader's son was less than 3 years old at the time.
A Lebanese judge last month ordered Hannibal Gaddafi’s release on $11 million bail, but banned him from traveling outside Lebanon. His lawyers said he doesn't have enough to pay that amount, and sought permission for him to leave the country.
During the meeting Monday with the Libyan delegation, the Lebanese judicial officials agreed to work toward sharply reducing the bail and lifting the travel ban, the four judicial officials said. The Libyan delegation also handed over a detailed report on an investigation into Sadr's disappearance, the officials said. Libya formally requested Hannibal Gaddafi’s release in 2023, citing his deteriorating health after he went on a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial. The Washington-based Hostage Aid Worldwide also has been advocating for years for Gaddafi’s release, raising concerns about his prolonged detention without transparent due process. In recent weeks, members of the organization have held discussions with senior Lebanese officials urging Lebanon to abide by international norms and protections against wrongful detention. A person familiar with Hostage Aid Worldwide’s efforts told the AP that Gaddafi’s bail and travel ban are expected to be lifted, allowing him to leave Lebanon for Qatar, where he is expected to settle. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans.
Gaddafi had been living in exile in Syria with his Lebanese wife, Aline Skaf, and children until he was abducted in 2015 and brought to Lebanon by Lebanese militants who were demanding information about al-Sadr. Lebanese police later announced they had seized Gaddafi from the northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek where he was being held, and he has been held ever since in a Beirut jail, where he was faced questioning over Sadr's disappearance. The case has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume he is dead. He would be 96 years old. Sadr, who went missing with companions Abbas Badreddine and Mohammed Yacoub, was the founder of a Shiite political and military group that took part in the long Lebanese civil war that began in 1975. Hostage Aid Worldwide is also working with the Badreddine family in the US in efforts to reach closure in the Sadr case. Moammar Gaddafi was killed by opposition fighters during Libya’s 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country. Hannibal Gaddafi, who was born nearly three years before Sadr disappeared, fled along with his mother and several other relatives to Algeria after his father was toppled and Tripoli fell to opposition fighters. He later moved to Syria where he was given political asylum and stayed there until he was abducted.

Egypt Advises Lebanon to Seek Trump Support to End Conflict with Israel
Beirut: Mohamed Choucair/Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon in November 2024 by attacking Hezbollah members and targets. It has intensified its attacks in recent weeks in what is seen as military and political pressure to get Lebanon to engage in direct negotiations with it. It also recently accused President Joseph Aoun of not exerting enough efforts to disarm Hezbollah despite a government decision earlier this year to impose state monopoly over arms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Hezbollah was seeking to rearm and that Israel would exercise its right to self-defense under last year's ceasefire accord if Lebanon failed to disarm the group. Lebanon can no longer tolerate delays in disarming the Iran-backed party, which refuses to lay down its weapons. The refusal is delaying Lebanon’s economic and financial recovery as Arab and western countries oppose Hezbollah’s continued possession of weapons, a prominent ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat. Stalling over this issue will not do Lebanon any favors, warned the source. This message was conveyed to Beirut by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad who were in Lebanon last week. Rashad, who met with Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, expressed Egypt’s readiness to help Lebanon through its international and Arab connections. He advised Lebanon to encourage US President Donald Trump to step in and pressure Israel to pull out from Lebanese territories it is occupying in the South, the same way he intervened to end the war on Gaza. Egypt wants to be a partner in reaching a solution, he stressed according to a political source. Asharq Al-Awsat learned that he discussed with Lebanese leaders a number of proposals to encourage Trump to personally intervene in Lebanon because time is not on its side. Details of the talks were not revealed to the media but conveyed to General Security chief Hassan Choucair and head of military intelligence Tony Kahwaji. Rashad had recently met with Netanyahu to discuss regional issues, including the situation in southern Lebanon, while a Lebanese-Egyptian meeting is also being planned.

Cairo Urges Tel Aviv to Withdraw from Five Strategic Points inside Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly urged Israel to withdraw from five strategic points it still occupies inside Lebanon. “We are following up on the security developments and categorically reject any Israeli presence on Lebanese territories”, Madbouly stressed in remarks during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Sunday from Cairo. He added that Egyptian companies are willing to take part in the reconstruction process in south Lebanon, noting “We support the Lebanese government to safeguard the stability and unity of Lebanese territories”. Pointing to a stimulus in bilateral relations between the two countries, he said an agreement was reached to convene the tenth Lebanese-Egyptian committee, noting that he is scheduled to lead a delegation to visit Lebanon in December. Expressing unwavering support for Lebanon, the Egyptian PM said: “We back the political and diplomatic efforts aiming to achieve political and economic stability in the country. “We are fully ready to meet any requests from the Lebanese side in what serves the country’s independence and its progress in the coming phase. We are following up on the security developments and categorically reject any Israeli presence on Lebanese territories. We support your endeavors to take the necessary steps to stabilize the situation in Lebanon.”At the energy level, Madbouly said that Egypt plans to increase cooperation with Lebanon.
Trade Exchange between Cairo and Beirut
Trade exchange reached a billion dollars last year, said Madbouly noting that any effort to multiply this amount will not come to fruition without the participation of the private sector. During his meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Salam hailed the “firm” bilateral relations between the two countries and praised the Grand Egyptian Museum – which Egypt inaugurated on Saturday- describing it as “a piece of art”.Salam invited Madbouly to an investment conference that Lebanon plans to hold, urging him to encourage the Egyptian private sector to attend. The Lebanese PM said that Lebanon is looking forward to Egypt’s assistance, expressing confidence in its ability to provide political backing to Lebanon. Replying to Salam’s remarks, Madbouly said: “We fully understand what Lebanon is facing in the south, and we support the imposition of Lebanon’s sovereignty over all Lebanese territories. As soon as the situation stabilizes in southern Lebanon, Egyptian companies will be ready to provide support in the field of infrastructure”.

As Israel ratchets up military pressure on Lebanon, US wants direct talks eyeing Syria as model
The Arab Weekly/November 03/2025
Israel on Sunday signalled it could intensify operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has accused of re-arming, while the US pressured Beirut to engage in direct talks with Israel offering the Syrian government as a model. “Hezbollah is playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. “The Lebanese government’s commitment to disarm Hezbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify, we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north.”Netanyahu said that Hezbollah was attempting to “re-arm” itself.
“We expect the Lebanese government to fulfil its commitment, to disarm Hezbollah, but it is clear we will exercise our right of self-defence under the terms of ceasefire,” Netanyahu told the cabinet at its weekly meeting on Sunday.“We will not allow Lebanon to become a renewed front against us, and we will act as necessary,” he said, according to a statement issued by his office. In the meanwhile US envoy Tom Barrack targeted Lebanon with harsh criticism calling it a “failed state” and contended that the state was ruled by Hezbollah.
He called on Lebanese authorities, who he said seem to “live in another era”, for direct talks with Israel. Lebanon has only held indirect talks with Israel.
“The conversation needs to be with Israel. It just needs to be with Israel. Israel is ready,” Barrack told reporters on the sidelines of the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday. “March to that door, to Israel, and have a conversation, it can’t hurt,” he added.
But he told reporters that Lebanese leaders were “rightly nervous” about such talks.
Hezbollah, which opposes Israel, has been heavily weakened by the war but remains financially resilient and armed. “They’re rightly hesitant because it’s a dangerous environment,” he added. But “if you want to do that, we’ll help. We’ll put pressure on Israel to be reasonable” he said. The United States has been pushing for Lebanon to follow in the footsteps of neighbouring Syria, which is seeking a security agreement with Israel.
“The path is very clear that it needs to be to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv for a conversation along with Syria. Syria is showing the way,” Barrack said during a panel in Manama.
Once the dominant political party in Lebanon, Hezbollah was severely atrophied by Israel’s war last year, which killed thousands of fighters and long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Thousands of Israelis living near the northern border with Lebanon were forced to evacuate their homes for months after Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023. That set off a more than year-long conflict that culminated in two months of open war before last year’s ceasefire was agreed.
The war also killed more than 1,100 women and children and destroyed swathes of Lebanon’s south and east. The weakened Hezbollah has publicly committed to the ceasefire and has not opposed the seizures of unmanned weapons caches in the south and has not fired on Israel since the November truce. However, it insists the disarmament, as mentioned in the text, only applies to the south of Lebanon and has hinted conflict was possible if the state moved against the group.
Since the ceasefire, the United States has increased pressure on Lebanese authorities to fully disarm the group, a move opposed by Hezbollah and its allies.
Despite the November 2024 ceasefire, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular strikes.
The Lebanese government has drawn up a plan to impose a state monopoly on weapons, and said the army has begun implementing it, starting in the country’s south.
Israel never stopped carrying out air strikes in Lebanon in spite of the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions, and has stepped up the attacks in recent days.
On Thursday, Israeli ground troops carried out a deadly raid into southern Lebanon, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront such incursions.
Aoun had called for talks with Israel in mid-October, after US President Donald Trump helped broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
But Aoun later accused Israel of responding to his offer by intensifying its strikes, the latest of which killed four people in Nabatiyeh district on Saturday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the Israeli army hit a car “with a guided missile”. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it killed a member of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in southern Lebanon. “The terrorist was involved in transferring weapons and in efforts to re-establish Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military said, adding three other members of the group were also killed.
The previous day, it had announced the killing of an “Hezbollah maintenance official,” who it said was working to restore the movement’s infrastructure. Hundreds of people gathered in Nabatiyeh on Sunday to pay tribute to the Hezbollah members killed.
Participants threw flower petals onto the coffins, draped in the Hezbollah flag, chanting: “Death to Israel, death to America.”“This is the price that southern Lebanon pays every day,” Rana Hamed, the mother of one of the five men killed, said. “We have known that Israel has been our enemy for decades.”
Supporters of Lebanon’s Shia militant group Hezbollah gather around the coffins of militants killed in recent Israeli attacks during their funeral in the southern city of Nabatiyeh on November 2, 2025. Supporters of Lebanon’s Shia militant group Hezbollah gather around the coffins of militants killed in recent Israeli attacks during their funeral in the southern city of Nabatiyeh on November 2, 2025.

