Bible Quotations For today When

English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 18/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me
Mark 08/34-38/09,01: “Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 17-18/2025
Doha Summit: Islamizing the Palestinian Cause While Arab Leaders Ignore the Fact that Iran and Turkey—Patrons of Political Islam—Are the Real Enemies, Not Israel/Elias Bejjani/September 16/2025
The plight of Boutros Khawand will never be forgotten./Elias Bejjani/September 15/2024
The day the treacherous and hateful hand reached out to assassinate Bachir the man, yet it failed to kill the dream and the cause he embodied/Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
Video link to an interview with Dr. Charles Chartouni from the "Transparency" Youtube Platform
Ecuador Designates Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC as Terrorist Organizations
A link to a video featuring a very important statement by writer and historian Ibrahim Issa, titled: “An apology to all Arab Christians
Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strike in Baalbek
Ortagus to visit Lebanon on Sunday
Beirut Port explosion investigation turns a corner with arrest of MV Rhosus owner
A year later: Inside Israel’s unprecedented pager attack on Hezbollah
Hezbollah MP says Israel creating buffer zone as Lebanon’s government ‘fails’ to act
Politicians Oppose Plan to Project Images of Hezbollah Leaders on Raouche Rock
Controversy after Hezbollah decides to beam leaders' images to iconic Raouche rock
Retired servicemen block roads in Beirut over living conditions
Barrack thanks Jumblat for his role in Sweida pacification efforts
Lebanese Army seizes 64 million captagon pills in major drug bust
Qassem to wounded of pager attacks: Israel will fall because it is an occupation
Beirut Port Explosion: Grechushkin Arrest Reopens Key Questions/Moncef Ait-Kaci/This Is Beirut/September 17/2025
2026 Budget Law Draft: Cabinet to Meet Again on ‘Thursday or Friday’
Numbers & Figures/Syrians Leaving Lebanon: How Many Still Remain?/Natasha Metni Torbey/This Is Beirut/September 17/2025
Lebanese Army Seizes Largest Drug Haul to Date in Baalbeck District
The Incredible Pagers Affair: The Shadow Behind the Explosion/Natasha Metni Torbey/This is Beirut
Rifi: Complaint Against Hezbollah’s Qassem Still Pending
Same Script, Same Backdrop, Same Secretary-General/Marc Saikali/This is Beirut/September 17/2025
Retired Soldiers Protest: Roadblocks and Postponed Parliamentary Sessions
New Banknotes to Boost the Lebanese Pound/Liliane Mokbel/This is Beirut/September 17/2025

