English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 20/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.october20.25.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
If then you have not been faithful with the
dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
Saint Luke 16/01-12/:"The Lord Jesus said to the
disciples: ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to
him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to
him, "What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management,
because you cannot be my manager any longer." Then the manager said to himself,
"What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am
not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so
that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes."
So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, "How much do
you owe my master?" He answered, "A hundred jugs of olive oil." He said to him,
"Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty." Then he asked another,
"And how much do you owe?" He replied, "A hundred containers of wheat." He said
to him, "Take your bill and make it eighty." And his master commended the
dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age
are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of
light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth
so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. ‘Whoever
is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest
in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful
with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you
have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is
your own?"
Titles For The Latest English
LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October
19-20/2025
Text and Video: Commemorating the Martyrdom of Wissam al-Hassan and the
Betrayal, Cowardice, and Failure of the March 14 Party Leaders/Elias Bejjani /
October 19, 2025
Aouraba or Cosmoarabisme Is Not Arabism — The Two Are Entirely Different/Elias
Bejjani/October 18/2025
Exposing Hezbollah’s Lies and Mythical Victories: Neither Did It Liberate the
South in 2000, Nor Did It Win the 2006 War/Elias Bejjani/October 16/2025
Video link of an interview from As-Siyassa Youtube Platform with writer and
director Youssef Y. El Khoury, discussing the latest Lebanese, Palestinian, and
Israeli developments
Main Highlights from the Interview with Writer and Director Youssef Y. El Khoury
on As-Siyassa Video Platform.
Anniversary Remembrance Of the Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan Assassination
Avichay Adraee: Large-Scale Military Drill in the Galilee Region from This
Evening Until Thursday Along the Border with Lebanon
Israeli Incursion in Aitaroun... and a Warning Message to a Building in the Town
of Joya Causes Panic
Displaced Residents of Border Villages Organize a Protest in Front of the
Iranian Embassy in Beirut... and a Message to Khamenei
International Offer to Confine Hezbollah's Weapons... and the Party Links
Acceptance to an "Arab Guarantee"
Israeli strike kills one in south Lebanon
President Aoun to Pope Leo: Lebanese people eagerly await your visit to Lebanon
Report: Truce deal between Lebanon and Israel imminent
Speaker Nabih Berri to visit President Joseph Aoun on Monday
UNIFIL, Lebanese Army conduct joint training to boost operational readiness
Talk of border negotiations: Israeli army launches major northern drills along
Lebanon's border
Promises Without Dates: Conference to Support the Army is on Hold/Andre Mahfouz/Nidaa
Al-Watan/October 20, 2025
The Vatican Extends the Roots of Hope to Lebanon... Ignatius Maloyan... Saint of
the Two Peoples/Zeina Bassil/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 20, 2025
Mufti Qabalan: Israel is an Absolute Enemy and Any Direct Negotiations with It
Will Explode the Country. We Have Not Lost the War, and We Will Not Lose It.
Geagea: Forget the Six Seats... Israel 'Maneuvers' in the South and 'the Party'
Attacks Internally
Quality reassurance: Tannourine resumes production after Health Ministry
approval
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October
19-20/2025
Video: A 'Wedding' that Shakes Tehran...
Khamenei's Advisor's Daughter Appears 'Open-Chested' and Angers Iranians
Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday
Netanyahu says Gaza war not over until Hamas disarms
Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday
Israeli military launches attack on Gaza, Israeli media reports
Israel says ceasefire and aid to resume after airstrikes kill 26 in Gaza
Israeli defense minister says Hamas will pay ‘heavy price’ if troops attacked
Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas
Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel
Saudi crown prince, French president discuss Gaza developments and regional
stability
Yemen’s Houthis detain 20 UN employees and confiscate equipment
Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say
Trump urged Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to make concessions to Russia, sources say
Trump calls Colombian president ‘a drug leader’, vows end to payments
Pakistan, Afghanistan reach ceasefire agreement in Doha after fierce clashes
Four thieves being hunted for Louvre heist: prosecutor
French government lists eight pieces of jewelry stolen from Louvre
Voters in Turkish Cyprus reject Erdogan-backed leader
Iran executes man over espionage for Israel
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
on October
19-20/2025
Historical Hypocrisy: Muslims Villainize
Columbus While Celebrating Their Own Villains/Raymond Ibrahim/October 19, 2025
Has Xi Jinping Lost Control of China's Military — And China Itself?/Gordon G.
Chang/Gatestone Institute./October 19, 2025
Palestinian statehood is the key to a lasting peace/Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab
News/October 19/2025
Pillar of strength: public diplomacy in the digital media era/Dya-Eddine Said
Bamakhrama/Arab News/October 19, 2025
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October
19-20/2025
Text and Video: Commemorating the
Martyrdom of Wissam al-Hassan and the Betrayal, Cowardice, and Failure of the
March 14 Party Leaders
Elias Bejjani / October 19, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/135924/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOUG-CU7-PE
On the anniversary of the assassination of martyr Wissam al-Hassan, it is
crucial to remember that Hezbollah, Iran’s armed terrorist proxy, is the force
behind his murder. This group, with its long and bloody history, has
assassinated hundreds of Lebanese who dared to oppose its occupation and
criminal grip on the country. Wissam al-Hassan was one of many courageous
figures who paid the ultimate price for resisting Hezbollah’s dominance and
exposing its destructive agenda.
Hezbollah has become a relentless assassination machine, silencing anyone who
stands against it—politicians, military figures, journalists, and activists
alike. Its operations are not isolated incidents of political rivalry; they are
part of a systematic effort by Iran’s regime to tighten its control over Lebanon
through fear, violence, and bloodshed. From Wissam al-Hassan to countless
others, Hezbollah’s methods have always been ruthless and calculated, designed
to eliminate any figure who advocates for Lebanese sovereignty and independence.
What is perhaps even more appalling is the role played by Lebanon’s political
elite in enabling this occupation. The heads of Lebanon’s political parties,
including many who once identified with the March 14 coalition, have betrayed
the principles of freedom and resistance that Wissam al-Hassan and others died
defending. Instead of standing firm against Hezbollah’s tyranny, they chose to
collaborate with it, seeking personal gains—positions of power, government
posts, and political influence—while turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s
systematic destruction of Lebanon’s independence.
These political leaders, who once vowed to oppose Hezbollah, now participate in
a government that grants legitimacy to the very group responsible for the
assassination of one of their own. Their actions have not only undermined
justice for Wissam al-Hassan and other martyrs but have also paved the way for
Hezbollah to continue its campaign of terror unchecked.
Today, as we remember Wissam al-Hassan, we must recognize that the real enemy is
not just Hezbollah but also the corrupt political class that has sacrificed the
country’s sovereignty for personal interests. Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon
remains strong, not solely because of its weapons and militias, but because the
political leaders have sold out the nation’s independence in exchange for
short-term personal benefits. This betrayal is as damaging as the assassinations
themselves.
Hezbollah will continue its deadly path unless the Lebanese people, and the
international community, hold both the terrorist group and its enablers within
the political system accountable for their crimes. It’s time to expose not only
Hezbollah’s murderous agenda but also the complicity of those who have allowed
it to thrive, to restore justice for Wissam al-Hassan and countless other
victims of their treachery.
Aouraba or Cosmoarabisme Is Not Arabism — The Two
Are Entirely Different
Elias Bejjani/October 18/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/140944/
The term “Aouraba” (Cosmoarabisme العوربة), coined by Lebanese journalist and
politician Nowfal Daou, expresses a concept that is fundamentally different from
traditional Arabism (العروبة)—the ideology promoted by the Arab nationalist
movement led by Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Muslim Brotherhood.
To understand the distinctions between the two, we can summarize them as
follows:
1. Traditional Arabism (Arab Nationalism)
Emerged as a political and ideological project aimed at uniting Arab states
under a single nationalist identity.
Focused on cultural and identity-based unity, believing that all Arabic-speaking
peoples belong to one nation, regardless of political or economic differences.
Adopted a centralized socialist approach to the economy, with the state
controlling major sectors.
Took a hostile stance toward the West and Israel, framing Arab nationalism as a
struggle against “colonialism and Zionism.”
Supported nationalist movements such as the Baath Party and Nasserism, and was
often tied to Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, who used Arabism as a
bridge for their political-Islamic project.
2. Aouraba-Cosmoarabisme (According to Nowfal Daou)
A modern economic and political concept that focuses on economic integration
among Arab countries rather than forced ideological or political unification.
Views Arabism as an economic and mutual-interest bond, not as a cultural or
nationalist identity imposed on peoples.
Advocates economic openness and cooperative development based on shared
interests, free from ideological frameworks such as Nasserism or political
Islam.
Rejects linking Arabism to confrontation or isolation, instead calling for Arab
alliances built on development, modernization, and constructive engagement with
the West.
Criticizes regimes and movements that have used Arabism to justify
authoritarianism, repression, and destructive dictatorial projects that harmed
Arab societies.
The Fundamental Difference
Traditional Arabism was an ideological and political doctrine seeking to merge
Arab states under centralized authority—often associated with repressive regimes
and closed economies.
In contrast, Aouraba, as presented by Nowfal Daou, offers a modern, pragmatic
vision that promotes integration based on mutual interests rather than imposed
identity, emphasizing cooperation, openness, and progress instead of conflict
and division.
In essence, Aouraba represents a realistic and forward-looking alternative to
the old model of Arabism—free from empty slogans and failed projects that led
only to wars, tyranny, and economic collapse.
Exposing Hezbollah’s Lies and Mythical
Victories: Neither Did It Liberate the South in 2000, Nor Did It Win the 2006
War
Elias Bejjani/October 16/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148263/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueIlXYmCeFA
The terrorist Iranian armed proxy, Hezbollah’s leaders, members, officials, and
religious figures falsely claim to be the most honorable, intelligent, pure, and
devout people. Yet, they have never been ashamed of their absolute, public, and
brazen subservience to Iran’s rulers and the doctrine of the Supreme Leader
(Iranian Guardianship of the Jurist/Velayat-e faqih). In this doctrine, there is
no allegiance to Lebanon as a state, its constitution, or its borders—just as is
the case with the followers of this religious ideology in Syria, Iraq, and
Yemen. Their only and absolute loyalty is to Iran.
In reality, they live in a delusional state, feeding on fantasies,
hallucinations, and daydreams, completely detached from the reality of military
and scientific capabilities—whether their own or those possessed by Israel, the
United States, and the Western nations they label as “the Great Satan”
(America), “the Little Satan” (Israel), and “infidels” (any country not under
their control).
This hostile culture of betrayal, division, and slander has never ceased since
Iran and Hafez al-Assad’s regime established Hezbollah in 1982. During Syria’s
occupation of Lebanon, Hezbollah was handed control over Shiite-populated areas
through force and terror. One of the bloodiest milestones was the battle of
Iqlim al-Tuffah in March 1988, where Hezbollah eradicated the Amal Movement’s
military presence, killing more than 1,200 fighters, and leaving thousands
wounded and maimed, thus ending Amal’s military existence and subjugating it
entirely to Hezbollah’s Iranian agenda.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine, Naim Qassem, Nabil Qaouq, Mohammad Raad,
Hussein Mousawi, and the rest of the leaders of this misguided faction—both the
living and the dead—deluded themselves into believing that their Persian empire
project was within reach. Yet, this illusion is collapsing under relentless
blows, their leaders are being eliminated, their strongholds are being
destroyed, and their so-called “supportive environment”—which is in fact a
hostage population—is turning against them.
Hezbollah, its members—whether civilian, military, or clerical—do not belong to
Lebanon, to Arab identity, or to any nation. They are entirely detached from
reality and from all that is humane. They have built castles of illusions,
locked themselves inside, hearing only their own voices and seeing only their
own reflections. To them, anyone different is nonexistent, and in their
extremist ideology, the blood of Lebanese, Syrians, and Arabs is permissible.
With every crime, explosion, assassination, and defeat, their arrogance and
impudence only increase. They are indifferent to the suffering of others, taking
sadistic pleasure in it, celebrating tragedies by distributing sweets. They have
taken their own sect hostage, turning its youth into cannon fodder for Iran’s
reckless wars in Syria, Yemen, and beyond.