Saydet al-Jabal Urges Lebanon to Negotiate with Israel and Reclaim Control of Weapons
This is Beirut/November 03/2025
The Saydet al-Jabal Gathering called for direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, urging President Joseph Aoun to personally lead talks to address outstanding issues, including Israel’s withdrawal from five disputed points and the return of prisoners. The group said such a step could move Lebanon from war toward peace and allow it to participate in the region’s broader path of change and development. In a statement following its weekly meeting in Ashrafieh on Monday, held both in person and online, the gathering also emphasized the need for Lebanese authorities to take decisive action to remove all illegal weapons across the country. It described the recent government decision to confine arms to state authorities as “historic,” adding that full implementation would restore Lebanon’s sovereignty for the first time since the 1969 Cairo Agreement.
“The implementation has been delayed, and claims that Hezbollah or Iran might respond with civil war are baseless,” the statement said. “The overwhelming majority of Lebanese, across all communities, support restoring legitimate authority and stability. Enforcing the arms monopoly is the country’s only opportunity to return to functioning as a normal state.”The group warned that failure to act would leave Lebanon facing “a future of wars and instability.”The statement also highlighted regional developments, including Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s second visit to the United States in two months and Syria’s commencement of oil exports to Italy via the port of Tartus. It cited Egypt’s opening of a 500,000-square-meter National Museum in Cairo as a symbol of cultural leadership and described the Arabian Gulf as a growing hub of global development.
The gathering additionally referenced the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Conference held on October 13, where Arab and Islamic world leaders announced their withdrawal from military conflict with Israel, underscoring the regional momentum for dialogue and stability.

Financial Times Revives Debate Over Hezbollah’s Funding in Lebanon
This is Beirut/November 03/2025
Restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty will not be achieved through slogans, but by cutting off Hezbollah’s financial lifeline. No money means no armed interference and no parallel state.
On Sunday, the Lebanese market reacted strongly to a Financial Times (FT) investigation suggesting that Hezbollah has been using digital wallets and money transfer companies to raise funds and support its purported “charitable” networks.
The companies under scrutiny — providers of digital wallets and money transfer services — quickly issued clarification statements. They stressed that they follow the highest standards of transparency and compliance, including rigorous procedures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. They also noted that all clients undergo regular checks, in accordance with lists issued by the Central Bank (BDL) and national security authorities.
Hezbollah and Digital Payments
In an article titled “Hezbollah-Linked Groups Turn to Digital Payments for Fundraising,” the Financial Times highlighted that charities connected to Hezbollah are reportedly using digital wallets and money transfer companies — including Lebanese providers Whish Money and OMT, both partners of major U.S. firms such as Visa, MasterCard, and Western Union — to bypass sanctions and collect funds. The organizations under scrutiny—including Emdad, the Al-Shahid Foundation (Martyr Foundation), and the Al-Jarha Foundation (Wounded Foundation), all sanctioned by the United States—are reportedly instructing donors to send funds to personal accounts rather than official ones. According to the article, this method allows them to evade money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls. The British newspaper reported having verified several of these still-active accounts and obtained evidence of international transfers, including from the Democratic Republic of Congo via the RIA network, a Whish partner. The FT investigation has reignited the debate over the vulnerability of digital payments in Lebanon.
Financial Times Investigation
According to the FT investigation, documents, WhatsApp exchanges, and recordings reviewed by the newspaper’s journalists show that Hezbollah-linked charities continue to raise funds internationally using the same intermediaries. In one case cited by the FT, a donor wishing to contribute more than $10,000 to the Emdad association was reportedly told to split the donation into several smaller payments. The instructions came from a contact managing the organization’s WhatsApp account, who provided the names of individuals responsible for receiving the funds.
Along the same lines of underground financing, a Lebanese newspaper reported that some commercial and industrial businesses in Mount Lebanon, owned by individuals close to the “moumanaa” camp, or so-called resistance, now refuse credit card payments, accepting only cash in Lebanese pounds.
According to several observers, the tactic is meant to channel cash into the networks of this group while avoiding traceability and exposure to potential money‑laundering sanctions.
Nassar and Souhaid Under Hezbollah’s Watch
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has opened a new political front against Justice Minister Adel Nassar and BDL’s Governor Karim Souhaid, accusing them of attempting to “undermine the cash economy. Last Tuesday, the militia’s top official, Sheikh Naim Qassem, criticized their decisions, saying that “the BDL governor is not a Washington employee” and that “the Justice Minister is not an agent acting on behalf of the United States and Israel.”
These attacks come in the wake of Circular No. 170, by the BDL governor, which bars funds from U.S. OFAC-sanctioned organizations from entering the Lebanese banking system, a measure directly targeting the Al-Qard al-Hassan association, considered Hezbollah’s financial arm. Against this backdrop, the Justice Minister has instructed notaries to ensure that all parties to any transaction are not listed on sanctions lists, under threat of having their deeds rejected. Hezbollah denounces this initiative as an extension of international pressure on its networks.

Time Is Running Out for Lebanon to Avoid the Price of Hollow Politics
Dr. Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/November 03/2025
Lebanon’s leaders are clinging to outdated ideas and refusing to adapt to new regional realities. While Washington’s latest diplomatic efforts sought to convey a sense of urgency to Lebanon and forestall Israel from launching a new war, the country’s leaders have shown themselves to be ineffective and unwilling to break from the past. Just listening to President Joseph Aoun’s hollow pronouncements is enough to lose hope that Lebanon will ever regain any moral or political credibility. Lebanon cannot survive if it fails to uphold its sovereignty and constructively engage the international community. It now faces a last chance to do so. US shuttle diplomacy has worked relentlessly to convince Lebanon’s government to implement the November 27, 2024 ceasefire with Israel and join Washington’s peace plans for the Middle East, but to no avail. The ceasefire is undermined by the Lebanese government’s inability to honor its commitments on disarmament. Israel’s continued attacks on Hezbollah’s military infrastructure testify to Lebanese leaders' failures to address the group’s arsenal. Hezbollah’s actions go beyond obstinance on disarmament. They question whether Lebanon can function as a liberal democracy. Hezbollah’s rhetoric is quite clear in rejecting Lebanon’s foundational narrative and disputing its very logic. The rise of areas outside Lebanese state control was not a mere hazard. It was the outcome of deliberate ideological and strategic choices made by successive Lebanese leaders.  Lebanon’s deliberate disregard for the ceasefire’s stipulations is not just a political deviation from the ceasefire agreement. It represents a strategic decision and a pivotal political realignment, reshaping dynamics both domestically and internationally. Lebanese leaders’ failure to abide by the ceasefire’s terms is deepening well-entrenched political fractures and placing the country on a hazardous path. The country’s credibility is eroding day by day.  The strategic reshuffling initiated by Israel, far from being a series of isolated events, is redefining the region’s strategic and political landscape alongside US diplomacy. Lebanon remains the outlier, as the country’s leaders cling to outdated ideas and refuse to adapt to new regional realities. Ideological and strategic divisions at Lebanon’s executive levels of power are politically damning. They undermine the country’s international standing and ability to position itself as an independent actor free from the sway of Iran’s Axis of Resistance. These equivocations must end. Lebanon’s leaders reflect the rot that has eaten away its political system for decades. Lebanon has mutated into a sham democracy run by a hybrid oligarchy composed of warlords, corrupt and subservient politicians, and the dregs of its old feudal order. Even if the 2026 parliamentary elections are held on time, it is hard to believe anything will change. If Lebanon wants to recover its political standing, it must prevent destabilizing dynamics from taking hold. The Iranian regime’s attempt to redress its faltering fortunes through the revival of its destroyed axis of proxies is doomed. This would only compound the tragedies already wrought by its imperial projections. Lebanon must remove the blinders of its defunct politics and choose a new, forward-looking political path and strategic realignment.