on September 17-18/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 17-18/2025
Welcome to Big Brother's Digital Prison, Part I: Central Bank Digital Currencies/Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/September 17, 2025
The Saudi-Qatari Competition for Influence in Syria/Ahmad Sharawi & Natalie Ecanow/The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune/September 17/2025
Three years later, Iran’s freedom martyr Mahsa Amini inspires demands for change/Behnam Ben Taleblu & Richard Goldberg/New York Post/September 17/2025
Jeddah Declaration as a platform for peace: Sudan’s war demands global action/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/ Al Arabiya English/Sepember 17/2025
The Nile water ‘war’ is over. Ethiopia won...If Egypt’s hands are tied, Sudan’s are broken./Elfadil Ibrahim/The Arab Weekly/September 17/2025
What can Israel learn from Sparta and Athens?/SETH J. FRANTZMAN/Face Book/September 17/2025
Slected X tweets For September 17/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 17-18/2025
Doha Summit: Islamizing the Palestinian Cause While Arab Leaders Ignore the Fact that Iran and Turkey—Patrons of Political Islam—Are the Real Enemies, Not Israel
Elias Bejjani/September 16/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147332/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfY7_9m0kuo&t=704s
The so-called “Arab-Islamic Emergency Summit” held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on September 15, 2025, gathered leaders from 60 Arab and Islamic states under the pretext of showing solidarity with Qatar after the precise Israeli airstrike that targeted Hamas leaders in Doha—a strike for which Israel’s Prime Minister openly claimed full responsibility.
Yet this summit was not about supporting Qatar. It was a theatrical propaganda show aimed at reviving the delusion of “Islamizing” the Palestinian cause—turning it from a national struggle for rights into a religious jihadist crusade. This represents a dangerous ideological regression and an undeserved gift to Israel.
Islamizing the Palestinian Cause:
Arabizing the Palestinian cause was the fatal mistake to which Said Akl pointed out.
Decades ago, the great Lebanese poet and philosopher Said Akl warned against the sin of "Arabizing" the Palestinian cause, saying, "They made the Palestinian cause an Arab cause, opening the door for Israel to turn its cause into a Jewish cause. Thus, they transformed the conflict from a political dispute into an endless war of religions." This is precisely what the Doha Summit did: It removed Palestine from its national, human rights, and humanitarian dimensions, placing it in the category of Arab fanaticism, religious extremism, and isolationism, just as the extremists on both sides, Turkey and Iran—the sponsors of terrorist and jihadist political Islam, in keeping with the entire culture of the Muslim Brotherhood—wanted. This is also the case, as the majority of the countries that participated in the farcical summit.
Erdogan and the “Liberation of Palestine”… A Renewed Ottoman Jihadism
One of the clearest moments exposing the summit’s true nature was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement declaring that “the Islamic Ummah is responsible for liberating Palestine.”
This was not support for Palestine but an open declaration of a “new Ottoman” project—draping Turkish expansionism in the cloak of religion. Erdogan, who occupies northern Syria, blackmails Arab states politically and economically, and shelters Hamas’s Muslim Brotherhood leaders, came to Doha to sell the illusion of “liberation” in exchange for influence and control.
Iran and Turkey’s Presence: Sheer Folly and Sectarian Blindness
The most surreal sight at the summit was seeing the Iranian and Turkish presidents sitting in the front rows, leading large delegations—even though they are, in reality, the Arab world’s fiercest enemies:
Iran represents the Shiite wing of political Islam, invading the Arab world through its militias: Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq.
Turkey represents the Sunni wing of political Islam, embracing the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas and financing transnational jihadist movements.
Allowing these two regimes to sit at the head of an Arab summit was the peak of strategic blindness—granting legitimacy to the very enemies who destroyed Arab capitals and wrecked regional stability.
A Sarcastic Question: Where Were Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis at This “Jihad Summit”?
If this summit was truly “Islamic” and “jihadist” as its organizers wanted, why weren’t the groups that embody this jihadism on the ground invited?
Where was Hamas, the group supposedly being supported?
Where were Hezbollah and the Houthis, whose “cause” the Iranian axis falsely claims is Palestine?
The answer is clear and ironic: their visible presence would have exposed the summit as neither Arab, nor peaceful, nor humanitarian—just a stage to whitewash jihadist terrorism with diplomatic neckties.
The Real Enemies of the Arabs: Iran and Turkey, Not Israel
What Arabs must understand—and what the Doha Summit completely ignored—is that their real enemies are Iran and Turkey, not Israel. Iran seeks to swallow the Arab East and turn it into a patchwork of sectarian Persian-controlled zones. Turkey dreams of resurrecting the Ottoman Empire on the ruins of Arab sovereignty. Both exploit the Palestinian cause as blackmail to dominate Arabs, while Israel at least does not claim to represent or lead the Arab world.
From the Arab League’s Failure to the Doha Summit’s Collapse
Since the Arab League was founded in the mid-20th century, all its summits have been nothing but empty slogans and meaningless final statements. It has neither liberated a single inch of occupied land, nor stopped a war, nor protected one Arab state from collapse or occupation. The Doha Summit did not break this miserable tradition—it was an even more pitiful and shallow version, laced with a high dose of jihadism, Islamization, and deception.
An Iranian-Turkish Summit with an Arab Façade… and Arab Witnesses of Falsehood
Despite its “Arab-Islamic” label, the Doha Summit was in reality an Iranian-Turkish summit with an Arab façade. The Arab leaders present were mere witnesses of falsehood—blind to their real enemies, applauding jihadist speeches, and granting Arab cover to Persian and Ottoman expansionist projects that have nothing to do with Palestine or peace.They have willingly reduced themselves to tools of their own destruction.
Qatar… Sponsor of Jihadist Terrorism and Muslim Brotherhood Propaganda
Any discussion of the Doha Summit must also recall Qatar’s long-standing destructive role:
Financing political Islam movements and jihadist groups from Afghanistan to Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.
Sheltering the leaders of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood and offering them media platforms.
Sponsoring and funding Hamas politically, militarily, and through propaganda.
Running Al Jazeera TV, which has turned into a global platform to market jihadist and incitement rhetoric, whitewash terrorists, and amplify their narratives under the guise of “journalism.”

The plight of Boutros Khawand will never be forgotten.
Elias Bejjani/September 15/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/134486/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJj88KC4u8&t=2s
Use your bodies for the glory of God
The First Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians /06/18-19): ” Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
On September 15, 1992, Boutros Khawand, a senior official in the Lebanese Kataeb Party, bid farewell to his wife, Janet, and left his home in Hourj Thabet. It was an ordinary morning, but little did he know it would be the last time his family saw him. At 8:30 AM, as Khawand approached his car, a group of eight armed, unmasked men ambushed him. Despite his attempts to resist, they forcibly abducted him and drove off in a van. Since that fateful moment, Khawand’s fate has remained a mystery.
Boutros Khawand’s abduction is not an isolated incident; it is emblematic of a broader human tragedy that has haunted Lebanon for decades because of the Syrian, Palestinian and Iranian evil occupations. Thousands of Lebanese citizens were kidnapped by the Syrian occupation during its presence in Lebanon and imprisoned in Syria’s notorious jails. These individuals were forcibly disappeared, with no official acknowledgment from the Syrian regime regarding their whereabouts. Furthermore, the regime has consistently denied human rights organizations access to investigate their fates. Under both Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian regime has maintained this cruel policy of denial, deepening the wounds inflicted on Lebanon.
Thousands of Lebanese—clergymen, soldiers, political activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens—were abducted by Syrian forces without trial or charges. These victims remain at the mercy of a regime that targeted anyone suspected of opposition or disloyalty. Numerous local, regional, and international human rights organizations have tried to gain access to Syria’s prisons to uncover the truth about these detainees. Yet, the criminal Assad regime has consistently blocked all efforts to shine a light on this dark chapter.
The Assad regime, in the eras of both father and son, late Hafez and the current Bashar, has shown itself to be devoid of humanity. For decades, it has perpetrated acts of repression, terror, torture, and disappearance against thousands of innocent people—both Lebanese and Syrians. What makes this tragedy even more heartbreaking is the regime’s ongoing refusal to acknowledge the existence and fate of these prisoners, as though attempting to erase their memory and silence the calls for justice.
The fate of Boutros Khawand, along with many other Lebanese held in Assad’s prisons, remains unknown. Are they alive? Have they perished under torture? No one knows—except their captors. The Syrian regime, which has ruled with an iron fist for decades, refuses to provide any information about these disappeared individuals, ignoring the desperate pleas of families who have spent years searching for their loved ones.
While the Syrian regime bears much of the blame, the responsibility for the kidnapping and disappearance of Lebanese citizens does not rest solely with them. Many Lebanese political forces, especially those in power during the Syrian occupation, were complicit in these crimes. Numerous parties and figures collaborated with the Syrian regime, handing over Lebanese citizens to Syrian intelligence, betraying Lebanon’s sovereignty and its people’s rights. Some of these collaborators remain in positions of power today, having not only shielded the truth but also exploited the suffering of the families of the disappeared for personal or political gain.
It is tragic that the issue of Lebanon’s disappeared risks fading into obscurity, especially with the lack of political will to pursue justice. However, there is no doubt that this wound will remain etched in the collective memory of the Lebanese people. They will continue to seek the truth and hold those responsible accountable—chief among them the Assad regime’s symbols and every Lebanese figure who played a role in this crime.
Boutros Khawand is one of the most poignant examples of this humanitarian tragedy. More than three decades have passed since his disappearance, yet the question remains: Where is Boutros Khawand? Will he ever return to his family? One undeniable truth is that the Assad regime knows the fate of Boutros Khawand, just as it knows the fates of the thousands of Lebanese who vanished in its prisons.
In conclusion, the Lebanese people will not stop demanding the truth, nor will they forgive those Lebanese Trojans who participated in the abduction of their citizens or in covering up the Assad regime’s crimes. The Assad regime and its local Trojan allies will forever be remembered by the free people of Lebanon as symbols of betrayal and injustice. Meanwhile, the plight of Boutros Khawand and Lebanon’s missing will never be forgotten.