They believe they can humiliate and subjugate the Lebanese people, forgetting
that Lebanon, a civilization over 7,000 years old, has crushed, expelled, and
humiliated all invaders and outlaws like them. The last of these was Assad’s
army, which was disgracefully expelled in 2005.
Hezbollah is practically finished at the hands of Israel, backed by Arab and
Western powers. It will not rise again. The unprecedented human and economic
losses it has inflicted on Lebanon’s Shiite community guarantee that, once the
Lebanese state regains its sovereignty, the people will turn against Hezbollah
and reject it. For this reason, all those involved in public affairs—especially
in the Lebanese Diaspora—must understand that any Lebanese, whether expatriate
or resident, who supports or collaborates with Hezbollah under any pretext is an
enemy of Lebanon, its sovereignty, identity, and independence.
The Myth of “Liberating” the South and “Victory” in the 2006 War
The terrorist-Jihadist Hezbollah that claims to be a resistance and liberation
movement has never been either of the two, but merely a military Iranian proxy.
The narrative of the “liberation of the south” in 2000 is nothing but a colossal
lie, as Israel withdrew from Lebanon by an internal decision, after its presence
became costly and futile, and Hezbollah did not play a decisive role in that. As
for the 2006 war, the results were catastrophic for Lebanon, where more than
1,200 Lebanese were killed, infrastructure was destroyed, and the Shiite
environment was completely devastated. Hezbollah did not achieve any victory,
but all of Lebanon emerged defeated and destroyed… and the, the catastrophic,
the disastrous, and the complete defeat of its foolish recent war against
Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza, has led to its end and to the entire world
standing behind the necessity of implementing international resolutions related
to Lebanon 1559, 1680, and 1701, which stipulate its disarmament, the
dismantling of its military institutions, and the extension of Lebanese state
authority by its own forces over all Lebanese territories, and confining the
decision of war and peace to the Lebanese state alone.
Based on well-documented Lebanese, Arab, Israeli, and international facts,
Hezbollah neither liberated the South nor won the 2006 war. It is certainly not
a resistance movement nor an opposition force. It is, in fact, Lebanon’s
foremost enemy, as well as that of all Arabs. It must be dealt with accordingly,
along with all its allies—politicians, parties, officials, and clerics. Any
other approach is sheer foolishness and self-deception.
In conclusion, Hezbollah has destroyed Lebanon, impoverished its people,
displaced them, and turned the country into an arms depot and a launch pad for
Iran’s futile wars.
Lebanon can only be saved by dismantling Hezbollah, disarming it, arresting its
leaders, and holding them accountable for the devastation they have inflicted on
the nation.
Video link of an interview from As-Siyassa Youtube
Platform with writer and director Youssef Y. El Khoury, discussing the latest
Lebanese, Palestinian, and Israeli developments
October 19, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148342/
Main Highlights from the Interview with Writer and Director
Youssef Y. El Khoury on As-Siyassa Video Platform.
(Summarized and freely reformulated by the LCCC publisher, Elias Bejjani)
October 19, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148342/
*A firm confirmation that the region has entered the Israeli era — an era
defined by peace and stability.
A detailed explanation of the military and moral defeat of the so-called
hypocritical “Resistance Axis,” exposing its delusional and fanatical slogans
that are completely detached from the realities of capability and power.
A clear exposure of the Hezbollah Mahdi Scouts scandal, the heretical notion of
“fertile women,” and the resulting disregard for human values.
A revealing critique of Hamas, described as a jihadi, Iranianized, Muslim
Brotherhood–inspired, and terrorist organization. It lost the war it initiated
and effectively ended the Palestinian cause. Its greatest and most inhumane
crime is its disrespect for the value, life, and dignity of the Palestinian
human being.
A striking and troubling omission of the file of hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian dead, missing, and disabled from all discussions, meetings, and
speeches held in Israel and Sharm El-Sheikh — while the focus remained solely on
the twenty released Israeli captives.
The Lebanese minister responsible for the Tanourine water scandal must resign —
as should the Minister of Information.
The international community has not abandoned Lebanon; rather, it is Hezbollah’s
mini-state that has abandoned Lebanon the state, its people, sovereignty, and
decision-making, dragging it into senseless, disastrous, and losing wars in
service of the Iranian agenda.
A serious and factual clarification of President Trump’s statements about
Lebanon and the Lebanese President as stated by President’s Trump speech in the
Israeli Knesset. The statements were misinterpreted and distorted by Lebanese
media, stripped of their true meanings and intentions.
A final observation that the Baathist ideological cancer still poisons the
minds, attitudes, and actions of most Lebanese rulers, politicians, and
officials to this day, who sadly are unable to grasp the fact that the so called
"resistance-Iranian-Syrian Axis" is destroyed and does not exist anymore.
Anniversary Remembrance Of the Brigadier General Wissam
al-Hassan Assassination
LokmanSlimFoundation/October 19/2025
On October 19, 2012, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, head of Lebanon’s
Internal Security Forces Intelligence, was assassinated in a massive car bombing
in Ashrafieh, in Beirut, killing him and three civilians and injuring 126
others. Known for his integrity and courage, al-Hassan had been one of
Lebanon’s most prominent security figures for years, leading investigations that
exposed terror plots like the Michel Samaha case. He also worked with the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the Hariri assassination, and confronted
political figures linked to Syria. The bombing, carried out with around 30
kilograms of explosives, was one of the deadliest attacks since Hariri’s
assassination, and sent a clear message: in Lebanon, truth became a threat, and
the pursuit of justice came at a cost.
Avichay Adraee: Large-Scale Military Drill in the
Galilee Region from This Evening Until Thursday Along the Border with Lebanon
X Account/October 19/2025 (Translated from Arabic)
A large-scale military drill will begin in the Galilee region starting this
evening and lasting until Thursday along the entire border with Lebanon, inside
towns, the coastal area, and the home front. During the drill, multi-arm
cooperation will be practiced to deal with various scenarios, including the
protection of the area and responding to immediate field threats. During the
drill, the sounds of explosions will be heard, and enemy simulation activities,
drone flights, air and naval units will be used, along with active movement of
security forces. The drill was planned in advance as part of the annual training
plan for the year 2025.
Israeli Incursion in Aitaroun... and a Warning Message to a
Building in the Town of Joya Causes Panic
NNA/October 19, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
An Israeli army force infiltrated last night towards the Birkat Al-Mahafir area
in the town of Aitaroun in Southern Lebanon. The force proceeded to place four
concrete blocks with a sign that read, "Do Not Cross - Danger of Death." The aim
was to keep farmers away and prevent them from reaching their lands. As Israeli
aggressions continue, the National News Agency (NNA) pointed to very low-level
Israeli overflights above the Zahrani area. The NNA also reported a sound bomb
near the Al-Maslakh neighborhood in the city of Khiam. A state of panic was also
reported among the residents of the Baidar Center in the town of Joya, following
a message demanding they evacuate their homes immediately. The building was
evacuated as a precaution while the relevant authorities work to verify the
source and authenticity of the message. The message contained an explicit
threat, stating: "Hello dear, the area in South Lebanon, Joya, is still
considered a dangerous combat zone, for your safety you are forced to evacuate
the building immediately."
Displaced Residents of Border Villages Organize a Protest
in Front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut... and a Message to Khamenei
Janoubia/October 19, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
A number of the "displaced residents of border villages" in the Beqaa organized
a popular protest in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, demanding a
resolution to the issue of the displaced in border villages adjacent to the
Syrian border. The protesters directed a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei for justice, amid calls that the lands they reside on have been
Lebanese for hundreds of years. Discussions among the protesters indicate that
the issue is against the backdrop of disputed territories between Lebanon and
Syria, and the displacement of Lebanese citizens resulting from the recent
border events. [The article then lists several unrelated topics: Lebanese
Politics Amid the Israeli-Iranian Conflict: Stalling and Risk Management; The
Seventh Fatah Conference in Lebanon: Coordination with Lebanon is a Priority; An
International Offer to Confine Hezbollah's Weapons... and the Party Links
Acceptance to an "Arab Guarantee"...; The Louvre Museum Jewelry Heist Shocks
France: 7 Minutes... with a Crane and 4 Thieves!]
International Offer to Confine Hezbollah's Weapons... and
the Party Links Acceptance to an "Arab Guarantee"
NNA/October 19, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
Al-Hadath TV channel reported that during President Joseph Aoun's visit to New
York, Lebanon received an offer to confine Hezbollah's weapons, and the Lebanese
President conveyed this offer to the party via Speaker Nabih Berri. The
channel's sources stated that discussions on this matter are taking place at the
highest levels, and the party is open to discussing multiple formulas regarding
its weapons, but it stipulates an "Arab guarantee" before taking any step in
this direction, having become convinced that the "fighting doctrine" for
Palestine has ended. These developments come within the context of a new
regional phase following the end of the Gaza war and the US-sponsored peace
agreement, where pressure is increasing on Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran to engage in
a broader settlement process, based on a new equation imposed by Washington and
its allies: "Peace in exchange for non-destruction."
Israeli strike kills one in south Lebanon
Agence France Presse/October 19, 2025
An Israeli strike on a construction vehicle in southern Lebanon killed a man,
the Lebanese health ministry reported on Saturday. "The Israeli enemy's
airstrike on a vehicle in the town of Deir Kifa, in the Tyre district, resulted
in one martyr", the health ministry said in a statement. Lebanon's state-run
National News Agency reported that it was a drone strike which "targeted an
excavator with two missiles on the Kfar Dounine-Deir Kifa road".The Israeli
military said it was looking into the reports when asked for comment.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that
brought to an end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah that culminated
in two months of open war. As part of that deal, Israeli forces were to withdraw
from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to dismantle its forces in the region.
Under U.S. pressure and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese
government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, a plan which the movement and
its allies oppose. On Friday, at least one person was killed and seven injured
in Israeli strikes which were denounced by President Joseph Aoun, who said they
targeted 'civilian facilities' and were a breach of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel usually says that it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure.
In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support
of Hamas in the Gaza war, triggering months of border exchanges that escalated
into open warfare in September 2024.
President Aoun to Pope Leo: Lebanese people eagerly await
your visit to Lebanon
LBCI/October 19, 2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and the First Lady attended the ceremonial Mass
at the Vatican marking the canonization of Bishop Ignatius Maloyan, presided
over by Pope Leo XIV. On the sidelines of the ceremony, President Aoun met with
the Holy Father and conveyed that the Lebanese people eagerly await his visit to
Lebanon. Pope Leo XIV described the anticipated trip as “a message of peace and
hope” to the Lebanese people.
Israeli forces install concrete barriers near South
Lebanon's Aitaroun
LBCI/October 19, 2025
An Israeli army unit crossed into the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of
Aitaroun overnight, advancing toward the area known as Birkat al-Mahafir. The
troops placed four concrete blocks and installed a sign reading “No Entry–Danger
of Death,” effectively preventing local farmers from reaching their lands.
Report: Truce deal between Lebanon and Israel imminent
Naharnet/October 19, 2025
Reaching a new truce deal between Lebanon and Israel has become imminent,
unnamed sources told Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath channel. "Direct negotiations
between Lebanon and Israel are not ruled out," the sources said, adding that
"the negotiations will involve removing Hezbollah's arms in return for a
truce.""The agreement will have an impact related to the five hills (occupied by
Israel) and reconstruction," the sources added, noting that the negotiations
will take place through military channels. The sources also warned that
Lebanon's rejection of "the negotiations package" befor the year's end would put
it in the face of "major military and financial pressure."
Speaker Nabih Berri to visit President Joseph Aoun on Monday
LBCI/October 19, 2025
LBCI sources said that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is expected to visit
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda Palace on Monday.