nnovation in Destruction: The Forgery of University Degrees
Michel Touma/This is Beirut/November 03/2025
During one of his many mass rallies held in a French province, the leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, told his supporters that it was important to constantly maintain a climate of aggression and escalating verbal tension in political discourse, combined with efforts to stir up persistent instability on the ground. His stated goal was to sustain an atmosphere of acute crisis, which he considers a necessary stage for bringing about deep change to the existing system. This understanding of political action has often characterized certain left-wing movements—not all left-wing movements—in countries with at least a basic level of public freedom. Yet when the “new order” managed to assert itself, it was not necessarily more beneficial to the population than the previous regime, which had been labeled “reactionary.” Quite the opposite. This strategy of extreme deconstruction and destabilization gained traction in Lebanon over the past decades through the actions of the Shia duo (Amal and Hezbollah), often described as “obstructionist,” with Hezbollah in particular setting new benchmarks in this regard. The group deliberately combined systematic gridlock, together with the intentional erosion of institutions, with a heavy dose of intellectual intimidation, ideological indoctrination sprinkled with sectarian fanaticism, and above all, irrationality pushed to its furthest limits.The latest instance of this reckless irrationality in public administration is the reported intention of Amal’s leader and speaker of the parliament, Nabih Berri, to convene a large-scale meeting under his authority to launch the massive reconstruction project in southern Lebanon. The initiative might have deserved applause had it not been accompanied, simultaneously, by an equally fervent effort to rapidly rebuild the military arsenal and ammunition stocks of the pro-Iranian faction.
The leaders of the sectarian duo thus aim to rebuild today what will likely be destroyed in two or three years, when Hezbollah will almost certainly launch its next war—predictably futile—since it is currently rushing to restore its entire militia infrastructure at every level. Incoherence at its peak and in its purest form.
However, it remains unclear who will finance this massive reconstruction project. Certainly not the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is grappling with a severe economic, social, and financial crisis. It is hard to envision the donor countries—the Gulf states, the main hubs of the European Union, and the United States—investing hundreds of billions of dollars in Lebanon while Hezbollah continues to loudly proclaim its determination to maintain and expand its military arsenal, openly adopting a relentlessly belligerent stance. Such behavior is enough to drive away even the boldest investors. And too bad for the population. After all, isn’t the priority to serve the geostrategic interests of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps? But an even more serious example of the state’s collapse and the erosion of society is the widespread forgery of university degrees. A few years ago, Lebanon was stunned by the astonishing scandal of the “sale” of the baccalaureate, which allowed many high school seniors to receive their secondary school diploma at home, without attending in person and largely disregarding the curriculum. Today, the situation seems to have reached an even higher level, as progress apparently knows no bounds. Entire Master’s and Doctoral degrees in certain fields are now being offered for sale at high prices, thanks to the involvement of overzealous officials. Fortunately, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam acted promptly and reached out to the Minister of Education to request a formal investigation into the scandal. One can only hope, however, that a thorough and impartial investigation will be carried through to the end and that appropriate measures will actually be taken so the matter is not covered up. Having undermined the state’s institutions from within, sabotaged the national economy, triggered the collapse of the banking sector, and plunged the country into a state of lawlessness, the next target appears to be the prestige and reputation of Lebanese universities. The deliberate sabotage of the state and the very foundations of society now shows no restraint. Corrupt officials, without faith or law, stubbornly cling to power, driven by the barely concealed aim of dragging the country into the deepest darkness.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 03-04/2025
Israeli Fire Kills Three People in Gaza, Medics Say, Further Testing Ceasefire
Asharq Al AwsatAsharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, north of the southern city of Rafah, which remains under Israeli control, according to local health authorities, further testing the fragile US-backed ceasefire. In a statement issued earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said forces identified "terrorists" who crossed the yellow line, which marks areas the army still occupies. It said they were advancing towards troops in southern Gaza, posing an immediate threat, before it struck them. Medics said one of those killed was a woman. The identities of the two others weren't immediately clear. The incident follows days of Israeli strikes on the enclave, provoking mutual accusations between Hamas and Israel over violations of the tenuous ceasefire that halted two years of war. Residents said Israeli forces continued to demolish houses in the eastern areas of Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City, where forces continue to operate. The ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10, has calmed most fighting, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes in Gaza. Israel has withdrawn troops from positions in cities, and more aid has been allowed to enter. Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held by Israel. Hamas has also agreed to turn over the bodies of hostages, a process which is still incomplete and which it says is difficult, while Israel accuses Hamas of stalling. But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 239 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce, nearly half of them in a single day last week when Israel retaliated for an attack on its troops. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed and it has targeted scores of fighters. Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday it received 45 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel whose bodies were in Israeli custody. Monday's handover raised the number of Palestinian bodies Israel has returned to Gaza to 270.
Hamas has so far returned 20 of the 28 bodies of hostages that had been buried in Gaza.

Israel Hands over Bodies of 45 Palestinians After Hamas Returned the Remains of 3 Soldiers
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Israel on Monday handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said, a day after Hamas returned the remains of three hostages. Israeli officials identified the three as soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the war.
The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous, US-brokered ceasefire in the two-year war — the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas group. Since the truce took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian fighters have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight now still remaining in Gaza. For each hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. Monday's return brought the number of Palestinian bodies handed back since the ceasefire began to 270.
Slow identification process in Gaza
Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the Gaza Health Ministry, told The Associated Press that the 45 released bodies of Palestinians were received at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza around noon. Only about 75 of all the returned bodies have so far been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza, it added. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them.  Meanwhile, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the three hostages returned to Israel on Sunday night as Capt. Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel and Col. Assaf Hamami. A Hamas statement earlier said their remains were found on Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza. Neutra, an American-Israeli, was 21 when Hamas fighters abducted him and the rest of his tank crew on Oct. 7, 2023. In December 2024, the military announced Neutra had been killed in the attack that started the war. US President Donald Trump said Sunday he had spoken with Neutra's family, describing their relief and heartbreak. “They were thrilled, in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, it’s not too great,” Trump said. Daniel, a 19-year-old staff sergeant, was pulled by gunmen from his tank and taken into Gaza, along with three others of his crew. He is survived by his parents and twin sister. The remains of the others were returned earlier.
Hamami, commander of Israel’s southern brigade in the Gaza division, died early on Oct. 7, 2023, in fighting to defend Kibbutz Nirim. Hamami and two of his soldiers were killed and their bodies were taken to Gaza. Hamami is survived by his wife and three children.
Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged for faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains were not those of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation.
Arrests of 2 ex-military figures rocks Israel
Since Sunday, a political scandal has rocked Israel involving the military's former legal chief, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. A military official said she was arrested overnight after she has admitted to leaking a video of Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee and resigned from office.
The arrests were widely reported in Israeli media. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of not being authorized to speak with the media. A frantic search was underway Sunday along the Tel Aviv beach for Tomer-Yerushalmi, after her family raised concerns for her safety and police found her abandoned car along the coastline, reported Israel’s Channel 12. Police said she was found soon after the search began. Former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh was also arrested overnight and was appearing in court Monday, reported Israel’s Army Radio.
Efforts to ramp up Gaza aid and a vaccination campaign
The exchange of hostage remains for Palestinian bodies has been the central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’s borders and ensure the ceasefire is respected. Multiple nations have shown interest in taking part in a peacekeeping force, but have called for a clear UN Security Council mandate before committing troops. Other difficult questions include Hamas’ disarmament and the governance of a postwar Gaza, as well as when and how humanitarian aid will be increased.  UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will visit Jordan on Monday and call on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. She is expected to visit a warehouse where British aid remains stuck waiting to enter Gaza. Ahead of the visit, Cooper said that “humanitarian support is desperately needed and the people of Gaza cannot afford to wait.” “Following the US-led peace process and the plans for a substantial increase in aid for Gaza, we need an increase in crossings, an acceleration in lifting of restrictions and more agencies able to go in with aid,” Cooper said. Cooper also announced that Britain will provide an extra 6 million pounds ($7.9 million) of humanitarian support for Gaza, provided by the UN Population Fund. Also Monday, Gaza’s health ministry announced that a campaign to vaccinate some 40,000 Palestinian children under three years old against preventable diseases like measles, polio and meningitis will kick off next week. It will focus on children who missed routine vaccinations or received only partial doses due to the war, Dr. Nedal Ghoneim, the Health Ministry’s public health manager, told the AP. The exact number of children in need of routine vaccinations is unknown due to challenges record-keeping during the war, said Ghoneim. The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel two years ago killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts. Israel, which has denied accusations by a UN commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the ministry’s figures without providing a contradicting toll.