The day the treacherous and hateful hand reached out to assassinate Bachir the man, yet it failed to kill the dream and the cause he embodied
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147262/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTL_sVeE4kE&t=260s
On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 1982, Lebanon witnessed a tragic day that will never fade from its memory nor from the conscience of the Lebanese who believe in their unique identity. That day became a defining milestone in the history of the Lebanese Resistance — a torch still held high with unwavering faith and the steadfast determination of saints by Bashir’s faithful followers.
On that day, the treacherous hand of hatred struck and killed Bashir’s body, yet it utterly failed to kill Bashir’s cause, his ambition, his thought, his patriotism, and his spirit of resistance. On that day, the Cross of Lebanon was lifted to heaven bearing upon it the Martyr of Lebanon, President Sheikh Bashir Gemayel, surrounded by his twenty-three righteous companions who had walked with him on his earthly journey — a journey he dedicated wholly to Lebanon and its sacred cause — and who were granted to accompany him as well on his return to the Paradise of the righteous and the saints.
Bashir was raised upon the Cross of Lebanon after he and his companions had watered the blessed soil of the Land of the Cedars with their pure and sacred blood. He was lifted up surrounded by his martyred comrades to stand with them before his Lord, with a clear conscience, abundant faith, and sacred purity. He rose to heaven after fulfilling his earthly mission, after having drawn the clear contours of the Lebanese Cause, planted within the hearts of the Lebanese the spirit of resistance and sacrifice, and instilled in their souls the unshakable belief in the inevitable victory of the Land of the Message — the land where the Lord Jesus performed His first miracle and which the Virgin Mary blessed, making it a sanctuary for the faithful.
God Almighty willed to distinguish Bashir in his death just as He had distinguished him in his life, lifting him up to His Paradise on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross — the same Cross on which the Only Begotten Son was nailed for the salvation of all humanity. And as the Apostle Paul said:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”(1 Corinthians 1:18)
Bashir embraced the Cross and made it a beacon, a path, and a way of life in spreading his Lebanese message — a message of coexistence, love, brotherhood, loyalty, civilization, culture, dignity, and honor. He ascended to heaven leaving behind his values, his teachings, his spirit, and his love for the homeland in the hearts and consciences of his people whom he loved, having offered himself as a sacrifice for their salvation and freedom. And as Jesus Christ said:
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”(John 15:13)
Whoever is protected by the Cross cannot be overcome by demons, nor can the holiness of his cause be defiled by the heresies of the Pharisees, the scribes, and their ilk. And just as Jesus Christ conquered death, shattered its sting, and rose from the tomb on the third day, Bashir’s national and spiritual message shall remain alive until the Day of Judgment. It is this very message that will one day raise Lebanon from the grave of subjugation, dependency, servitude, selfishness, and occupation.
Bashir’s Lebanon will never die, for it lives on in the struggle, resistance, and pride of every Lebanese who truly believes in Bashir’s dream — the dream of the Cause — and who wishes to live with head held high, in dignity and pride, in a free, sovereign, independent, and democratic homeland. A homeland overshadowed by justice, equality, and decent living; a homeland liberated from foreign armies, mercenaries, Trojan traitors, and subversive agents; a homeland governed by its own people, where human rights are respected and human dignity is preserved.
Bashir struggled to restore unity to the Lebanese land, sovereignty to the Land of the Cedars, freedom and dignity to the Lebanese person, authority to the state, and effectiveness to its institutions. He was the one who declared loudly: “We want to live with our heads held high, and what must be changed is the mentality — to renew the person in order to renew Lebanon.”And as the prophet Malachi said in the Holy Bible: “The law of truth was in his mouth.”(Malachi 2:6)
Bashir, as he offered himself as a living sacrifice upon the altar of the homeland, was following in the footsteps of Christ, who offered Himself out of love for the world. He freely chose the path of Golgotha, believing that there can be no resurrection without the Cross, and no freedom without laying down one’s life. His blood and the blood of his companions were not shed in vain, for they mingled with the soil of Lebanon to sanctify it and give it life — just as the blood of Christ mingled with the wood of the Cross to grant the world salvation and eternal life.
Thus, Bashir’s martyrdom remains a sign of hope and faith: hope in Lebanon’s resurrection from the death of bondage, and faith that whoever lays down his life for his beloved will surely rise with Christ in glory — and with him, Lebanon shall also rise.