UNIFIL, Lebanese Army conduct joint training to boost
operational readiness
LBCI/October 19, 2025
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that coordinated
training activities with the Lebanese Army were held from September 29 to
October 3, 2025, at the army's training center in Chwakir. The exercises aimed
to strengthen cooperation, skills, and efficiency between UNIFIL and the
Lebanese Armed Forces. The program focused on basic first aid and field medical
care, with the Italian battalion (ITALBATT) assigning eight personnel, including
a field medic and a member of the medical team, to ensure that the training was
carried out safely and effectively in line with UNIFIL standards. Participating
units worked closely with their Lebanese counterparts to enhance
interoperability, mutual understanding, and operational readiness. Emphasis was
placed on the importance of first aid training to minimize risks in operational
environments.
The sessions included assessments of how units respond to “casualty under fire”
situations, evacuation and patient transport techniques, coordination and
decision-making processes, and burn treatment—covering diagnosis, immediate
response, and stabilization. Practical scenarios simulated real-life injuries,
with trainees practicing airway management, shock prevention, and casualty
evacuation procedures. The exercise concluded with a final mass-casualty
simulation, after which Italian Battalion Commander Colonel Davide Marini
presented certificates to the participating Lebanese soldiers.
Talk of border negotiations: Israeli army launches major northern drills along
Lebanon's border
LBCI/October 19, 2025
Amid the roar of aircraft, armored vehicles, and the deployment of troops, the
Israeli army has begun extensive military drills in the north simulating a
potential escalation with Lebanon. The exercises come
alongside cautious optimism over possible diplomatic progress between the two
countries, fueled by reports of talks to demarcate the land border. Such
negotiations could pave the way for a broader resolution to end hostilities,
part of what Israeli sources describe as U.S. President Donald Trump's "regional
vision," which would ultimately include agreements with both Lebanon and Syria.
However, skepticism remains. Some Israeli officials dismissed the reported talks
as mere statements from Lebanese leaders, urging adherence instead to the
Northern Command's directives focused on countering Hezbollah. The group has
reportedly moved closer to the border and contact-line villages in recent weeks.
Despite calls from some officers, the Northern Command has not yet authorized
troops to open fire on anyone approaching the border from the Lebanese side.
Still, the army has intensified its exercises, its largest since October 7, to
prepare for any scenario. It has also reinforced forces along agricultural areas
bordering Lebanon, which locals frequently access during the olive harvest
season. In a message to unit commanders, Galilee Division Commander Yuval Gaz
said suspicious movements had been observed near the frontier, warning that
anyone involved could become a target. Gaz added that operations would extend
several kilometers beyond the border and include five sites inside Lebanese
territory, with possible incursions coordinated with the Israeli Air Force if
necessary.The threats coincide with intensified Israeli airstrikes on southern
Lebanon and statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said
Hezbollah's current situation is the result of "decisive actions" his government
was not afraid to take. Meanwhile, tensions have also spread to the
Lebanese-Syrian frontier. An Israeli military report claimed that arms smuggling
operations across the border continue to increase. Israel announced it had
foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons from Syria into South Lebanon through Mount
Hermon and subsequently reinforced its military presence in the area.
Promises Without Dates: Conference to Support the Army
is on Hold
Andre Mahfouz/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 20, 2025 (Translated from
Arabic)
The Media Office at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to
written questions from Nidaa Al-Watan regarding the planned meeting to support
the Lebanese Army. Nor did it respond to the results of Foreign Minister
Jean-Noël Barrot's talks with Saudi officials to prepare for this conference and
to follow up on efforts to confine weapons to the state, and to fully implement
the ceasefire agreement by both parties to the conflict, Israel and "Hezbollah."
French officials recall President Emmanuel Macron's letter to his Lebanese
counterpart on October 14, in which he praised what he described as "courageous
decisions to confine weapons," and reiterated his confirmation of holding two
conferences: one to support the army and another for reconstruction. No French
official seems able to set a date for the two conferences. Macron's words are
merely encouraging words and nothing more. They do not take into account the
ambiguous statement by the President of the Lebanese Republic, Joseph Aoun,
about negotiating with Israel, which was followed by a request for the Israeli
army to withdraw before beginning the negotiation.
Despite the media promotion of an army support conference in the fall, led by
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which works hand-in-hand with France on regional
files including Lebanon, everything filtering through from those monitoring this
file in Paris suggests that the conditions are not yet complete, that there is
no specific date, and no date has been approved for holding the army support
conference. The Kingdom's effort is currently focused on setting a list of
participants and securing the attendance of countries that possess the funds to
support the army. A monitoring diplomat adds that the concerned countries,
whether in the Gulf or the West, have priorities that take precedence over the
Lebanese situation according to their agendas, and that matters are progressing
in Lebanon at a pace that makes waiting to hold the conference possible, even
necessary, for countries that might contribute funds to ensure that they will be
spent according to a solid foundation that cements the security forces as the
sole authority for security and stability. In clearer terms, the pillars of the
international community are not yet ready to engage in comprehensive
rehabilitation programs for the components of the state, similar to the
investments and cooperation programs flowing into Syria, because these countries
have not yet perceived a decisive and clear decision from the Lebanese authority
regarding the establishment of two basic pillars for the rise of a sovereign
state that inspires confidence: first, effective and honest official
institutions, i.e., general reform, including judicial and financial reform
pending the approval of the Financial Gap Law; and second, the state taking on
its responsibilities, which is the protection of the state and the citizen.
This means that Lebanon's friends are waiting for the current authority to do
what it was supposed to do, in terms of deciding to implement the decision to
confine weapons without equivocation or considerations for delay, and in terms
of approving all laws related to the promised reform.
A French businessman told a Maghreb journalist that he returned from a two-week
visit to Lebanon disappointed, and that he does not believe that the current
authority—with its composition, method of work, and the logic of settlements
adopted to decide on any decision, specifically what the state committed to
regarding confining weapons and carrying out reforms—is capable of extracting
Lebanon from its crises and moving it to the shore where the countries that have
read and understood the results of the wars following October 7 now stand.
When pressed for clear answers to our questions, the Media Office at the Foreign
Ministry's answer is: Lebanon needs courageous decisions.
The Vatican Extends the Roots of Hope to Lebanon...
Ignatius Maloyan... Saint of the Two Peoples
Zeina Bassil/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 20, 2025 (Translated from
Arabic)
From St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, in a majestic moment blending history
with faith, and tears with hope, the Catholic world, along with the Armenian and
Lebanese peoples and all believers, experienced an exceptional moment: the
canonization of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan as a Saint in the Church, more than
a century after his martyrdom. The event is not just an ecclesiastical rite, but
a global declaration that the voice of martyrs cannot be silenced, and that
history, even as ages pass, does not forget those who stood against tyranny and
paid with their lives a precious price rather than abandon their faith. Amid a
massive presence of thousands of believers from different parts of the world,
Armenian and Lebanese flags were raised alongside the flags of other nations, in
a spiritual tableau expressing the unity and diversity of the universal Church.
In addition to Saint Maloyan, the Church declared the canonization of six other
blesseds. The celebration was presided over by Pope Leo XIV, who in his homily
mentioned all the new saints, citing their lives and sacrifices, saying: "These
faithful friends of Christ are martyrs for their faith, like Archbishop Ignatius
Shukrallah Maloyan, their example in the common call to holiness. As we journey
as pilgrims toward this goal, let us pray tirelessly, for thus faith on earth
strengthens hope in Heaven." The Pope, who wished for peace to prevail in the
world and for violence and suffering to cease, at the end of the Mass greeted
President Joseph Aoun for his participation in the Mass, as well as Italian
President Sergio Mattarella and the official Armenian delegation. Patriarchs of
the Eastern Catholic Churches were strongly present, led by Catholicos-Patriarch
Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics, and the
Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, in addition to a number of other
Catholic Patriarchs of the East.
Officially, President Joseph Aoun and his wife Ne'mat Aoun participated, heading
a delegation that included ministers and deputies, in addition to the
participation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and delegations from
the Armenian communities worldwide. President Aoun had met the Pope moments
before the start of the celebration, assuring him that arrangements for his
visit to Lebanon had begun and the Lebanese people were awaiting him. The Pope
responded by affirming his intention to make this visit, which he desires to be
a visit of peace and hope. President Aoun also met his counterpart, Italian
President Sergio Mattarella, on the sidelines of the ceremony. Before heading to
the celebration, President Aoun received Patriarch Al-Rai at his residence in
Rome, who briefed him on the atmosphere of his meeting with the Pope, especially
regarding his anticipated visit to Lebanon, in addition to current issues and
recent developments in Lebanon and the region. Patriarch Al-Rai had told
reporters: "Every day we feel that we have reached the abyss, we restore
ourselves because there are saints praying for us."
President Aoun, who arrived in Rome before the celebration, had visited the
Pontifical Armenian College, where he was received in the traditional Armenian
manner with "bread and salt." After a moment of prayer in St. Nicholas Church,
everyone proceeded to the college hall where the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate
granted the President the "Cross of Faith" medal, the highest honor awarded by
the Patriarchate.
In his speech before Archbishop Minassian and Armenian religious figures,
President Aoun affirmed that Saint Maloyan is not the saint of a specific people
but a saint for the world, whose life tells of his courage and heroism. He also
stressed the need to educate the youth, whom he considers Lebanon's wealth. It
is a glorious day for the Armenian-Lebanese people, for on October 19, 2025,
these two peoples gained a new saint, Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan, who was
martyred in defense of his faith, paying dearly for his famous sentence: "I am a
Catholic and I will remain a Catholic."
Mufti Qabalan: Israel is an Absolute Enemy and Any
Direct Negotiations with It Will Explode the Country. We Have Not Lost the War,
and We Will Not Lose It.
NNA October 19, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
The Grand Ja'fari Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, reiterated that "Israel is an
absolute enemy, and any direct negotiations with it will explode the country. We
have not lost the war, and we will not lose it." In a statement, he said: "When
the issue touches the core of Lebanon's national, sovereign, and covenantal
interests, when the political separation of Lebanon from its national creed is a
direct cause of igniting the fuse of the worst internal explosion, and when the
issue becomes how we can be strong and united within a national family with
organized internal capabilities aligned with choices related to the history,
ethics, creed, sovereignty, and balance of this country, then the state's
position of openly abandoning the South and the Beqaa cannot be understood.
Similarly, the national concept and the legitimacy of the authority cannot be
interpreted and justified by merely controlling the people, who are the source
of national legitimacy, while the source of authority that is preemptive in
defending national interests and sovereign efforts is left to killing, raids,
and all kinds of Israeli terrorism, without any political, diplomatic, or
national effort worthy of a sovereign or at least semi-sovereign state."
He continued: "This is a moment for the nation because the country is divided,
and the reality of division is only possible without the state and its national
and sovereign function, even though the nature of the state is supposed to be
paternalistic, except concerning the South, Dahiyeh (Southern Suburb of Beirut),
and the Beqaa. It is as if the state has become one of the electoral parties or
regional forces, and this is extremely dangerous because the state is thus
abandoning more than half of Lebanon. This is catastrophic and requires clear
answers on the ground. Furthermore, the most dangerous thing lies in
consolidating the state's political patterns and the weight of its presence, as
it puts us at the heart of a deliberate abandonment crisis of the South, the
Beqaa, and Dahiyeh. The time has come to work on re-utilizing the state for the
interests of its people, its sovereign fronts, and its national and relief
interests, especially since the state pledged to manage the file of the area
south of the river with everything the state signifies (sovereignty, national,
and relief), yet none of this has happened. Since the ceasefire, the South has
been deliberately neglected, and the state's sovereign, service, and relief
ministries only know the South by name and only when absolutely necessary. The
issue is purely political. Without Lebanese unity, internal weight, and a
national creed, our Lebanon will lose its identity, its weight, and the product
of a hundred years past. The solution lies in addressing the needs for national
unity and sovereign interests in the face of the worst regional Zionist
terrorism. This is the moment to protect Lebanon from the drain of negotiations
that Washington is working on to consecrate Israel's interests. For the sake of
history, we affirm the saying: Israel is an absolute enemy, and any direct
negotiations with Israel will explode the country. We have not lost the war, and
we will not lose it. He who confronted and stood up with his own self, blood,
and sacrifices to the Zionist army on the borders of Khiam will not give
politically what he did not concede in war, and President Nabih Berri, the trust
of Lebanon and the resistance, once drew attention to the condition of the
region and the reality of Lebanon," pointing out that "the danger is Israel, the
solution is in preventing its terrorism, Lebanon's strength is in its unity,
internal capabilities, and comprehensive solidarity, the state is a state by its
presence on the land of the South, and there is a ceasefire agreement that
Israel is violating, and the solution lies in stopping the fire, not igniting
the fire of politics in this nation."