Hamas 'Determined' to Stick to Gaza Truce, Says Erdogan
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Hamas is "determined" to stick to the Gaza truce, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan said Monday, adding it was crucial that Muslim nations play a leading role in the Palestinian territory's reconstruction. "It seems that Hamas is quite determined to adhere to the agreement," Erdogan told delegates from the Organization of Islamic States (OIC) gathered in Istanbul for their annual COMCEC economic cooperation summit. His remarks came ahead of Türkiye's hosting of the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia for talks on Gaza's reconstruction as fears grow for the shaky October 10 ceasefire. "At this point, we need to deliver more humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and then begin reconstruction efforts. "The Israeli government is doing everything in its power to prevent this," Erdogan said. "We believe the reconstruction plan prepared by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation should be implemented immediately," he said, referring to a plan unveiled in March for reconstructing the shattered Palestinian territory. "It is essential that the OIC and COMCEC play a leading role in the recovery of Gaza," he said.

Israel Advances Bill Proposing Death Penalty for Deadly Terror Attacks
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
An Israeli parliamentary committee on Monday advanced a bill proposing the death penalty for "terrorists" a move pushed for by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The National Security Committee approved the amendment to the penal code, which will now be passed onto the parliament for its first reading. Israel's hostages coordinator, Gal Hirsch, said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the measure. Ben-Gvir said he would stop his party Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) voting with the governing coalition if the law isn't voted on by Sunday, threatening the government's survival. While the death penalty exists for a small number of crimes in Israel, it has become a de facto abolitionist country, with the Nazi Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann the last person to be executed in 1962. A statement from the committee that includes the bill's explanatory note says "its purpose is to cut off terrorism at its root and create a heavy deterrent." "It is proposed that a terrorist convicted of murder motivated by racism or hatred towards the public, and under circumstances where the act was committed with the intent to harm the State of Israel... will be sentenced to the death penalty -- mandatory," the statement said. The rule, it said, was "not optional and without discretion". The text also proposes that the death penalty can be imposed by a majority of judges and the sentence cannot be commuted once the ruling is handed down. Hirsch had previously opposed debating the bill, citing concern for living captives held in Gaza.
"Since the hostages are now in Israel, this opposition is no longer relevant," he said, according to the statement. "The prime minister supports this proposal. I consider this law to be an additional tool in our arsenal against terrorism and for the release of hostages," he added. The bill was introduced by a lawmaker from Otzma Yehudit. "There will be no room for discretion in this law," Ben-Gvir said on Monday, according to the statement. "Any terrorist who is preparing to commit murder must know that there is only one punishment -- the death penalty." Ben-Gvir on Friday posted a video of himself standing over a row of Palestinian prisoners lying face down on the ground with their hands tied, in which he called for capital punishment.

In Gaza Cemeteries, Some Displaced Palestinians Live among the Dead
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Skeletons are neighbors for some Palestinians in Gaza who found nowhere but cemeteries to shelter from the war. ravestones have become seats and tables for families like that of Maisa Brikah, who has lived with her children in a dusty, sun-baked cemetery in the southern city of Khan Younis for five months. Some 30 families shelter here. A blonde-haired toddler sits outside one tent, running fingers through the sand. Another peeks playfully from behind a drape of fabric, the Associated Press said. Nighttime is another matter. “When the sun goes down, the children get scared and don’t want to go, and I have a few children, four small ones,” Brikah said. “They are afraid to go out because of the dogs at night, and the dead.”The vast majority of Gaza’s population of over 2 million people has been displaced by the two years of war between Hamas and Israel. With the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10, some have returned to what remains of homes. Others are still crowded into the strip of remaining territory that Israeli forces don’t control. Here and in other cemeteries in Gaza, there is life among the dead. A prayer rug hangs on a line. A child pushes a water jug on a wheelchair between the graves. Smoke rises from a cooking fire. One of Brikah's nearest neighbors is Ahmad Abu Said, who died in 1991 at the age of 18, according to the carving on his tombstone that begins with lines from the Quran. There is unease, a feeling of disrespect, at setting up camp here. But there is little choice. Brikah said her family’s home elsewhere in Khan Younis was destroyed. There is no return for now. Israeli forces occupy their neighborhood. Other residents of this cemetery come from Gaza’s north. They are often far from the land where their own loved ones are buried. Mohammed Shmah said he has been living here for three months. He said his house had been destroyed, too. “I’m a grown man, but I still get scared of the graves at night. I hide in my tent,” he said, perched on a broken tombstone and squinting in the sun. He said he had only 200 shekels (around $60) on him when a friend took it to help bring his family to the cemetery. The lack of money for shelter elsewhere is one reason keeping families living among the graves, said Hanan Shmah, Mohammed's wife. With care, she washed dishes in a soapy container the size of a pie tin, guarding precious water. “Of course, life in the cemetery is full of fear, dread and worries, and you don’t sleep in addition to the stress we experience,” she said. There is no guarantee of safety, even among the dead. Israeli forces have bombed cemeteries during the war, according to the United Nations and other observers. Israel has accused Hamas of using some cemeteries for cover, and has argued that the sites lose their protection when they are used for military purposes. During the war, bodies in Gaza were buried wherever they could, including in hospital courtyards. According to custom, Palestinian families are buried near loved ones. The fighting has largely disrupted that.
Now, with the ceasefire, the search is on for the dead.
Israel presses Hamas to turn over the remains of hostages. Palestinian health officials post gruesome photos of bodies returned by Israel in the hope that families can identify them. Others search Gaza’s vast stretches of rubble for bodies that the fighting long made unable to claim. The death toll in Gaza from the war — now over 68,800 — has jumped by hundreds since the ceasefire began from the recovery of such remains alone. Families in this Khan Younis cemetery have watched the arrival of new additions, often buried not under slabs but under sand, marked off by stones. Recovery, reconstruction, return. All feel far away. “After the ceasefire my life is the same inside the cemetery, meaning I gained nothing,” Mohammed Shmah said.

Arab League Urges Global Community to Actively Contribute to Gaza Relief, Reconstruction
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
The Arab League has urged the international community, particularly the United Kingdom, to step up support to the devastated Gaza Strip during the coming phase by actively contributing to relief and reconstruction efforts. The Arab League General Secretariat's Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector issued a statement on the 108th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. The statement welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine, describing it as a step toward correcting the historical injustice represented by the infamous Balfour Declaration, said the Saudi Press Agency on Monday. The Arab League called on the United Kingdom to take all necessary measures to redress the historical injustice faced by the Palestinian people and to exert every form of pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their violations and crimes against Palestinians. The statement also urged the United Kingdom to refrain from providing any assistance that supports the colonial and expansionist settlement policy, which perpetuates Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.The Arab League highlighted the need to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, enable them to exercise their right to self-determination, support Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, and continue engagement to implement the two-state solution.

Türkiye, Muslim Allies Say Palestinian Self-rule Key to Gaza Future
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Gaza's future must be Palestinian-led and avoid any new system of tutelage, Türkiye and six of its top Muslim allies said Monday after talks in Istanbul. Türkiye, which played a central role in forging the now shaky three-week-old ceasefire, is pushing for Muslim nations to bring their influence to bear on the reconstruction of the embattled territory. "Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security, the international community should support this in the best possible way -- diplomatically, institutionally and economically," Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the talks. "Nobody wants to see a new system of tutelage emerge," he told a news conference. Brokered by US President Donald Trump, the October 10 ceasefire, which halted two years of continuous bloodshed, has been tested by fresh Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers. The talks involved top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. All of them were called to a meeting with Trump in September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, just days before he unveiled his plan to end the Gaza war.
"We've now reached an extremely critical stage: we do not want the genocide in Gaza to resume," Fidan added, saying all seven nations supported plans for the Palestinians to take control of Gaza's security and governance. Fidan, who held talks at the weekend with a Hamas delegation led by its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, said the movement was "ready to hand Gaza to a committee of Palestinians". He also expressed hope that reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the rival West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, "will bear fruit as soon as possible," saying inter-Palestinian unity would "strengthen Palestine's representation in the international community". Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas was "determined to adhere to the (truce) agreement" and urged Muslim states to play "a leading role" in Gaza's recovery. "We believe the reconstruction plan prepared by the Arab League and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) should be implemented immediately," he said of the plan unveiled in March. Türkiye has been instrumental in backing Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Fidan said it was crucial that the emerging International Stabilization Force that will monitor the Gaza ceasefire under Trump's plan, have a "mandate defined by a UN Security Council resolution and a framework for legitimacy". Washington is currently working with Arab and international partners to decide on the composition of the force, with Türkiye hoping to play a role, despite fierce opposition from Israel. "The countries we've spoken with say they will decide whether to send troops based on ... the ISF's mandate and authority," Fidan said. "First, a general consensus needs to be reached on a draft, then it needs to be approved by the members of the Security Council.
"And it needs to be free from vetoes by any of the permanent (UNSC) members," he said of a blocking move frequently used by key Israel ally Washington. Israel has long viewed Türkiye’s diplomatic overtures with suspicion over Ankara's close ties with Hamas and adamantly opposes it joining the task force that is meant to take over after Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. A Turkish disaster relief team, sent to help efforts to recover the remains of those trapped under the rubble, including Israeli hostages seized by Hamas, has been stuck at the border because of Israel's refusal to let them in, according to Ankara.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Cooperation with US Not Possible While It Backs Israel
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Cooperation between Iran and the United States is not possible as long as Washington continues to support Israel and to maintain military bases and interfere in the Middle East region, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday.
Khamenei's comments came as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to increase pressure on Iran. "The Americans sometimes say they would like to cooperate with Iran. Cooperation with Iran is not possible as long as the US continues to support the accursed Zionist regime, maintains military bases, and interferes in the region," Khamenei said, according to state media. Trump said in October that the US is prepared to make a deal with Iran when Tehran is ready to do so, saying: "The hand of friendship and cooperation [with Iran] is open." The two countries held five rounds of nuclear talks, prior to a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, which Washington joined by striking key Iranian nuclear sites. Talks between the two sides have faced major stumbling blocks such as the issue of uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimize any risk of weaponization, a plan that Tehran has rejected.