Video link to an interview with Dr. Charles Chartouni from the "Transparency" Youtube Platform
September 17, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147359/
Dr. Charles Chartouni: Qatar is betting on a stalemate... and Hamas has become mere pawns!
In a fiery episode of "Politics and People, Dr. Chartouni university professor and political writer, lays out the facts and reveals the shocking truths behind the scenes of the crisis in the region. From the Arab-Islamic summit, which he considers "a belated summit," to Qatar's double game and Israel's escalation in Syria and Lebanon.
Chartouni analyzes in depth the "conflict dynamics" created by Iran in the region, asserting that Gaza and Hezbollah are merely tools in its destabilizing policy. He reveals the real reasons behind Israel's targeting of Qatari mediation, noting that Hamas is not part of the future solution. He also discusses the Lebanese army's disarmament plan, describing it as "a time bomb" due to its protracted nature.
Watch the full episode to discover why Dr. Chartouni believes that diplomatic solutions are the only way to stop the "destructive cycle of violence" and how Arab states can stop "lying" and exploiting the Palestinian cause.
01:50 The Arab Summit: Late and a cover for Iran's destructive policy.
03:50 "Does Israel want a just peace?": An analysis of the president's speech.
08:10 Qatar's ambiguous role: Why did Israel target it?
11:45 American contradictions: Is there a double standard regarding the crisis? 16:05 "These Arab leaders are merely weeping over a dead horse": Shartouni harshly criticizes.
18:50 Arab reactions: Are they sufficient in light of Israeli red lines?
20:00 The only solution: A roadmap to end the conflict.
24:55 Hamas is not an ally: The story of enriching themselves at the expense of the Gazan people.
31:25 Netanyahu fails to contain Hezbollah and Hamas? A new dynamic in the region.
36:15 The Israeli army's incursion into Syria: Repositioning to protect the border.
40:00 The Lebanese government's stance: "A correct and honorable position," but...
41:20 The Lebanese army's plan: Is it a ruse to give Hezbollah more time?

Ecuador Designates Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC as Terrorist Organizations
FDD//September 17/2025
Latest Developments
Noboa Issues Decree Against Iranian-Backed Terror: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa signed an executive decree on September 16, designating Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as terrorist organizations. Executive Decree No. 128 was issued after Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) warned earlier this year of the strong presence of these terrorist organizations in Latin America and their possible ties to Ecuadorian criminal networks. The decree asserted that the three groups pose a direct threat to the sovereignty, public safety, and integrity of Ecuador, instructing the CNI to examine the groups’ links to Ecuadorian criminal gangs, coordinating with other regional intelligence agencies, if necessary, to combat the threat.
Move Comes After Rubio Visit: The decree was effected after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Ecuador to meet with Noboa on September 4, resulting in the U.S. designation of two Ecuadorian criminal gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos, as foreign terrorist organizations. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the decree, calling it a “brave decision” that “sends a clear message against the Iranian terrorist network and strengthens global security.” He urged “more countries in Latin America and around the world to follow this path.”
Iran’s Active Proxies in Latin America: Iranian proxies have long embedded themselves in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Colombia. A July report by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism exposed Iranian incitement operations in Brazil and Argentina acting under the guise of civil society organizations including mosques, non-profit organizations, and religious centers.
FDD Expert Response
“In addition to Hamas massacring and kidnapping more than 25 citizens of Latin American countries on October 7, 2023, the continent itself has been used as Iran’s terror and corruption playground for far too long. Using its proxies, the Islamic regime has wreaked havoc in the region, using it to engage in weapons, contraband, and narco-trafficking. While some of the IRGC-backed terrorism plots have been foiled, others, tragically, have not. Ecuador will take heat from Tehran, but ultimately, this action, if forcefully implemented, will limit the Islamic Republic’s ability to use the country to export its ideological and militant revolution, which only brings instability to Ecuadorian citizens.” — Toby Dershowitz, Managing Director of FDD Action
“President Noboa’s decree brings Ecuador into the community of states in Latin America determined to root out Iranian terror proxies from the continent. Ecuador has recognized that Iran is a threat to, as the decree states, ‘public safety, sovereignty, and the integrity of the State.’ Other countries in the region face a similar threat and should respond similarly.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Director

A link to a video featuring a very important statement by writer and historian Ibrahim Issa, titled: “An apology to all Arab Christians
I am sorry… A realistic explanation of the situation of persecuted Christians in Arab countries.”
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147365/
September 17, 2025

Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strike in Baalbek
AFP/September 17/2025
An Israeli strike on the eastern city of Baalbek killed at least two people on Wednesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that the strike was carried out by “an Israeli drone.” Israel frequently launches strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire that brought its most recent war with the group to a halt in November. Baalbek, a millennia-old city and home to a set of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Roman temples, sits in the Bekaa Valley, which is close to the Syrian border and has been a stronghold for Hezbollah. Under pressure from the United States and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government is now moving to disarm Hezbollah. The group, which previously dominated Lebanese politics and was thought to be better armed than the military, was severely weakened by the war with Israel.
According to Beirut, the Lebanese army must complete its disarmament of Hezbollah in areas near the Israeli border within three months.