Geagea: Forget the Six Seats... Israel 'Maneuvers' in the
South and 'the Party' Attacks Internally
Nidaa Al-Watan/October 20, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
Lebanon in the Vatican, about forty days before the Vatican is in Lebanon:
President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun participated in the ceremonial
Mass in which the Blessed Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan of the Armenian Catholic
Church was declared a Saint on the altars of the Catholic Churches.
At the end of the Mass, the Pope greeted President Aoun for his participation,
and earlier, the Pope received President Aoun, who affirmed that all the people
of Lebanon are impatiently awaiting His Holiness's visit at the end of next
month and that all arrangements have been made for the success of the visit, for
which he thanked him for accepting the invitation. The Pope responded by
confirming his intention to make this visit, which he wishes to be a visit of
peace and hope.
The 'Bomb' of Direct Negotiations Away from the atmosphere of holiness,
"Hezbollah" was threatening: "Direct negotiations will explode the country," a
brief sentence delivered by the Grand Ja'fari Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, in a
written statement, which is likely to "explode" the political stagnation and put
the country before choices, the least bitter of which is harsh, and which almost
establishes a fait accompli: "If you do not proceed according to our will, we
will explode the country."
The issue is not about "direct negotiations" but all the issues that have been
raised since the ceasefire agreement, where the "Amal-Hezbollah duo" seems to
reject everything, from the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the Lebanese
state to rejecting any role for the international emergency forces, under the
threat of "the anger of the people," to objecting to any decision taken by the
government.
The issue of rejecting "direct negotiation" is a battle fabricated by
"Hezbollah" without any official authorities having proposed it. The President
of the Republic had said, "in response to a question" on the matter: "The form
of negotiation will be determined later." So why is "the Party" preempting this
issue and opening an untimely battle?
Sheikh Qabalan's stance came in the context of positions whose signs began to
emerge about a week ago, indicating that official Lebanon will be met with a
flood of rejection from the "duo," which raises the following question: What
form of negotiations does the "duo" accept? And is their plan to buy time? For
what reason?
In the context of the negotiation file, Nidaa Al-Watan learned that Baabda is
awaiting any American signal or movement this week, as President Aoun took a
positive step and is waiting to see its translation in American circles,
especially since Washington will be the mediator in any indirect negotiations
between Lebanon and Israel, although it is too early to talk about such a step
amid the ongoing Israeli war on Lebanon.
Berri in Baabda Today, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri will visit Baabda
Palace and meet the President of the Republic to review the atmosphere regarding
what is being proposed to Lebanon concerning the negotiations.
An Offer to Lebanon on 'Confining Weapons' On the eve of the meeting between the
two men, Al-Hadath sources reported that Lebanon received an offer to confine
"Hezbollah's" weapons during President Joseph Aoun's visit to New York, pointing
out that the latter conveyed the offer to "the Party" via Speaker Nabih Berri.
The sources said: "The offer that Lebanon received in New York regarding
'Hezbollah's' weapons is being discussed at the highest levels," noting that
multiple formulas related to "Hezbollah's" weapons are on the table and the
latter is open to discussing them.
They revealed that "Hezbollah" will request an Arab "guarantee" in the next
stage to hand over its weapons, as it is convinced that the "fighting doctrine"
for Palestine has ended. The same sources confirmed that the end of the Gaza war
will increase pressure on Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran to proceed with "peace,"
pointing out that Iran's arms face a new equation after October 7, which is
"peace in exchange for non-destruction."
In light of what was circulated, Baabda sources expressed an unwillingness to
reveal the ongoing contacts, especially with Washington, amid intense secrecy so
as not to disrupt any initiative and to avoid harming any potential initiative.
Israeli Maneuvers Yesterday, the Israeli army began a military maneuver on the
border with Lebanon that will continue until the 23rd of this month. This
maneuver includes the Western Galilee, the coastal area, the Upper Galilee,
Mount Galilee, and the Kiryat Shmona area. Active movements of military forces
are expected during the maneuver. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army spokesperson,
wrote on his "X" account: "During the exercise, multi-arm cooperation will be
practiced to deal with various scenarios, including the protection of the area
and responding to immediate field threats. During the exercise, the sounds of
explosions will be heard, and enemy simulation activities, drone flights, air
and naval units will be used, along with active movement of security forces. The
drill was planned in advance as part of the annual training plan for the year
2025."
Geagea to Expatriates: Register The file of the parliamentary elections law is
still subject to a tug-of-war between amending it to allow expatriates to vote
in their places of residence and refusing to tamper with the law. The head of
the "Lebanese Forces" party, Samir Geagea, addressed the annual conference of
the party's US district via "Zoom," calling on all expatriates to rush to
register their names for the upcoming elections in large numbers and, on his
responsibility, to pray now, "one Our Father and one Hail Mary," for the soul of
the six seats, because they can completely forget about this matter, as there
will be no six seats for expatriates; this issue is over and will not be
adopted. He said: "Be absolutely certain, and there is no need for any doubt,
that the parliamentary elections will take place on schedule. There is only one
point that remains unresolved and around which a major conflict revolves, which
is: Will expatriates vote from their places of residence abroad, or must they
come to Lebanon to participate in the electoral process." Geagea called on the
expatriates to be fully prepared, in case, God forbid, the efforts to allow them
to participate in the electoral process from their places of residence abroad do
not bear fruit, "and this is the worst-case scenario for us. We must be ready,
just as we met today in this conference, to mobilize the entire community and
push all expatriates to participate in the parliamentary elections inside
Lebanon, for there is no one among us who cannot afford to buy a ticket to come
to Lebanon, even for only twenty-four hours, to cast his vote."
Quality reassurance: Tannourine resumes production after
Health Ministry approval
LBCI/October 19, 2025
Lebanese water company Tannourine has resumed production and distribution after
the Public Health Ministry granted permission following a temporary
precautionary halt. The reopening ceremony, attended
by Industry Minister Joe Issa Khoury, was framed as part of supporting the
Lebanese industry. Khoury described the initial suspension as the result of a
technical error in one of the laboratories that tested the water.
However, Health Ministry sources maintained their earlier position,
recalling that Minister Rakan Nassereddine had announced the discovery of
bacteria in one of the production lines during an initial assessment, which
prompted a temporary precautionary shutdown. The same
sources told LBCI that the decision to allow Tannourine to resume operations
came only after the company made technical adjustments recommended by the
sanitary engineering department and after additional samples confirmed full
compliance with safety standards. The ministry emphasized that its actions
remain guided by public health priorities rather than sectarian or political
motives. According to officials who spoke to LBCI, Tannourine has implemented
strict internal procedures, including hourly testing of samples from production
lines. No water bottles are released to the market until results, within 24
hours, confirm the water is 100% safe. The company also conducts regular quality
checks at the Industrial and Agricultural Research Institute laboratories to
ensure ongoing compliance. The cause of the initial laboratory error noted by
the Industry Minister remains under review, pending a scientific investigation
to verify whether a procedural mistake occurred.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October
19-20/2025
Video: A 'Wedding' that Shakes Tehran... Khamenei's Advisor's Daughter
Appears 'Open-Chested' and Angers Iranians
Janoubia/October 19, 2025
https://twitter.com/i/status/1979608697505562880
Shocking scenes from the wedding of the daughter of the Iranian Supreme Leader's
advisor, Ali Shamkhani, have circulated on social media platforms in Iran,
showing her in a lavish ceremony wearing an 'open-chested' (low-cut/revealing)
dress. The leaked scenes from the wedding caused a widespread uproar and
criticism among Iranians, even though the wedding took place in the spring of
last year. Shamkhani's daughter appeared in a low-cut dress with her hair
flowing over her shoulders, while her father accompanied her, holding her hand,
as they entered the celebration hall together.
The circulation of the video comes at a time when Iranian authorities are
attempting to enforce the mandatory hijab law, which has sparked widespread
controversy in Tehran. Many Iranians commented on this scene, questioning: Why
are women and girls in the country forced to wear the mandatory hijab and abide
by conservative dress codes, while these rules do not apply to the children of
officials?
Others remarked that "the morality police patrols, unemployment, and poverty
belong to the people, while luxurious parties funded by the people's money
belong to the officials." Shamkhani, who previously served as a member of the
Expediency Discernment Council and was injured in Israeli attacks on his home
last June during the 12-day war, had already faced criticism on social media
last year over what was then considered his daughter's extravagant wedding at a
famous hotel in the capital, Tehran.
Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on
Sunday
AFP/October 19, 2025
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in combat in
southern Gaza on Sunday, as it carried out a series of strikes in the area,
accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire. Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff
Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip,” the
military said, the first Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire took effect on
October 10. The Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a
ceasefire in Gaza. “In accordance with the directive of the political echelon,
and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’ violations,
the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire,” the military said
in a statement. “The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and
will respond firmly to any violation of it.”
Netanyahu says Gaza war not over until Hamas disarms
AFP/October 19, 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
warned on Saturday that the war in Gaza would not be over until Hamas was
disarmed and the Palestinian territory demilitarized. His declaration came as
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed over the remains of
two further hostages on Saturday night under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu’s office said late Saturday that a Red Cross team had received the
remains of two hostages from Hamas and handed them to Israeli forces in Gaza,
from where they would be taken to Israel to be identified. The issue of the dead
hostages still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the implementation of the
first phase of the ceasefire. Israel has linked the reopening of the key Rafah
crossing to the territory to the recovery of the hostages’ remains.
Netanyahu cautioned that completing the ceasefire’s second phase was essential
to ending the war and involved the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarization
of the Gaza Strip. “When that is successfully completed — hopefully in an easy
way, but if not, in a hard way — then the war will end,” he added in an
appearance on right-wing Israeli Channel 14. Hamas has so far resisted the idea
and since the pause in fighting has moved to reassert its control over Gaza. The
US State Department on Saturday said it had “credible reports” that Hamas was
planning an imminent attack against civilians in Gaza, warning that would be a
“ceasefire violation.”“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be
taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the
ceasefire,” it said in a statement, without elaborating on the nature or target
of such an attack.
Rafah crossing closed
Under the ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far
released all 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one
Nepalese. In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners
and 135 other bodies of Palestinians since the truce came into effect on October
10. Hamas has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the
remaining bodies, which it says are buried under Gaza’s rubble. Netanyahu’s
office said he had “directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further
notice.”“Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in
returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the
agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal. Hamas
warned late Saturday that the closure of the Rafah crossing would cause
“significant delays in the retrieval and transfer of remains.”
Digging latrines
Further delays to the reopening could also complicate the task facing Tom
Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian relief, who was in northern Gaza on
Saturday. “To see the devastation — this is a vast part of the city, just a
wasteland — and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP. Fletcher said
the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job.”He said
he had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to dig
latrines in the ruins. “We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get
a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in
tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”
Gaza killings continue
Some violence has persisted despite the ceasefire. Gaza’s civil defense agency,
which operates under Hamas authority, said on Saturday that it had recovered the
bodies of nine Palestinians — two men, three women and four children — from the
Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus. Two more
victims were blown apart in the blast and their remains have yet to be
recovered, it said. At Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital, the victims were laid out
in white shrouds as their relatives mourned. “My daughter, her children and her
husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?”
demanded grandmother Umm Mohammed Shaaban. The Israeli military said it had
fired on a vehicle that approached the so-called “yellow line,” to which its
forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire, and gave no estimate of
casualties.
Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli
strikes Sunday
AFP/October 19, 2025
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency and hospitals said a series of Israeli
air strikes across the territory killed at least 45 people on Sunday, updating
an earlier toll of 33. The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas
targets across the Gaza Strip, as both Israel and Hamas accused each other of
violating the nine-day-old ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump. “At
least 45 people were killed as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas
of the Gaza Strip,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, which
operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, told AFP. Four hospitals in
Gaza confirmed the death toll to AFP, saying they had received the dead and
wounded. Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat reported 24 dead and 73 wounded from
multiple strikes in central Gaza. Al-Aqsa Hospital said it received 12 dead from
nearby bombings, while Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis reported five dead, and Al-Shifa
Hospital in Gaza City confirmed four fatalities. Earlier, Bassal detailed
several of the strikes. He said six people were killed when an Israeli strike
targeted a “group of civilians” in Zuwaida town in central Gaza. Six other
people, including children, were killed and 13 others injured in two separate
strikes near Nuseirat in central Gaza, Bassal said. A woman and two children
were killed when a drone strike hit a tent housing displaced people near Asdaa
City, north of Khan Yunis. Two people, including a journalist, were killed and
several others injured in an Israeli strike in the western part of Zuwaida town
in central Gaza. In another attack, two people were killed and several injured
when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the Al-Ahli Club area in Nuseirat, central
Gaza, Bassal said. Two more people were killed in an Israeli air strike in
eastern Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, he added. One individual was killed in a
strike on an apartment in a building in western Gaza City, the civil defense
agency said. The others succumbed later on Sunday to injuries received in these
strikes, Bassal said. The Israeli military told AFP it was checking reports of
casualties. Later on Sunday, the Israeli military said it has resumed enforcing
the ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli military launches attack on Gaza, Israeli media
reports
Reuters/October 19, 2025
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military launched an attack on Gaza on Sunday, Israeli
media and residents reported, dimming hopes that a US-mediated ceasefire would
lead to lasting peace in the enclave as Israel traded blame with Palestinian
militant group Hamas. Israel’s attacks on Sunday were the most serious test of
an already fragile ceasefire, which took effect on October 11.Palestinians in
Gaza told Reuters they heard explosions and gunfire in Rafah in the south of the
strip and witnesses separately reported heavy gunfire from Israeli tanks in the
eastern town of Abassan near Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza.
Witnesses in Khan Younis heard a wave of airstrikes launched into Rafah early on
Sunday afternoon.An Israeli government spokesperson, when asked for confirmation
of the attacks, deferred to the military. The military had no immediate comment.
Two killed in Northern Gaza airstrike
Local health authorities in Gaza said on Sunday two Palestinians were killed in
an Israeli airstrike in the eastern Jabalia area of northern Gaza. The Times of
Israel reported that the military was conducting airstrikes in the Rafah area
after militants attacked forces there, though it did not cite a source for the
information. An Israeli military official said on Sunday that Hamas had carried
out multiple attacks against Israeli forces inside Gaza, including a
rocket-propelled grenade attack and a sniper attack against Israeli soldiers.
“Both of the incidents happened in an Israeli-controlled area...This is a bold
violation of the ceasefire,” the official said. Senior Hamas official Izzat Al-Risheq
said on Sunday that the Palestinian militant group remained committed to the
ceasefire, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating. Neither Al-Risheq
nor the Israeli military official made any mention of Sunday’s reported Israeli
strikes in Gaza. The government media office in Gaza said on Saturday that
Israel had committed 47 violations after the ceasefire deal, leaving 38 dead and
143 wounded. “These violations have ranged from direct shooting at civilians, to
deliberate shelling and targeting operations, as well as the arrest of several
civilians,” the media office statement said.
Rafah crossing to remain closed
The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of
the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between
Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice. Rafah has largely been
shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid to
Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be
affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor. Israel and Hamas
have been engaged in a dispute over the return of the bodies of deceased
hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the
remaining bodies of all 28 hostages. Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and
12 of the deceased and has said it has no interest in keeping the bodies of
remaining hostages. The group said the process needs effort and special
equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble. Formidable obstacles to
Trump’s plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming, the
governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international “stabilization force,” and
moves toward the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved. When
asked for comment, the US Embassy in Jerusalem referred inquiries to the State
Department.
Israel says ceasefire and aid to resume after airstrikes
kill 26 in Gaza
Al Arabiya English/19 October/2025
The Israeli military said on Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after
an attack that killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of airstrikes that
killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month’s US-brokered
truce. Aid into the enclave was set to resume on Monday following US pressure,
an Israeli security source said, shortly after Israel announced a halt in
supplies in response to what it said was a “blatant” violation by Hamas of the
truce. The Israeli strikes killed at least 26 people in Gaza, including at least
one woman and one child, according to local residents and health authorities. US
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were
expected to travel to Israel on Monday, an Israeli official and a US official
said. The Israeli military said it struck Hamas targets across the enclave,
including field commanders, gunmen, a tunnel and weapons depots, after militants
launched an anti-tank missile and fired on its troops, killing the soldiers. At
least one strike hit a former school sheltering displaced people in the area of
al-Nuseirat, residents said. The armed wing of Hamas said it remained committed
to the ceasefire agreement, was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not been in
contact with groups there since March. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he described as
Hamas’ violations of the ceasefire.
An Israeli security official had said that the transfer of aid into Gaza had
been halted following what he described as Hamas’ blatant violation of the
ceasefire agreement. But, after US pressure, another Israeli security official
said that aid would resume on Monday. Fearing the truce may collapse, some
Palestinians rushed to buy goods from a main market in al-Nuseirat and families
fled their homes in Khan Younis further south, after airstrikes hit nearby. The
strikes were reminiscent of Israel’s response to what it viewed as serious
violations of its ceasefire with Hamas’ Lebanese ally Hezbollah in late 2024,
less than a week after it came into effect and after days of mutual accusations
of truce breaches, though that ceasefire has since largely held. But formidable
obstacles remain in the way of a durable peace in Gaza, where a ceasefire
collapsed in March after nearly two months of relative calm when Israel
unleashed a barrage of airstrikes. The new ceasefire took effect on October 10,
halting two years of war, but the Israeli government and Hamas have been
accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days.Defense Minister
Israel Katz said the “yellow line” to where Israeli forces had pulled back under
the ceasefire agreement would be physically marked and that any violation of the
ceasefire or attempt to cross the line would be met with fire.
Hamas detailed what it said was a series of violations by Israel that it says
have left 46 people dead and stopped essential supplies from reaching the
enclave. On Saturday, Israel said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and
Egypt, which had been expected to be reopened this week, would remain closed and
that its reopening would depend on Hamas fulfilling its obligations under the
ceasefire. Israel says Hamas is being too slow in handing over bodies of
deceased hostages. Hamas last week released all 20 living hostages it had been
holding and in the following days has handed over 12 of the 28 deceased
captives. The group says it has no interest in keeping the bodies of remaining
hostages and that special equipment is needed to recover corpses buried under
rubble. The Rafah crossing has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire
deal also includes the ramping up of aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of
people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC
global hunger monitor. The crossing has in previous ceasefires functioned as a
key conduit for humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave. Although the flow of
aid through another crossing had, until Sunday’s decision to halt aid, increased
significantly since the ceasefire began, the United Nations says far more is
needed.Key questions of Hamas disarming, the future governance of Gaza, the
make-up of an international “stabilization force,” and moves towards the
creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.
With Reuters
Israeli defense minister says Hamas will pay ‘heavy
price’ if troops attacked
AFP/19 October/2025
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Sunday that troops in Gaza would
respond forcefully if Hamas militants carry out attacks in violation of a
ceasefire. “Hamas will pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the
ceasefire,” Katz said in a statement. “If the message is not understood, our
response will become increasingly severe.”
Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas
Arab News/October 19, 2025
LONDON: Israeli forces demolished a residential apartment in the northern
occupied West Bank city of Tubas as troops on Sunday launched a large-scale raid
for a second consecutive day. Forces stormed an apartment building, forcibly
removed its residents, and planted explosives before detonating them, resulting
in an explosion that was heard across the city, according to the Wafa news
agency. Israeli forces bulldozed parts of the main square in Tubas, damaged
private properties, and converted several homes into military posts after
forcing residents to evacuate. Forces also blocked the southern entrance to
Tubas with dirt mounds, detaining several Palestinians for field interrogations,
Wafa added. Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley have faced frequent Israeli
military incursions recently, leading to home demolitions, raids, and
detentions. Israel has maintained a military occupation of the West Bank since
June 1967, which is considered illegal under international law. Additionally,
Israel has pursued a policy of expanding settlements in the territory, which
observers view as a significant obstacle to resolving the conflict and
establishing a Palestinian state.
Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over
stance on trade with Israel
Arab News/October 19, 2025
LONDON: Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald is facing a legal
challenge over her decision to exclude the region from UK trade talks with
Israel and instruct officials not to assist companies supplying arms to the
country, it was reported on Saturday. The pre-action protocol letter, sent by
pro-Union think tank Unionist Voice Policy Studies (UVPS), claims the Sinn Fein
minister acted beyond her powers, as international trade policy is not a
devolved matter, The Independent reported. Archibald made the announcement in a
written statement to the Assembly on Thursday, saying Invest NI had confirmed it
“does not support projects that manufacture arms or their components for supply
to Israel.”She outlined a series of new measures aimed at “eliminating any risk
of public funds being used to support the manufacture of arms or components that
are used for genocide.” These included a commitment that her department “will
not engage in the British Government’s trade talks with Israel while it
continues to illegally occupy and impose apartheid on Palestine.”The DUP has
called for the issue to be referred to the wider Stormont Executive, while TUV
leader Jim Allister has requested an urgent debate in Westminster. Under
power-sharing rules, ministers must refer “significant and controversial”
matters to the Executive for collective decision-making. In a statement, UVPS
director Jamie Bryson said: “The decision of the Minister for Economy to purport
to exclude Northern Ireland from the sovereign Government’s trade talks with
Israel is plainly unlawful. It is significant and controversial, and therefore
should have been referred to the Executive. The minister is purporting to act in
a non-devolved area, far beyond her lawful powers.”He added that Archibald’s
direction to Invest NI “amounts to clear discrimination on the ground of
political opinion against any business who supports Israel.” Bryson’s group said
it has “consistently challenged unlawful acts of Executive ministers,” calling
the decision “the latest example of a Sinn Féin minister acting far beyond their
lawful powers.”The Department for the Economy was approached for comment by The
Independent.
Saudi crown prince, French president discuss Gaza
developments and regional stability
Arab News/October 19, 2025
RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call on Sunday from
French President Emmanuel Macron, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The two
leaders reviewed cooperation across various fields and discussed regional and
international developments of mutual concern. Talks focused on the situation in
the Gaza Strip and ongoing efforts to end the conflict and restore stability in
the Middle East. Prince Mohammed and Macron stressed the importance of
immediately alleviating the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people and
achieving a complete Israeli withdrawal.
They also underscored the need to take practical steps toward a just and lasting
peace based on the two-state solution.
Yemen’s Houthis detain 20 UN employees and confiscate
equipment
AP/October 19, 2025
CAIRO: Iranian-backed Houthi militants detained two dozen UN employees Sunday, a
day after they raided another UN facility in the capital Sanaa, a UN official
said. Jean Alam, a spokesman for the UN resident coordinator for Yemen, told The
Associated Press that the UN staffers were detained inside the facility in
Sanaa’s southwestern neighborhood of Hada. He said those detained Sunday include
five Yemenis and 15 international staff. He said the militants released another
11 UN staffers after questioning. He said the UN was contact with the Houthis
and other parties to “to resolve this serious situation as swiftly as possible,
end the detention of all personnel, and restore full control over its facilities
in Sanaa.”A second UN official, speaking spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss the raid, said the militants confiscated all communications equipment
from the facility, including phones, servers and computers. The official said
the detained employees belong to multiple UN agencies including the World Food
Programme, UNICEF and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Houthis have launched a long-running crackdown against the UN and other
international organizations working in militant-held areas in Yemen including
Sanaa, the coastal city of Hodeida and the militant stronghold in Sadaa province
in northern Yemen. Dozens of people, including over 50 UN staffers, have been
detained so far. A World Food Programme worker died in detention earlier this
year in Sadaa. The militants have repeatedly alleged without evidence that the
detained UN staffers and those working with other international groups and
foreign embassies were spies. The UN fiercely denied the accusations. The
crackdown forced the UN to suspend its operations in Saada province in northern
Yemen following the detention of eight staffers in January. The UN also
relocated its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from Sanaa to the coastal
city of Aden, which serves as seat for the internationally recognized
government.
Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site,
companies say
Reuters/October 19, 2025
Russian forces on Sunday attacked a coal mine in southeastern Ukraine and an
unidentified energy site in the north near the Russian border, the operators of
the sites said, adding to a series of recent assaults on Ukraine’s energy
network. Private Ukrainian energy firm DTEK said Russian forces launched an
attack on a colliery in Dnipropetrovsk region. The company said 192 miners were
safely brought to the surface, with no injuries. The company said it was the
fourth Russian assault in two months on coal mining operations in Ukraine. The
regional energy company in the northern border region of Chernihiv,
Chernihivoblenergo, said an attack there caused extensive damage and cut off
electricity to 55,000 users. Emergency crews would restore power in the area
once it was safe to do so, it said. Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused
on Ukraine’s power grid and other energy sites. Power cuts were imposed in many
areas in the past week in the aftermath of an attack earlier this month that cut
electricity to more than one million consumers.
Trump urged Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to make concessions to
Russia, sources say
Reuters/20 October/2025
US President Donald Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give
up swaths of territory to Russia during a tense meeting on Friday that left the
Ukrainian delegation disappointed, according to two people briefed on the
discussion. Trump also declined to provide Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine’s use,
and mused about giving security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow, comments
that the Ukrainian delegation found confusing, added the two sources, who
requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting. After his meeting with
Zelenskyy, Trump publicly called for a ceasefire on the current frontlines, a
position that the Ukrainian president then embraced in comments to reporters. A
third person said Trump came up with that proposal during the meeting after
Zelenskyy said he would not voluntarily cede any territory to Moscow. Still, the
meeting was a clear disappointment for Zelenskyy, who had hoped to convince
Trump to supply his government with long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of
hitting deep inside Russia. Elements of the talks were first reported by The
Financial Times on Sunday. In recent weeks, there had been indications Trump was
deprioritizing efforts to force a deal on Kyiv and Moscow, in favor of throwing
his full support behind the Ukrainians. But the Friday meeting indicates that
Trump may revert to mediating a deal. US officials repeatedly brought up the
possibility of a territorial swap between Ukraine and Russia – an idea that
Trump had embraced earlier in the year – and the US president said a quick
agreement was essential, the sources said. “It was pretty bad,” one of the
sources said. “The message was, ‘Your country will freeze, and your country will
be destroyed’” if Ukraine doesn’t make a deal with Russia. Trump resorted to
profanity several times throughout the meeting, the source said. Two sources
were left with the impression that Trump was influenced by a Thursday call with
Russian President Vladimir Putin. During that call, The Washington Post reported
that Putin proposed a territorial swap in which Ukraine would cede the regions
of Donetsk and Luhansk in return for small parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
One of the sources said that US officials proposed precisely that swap to
Zelenskyy on Friday. But Ukrainians see major strategic value in the portion of
Donetsk and Luhansk that they still hold – they believe giving up that territory
would make the rest of Ukraine much more vulnerable to Russian offensives, the
person said. “We will give nothing to the aggressor, and we will forget
nothing,” Zelenskyy said during his nightly video address on Sunday. “We clearly
see that this Russia is a long-term threat.” On Thursday, before meeting
Zelenskyy, Trump said he would soon meet Putin in Budapest. A Kremlin aide said
shortly after that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov would speak in the coming days to prepare for the summit.
The White House and the Ukrainian president’s office did not respond to a
request for comment.
Trump calls Colombian president ‘a drug leader’, vows
end to payments
Agencies/19 October/2025
US President Donald Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an “illegal
drug leader” on Sunday and said the United States would cease “large scale
payments and subsidies” to the South American nation. “The purpose of this drug
production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States,
causing death, destruction, and havoc,” he said in a Truth Social post.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Sunday his US counterpart Donald Trump is
being “fooled” by advisers in announcing an end to US aid to his country. Petro
wrote on the social media platform X that Trump is being “fooled by his lodges
and advisers.”Relations between Bogota and Washington have frayed since Trump
returned to office. Last month the United States revoked Petro’s visa after he
joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York and urged US soldiers to
disobey Trump’s orders. Last year, Petro pledged to tame coca-growing regions in
Colombia with massive social and military intervention, but the strategy has
brought little success. In September, Trump designated countries such as
Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia and Venezuela among those the United
States believes to have “failed demonstrably” in upholding counternarcotics
agreements during the past year. He blamed Colombia’s political leadership for
the failure to meet its drug control obligations. “Petro ... is an illegal drug
leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs,” said Trump, saying
US payments and subsidies to Colombia were a rip-off. “AS OF TODAY, THESE
PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE,”
he wrote in capital letters. It was not clear what Trump was referring to.
Pakistan, Afghanistan reach ceasefire agreement in Doha after fierce clashes
Shahjahan Khurram/Arab News/October 19, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif announced on Sunday
that Islamabad had reached a ceasefire agreement with Kabul in Doha, after days
of fierce clashes between the two sides left dozens dead and increased tensions
between the neighbors. Asif was leading a Pakistani delegation in Doha on
Saturday for talks with Afghanistan after days of fierce battles between the two
countries along their long and porous border, which led to the deaths of dozens
of people on both sides. Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar and
Kabul before the two sides reached an uneasy truce that opened the window for
bilateral talks arranged by Qatar.Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of
sheltering militant groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the
separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and facilitating their attacks against
its civilians and security forces. Kabul denies the allegation, though it has
become a key sticking point between the two countries and has led more serious
skirmishes than ever before. “A ceasefire agreement has been reached between
Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Asif wrote on social media platform X on Sunday.
“The series of terrorist activities from Afghanistan on Pakistani soil will
cease immediately. Both neighboring countries will respect each other’s
territory — Alhamdulillah.”
The minister said delegations from Afghanistan and Pakistan will meet again in
Istanbul on Oct. 25 in which detailed discussions will take place. Asif thanked
Qatar and Turkiye for their mediation efforts. The development was also
confirmed by Qatar’s foreign ministry in a statement, which said both Pakistan
and Afghanistan have agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after the Doha talks on
Saturday. “During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to an immediate
ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and
stability between the two countries,” it said. Afghan government spokesperson
Zabihullah Mujahid said the two sides had reaffirmed their commitment to peace,
mutual respect and maintaining strong neighborly relations. He said both sides
are committed to resolving their disputes through dialogue. “It has been decided
that neither country will undertake any hostile actions against the other, nor
will they support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of
Pakistan,” Mujahid wrote on X. He said both nations will refrain from targeting
each other’s security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure. Tensions
rose sharply on Friday when a militant attack on a Pakistani security compound
in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan killed at
least seven soldiers. The attack elicited airstrikes from the authorities in
Islamabad in an Afghan border town against the Hafiz Gul Bahadar group. The
Afghanistan Cricket Board told AFP that three players who were in the region for
a tournament were killed by the airstrikes, revising down an earlier toll of
eight. Afghanistan withdrew from the Twenty20 international tri-series in
Pakistan next month in response, following which the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) announced Zimbabwe would take part in the series in its place.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday Pakistan had carried out
“precision strikes” in which about 70 militants had been killed. “All
speculations and assertions being made regarding targeting of civilians are
false and meant to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside
Afghanistan,” he added.
Four thieves being hunted for Louvre heist: prosecutor
AFP/October 19, 2025
PARIS: French authorities are hunting four thieves for Sunday’s brazen heist at
the Louvre where they seized eight priceless and historical pieces of jewelry,
Paris’s chief prosecutor said. The four men were a “strike team” who robbed the
Louvre’s Apollo Gallery containing France’s crown jewels, wearing masks to hide
their faces and using high-powered scooters to escape prosecutor Laure Beccuau,
told BFMTV television. She said the thieves threatened museum guards with the
angle grinders they used to cut into the glass display booths containing the
jewels they were after. The gang drove a truck towing an extendable power
ladder, commonly used to lift furniture into buildings, to the side of the
Louvre to gain access through a window they broke, said Beccuau. The Louvre’s
alarms were functioning at the time, she added, but there “remains the question
of whether the guards heard the alarm” and whether the alarm sounded in the
gallery where the theft was taking place, she said. The prosecutor said their
working theory was that the heist team was working under orders for a criminal
organization. “Organized criminal gangs can have two aims: either to fulfil an
order placed with them, or to acquire gems for money-laundering ends,” she said.
Beccuau said around 60 investigators were working on the high-profile case. A
yellow vest used by one of the culprits has already been recovered, she added.
“I have no doubt that (the museum) will be able to recover” the stolen items “in
the coming days,” she said.
French government lists eight pieces of jewelry stolen
from Louvre
LBCI/AFP/October 19, 2025
France's culture ministry said eight items of jewelry were stolen from the
Louvre in Sunday's raid, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon
gave his wife Empress Marie Louise. "Two high-security display cases were
targeted, and eight objects of invaluable cultural heritage were stolen," said
the ministry statement. A ninth object -- the diamond- and emerald encrusted
crown of the Empress Eugenie -- was recovered nearby, where it was dropped by
the thieves as they fled, the statement added.
Voters in Turkish Cyprus reject Erdogan-backed leader
AFP/19 October/2025
The breakaway territory of northern Cyprus has voted overwhelmingly to replace
its outgoing leader, who had the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, election officials said Sunday. Almost 63 percent of voters in the
territory, whose claim to statehood is recognized only by Turkey, backed former
prime minister Tufan Erhurman as next president at the expense of Turkey’s pick,
Ersin Tatar, who polled 35 percent. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a
Turkish invasion following a coup in Nicosia backed by Greece’s then-military
junta eventually led to the creation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
in 1983. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, a member of the
European Union, controls the island’s majority Greek Cypriot south. While Tatar
has toed the Turkish line of two separate states on Cyprus, Erhurman has
indicated he favors a federal state that would include both sides of the island.
Erhurman said there were no losers in the election and that “the Turkish Cypriot
people have won together.”“I will exercise my responsibilities, notably in terms
of foreign policy, in consultation with the Republic of Turkey,” he said, trying
to soothe concerns from Ankara that he may try to break away. Erdogan
congratulated Erhurman in a post on social media, adding that Turkey would
“continue to defend the rights and sovereign interests” of the breakaway
territory. The last major round of peace talks to negotiate a settlement to the
island’s divided status collapsed in Switzerland in 2017. The leaders of both
sides met in July at the UN headquarters in New York for talks that were hailed
as “constructive” by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Iran executes man over espionage for Israel
Al Arabiya English/19 October/2025
Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency, the
judiciary said Sunday, the latest in a series of executions following a 12-day
war in June between the two countries. “The execution of this spy... was carried
out after confirmation by the Supreme Court and the rejection of his pardon
request at Qom Prison,” Kazem Mousavi, chief justice of Qom province, was quoted
as saying by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website. The identity of the man – who
was hanged on Saturday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran – was not
immediately revealed. According to the Iranian authorities, the suspect began
contacting Israeli intelligence in October 2023 and was arrested between January
and February 2024. Investigators said he confessed to cooperating with Mossad
and transmitting confidential information online. Earlier this month, six men
were executed in Khuzestan province for alleged terrorism, less than a week
after a man described as one of Israel’s top spies was hanged. Another, named as
Roozbeh Vadi, was also executed for allegedly passing information about a
nuclear scientist killed during the conflict. Human rights groups say Iranian
authorities routinely extract “confessions” under duress, including torture –
allegations Tehran denies. The Islamic Republic, which carries out executions by
hanging, is the world’s second most prolific executioner after China, according
to human rights groups including Amnesty International. Separately, Iran’s
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said at least four tribal leaders were
killed in Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran. The IRGC did not
identify them further, but authorities in Iran frequently accuse militant groups
operating in Sistan-Baluchistan of having ties to Israel. With AFP
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on October
19-20/2025
Historical Hypocrisy: Muslims Villainize Columbus While Celebrating Their
Own Villains
Raymond Ibrahim/October 19, 2025
In the days leading to Columbus Day, which was celebrated on October 13,
President Trump issued a proclamation, an excerpt of which follows:
Today our Nation honors the legendary Christopher Columbus — the original
American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and
visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth. This Columbus Day, … we pledge
to reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue
from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor
his memory.