Syria Seeking ‘Very Strong Strategic Partnership’ with US
Damascus: Souad Jarous/Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Sunday that Damascus is seeking to build a “very strong strategic partnership” with the United States. He added, however, that it still wants to maintain “an equal distance with all countries and build relations based on cooperation and openness.” Speaking at a press conference in Manama, he confirmed that interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa will visit Washington soon. Informed sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit aims to follow up on previous agreement between Syria and the US and that the conditions are ripe to announce a strategic partnership. The partnership would positively impact several files, especially negotiations domestically between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and regionally with Israel. Shaibani said Syria has several issues it wants to discuss with the US, starting with lifting sanctions and opening a chapter in relations. Maintaining the sanctions is no longer justified, he stressed, adding that Damascus wants to forge “a very strong partnership” with Washington. It will also continue to extend its hand in cooperation with allies and friends in the region, added the FM. Syria had confronted massive challenges in past and it never surrendered. It remained committed to justice, he stated, underlining the government’s commitment to bolster civil peace and impose the rule of law. On Israel, Shaibani said Syria was handling its provocations diplomatically and out of its keenness to protect its interests without being dragged to escalation or a clash. Sharaa’s visit to the US would a first for a Syrian president. Wael Alwan, a researcher at Jusoor for Studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit should have been announced on the sidelines of Sharaa’s trip to New York where he attended the United Nations General Assembly in September. However, some Syrian arrangements needed to be made and now the conditions are ready to announce the strategic partnership, he remarked. This will be the most important step the Syrian government takes in “repositioning itself on the regional and international levels,” he went on to say. Should they reach an agreement, it would signal the end of Syria’s alignment with what the West described as the “Axis of Evil”. Syria is no longer a source of alarm in the region, he said. On the contrary, it has become an ally in combating terrorism, ensuring security and joint Arab, Turkish and western interests that all align with Syria’s interests.  “The new Syria does not want to be part of one axis against another, but it wants to build balanced relations with everyone,” Alwan added. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said last week that Sharaa would sign with US President Donald Trump in November an agreement for Syria to join the international anti-ISIS coalition that was formed in 2014.

Iran Banking on Iraq Vote to Retain Regional Influence
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Iraq will hold parliamentary elections on November 11, with analysts saying Iran will be watching closely as it hopes to retain influence over its neighbor after losing regional leverage during the Gaza war. The past two years have seen Iran-backed groups including Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen suffer heavy losses at Israel's hands. Iran itself was on the receiving end of an unprecedented Israeli bombing campaign in June, which the United States briefly joined, and also lost a major ally with last year's overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Weakened on the regional stage, Iran intends to consolidate its gains in Iraq, which since the US invasion of 2003 has become one of the anchors of its regional influence. Tehran exerts power in Baghdad through Shiite parties that play a key role in appointing prime ministers, including current premier Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and allied armed factions. "Tehran retains its influence as long as its allies hold decision-making power," political analyst Ihsan al-Shammari told AFP. Iraq, for its part, has for years navigated a delicate balancing act between Tehran and Washington and has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles. Pro-Iranian groups claimed responsibility for firing on US positions in Iraq early in the Gaza war, attacks that triggered retaliatory strikes from the United States. Those groups then stayed out of the 12-day Iran-Israel war, even after Washington joined the bombing. Analyst Munqith Dagher said that "Iran is no longer in a position to impose its conditions". "But that does not mean it will not try to exert influence," the director of the IIACSS think tank added.
'Performative act'
In the 2021 general election, influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's faction won the most seats before withdrawing from parliament. The legislature is now controlled by the Coordination Framework, the Iran-aligned coalition that brought Sudani to power. This time, Sadr has refused to participate in what he described as a "flawed election dominated by sectarian, ethnic and partisan interests", and called on his supporters to boycott the vote. The upcoming elections will be the sixth since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein. Nevertheless, enthusiasm for voting appears to be on the wane. Chatham House, a think tank, has predicted that "participation may fall to the lowest level since 2003". "Iraqis increasingly view elections not as a way to influence policy, but as a performative act with little impact on governance," it added.
More than 21 million voters are eligible to elect 329 lawmakers in the ballot, which will pave the way for the appointment of a new president -- a largely ceremonial role -- and a prime minister chosen after lengthy negotiations.In Iraq, the role of prime minister traditionally goes to a Shiite and the presidency to a Kurd, while the speaker of parliament is usually Sunni.
US influence
Observers also spoke of the influence of the United States. "There is a real desire on the part of the US to change the domestic political landscape" in order to reduce Iranian influence, former Sudani adviser Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie said. Washington has sanctioned Iraqis accused of helping Tehran evade US sanctions, and also strengthened its economic presence through contracts in oil, technology and healthcare. "Washington expects the next prime minister to deliver tangible steps that limit Iranian influence, regardless of the electoral outcome," said Tamer Badawi, an analyst with the UK defense think tank RUSI. "The United States does not want to see... Iran-aligned groups retaining operational autonomy," he told AFP. "Nor does Washington want Iran to use Iraq as a channel to resell oil products or secure access to hard currency," he added. Washington also maintains about 2,500 troops in Iraq, alongside 900 more in Syria, as part of the international coalition against the ISIS extremist group. Mark Savaya, the new US special envoy to Iraq, insisted on the importance of "a fully sovereign Iraq, free from malign external interference, including from Iran and its proxies". "There is no place for armed groups operating outside the authority of the state," he said on X last month. The upcoming election will include the autonomous region of Kurdistan, where the historic rivalry between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan remains fierce. At least 25 percent of parliamentary seats must go to women, according to the quota system that also reserves nine seats for minorities. More than 7,700 candidates, nearly a third of whom are women, are running for election in the country of around 46 million people.