Ortagus to visit Lebanon on Sunday
Naharnet/September 17/2025
U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus will visit Lebanon on Sunday to “look into the course of the plan that has been devised by the Lebanese Army as an executive mechanism for the government’s decision on monopolizing arms,” prominent sources said. Ortagus will also take part in a meeting for the ceasefire monitoring committee on Monday, the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper. “So far, Ortagus has not requested appointments with political officials and her tour will be limited to military and security meetings,” informed sources told the daily. “The file of arms has not been put aside as some thought after the Sep. 5 session and there was no settlement or retreat, seeing as Washington is rather pressing on with its scheme and Ortagus’ visit is part of the U.S. follow-up on every step carried out by the army, to ensure that there is no evasion or delay,” the sources added.

Beirut Port explosion investigation turns a corner with arrest of MV Rhosus owner
LBCI/September 17/2025
Igor Grechushkin, a name closely associated with the Beirut Port explosion, has been detained by Bulgarian authorities. He is the owner of the Russian-flagged ship MV Rhosus, which docked at the port in 2013 carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that exploded in 2020.
For years, the reason MV Rhosus entered Beirut remained a mystery. Documents show that its original route was from Georgia to Mozambique. Who decided to change the destination—Grechushkin himself or the ship’s captain—remains unclear. Similarly unanswered is why the vessel stopped at two ports before reaching Beirut, in Turkey and Greece. During the tenure of Judge Ghassan Oweidat, Lebanon’s Public Prosecution charged Grechushkin with sending explosives and violating maritime transport laws. The investigating judge at the time, Fadi Sawan, issued an absentee arrest warrant that was circulated through Interpol. Five years later, Bulgarian authorities arrested the Russian-Cypriot ship owner at Sofia Airport. Lebanese courts have now begun preparing to request his questioning. Under Bulgarian law, authorities have a 40-day window to compile the extradition file. Justice Minister Adel Nassar told LBCI that, under a judicial cooperation agreement between Sofia and Beirut, the Public Prosecution has started preparing the extradition request and will formally ask Bulgarian authorities to transfer the detainee to Lebanon. Nassar said the file is expected to be sent to Bulgaria next week. While the Public Prosecution handles the legal aspects, the Ministry of Justice is managing technical preparations, including working with a sworn translator to expedite the file and arranging a meeting soon with the Bulgarian ambassador in Beirut. Nassar also asked Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji to issue instructions to send the judicial file to Bulgaria as soon as it is ready, even if Rajji is in New York.When the file reaches Sofia, the decision on extradition will rest with Bulgarian authorities. Lebanese courts could also request to question Grechushkin via Zoom, since the investigating judge, Judge Tarek Bitar, is barred from traveling under a decision issued by Oweidat following a case against him. Whether Grechushkin is extradited or not, proceedings in the Beirut Port explosion case will continue.

A year later: Inside Israel’s unprecedented pager attack on Hezbollah
LBCI/September 17/2025
It has been a year since the events that remain indelibly etched in Lebanese memory. On the morning of September 17, Israeli forces set off explosives hidden in pagers, later targeting additional wireless devices used by Hezbollah. What new details have emerged over the past year? The operation was a meticulously planned intelligence effort that took years. Israel planted small explosive devices inside thousands of communication devices Hezbollah ordered through companies that later turned out to be fictitious. Inside each pager battery, Mossad hid approximately six grams of the highly explosive PETN, along with a detonator made of a highly flammable substance. The unusual element: detonators are typically metallic cylinders, not the material placed in the pagers. Over the year, further details have emerged from two senior retired Mossad agents who played leading roles in the operation.
The operation was set in motion from Tel Aviv at the push of a button, though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed seven months later that the timing had been forced earlier than originally planned. Netanyahu himself presented a golden pager to U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting in Washington. On the device’s screen appeared the last instruction seen by thousands of Hezbollah members before the simultaneous explosions: “Press with both hands.” The pager detonations blinded hundreds, severed fingers, and killed nearly 40 people, including children.The September 17, 2024, operation was unprecedented in history and marked a turning point in the open war on Lebanon. On its first anniversary, the central question remains: how did Hezbollah fall for the security and technical deception? From fictitious companies to oversized devices and technical inspections, the ruse succeeded.
Notably, Hezbollah had informed Turkish authorities earlier this year about another shipment of Explosives-laden pagers at Istanbul Airport intended for Lebanon—after the September 17 explosions. Hezbollah has offered no public explanation of what occurred or the results of its internal investigations, leaving the unraveling of the largest intelligence operation in modern history reliant on Israel’s disclosures.

Hezbollah MP says Israel creating buffer zone as Lebanon’s government ‘fails’ to act
LBCI/September 17/2025
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah accused Israel of occupying around 100 square kilometers of Lebanese territory along the southern border, saying it has created a buffer zone where life is effectively banned, similar to several border villages. Fadlallah charged that Israel continues its “daily killings” of Lebanese citizens while the government fails to take action or even raise its voice internationally to stop the bloodshed. He stressed that Hezbollah is not subject to clauses on disarming militias, since its role falls under the use of all means — chiefly armed resistance — to reclaim occupied territory, a principle endorsed by successive governments for more than 35 years. Fadlallah further accused the government of deliberately overlooking reconstruction, saying the state budget included no allocations for it. He urged the cabinet to honor its pledges during ongoing budget discussions.