Born in Genoa, Italy in 1451, Columbus quickly emerged as a titan of the Age of
Exploration. On August 3, 1492, Columbus set out on a daring expedition that
most believed to be impossible. Commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain,
Columbus and his crew boarded three small ships … to set sail on a perilous
voyage across the Atlantic. He was guided by a noble mission: to discover a new
trade route to Asia, bring glory to Spain, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to distant lands.
Just over 2 months later, on October 12, 1492, Columbus made landfall in the
modern-day Bahamas. Upon his arrival, he planted a majestic cross in a mighty
act of devotion, dedicating the land to God and setting in motion America’s
proud birthright of faith….
Outrageously, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been a prime target of a
vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and
attack our heritage. Before our very eyes, left-wing radicals toppled his
statues, vandalized his monuments, tarnished his character, and sought to exile
him from our public spaces.
Trump is referring to the fashionable, revisionist claim, championed by “the
Left,” that Christopher Columbus was, in fact, the devil incarnate—that he was a
mass slaver and genocidal maniac.
In reality, and judged by the standards of his time, nothing Columbus did was
extraordinary.
Even so, and not least because Trump has come out in favor of Columbus, the
Columbus-haters—that is, those who seek, in Trump’s words, to “erase our
history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage”—came out in full force.
The irony is that some of those hurling stones live in very fragile glass
houses.
Take the Yaqeen Institute, a Texas-based, Muslim Brotherhood-linked, Islamic
think tank which, according to its own description, works to combat “Islamophobia.”
Also in the days leading up to Columbus Day, it published a video titled “The
Real Story of Christopher Columbus,” narrated by one “Imam Tom” (apparently an
American convert to Islam).
As might be expected, the video engages in all the sorts of defamation and
propaganda that Trump condemned in his proclamation. Not only does Imam Tom
present Christopher Columbus as the devil incarnate, but he seems to imply that
any American who likes Columbus is guilty by association.
Now why is Imam Tom, who, as a Muslim, lives in a very fragile glass house,
hurling stones at anyone? Is he not aware that virtually all of the heroes of
Islamic history are guilty of similar if not far worse behavior than Columbus?
Consider that one Muslim man who dominated the 15th century, a contemporary of
Christopher Columbus’s: Ottoman sultan Muhammad (Mehmet) II, 1432-1481. During
his more than 30 year reign, he conquered so many Christian lands that he is
today better known—and honored by Muslims—as Muhammad the Conqueror.
His crowning achievement came in 1453—when he, Muhammad, was 21, and Columbus
was 2: the fall of Constantinople. His sole reason for conquering that ancient
Christian kingdom was that it would not embrace Islam. Once he had taken it, he
entered the Christian basilica, the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) and ritually
desecrated it—including by destroying its altar, breaking its crosses, and
burning its Bibles and icons—before calling the faithful to prayers and
transforming it into a mosque.
Afterwards he and his Muslim conquerors engaged in countless atrocities—raping
women, children, and even men in the streets, before slaughtering them.
A notorious pedophile, Muhammad II himself enslaved and sexually abused several
Christian boys, stabbing one to death because the lad would not submit.
Three days after the Muslims had sated their barbaric appetites, Muhammad had
the “wretched citizens of Constantinople”—to quote from an eyewitness source,
Riccheriio—dragged before his men during evening festivities and “ordered many
of them to be hacked to pieces, for the sake of entertainment.” The rest of the
city’s population—about 50,000—was hauled off in chains to be sold as slaves.
To be sure, Constantinople was just one of many such conquests. In 1480, when
Columbus was 29, Sultan Muhammad sent an army to invade Italy. On conquering
Otranto, the Muslims massacred more than half of its 22,000 citizens and
enslaved 5,000, mostly women and children. The remaining 813 Christian
prisoners, mostly ably bodied men, were given a choice: embrace Islam or die.
They all chose Christianity and death and, on August 14, were ritually beheaded
atop a lonely hilltop in Otranto. Their archbishop was sawn in half to cries of
“Allahu Akbar.” (The skeletal remains of some of these defiant Christians can
still be seen in the Cathedral of Otranto. )
One can go on and on about Columbus’s contemporary, Sultan Muhammad II, and I’m
always coming across new outrages committed by him. For example, in my latest
book, The Two Swords of Christ, I include yet another little known enormity.
After he conquered another Greek city, a reportedly very beautiful slave girl,
by the name of Irene, was gifted to him. Muhammad became enamored and spent so
much time with her that his men began to grumble that he was losing his fighting
spirit. On hearing of this, he issued two orders: first, that Irene be bathed
and essentially “dolled up” in a beautiful gown; and second, that his leading
men and generals assemble in the palace courtyard. He then had the beautiful
Irene escorted out to him. Holding her by the hand and parading the
uncomfortable slave girl before his men, he asked if they had ever seen such
beauty. Then, as they all stood gawking at young Irene, Muhammad yanked her by
the hair, pulled out his sword, and sliced her head off, boasting that that is
how easy it is for him to cut off anyone that gets in his way.
The point here is that Muslims, of all people, should not be hurling stones at
Columbus, seeing how they live in glass houses. After all, this same Muhammad
has statues in and is widely celebrated throughout Turkey, and is remembered and
honored every May 29, which marks the aforementioned horrific sack on
Constantinople—an otherwise glorious event that the Turks celebrate every year.
Incidentally, and lest it seem that Muhammad II was some sort of anomaly,
virtually every Muslim leader throughout history behaved in a similar
fashion—massacring and enslaving people simply because they would not embrace
Islam—all the way back to Muhammad who, in a canonical hadith, boasted, “I have
been made victorious through terror.”
One of the more infamous acts of terror was Muhammad’s order to ritually behead
some 700 male Jews right in from of their now enslaved women and children—just
like what happened to the 813 Christians at Otranto, Italy, in 1480.
Sultan Muhammad II is highlighted because he was a contemporary of Columbus—for
an idea on how Muslims were behaving during Columbus’s era. If one truly wishes
to talk about genocides, one can talk about how Muslims butchered as many as 80
million Hindus over the course of five centuries—all in the name of Islam,
according to historian K. S. Lal.
In short, if Imam Tom is really concerned about and wants to prevent people from
looking up to the “bad guys,” perhaps he should begin by looking inward and
helping his fellow Muslims see the light, so they stop heroizing and seeking to
emulate any number of Muslim leaders—from their prophet to the present—most of
whom engaged in horrific atrocities.
Instead, Imam Tom he is shocked and upset because Americans dare celebrate
Christopher Columbus, a man who, in Trump’s words, “paved the way for the
ultimate triumph of Western civilization.” A civilization which, whether they
like it or not, Muslims sure love relocating to and living in.
Half way through his presentation, Tom reveals his ultimate point about
Columbus—that the explorer was an “Islamophobe,” who “hated Muslims,” who was
even “fighting them in Spain,” and whose ultimate goal in traveling was to aid
the crusade and recapture Jerusalem.
Anyone drowning in fake history—that is, the overwhelming majority of people
watching his video—will take Imam Tom’s words and presentation as more proof
that Columbus was an evil man who simply hated Muslims for no more a reason than
that he was—as anyone who celebrates him is—a rabid Islamophobe.
Then there’s reality. I’ve already given you a small glimpse of the atrocities
Sultan Muhammad II and his behemoth Ottoman army were committing during
Columbus’s era.
In fact, it had been that way for nearly 800 years before Columbus was born,
when Muslims, having conquered nearly three-quarters of Christendom’s original
territory—including all of the Middle East and North Africa—first entered and
conquered portions of Europe, namely Spain, in the year 711 AD.
From that year on, Europe and Islam were engaged in a death struggle, especially
following the rise of the Turks, who began to invade and conquer Eastern Europe
in the early 1300s. As seen, by the time Columbus was born, not only had much of
the Balkans been conquered by the Ottoman Turks—and Russia by the Muslim
Mongols—but sources speak of many millions of Europeans enslaved to the Turks,
to the Tatars, and to the Muslims of Barbary, or North Africa.
As for the Reconquista, which Imam Tom dismisses as the “so-called Reconquista,”
this too was a very real thing. It began soon after Muslims invaded, terrorized,
and conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 711, and continued for many centuries—as
countless Spanish and Portuguese Christians fought and died in their attempt to
liberate their homelands from Islam.
It was in this context that Spain’s monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella —
themselves avowed Crusaders, who finished the centuries-long Reconquista of
Spain by liberating Granada from Islam in 1492 — took Columbus into their
service that same year. They funded his ambitious western voyage in an effort to
launch, in the words of historian Louis Bertrand, “a final and definite Crusade
against Islam by way of the Indies” (and this culminated in the incidental
founding of the New World).
Many Europeans were convinced that if only they could reach the peoples east of
Islam — who, if not Christian, were at least “not as yet infected by the
Muhammadan plague,” to quote Pope Nicholas V— together they could crush Islam
between them. But because traveling eastward, where the Ottomans and other
Muslims held sway, was suicidal, a new route had to be found: hence the true
reason why Christopher Columbus sailed west—to continue the crusade against
Islam and recover Jerusalem.
All this comes out in Columbus’s own letters: in one he refers to Ferdinand and
Isabella as “enemies of the wretched sect of Muhammad” who are “resolve[d] to
send me to the regions of the Indies, to see” how the people thereof can help.”
There is a final irony in Imam Tom’s depiction of Columbus as an “Islamophobe”:
Yes, Columbus, and Ferdinand, and Isabella—and every European then—was an
Islamophobe, but not in the way that word is used today. While the Greek word
phobos has always meant “fear,” its usage today implies “irrational fear.”
However, considering that for nearly a thousand years before Columbus, Islam had
repeatedly attacked Christendom to the point of swallowing up most of its
original territory, including for centuries Spain; that Islam’s latest
iteration, in the guise of the Ottoman Turks, was, during Columbus’s era,
devastating the Balkans and Mediterranean, slaughtering and enslaving any
European who dared travel east through their domains; and that, even centuries
after Columbus, Islam was still terrorizing the West — marching onto Vienna with
200,000 jihadists in 1683 and provoking America into its first war as a nation
in 1800 — the very suggestion that Western fears of Islam were, or are,
“irrational” is itself the height of irrationalism.
Has Xi Jinping Lost Control of China's Military — And China Itself?
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute./October 19, 2025
Tellingly, the most senior of the nine officers axed on the 17th was General He
Weidong, the second-ranked vice chairman of the Commission and Xi Jinping's No.
1 loyalist in the PLA. The general had gained prominence as Xi's top enforcer in
the military.
Gen. He was not the only officer who backed Xi and has now been taken out of the
military's leadership ranks. Moreover, it is difficult to identify any Xi
adversary who was purged in the last 18 months.
It is unlikely, at a time Xi Jinping appears to be fighting for political
survival, that he would remove his most important supporter in the military. It
is far more probable that Xi has lost control of the People's Liberation Army,
especially because the removals strengthen Gen. Zhang, Xi's adversary.
China, by Thursday, could have a new leader. Or a new round of purges.
Tellingly, the most senior of the nine officers removed on October 17 from their
posts in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) was General He Weidong, the
second-ranked vice chairman of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission
and Xi Jinping's No. 1 loyalist in the PLA. The general had gained prominence as
Xi's top enforcer in the military.
On October 17, China's Ministry of National Defense announced that the Communist
Party's Central Committee and Central Military Commission had, after
investigations, removed nine senior officers from their posts in the People's
Liberation Army.
The stunning announcement occurred on the eve of the long-delayed Fourth Plenum
of the Party's 20th Central Committee, scheduled to start tomorrow, October 20,
and continue for four days. On the agenda are crucial economic matters,
including the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, which covers the rest of the
decade, 2026-2030.
Analysts are also looking for hints whether the Party, at the plenum, will
announce changes in its leadership.
If Xi Jinping, the Party's general secretary and chairman of its Central
Military Commission, was responsible for the just-announced removals of the flag
officers, he will undoubtedly emerge from the plenum as strong as ever, perhaps
even stronger.