Iraq Can Disarm Factions Only When the US Withdraws, Prime Minister Says
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Iraq has pledged to bring all weapons under the control of the state, but that will not work so long as there is a US-led coalition in the country that some Iraqi factions view as an occupying force, the prime minister said on Monday. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said a plan was still in place to have the multinational anti-ISIS coalition completely leave Iraq, one of Iran’s closest Arab allies, by September 2026 because the threat from militant groups had eased considerably. “There is no ISIS. Security and stability? Thank God it's there ... so give me the excuse for the presence of 86 states (in a coalition)," he told Reuters in an interview in Baghdad, referring to the number of countries that have participated in the coalition since it was formed in 2014. "Then, for sure there will be a clear program to end any arms outside of state institutions. This is the demand of all," he said, noting factions could enter official security forces or get into politics by laying down their arms.
'NO SIDE CAN PULL IRAQ TO WAR', SAYS SUDANI
Iraq is navigating a politically sensitive effort to disarm Iran-backed militias amid pressure from the US, which has said it would like Sudani to dismantle armed groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shiite factions. The PMF was formally integrated into Iraq's state forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran. At the same time, the US and Iraq have agreed on a phased withdrawal of American troops, with a full exit expected by the end of 2026. An initial drawdown began in 2025.
Asked about growing international pressure on non-state armed groups in the region such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, part of Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance created to counter US and Israeli influence in the Middle East, Sudani said: "There is time enough, God willing. The situation here is different than Lebanon.”
"Iraq is clear in its stances to maintain security and stability and that state institutions have the decision over war and peace, and that no side can pull Iraq to war or conflict," said Sudani. Shiite power Iran has gained vast influence in Iraq since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, with heavily armed pro-Iranian paramilitary groups wielding significant political and military influence. Successive Iraqi governments have faced the challenge of keeping both arch-foes Iran and the US as allies. While the US slaps sanctions on Iran, Iraq does business with it.
Securing major US investment is a top priority for Iraq, which has faced severe economic problems and years of sectarian bloodletting since 2003.
US COMPANIES INCREASINGLY ACTIVE IN IRAQ, SAYS SUDANI
"There is a clear, intensive and qualitative entrance of US companies into Iraq," said Sudani, including the biggest ever agreement with GE for 24,000 MW of power, equivalent to the country's entire current generation capacity, he said. In August, Iraq signed an agreement in principle with US oil producer Chevron (CVX.N), for a project at Nassiriya in southern Iraq that consists of four exploration blocks in addition to the development of other producing oil fields. Sudani said an agreement with US LNG firm Excelerate to provide LNG helped Iraq cope with rolling power cuts. Sudani praised a recent preliminary agreement signed with ExxonMobil, and he said the advantage of this agreement is that for the first time Iraq is agreeing with a global company to develop oilfields along with an export system.Sudani said that US and European companies had shown interest in a plan for the building of a fixed platform for importing and exporting gas off the coast of the Grand Faw Port, which would be the first project there.
Sudani said the government had set a deadline for the end of 2027 to stop all burning of gas and to reach self-sufficiency in gas supplies, and to stop gas imports from Iran. "We burn gas worth four to five billion (dollars) per year and import gas with 4 billion dollars per year. These are wrong policies and it's our government that has been finding solutions to these issues," he said. Sudani is running against established political parties in his ruling coalition in Iraq's November 11 election and said he expects to win. Many analysts regard him as the frontrunner. "We expect a significant victory," he said, adding he wanted a second term. "We want to keep going on this path."Sudani said he believed this year's elections would see a higher turnout than last year's roughly 40% in parliamentary polls, which was down from around 80% two decades ago.
SUDANI CAMPAIGNS AS IRAQ'S BUILDER-IN-CHIEF
He has portrayed himself as the builder-in-chief, his campaign posters strategically laid out at key sites of Baghdad construction, including a new dual-carriageway along the Tigris in the center of the capital. He ticks off the number of incomplete projects he inherited from previous governments - 2,582, he said — and notes he spent a fraction of their initial cost to finish them. Many Iraqis have been positive about the roads, bridges and buildings they have seen go up, helping to somewhat alleviate the choking traffic in the city. But it has come at a cost. Sudani's three-year budget was the largest in Iraq's history at over $150 billion a year. He also hired about 1 million employees into the already-bloated state bureaucracy, buying social stability at the cost of severely limiting the government's fiscal room for maneuver. "I am not worried about Iraq’s financial and economic situation. Iraq is a rich country with many resources, but my fear is that the implementation of reforms is delayed,” he said.

‘IISS Manama Dialogue’ Concludes, Addresses Political Transformations, Security Challenges
Manama/Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
The 21st edition of the IISS Manama Dialogue 2025 concluded on Sunday, featuring sessions that addressed key political transformations and regional and international challenges affecting security and stability. Organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in partnership with the Bahraini Foreign Ministry, the forum underscored the importance of international cooperation, comprehensive approaches to security and peace, dialogue, and practical strategies to address the root causes of crises while promoting sustainable development, aiming to achieve a more stable and prosperous future for the region and the world. The Manama Dialogue hosted hundreds of participants, including senior officials, decision-makers, and strategic thinkers from the public and private sectors across different regions. They gather to share perspectives and opinions on geopolitical developments, challenges, political, military, and security trends.The conference discussions primarily revolve around the Middle East region. In the final session entitled, “Another Nuclear Age? Strategic Risks and Opportunities,” Dr. Bastian Giegerich, Director General and Chief Executive of IISS, said this year’s dialogue brought together over 700 delegates from 65 countries, including 27 youth leaders. He said the forum was also attended by high-level participation from ministers, intelligence chiefs, national security advisors, and defense leaders. IISS facilitated 103 bilateral meetings between participating nations, alongside numerous independent delegation discussions, he said. Participants highlighted the forum’s achievements this year and reaffirmed the importance of dialogue as a means to foster understanding, cooperation, and progress toward regional and global peace and security.