Politicians Oppose Plan to Project Images of Hezbollah Leaders on Raouche Rock
This is Beirut/September 17/2025
Hezbollah has stirred controversy among Lebanese politicians after announcing on Tuesday that the images of former Secretary Generals Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine would be projected on the Rock of Raouche on the anniversary of their deaths.
During a press conference, Hezbollah’s head of activities, Ali Daher, said that the Raouche Rock would be illuminated with the two former leaders’ faces on September 25, between 5 PM and 7 PM. The decision was met with heavy objection and criticism from public and political communities, amid fears that national monuments could be exploited for sectarian or partisan purposes. Beirut Municipal Council member Mohammad Balouza confirmed to Houna Lebanon that the municipality hadn’t received any official request in this regard.
“The news reached us via social media and there was no direct communication with us,” stated Balouza, noting that Hezbollah is supposed to obtain authorization from the municipality for such a projection in a public space. When asked if it was possible to light up the landmark without obtaining official permission from the municipality, Balouza said, “In such a case, a decision would be made by the Governor of Beirut to suspend the activity, issue a warning, or impose fines on the violating party in accordance with the law.”
MP Nadim Gemayel took to X to voice his objection, stating, “The Rock of Raouche is not a propaganda billboard for any party, nor is it an arena for symbolic displays that encapsulate Beirut’s identity.” He added, “Beirut is a city of all its people, and its public property belongs to no one. Imposing Hezbollah symbols on the waterfront marginalizes the voices of the Lebanese, especially the people of Beirut who reject the idea of weapons and hegemony.”For his part, MP Ashraf Rifi affirmed in a statement that the Rock of Raouche is “a unifying national symbol, not a space for rejected sectarianism.”MP Ghassan Hasbani also commented on his X account, “The Raouche Rock should be adorned with the colors of the nation only, and not be used for any other slogan.”

Controversy after Hezbollah decides to beam leaders' images to iconic Raouche rock
Naharnet/September 17/2025
Hezbollah’s decision to illuminate Beirut’s iconic Pigeons’ Rock (Rock of Raouche) with pictures of its slain leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine to mark their first assassination anniversary has stirred controversy in the country. A Hezbollah spokesman said the move would take place from 5pm to 7pm on September 25, accompanied by “sea activities.”The announcement prompted several Beirut lawmakers to declare their rejection of the move. MP Waddah al-Sadek said the move is “unacceptable on all levels.” “They are not official figures and their pictures will be displayed in a city whose most residents reject their policies, not to mention that some accuse them in taking part in the murder of their leader (ex-PM Rafik Hariri),” Sadek added, noting that Hezbollah “has not obtained any permission from the municipality of the (Interior) Ministry” to carry out the activity. “What’s worse is that their party, as usual, warns against being dragged into a civil war but wastes no chance to provoke Beirut’s residents. We must also not forget that the ‘glorious day’ is still carved in the memory of the Beirutis,” Sadek went on to say, referring to Nasrallah’s description of the May 7, 2008 day, when Hezbollah and its allies staged an armed takeover of parts of the capital. “The government, which has shown its strength in its (latest) decisions (on arms monopolization), must prevent Hezbollah and others from making any provocative moves in order to preserve civil peace in the country,” Sadek added.Beirut MPs Fouad Makhzoumi and Nabil Bader also wrote similar posts on the X platform. On social media, Hezbollah supporters meanwhile reminded that the rock had been illuminated in the past with pictures of Saudi King Salman, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and the Saudi, French and Emirati flags. Hezbollah’s historic and revered leader Nasrallah and his successor Safieddine were killed in huge Israeli airstrikes on their underground bunkers during last year’s Israeli war on the group. The Raouche Rocks are iconic natural limestone formations off the coast of the Raouche area in Beirut. Named Pigeons' Rocks for the wild rock doves that historically nested in them, these two massive rock islets have been shaped by erosion and are a popular spot for tourists and locals to admire from the nearby corniche or through boat tours that navigate through the arch of the largest rock.

Retired servicemen block roads in Beirut over living conditions
Naharnet/September 17/2025
The Finance Ministry said Wednesday afternoon that active and retired servicemen can receive their monthly financial aid as of Thursday, after retired servicemen blocked the Ring, Saifi and Beshara al-Khoury roads in Beirut to protest their living conditions and a delay in the payment of their compensations. The roads were reopened later in the day, after the cutting off of the vital routes worsened traffic congestion in the capital and led to altercations between protesters and motorists. The retired servicemen had earlier tried to remove the barbed wire around the Grand Serail before retreating at the request of one of the protest leaders.

Barrack thanks Jumblat for his role in Sweida pacification efforts
Naharnet/September 17/2025
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack on Wednesday extended gratitude to Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblat over his role in the pacification efforts in Syria’s Sweida, the scene of recent sectarian bloodshed. “Sincere thanks to Walid Jumblatt for his wisdom and unparalleled stature in harnessing the collective views of valued Druze leaders, who live within various man-made boundaries and borders, but nevertheless are committed to a God that knows no borders or boundaries,” Barrack said in a post on X. “The Druze community can thrive as part of one Syria and in tolerance and cooperation with their Druze cousins in the region, who likewise live within their own nation states but share one God. This is a shared goal of all parties involved,” he added. According to media reports, Jumblat visited Turkey and held talks with U.S. and Saudi officials in order to reach an agreement for Sweida. Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced on Tuesday a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province. The situation in the province has been tense since the sectarian clashes, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said killed more than 2,000 people, including 789 Druze civilians "summarily executed by defense and interior ministry personnel." "The Syrian government has laid out a clear roadmap for action... that supports justice and builds trust," Shaibani said in a press conference, adding that the plan involves holding accountable those who attacked civilians, compensating those affected and "launching a process of internal reconciliation." The implementation will be accompanied by a United Nations investigation into the violence, according to Shaibani. Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi, present at the event with Barrack, said a "joint Syrian-Jordanian-American mechanism" would ensure the plan's implementation. The bloodshed erupted on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces and tribal fighters from other parts of Syria. Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze. Barrack said the steps taken by the Syrian government on Tuesday were "historic". Earlier in the day, Syrian authorities announced the creation of a new internal security chief position for Sweida city, naming a member of the Druze community to the post.