If, as is more likely, Xi's enemies arranged the removals, China will almost
certainly have a new leader soon. Xi's position would be untenable.
Who, then, was responsible for the announced changes?
Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Xi was the one
who removed the nine officers.
That conclusion, at least at first glance, seems logical. After all, Xi has been
powerful for a long time, so it is natural that journalists ascribe every
significant action in China to him. In fact, at one time he had almost complete
control over the People's Liberation Army, which reports not to the Chinese
state but to the Communist Party. Xi's major reorganization of the PLA,
conducted in the middle of last decade, and his periodic "corruption" purges
gave him the opportunity to install loyalists.
"In most systems, repeated purges of senior military leaders would trigger
crisis or resistance," Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies told the Times. "Xi's ability to churn and burn through top generals
without sparking significant institutional pushback reveals the strength, not
fragility, of his rule."Xi may be purging his own people, but that is not the
most likely explanation. Beginning July 9, 2024, PLA Daily, the Chinese
military's main propaganda organ, ran a series of articles praising "collective
leadership," a clear criticism of Xi's demand for complete obedience.
These articles were written by those aligned with the No. 1-ranked uniformed
officer, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Gen. Zhang Youxia, and could
not have appeared if Xi were in complete control of the military. Zhang is known
to be a political enemy of Xi.
Tellingly, the most senior of the nine officers axed on the 17th was General He
Weidong, the second-ranked vice chairman of the Commission and Xi Jinping's No.
1 loyalist in the PLA. The general had gained prominence as Xi's top enforcer in
the military.
Gen. He was last seen in public on March 11. On Friday, the Defense Ministry
reported that he had been expelled from the Party pending ratification at a
plenary session of the Central Committee, and his case had been transferred to a
military procuratorate "for review and prosecution."
On October 18, PLA Daily issued an editorial stating Gen. He and the eight
others had been "disloyal." The publication indirectly referred to them as
"hidden tumors."
Gen. He was not the only officer who backed Xi and has now been taken out of the
military's leadership ranks. Moreover, it is difficult to identify any Xi
adversary who was purged in the last 18 months.
"The continuation of the purges is hard to explain if Xi dominates the political
system because his supporters are now being purged," Charles Burton of the
Prague-based Sinopsis think tank told this author in July, after a previous
round of firings. "Sometimes the simplest explanations are the most credible.
The simplest explanation is that Xi's enemies—not Xi himself—removed Xi's
loyalists."
The People's Liberation Army is the most important faction in the Party. "Mao
Zedong famously said, 'political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,' a
principle that may now be turned against Xi Jinping," Burton, also a former
Canadian diplomat in Beijing, remarked on Friday.
"In the armed forces, dissent is growing amid his regime's economic and social
failures," Burton continued, referring to Xi. "The Fourth Plenum poses a direct
threat to his leadership. Even if he survives this meeting, the internal
pressures suggest his grip on power is more fragile than ever."
Throughout this year, there have also been reports of continuing struggles in
Communist Party civilian circles.
It is unlikely, at a time Xi Jinping appears to be fighting for political
survival, that he would remove his most important supporter in the military. It
is far more probable that Xi has lost control of the People's Liberation Army,
especially because the removals strengthen Gen. Zhang, Xi's adversary.
"Party elders believe they cannot allow the leadership struggle to continue
beyond the Fourth Plenum," Blaine Holt, a retired U.S. Air Force general who
follows Chinese politics, told Gatestone after the Defense Ministry's
announcement.
China, by Thursday, could have a new leader. Or a new round of purges.
Either way, there will be blood on the floor, at least figuratively.
**Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America,
a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory
Board.
Follow Gordon G. Chang 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.
Palestinian statehood is the key to a lasting peace
Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/October 19/2025
US President Donald Trump has made his anger unmistakably clear. His blunt
warning to Hamas — “We will find ourselves with no choice but to go in and kill
them if the bloodshed continues” — came in response to what he called “field
executions” of Palestinians accused of collaboration. These killings, which drew
condemnation from both the Palestinian Authority and France, have become a
flashpoint in the fragile peace process.
This was not simply another Trump outburst. The warning signals a calculated
pressure campaign designed to prevent Hamas from consolidating power and control
in Gaza. Trump aims to dismantle the group’s military infrastructure and
diminish its authority, wary that it might create irreversible facts on the
ground — even as its visible armed presence as a “police” force maintaining
order appears to have tacit American acceptance.
Behind this lies a larger ambition: making Trump’s Gaza peace plan work. It
represents Washington’s first genuine effort to end the war since October 2023,
backed by regional heavyweights, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkiye.
Notably, Iran has yet to actively sabotage the deal. Still, formidable obstacles
remain, even as the initiative has carved out a pathway toward relative calm and
extended ceasefire — always shadowed by the threat that Israel might resume
military action on any number of pretexts.
Yet the picture is not entirely bleak. The plan has achieved meaningful
progress: halting devastating military strikes on Palestinian civilians,
initiating hostage and prisoner exchanges, and proposing phased Israeli
withdrawal paired with internationally supervised security arrangements. It
envisions a technocratic transitional government for Gaza funded by Arab and
international donors, followed by massive reconstruction efforts reconnecting
the enclave with the West Bank. If successful, this could usher in a prolonged
period without active warfare. But there is a catch: donors need ironclad
guarantees that Gaza will not be destroyed again. Without these, the estimated
$70 billion needed for reconstruction — a decade-long undertaking under ideal
conditions — will fail to materialize. Right now, only Trump can provide those
assurances, leveraging both his pressure on Israel’s hard-line government and
his personal rapport with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
None of this works, however, without a parallel political process leading toward
a two-state solution — the outcome Saudi Arabia champions, with backing from
France and much of the international community. The steps outlined above may
seem ambitious from Trump’s perspective, but they rest on precarious foundations
where political commitments collide with Palestinians’ grinding daily hardships.
Without genuine hope and recognition of their right to statehood, the cycle of
violence will inevitably return.
Washington now faces a delicate balancing act.
That anxiety intensified after Trump’s address to the Israeli Knesset, where he
delivered a rousing validation of Tel Aviv: “After so many years of unceasing
war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the
sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace.”
Such soaring rhetoric risks inflating Netanyahu’s government with triumphalism
and a sense of unchallenged dominance — hardly the mindset conducive to
compromise during subsequent phases requiring gradual Gaza withdrawals,
sustained humanitarian access, and complete military stand-down. Washington now
faces a delicate balancing act between its strategic alliance with Israel and
its relationships with Arab states, particularly after Arab leaders at the Sharm
El-Sheikh Summit endorsed Trump’s approach and pledged commitment to
“sustainable peace” through “gradual implementation.”
But sustainable peace demands something critically lacking: mutual trust.
Genuine stability cannot take root in soil poisoned by suspicion, especially
with the specter of renewed Israeli-Iranian conflict looming, and Israeli
strikes in Syria and Lebanon stoking regional tensions. Prince Turki Al-Faisal,
Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to the US, has repeatedly cautioned against
premature judgments about Trump’s plan, emphasizing that outcomes matter more
than intentions. The coming weeks and months will prove decisive.
Arab and Islamic nations now shoulder enormous responsibility: converting the
Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration from words into integrated action that weaves
together security, reconstruction, political reform, emergency humanitarian
relief, and institutional support for the Palestinian Authority. Success here
would mark real advancement. But if Israel’s hard-line posture persists and Tel
Aviv continues to rely on overwhelming force, this ceasefire will become merely
another exercise in crisis management — not resolution. That path leads back to
existential threats for Palestinians, risking renewed genocide and mass
displacement, while robbing the Middle East of security and stability that
everyone desperately needs.
• Hassan Al-Mustafa is a Saudi writer and researcher interested in Islamic
movements, the development of religious discourse, and the relationship between
Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iran.
X: @Halmustafa
Pillar of strength: public diplomacy in the digital media era
Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama/Arab News/October 19, 2025
In an age where policies are crafted behind screens and perceptions are shaped
in seconds, public diplomacy has evolved from a theoretical exercise into a
pillar of national strength.
Media today is not a mere observer of events; it is a partner in shaping them, a
driving force in policy formulation, and a cornerstone in building national
images and global perceptions.
Diplomacy has left the confines of closed chambers to operate in an open digital
arena — one where official discourse meets public engagement, and politics
converges with media in a rapid-fire rhythm. As the US scholar Joseph Nye
reminds us: “Power is not what you can impose, but what you can attract.”
Public diplomacy is, in essence, the art of attraction — the ability to persuade
through credibility, culture, and values rather than rhetoric or propaganda.
President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti once said: “Media is not merely a
mirror of events; it is an instrument of development and a bridge among peoples.
The more responsible and conscious the media, the more successful and effective
diplomacy becomes.”This vision reflects a deep awareness of media’s
transformative role in promoting peace, awareness, and sustainable development —
a role inseparable from the mission of modern public diplomacy. It resonates as
well with the conviction of King Salman, who said: “Honest media is a
fundamental partner in development and a bridge of communication with the
world.”Indeed, credible media builds bridges, strengthens trust, and safeguards
the image of nations in the collective mind of humanity. Saudi Arabia’s
designation of 2025 as the Year of Media Impact is far more than a ceremonial
theme; it is a strategic affirmation of Vision 2030’s understanding that media
represents one of the most vital forms of soft power. Riyadh today beats as the
heart of Arab media, where policy, culture, and communication converge.
The Kingdom realized early that image itself is part of national strength, and
that modern media is the most powerful platform to communicate its
transformation and progress to the world. Several nations have illustrated that
media can be an instrument of national influence and global presence: The UK
leveraged the BBC as its global voice. Qatar projected influence far beyond its
borders through Al Jazeera. China connected its developmental narrative to its
global rise via CGTN. Russia used RT to convey its geopolitical worldview. South
Korea turned K-pop into a tool of cultural diplomacy. The UAE, through Expo 2020
Dubai and its global media ecosystem, presented openness as a brand of
influence. The US, through CNN, has long mastered the art of strategic
narrative.
In today’s interconnected age, those who own the story own the influence; those
who own the platform shape the global mind.
Riyadh has become a regional and international hub for crafting the Arab world’s
new image — through innovative media initiatives and advanced digital platforms
that reflect the spirit of Vision 2030 in a modern, inclusive language.
The Year of Media Impact 2025 signals a mature awareness of the media’s role as
a partner in national development and an engine of international influence.
Among the hallmarks of this transformation is the relocation of major Saudi
networks — Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, and MBC — to broadcast from Riyadh, a bold
step reflecting confidence in national capabilities and infrastructure.
Riyadh today beats as the heart of Arab media, where policy, culture, and
communication converge — symbolizing the Kingdom’s growing global presence.
Within this dynamic ecosystem, Arab News has emerged as a trailblazer of
diplomatic journalism, combining professionalism with multilingual digital
innovation. Its Editor-in-Chief, Faisal Abbas, recently announced an ambitious
plan to integrate artificial intelligence to publish content in multiple
languages — a pioneering step in bridging cultures and expanding the reach of
Saudi media worldwide.
Likewise, Al Riyadh newspaper, a pillar of Saudi and Arab journalism, remains a
beacon of thoughtful analysis and national responsibility — a platform I am
personally honored to contribute to, for its enduring legacy and commitment to
truth.
The essence of public diplomacy lies in winning minds and hearts, not in
dominating opinions.
True soft power is measured not by wealth or arsenal, but by the respect a
nation earns for its culture, ethics, and credibility.
To invest in responsible media is to invest in peace, stability, and mutual
understanding — the real foundations of global security.
In a world of shifting narratives and competing images, public diplomacy and
digital media are now one and the same — both instruments of influence.
Those who master authentic and human communication will achieve resonance that
transcends time.
As Prince Turki Al-Faisal eloquently said: “Words are a trust, and media is a
message. Whoever unites trust with message creates an impact that lasts.”
Ultimately, public diplomacy is not about making news; it is about making
meaning. It is a civilizational mission that carries the values of nations to
the world and leaves an imprint deeper than any headline.
• Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama is Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti and Dean
of the Diplomatic Corps in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
X: @dya_bamakhrama
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