Famine Spreads to Two More Areas in Sudan, Global Hunger Authority Says
Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
Famine has spread to two regions of war-torn Sudan, including a major city in Darfur where Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters have been rampaging, a global hunger monitoring group said Monday, as the war has created the world’s largest humanitarian disaster.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on hunger crises, said famine has been detected in el-Fasher in Darfur and Kadugli town in South Kordofan province. Twenty other areas in Darfur and Kordofan, where fighting has intensified in recent months, are also at risk of famine, according to the IPC. El-Fasher had been under siege by the RSF for 18 months, cutting off much food and other supplies to tens of thousands of people. Last week, RSF fighters seized el-Fasher, reportedly unleashing attacks that killed hundreds, though the scope of violence is unclear as communications are poor, The AP news reported. Kadugli town also has been under RSF siege for months with tens of thousands of people trapped, as the RSF group tries to seize more territory from its rival, the Sudanese military. ‘Extremely high levels of malnutrition’ The war has torn Sudan apart since April 2023. More than 40,000 people have been killed, according to UN figures, but aid groups say the true number could be many times higher. The fighting has driven more than 14 million people from their homes and fueled disease outbreaks. The latest IPC report said el-Fasher and Kadugli have experienced “a total collapse of livelihoods, starvation, extremely high levels of malnutrition and death.” Famine is determined in areas where deaths from malnutrition-related causes reach at least two people, or four children under 5, per 10,000; at least one in five people or households severely lack food and face starvation; and at least 30% of children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition based on a weight-to-height measurement — or 15% based on upper-arm circumference. The IPC has confirmed famine only a few times, most recently in northern Gaza earlier this year amid Israel’s campaign against Hamas. It also confirmed famine in Somalia in 2011 and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020.
The IPC previously declared famine in five locations in Sudan. Three were sprawling refugee camps near el-Fasher that have emptied as RSF troops advanced, with most people fleeing into el-Fasher or nearby towns. The other locations were in parts of South and West Kordofan provinces that have since also fallen into RSF hands. The new report warned that towns near el-Fasher, including Tawila, Melit and Tawisha, are at risk of famine. It said about 375,000 people had been pushed into famine in Darfur and Kordofan as of September, and another 6.3 million people across Sudan face extreme levels of hunger. RSF focuses on Darfur Since Sudan’s military retook the capital, Khartoum, earlier this year, the RSF has turned its focus to the Darfur region in the west, and on taking Kordofan to secure supply lines toward the country’s center. Save the Children in September said food supplies had run out in Kadugli, where it said fighting had escalated. Another Kordofan town, Dilling, has reportedly experienced the same conditions as Kadugli, but the IPC didn’t announce famine there for lack of data, the new report said. Across Sudan, the IPC said more than 21 million people, or 45% of the population, faced acute food insecurity as of September, a 6% drop from the previous report which covered the period from December 2024 until May this year. The drop was due to reduced conflict and improved humanitarian access in Khartoum, neighboring Gezira province and the eastern province of Sennar after military regained control of Khartoum and Gezira, allowing more than a million displaced people to return home. The IPC called for a ceasefire as the sole measure that “can prevent further loss of life and help contain the extreme levels of acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition.”
US Seeks Humanitarian Truce in Sudan While ICC Looks at El-Fasher Rampage
The United States is working with both sides in Sudan’s war for a possible humanitarian truce, a US envoy told The Associated Press on Monday, while International Criminal Court prosecutors said they are trying to preserve evidence from last week's rampage through a besieged city in the Darfur region. The latest alleged atrocities in famine-hit el-Fasher “are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region” and “may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the ICC statement said, noting that evidence could be used in future prosecutions.
The Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group fighting Sudanese troops, captured el-Fasher after besieging it for 18 months. Witnesses have reported RSF fighters going house to house, killing civilians and committing sexual assaults. According to the World Health Organization, gunmen killed at least 460 people at a hospital and abducted doctors and nurses. Details have been slow to emerge as communications are poor. The death toll remains unclear. The fall of el-Fasher heralds a new phase of the brutal two-year war in Africa’s third-largest country. The ICC’s chief prosecutor told the Security Council in January there were grounds to believe both sides may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur. Efforts toward a truce US adviser for African affairs Massad Boulos told the AP in an interview on Monday that the US is working with the Sudanese army and RSF to bring about a humanitarian truce and could have an announcement “soon.”“We were working on this for the last almost 10 days with both sides, hoping to finalize the details," Boulos said. The US-led plan would start with a three-month humanitarian truce followed by a nine-month political process, he said.
The US has been working for months with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, calling themselves the Quad, on ways to end the war. In September, they called for a humanitarian truce for an initial three months to deliver desperately needed aid.
“The atrocities that we’ve seen, of course, are totally unacceptable,” Boulos added of videos showing RSF and allied gunmen committing atrocities against civilians including beatings, killings and sexual assaults. The AP has not been able to independently verify the videos.Earlier this month, the ICC for the first time convicted a suspect of crimes in Darfur after looking into atrocities in the region for more than two decades. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was found guilty of ordering mass executions and bludgeoning two prisoners to death with an ax.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on November 03-04/2025
How Hamas Is Exploiting the Trump Plan to Maintain Control of Gaza
Khaled Abu Toameh/November 03/2025
For Hamas, US President Donald J. Trump's peace plan, announced in early October, is evidently nothing but a temporary ceasefire, or hudna, that should be exploited to ensure that the terror group, with the help of Qatar and Turkey, expands its political and military control over the Gaza Strip.
The terror group, however, has not been facing any difficulty in hunting down Palestinians suspected of "collaboration" with Israel or those who dared to criticize Hamas during the war. Hamas, in addition, is not in a hurry because it has a serious problem with phase two of the Trump plan, which requires the terror group to lay down and decommission its weapons.
What we are witnessing is a calculated delay that aims to buy time and exhaust the US administration until Trump abandons the numerous ultimatums he has issued to the terror group. The foot-dragging aims to allow Hamas to reassert control over the Gaza Strip. According to some reports, Hamas has recruited up to 7,000 new fighters....
Hamas's actions and media interviews given by its officials since the beginning of the ceasefire show that the terror group has no intention of disarming or relinquishing security control over the Gaza Strip.
Further evidence of Hamas's total disregard for the Trump plan and ongoing effort to reassert control over the Gaza Strip was provided on November 1 by the US Central Command (CENTCOM): " On Oct. 31, the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) observed suspected Hamas operatives looting an aid truck traveling as part of a humanitarian convoy delivering needed assistance from international partners to Gazans in northern Khan Younis. The coordination center was alerted through video surveillance from a U.S. MQ-9 aerial drone flying overhead to monitor implementation of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Operatives attacked the driver and stole the aid and truck... The driver's current status is unknown."
"There is no lasting stability or peace until Hamas is removed from Gaza, a step that will require the use of force against this fascist militia." — Ahmed Alkhatib, former Gaza native and respected political analyst, X.com, November 1, 2025.
Even if we reach phase two of the Trump plan, Hamas will undoubtedly try to hoodwink everyone, including the Trump administration. Hamas, for instance, might hand over some of its assault rifles to a third party, but keep most of its tunnels and arsenal of weapons, including rockets and explosive devices. It is also possible that Hamas might try to incorporate its members into a new security force that would be deployed in the Gaza Strip, under the pretext that they are not affiliated with the terror group.
It is time for the Trump administration and the international community to realize that what we are currently witnessing is an attempt to rebrand and reproduce Hamas to ensure its continued control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas should not only be removed from power, but from the entire political, economic, social and military arena.
It is almost a month since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas is taking advantage of the lull in the fighting to entrench itself by rearming, regrouping, recruiting new fighters, and tightening its grip on areas under its control.
It is almost a month since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas is taking advantage of the lull in the fighting to entrench itself by rearming, regrouping, recruiting new fighters, and tightening its grip on areas under its control.
For Hamas, US President Donald J. Trump's peace plan, announced in early October, is evidently nothing but a temporary ceasefire, or hudna, that should be exploited to ensure that the terror group, with the help of Qatar and Turkey, expands its political and military control over the Gaza Strip. This is precisely what Hamas has done for the past two decades. After each round of fighting with Israel ended in a ceasefire, the terror group would exploit the period of calm to restock and rebuild its military capabilities, eventually enabling it to launch its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel's southern communities.
Hamas still has not returned the bodies of all the Israeli hostages, despite repeated promises to honor the understandings of the ceasefire. This refusal, of course, is in violation of Trump's plan, which stipulates:
"Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned."
Worse, the terror group has been caught staging a fake discovery of the remains of Israeli hostage Ofir Tzarfati in Gaza City before handing them over to the Red Cross. Drone footage released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shows Hamas terrorists removing a white body bag from a building in the Shajjaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City at 4:07 p.m. on October 27, 2025, placing it in a pre-dug pit, and covering it with sand. Six minutes later, Red Cross personnel arrived at the scene. The terrorists then used a bulldozer to uncover the same bag, pretending to "find" it for the first time in front of the Red Cross representatives.
On November 1, DNA tests conducted by Israel's National Institute of Forensic Medicine found that the three partial remains Hamas returned to Israel a day earlier did not belong to any of the murdered Israeli hostages. As of November 3, Hamas was still holding eight bodies of Israeli hostages, in direct violation of the Trump deal.
Hamas undoubtedly knows where all the bodies are located, but the terror group is in no rush to hand them over to Israel. Hamas is pretending that it is facing difficulties locating the bodies under rubble. The terror group, however, has not been facing any difficulty in hunting down Palestinians suspected of "collaboration" with Israel or those who dared to criticize Hamas during the war. Hamas, in addition, is not in a hurry because it has a serious problem with phase two of the Trump plan, which requires the terror group to lay down and decommission its weapons.
What we are witnessing is a calculated delay that aims to buy time and exhaust the US administration until Trump abandons the numerous ultimatums he has issued to the terror group. The foot-dragging aims to allow Hamas to reassert control over the Gaza Strip.
According to some reports, Hamas has recruited up to 7,000 new fighters to reassert control over areas from which Israeli forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire deal. One Hamas official told the BBC that his group intends to prevent the Gaza Strip from falling under the control of local militias or what Hamas calls "collaborators" with Israel. As part of its efforts, Hamas has launched a massive crackdown on its critics, political rivals, and suspected gang members and "collaborators." Since the beginning of the crackdown, Hamas has killed dozens of Palestinians, often with public extrajudicial executions.
Hamas's actions and media interviews given by its officials since the beginning of the ceasefire show that the terror group has no intention of disarming or relinquishing security control over the Gaza Strip. Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters on October 17 that his group intends to maintain security control in the Gaza Strip during an interim period. Asked if Hamas would give up its arms in accordance with the Trump plan, Nazzal said:
"I can't answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you're talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?"
Nazzal's remarks also constitute an infringement of the Trump plan, which states:
"All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning..."
Since the ceasefire went into effect, three IDF soldiers have been killed in two separate attacks by Hamas. Even the prime minister of Qatar, Hamas's main sponsor, stated that Hamas violated the US-brokered ceasefire when it attacked IDF soldiers. "What happened yesterday (October 28) was a violation," Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said, referring to an incident during which Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum was killed when Hamas terrorists fired several RPGs at IDF soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip.
Further evidence of Hamas's total disregard for the Trump plan and ongoing effort to reassert control over the Gaza Strip was provided on November 1 by the US Central Command (CENTCOM):
"On Oct. 31, the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) observed suspected Hamas operatives looting an aid truck traveling as part of a humanitarian convoy delivering needed assistance from international partners to Gazans in northern Khan Younis.
"The coordination center was alerted through video surveillance from a U.S. MQ-9 aerial drone flying overhead to monitor implementation of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
"Operatives attacked the driver and stole the aid and truck after moving the driver to the road's median. The driver's current status is unknown.
"Over the past week, international partners have delivered more than 600 trucks of commercial goods and aid into Gaza daily. This incident undermines these efforts."
Since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, there have been many other reports of Hamas stealing humanitarian aid and selling it on the black market to residents of the Gaza Strip. Needless to say, the money goes to rebuilding Hamas's military capabilities and paying salaries to its members.
Instead of accepting responsibility and promising to stop the looting, Hamas responded to the CENTCOM statement by accusing the Americans of lying:
"We affirm that this accusation is entirely false and fabricated from its inception, and forms part of a deliberate media disinformation campaign aimed at smearing the Palestinian [Hamas] police forces, which are performing their national and humanitarian duty to secure aid and protect relief convoys."
Ahmed Alkhatib, a former Gaza native and respected political analyst, remarked:
"Stuffing Gaza full of aid and goods, only for Hamas's terrorists to steal, sell, or tax such items as a means of making money and staying a relevant fighting force, is never going to work as a long-term strategy. The issue isn't about a shortage of aid; it's about who will access this aid. There is no lasting stability or peace until Hamas is removed from Gaza, a step that will require the use of force against this fascist militia."
Even if we reach phase two of the Trump plan, Hamas will undoubtedly try to hoodwink everyone, including the Trump administration. Hamas, for instance, might hand over some of its assault rifles to a third party, but keep most of its tunnels and arsenal of weapons, including rockets and explosive devices. It is also possible that Hamas might try to incorporate its members into a new security force that would be deployed in the Gaza Strip, under the pretext that they are not affiliated with the terror group.
Moreover, there are indications that Hamas is already trying to indirectly control the proposed technocratic government in the Gaza Strip by nominating its own candidates. Any Hamas nominee should not be treated as an "independent" figure, because this person will place the interests of the terror group above others. Besides, it is inconceivable that Hamas should be allowed to have a say in the future of the Gaza Strip after the death and destruction it brought on both Israelis and Palestinians over the past two years.
It is time for the Trump administration and the international community to realize that what we are currently witnessing is an attempt to rebrand and reproduce Hamas to ensure its continued control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas should not only be removed from power, but from the entire political, economic, social and military arena.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22032/hamas-exploiting-trump-plan
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Abu Lulu and the Mines
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/November 03/2025
We were hoping that the ceasefire in Gaza would be consolidated so that the world would have the opportunity to examine the "genocidal war" committed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. We had hoped that some segment of the Israeli public would realize the horrors committed by the army in the enclave and that the world would watch as the piles of corpses would be retrieved from under the rubble. We were hoping that the world would categorically conclude that the only way to end this long conflict lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The world, however, grew preoccupied in recent weeks with another horrific tragedy unfolding in yet another Arab country, specifically Sudan. In a verified video, we see a broken and terrified man who begs his butcher to spare his life. He wants nothing more than to survive as the arrogant spiteful killer stands nearby. The man’s only crime is being of African descent. No one comes to save him. The ruler in that well-known part of the country is known for his ruthlessness. He is the judge, justice, fate and destiny. He is Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu. He doesn’t bat an eye at his new nickname: "The Butcher of el-Fasher". Abu Lulu is a totally dedicated and serious man. He does not veer off his agenda. He views killing as a noble profession and holy duty. He once boasted to have killed 900 people, saying he is aiming for 1,000. Some say that his accomplishments have exceeded his expectations. The fall of el-Fasher into the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has allowed him to seize the opportunity and increase the number of victims under his belt. Abu Lulu is a just man who hates to discriminate; he kills men, women and even children so that he doesn’t have to kill them later.
Abu Lulu is blunt and clear. He says that anyone who does not share his tribal and ethnic lines is an enemy who must be eliminated. He loves purity and any difference is seen as a threat. He is not moved by the elderly, the tears of women or the innocence of children. He does not believe in the right of people to come from different backgrounds and ethnicities and to have different traditions.
Moreover, Abu Lulu is not the product of a dark past, but the son of the age of technology and scientific development as evidenced by his documenting of his atrocities on a smartphone. He offers his victims the opportunity to appear on TikTok so that they can serve as a lesson to others.
It’s not enough for the RSF to declare Abu Lulu’s arrest and imprisonment. It’s not enough for him to wash his hands clean of his crimes. The phenomenon of the Butcher of el-Fasher is very dangerous in a country with some 500 ethnic groups. Abu Lulu is a product of the unrestrained deluge of hatred that goes unpunished. It is a result of the absence of the state that has been replaced by armed factions, alternate media and false claims and narratives. Such a climate is fertile ground for the emergence of ethnic killings.
There can be no peace, security or stability without recognizing the other and their right to be different. This can only be achieved in a state of law and national institutions. No group has the right to eliminate the other over the claim to achieve ethnic purity. Deeming the other as an enemy because he does not share the same views is a recipe for endless civil wars. The world should have learned lessons from the genocide in Rwanda and Sudan should have learned from the wars in Darfur and the "accomplishments" of the Janjaweed.
Social media today can play a very dangerous game if they are abused. They give the killer an opportunity to become a star within minutes. Videos about murder, dragging someone to death, arson and rape garner a lot of views. Who knows, perhaps the small killers may feel jealous of the "stardom" of the big butchers, so they double their efforts to rack up the number of their victims.
Abu Lulu is not the only major killer out there. Iraq has witnessed a few of its own Abu Lulus under Saddam Hussein and even after he was toppled. The terms of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad witnessed several Abu Lulu’s who claimed record numbers in assassinations, torture and mass graves, leading up to the human "crushing machine" in Sadnaya prison. The wars in Lebanon also produced the likes of "Abu Azrael" and "Abu al-Jamajem". We clearly need a cultural revolution above all else. One that focuses on the individual, his dignity and rights under the rule of law and on coexistence under the right to be different, which should be seen as a source of wealth, not a cause for conflict. There can be no coexisting in our societies or with the world if we continue to remain prisoners of seeing the world from a single lens and in one uniform color.
Abu Lulu’s case reminded me of what Nuri al-Mismari, the former Chief of Protocol of former Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi, once told me. He said Gaddafi reviled Africans even after he came up with his farcical title of the "King of Kings of Africa". He recalled the terrible racist terms Gaddafi would refer to African leaders visiting him. "He would tell me, ‘bring in the abed (slave)’", meaning the African president he was scheduled to meet, revealed Mismari. A real state based on rights and laws needs to be established in Sudan and elsewhere. This is the only way to prevent the likes of Abu Lulu from emerging anywhere. The problem doesn’t lie in the race to claim gold mines in Sudan. The problem is that racist and spiteful mindsets have taken root.