Lebanese Army seizes 64 million captagon pills in major drug bust
Agence France Presse/September 17/2025
The Lebanese Army said on Wednesday that it has seized 64 million captagon pills in the country's east in one of the largest operations against the illicit stimulant in the country. Lebanon has faced pressure from Gulf states to counter the production and trafficking of drugs, particularly the amphetamine-like narcotic captagon, for which the conservative monarchies are a major market. "After monitoring and tracking the movements of drug-dealing gangs in the Bekaa Valley, a patrol from the Intelligence Directorate, supported by an army unit, raided a facility in the town of Boudai, Baalbek, and seized approximately 64 million captagon pills," the Lebanese army said in a statement, calling it "one of the most important" drug busts in the country. The army also seized "79 barrels of chemicals prepared for drug manufacturing, in addition to a number of machines used to manufacture them."Baalbek is close to Syria, where captagon became the largest export following the eruption of the civil war in 2011 and a key source of illicit funding for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. In Lebanon, Assad's ally Hezbollah also faced accusations of using the captagon trade to finance itself. The synthetic drug has flooded the region, with neighboring countries occasionally announcing captagon seizures and asking Lebanon and Syria to ramp up efforts to combat the trade.

Qassem to wounded of pager attacks: Israel will fall because it is an occupation
Associated Press/September 17/2025
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Wednesday made a video message to the wounded of the 2024 Israeli pager attacks, marking the first anniversary of the bloody operation that resembled the opening strike of an all-out war against Hezbollah.
He described the wounded of those attacks at the “pioneers of insight, the key to hope, and the love of eternal life in obedience to God Almighty.”“You are the light through which we see the safety of the path, and you are the life that gives the true pulse for continuity,” he added.
“What the Israeli enemy wanted was to nullify your power. It wanted to remove you from the battle. Now you have entered it with greater strength and greater energy. Some of you want to complete your university studies, some of you want to open a workshop, some of you want to work in the social field, one of you wants to advance your cultural standing, and another wants to work in the media,” Qassem said. “With the help of the brothers and sisters around you, there are innovations that you are now offering,” he added. “Know that Israel will fall, because it is an occupation, oppression, crime, and aggression, and because the resistance fighters will confront it until liberation on the path of one of the two good things (victory or martyrdom),” Qassem went on to say. At that moment on Sept. 17, 2024, thousands of pagers distributed to the Hezbollah group were blowing up in homes, offices, shops and on frontlines across Lebanon, remotely detonated by Israel. After years of planning, Israel had infiltrated the supply chain of Hezbollah, the most powerful of Iran's armed proxies in the Middle East. It used shell companies to sell the rigged devices to commercial associates of Hezbollah in an operation aimed at disrupting the Iran-backed group's communication networks and harming and disorienting its members. The pager attack was stunning in its scope. It wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, including two children.
Israel boasts of it as a show of its technological and intelligence prowess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently presented U.S. President Donald Trump with a golden pager as a gift. Human rights and United Nations reports, however, say the attack may have violated international law, calling it indiscriminate. Hezbollah, also a major Shiite political party with a wide network of social institutions, has acknowledged that most of those wounded and killed were its fighters or personnel. The simultaneous explosions in populated areas, however, also wounded many civilians.A year later, survivors are on a slow, painful path to recovery. They are easily identifiable, with missing eyes, faces laced with scars, hands with missing fingers — signs of the moment when they checked the buzzing devices.
The day after the pager bombings, Hezbollah walkie-talkies exploded in another Israeli attack that killed at least 25 people and injured over 600, according to Lebanon's health ministry. Israel then launched a campaign of airstrikes that killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and hundreds of other militants and civilians. The war ended with a ceasefire in November. Pagers are widely seen as outdated, but they were a main part of Hezbollah's communication network. Nasrallah had repeatedly warned against cellphones. Israel could easily track them, he said. With old pagers breaking down, the group ordered new ones. Israel sold the rigged devices through shell companies. According to a Hezbollah official, the group had ordered 15,000 pagers. Only 8,000 arrived, and nearly half were distributed to members. Others destined for Lebanon were intercepted in Turkey days after the attack when Hezbollah tipped off officials there. Hezbollah's investigation into how its communications networks were infiltrated found that the purchase of the rigged pagers resulted from negligence, and its officials were cleared of suspicions of collaborating with Israel, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe.Some Hezbollah members had complained the new pagers were too bulky. Some didn't use them because batteries died quickly or heated up.