Iran and the Advice of the Omani Minister
Mishari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 3, 2025 (free translation from Arabic by the LCCC editor Elias Bejjani)
Peace is the ultimate aspiration in international politics. War is not a hobby or passion except for the mentally unsound or adventurist leaders. War is only fought out of necessity, not as a first choice for rational human beings. Wars, or their precursors and atmospheres, are a disease that saps the nectar of a good life, gradually or instantly killing it. This is why institutions were established and laws enacted globally to prevent wars before they start and to bury them after birth, whenever possible. It is in the context of these values and meanings that we receive the recent statements of the Omani Foreign Minister, His Excellency Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi, delivered at the Manama Dialogue 2025 forum, hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain in cooperation with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The Omani Minister, at this forum, called for Iran's inclusion in a comprehensive regional security system to establish stability and mutual cooperation. He reiterated his country's long-held view that the policy of isolating Tehran is not a solution. The Minister summarized his conclusion regarding Middle Eastern regional security by stating that Israel—not Iran—is the primary source of insecurity in the region.
There is no disagreement that Israel, especially under the rule of Netanyahu and his extremist allies, sows chaos and conflict in the region, driven by an extremist Zionist mindset, dark convictions, and a blinding intoxication with power. The West and the wider world are beginning to realize this tangibly, and it is no longer an issue that requires proof. However, regarding Iran, the solution requires action from two parties, not just one. Engaging with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the one established by Khomeini, and integrating it into the regional dialogue, has been tried before, with good intentions, repeatedly. For instance, the late Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani was welcomed by Saudi Arabia during the era of King Abdullah, starting with their famous meeting at the Islamic Summit in Senegal when King Abdullah was Crown Prince. This friendly relationship continued, culminating in the 1997 Tehran Summit, which Saudi Arabia supported. In 1998, Saudi Arabia warmly hosted Rafsanjani and his family for Umrah (minor pilgrimage) and visits, during which he traveled within the Kingdom. When a preacher recklessly insulted the Shia community in front of Rafsanjani, he was immediately punished with suspension. The disagreement with Iran is not due to its sect or even its political state ideology—that is an internal Iranian matter. Even the late Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, a prominent supporter of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Wilayat al-Faqih), stated in an interview over 22 years ago on Lebanon's OTV channel: "Saudi Arabia's problem with Iran is not sectarian."
This is precisely where the discussion should be focused: the problem is in politics, not religion. The dispute is over foreign policies in the Arab and Islamic region, and the clarity of Iran's direction toward policies of peace and cooperation based on interstate cooperation, not cross-border militias. If Iran is genuinely committed to this path, the Arab world, and Saudi Arabia in particular, will offer nothing but cooperation and support, bearing in mind that this is, in fact, already underway today.

Selected X Tweets For November 03/2025
Pope Leo XIV
Christians do not call burial places “necropolises”, that is, “cities of the dead”, but “cemeteries”, which literally means “sleeping places”, places where one rests, awaiting the resurrection.

Pope Leo XIV
Our beloved Pope Francis and our brother Cardinals and Bishops, who have left us during the past year and for whom we offered Mass, have lived, witnessed, and taught paschal hope. The Lord called them and appointed them as shepherds in his Church, and through their ministry they have guided many on the path of the Gospel.

Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X
If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!

Habeeb Habeeb
1. Prayers and love to all the sovereign Lebanese at this crucial and difficult time. 🇱🇧
2. Damnation and the wrath of God on Hezbollah and their allies.
3. Praying for peace very soon.