Beirut Port Explosion: Grechushkin Arrest Reopens Key Questions
Moncef Ait-Kaci/This Is Beirut/September 17/2025
Five years after the tragedy at Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020, the arrest of Igor Grechushkin in Bulgaria has brought renewed attention to a long-stalled case. The 48-year-old Russo-Cypriot, identified as the owner of the cargo ship Rhosus, was apprehended on September 5 at Sofia Airport under an Interpol Red Notice issued at Lebanon’s request. He has since been placed in pre-trial detention for 40 days, giving Beirut time to submit a possible extradition request. The Rhosus was far from an ordinary ship. Decrepit, burdened with debt, and repeatedly banned from sailing, it was carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in 2013 – a chemical classified as explosive under Lebanese law when its nitrogen concentration exceeds 33.5%. During an unscheduled stop in Beirut, the cargo ship was detained and ultimately abandoned in the port. Grechushkin, the ship’s operator, left Lebanon, leaving the crew on board to fend for themselves. But the Rhosus was not only decrepit; it had already drawn scrutiny for its irregularities and murky connections. Behind Igor Grechushkin’s name lies a web of shell companies. Several investigations have pointed to the role of a Cypriot ship-owner, Charalambos Manoli, described as the ship’s real owner. For the families of the victims, the ship’s route is far from a technical footnote. “The journey of the Rhosus is crucial to understanding who owned the ammonium nitrate, who ordered its transfer, and whether it was really a coincidence,” said their lawyer, Cécile Roukoz, in an interview with This is Beirut.
An Investigation Hindered by Roadblocks
Stored carelessly in Warehouse 12 at the port, the cargo eventually exploded on August 4, 2020, killing more than 200 people, injuring thousands, and causing widespread destruction across Lebanon’s capital. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
Since then, the Lebanese investigation has proceeded sporadically. Investigating judge Tarek Bitar, appointed after his predecessor stepped down, was forced to halt proceedings in January 2023 due to political roadblocks. He resumed the case in early 2025 under the promise of independence publicly affirmed by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Yet the central question remains: who, in Lebanon and abroad, bears responsibility for this deadly cargo?
What the Arrest Could Expose
Grechushkin’s arrest could provide new insights into the case. He might reveal the true origin of the nitrate, its intended destination – officially Mozambique, but possibly Syria – and why it was unloaded in Beirut. He could also clarify the murky ownership of the ship and whether he was merely a figurehead or played a more central role. He may also be questioned about the Rhosus’ 2018 sinking, which some see as an attempt to destroy evidence. For the victims’ families, every answer matters. “We naturally see this arrest as a positive step, as each piece of information brings us closer to the truth,” stressed Roukoz. “But we want the full truth, not selective justice.” The process, however, remains uncertain. Lebanon and Bulgaria do not have an extradition treaty. Lebanese authorities have 40 days to submit a complete and substantiated file. In the meantime, Judge Bitar could delay the publication of his indictment. These uncertainties have only heightened the families’ frustration, as they continue to call for a transparent investigation. “The victims’ blood must not be used to justify injustice against anyone,” stressed Roukoz. In her view, Grechushkin’s arrest will only matter if it leads to questioning everyone involved in the case, ensuring that the real perpetrators are brought to justice.
All Eyes on October 4
Igor Grechushkin’s arrest does not bring the case to a close. If anything, it underscores the many lingering questions: the nitrate’s true destination, the role of shell companies, and the Lebanese state’s responsibility for its negligent storage. At the same time, it offers a glimmer of hope for a renewed investigation, even as Lebanese society continues to grapple with a long-standing absence of justice.The victims’ families are determined to keep the pressure on. Following their monthly tradition on the 4th of each month, they plan to gather again in Beirut. Speaking about the upcoming meeting, Roukoz said that October 4 could mark a significant step: “If nothing happens by then, beyond the usual signs and statements, we may raise new slogans, push the Lebanese authorities to act on the extradition, and send a clear message to Bulgaria.”

2026 Budget Law Draft: Cabinet to Meet Again on ‘Thursday or Friday’
This Is Beirut/September 17/2025
Information Minister Paul Morcos said on Wednesday that the 2026 budget law draft will be completed on Thursday or Friday after the cabinet convenes to review it. “The government is examining the budget realistically, and we are working to secure revenues to meet the needs of the administrative corps, which has salaries and legitimate demands,” stated Morcos. He added, “The government has extensively discussed the 2026 budget, and our concern is to achieve a balance between revenues and expenditures to avoid a deficit.” Furthermore, Morcos said that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took the opportunity to commend the efforts of the Lebanese Army, which on Wednesday seized the largest quantity of drugs on Lebanese territory during a raid on a facility in Bouday, Baalbeck. Approximately 64 million Captagon pills and 79 barrels of chemicals used for drug manufacturing were seized.

Numbers & Figures/Syrians Leaving Lebanon: How Many Still Remain?
Natasha Metni Torbey/This Is Beirut/September 17/2025
Since January 2025, more than 238,000 Syrians have left Lebanon for their home country, according to updated figures from the General Security Directorate as of September 11. On that day alone, an estimated 280 to 300 refugees crossed into Syria through the Masnaa border crossing, traveling in a convoy of ten buses and ten trucks loaded with their belongings toward the provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib. This return was part of the second convoy in the voluntary repatriation program, coordinated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with Lebanon’s General Security Directorate.The convoys mark the start of a slow process: Lebanon is beginning to ease the burden of hosting Syrians who, since the outbreak of the war in 2011, have placed heavy demands on its resources and daily life. Still, despite this initiative, large-scale, long-term returns remain a distant prospect.
Demographic Strain
Although their presence has never been precisely quantified — statistics are scarce in a country where little is regulated — Lebanon’s General Security Directorate told This is Beirut that roughly 1,245,251 Syrian displaced persons were still registered with the UNHCR and present in Lebanon as of September 11, 2025. But what about those not registered with the UN agency? On this point, neither General Security nor the UNHCR has offered a clear response. The figures may have risen further following Ahmad al-Sharaa’s rise to power and clashes along the Syrian border in December 2024, with roughly 199,204 new Syrians entering Lebanon without UNHCR registration between December 8, 2024, and June 10, 2025. The numbers are particularly high in certain regions. According to a General Security official, about 70,000 new arrivals have settled in the Beqaa Valley and Baalbeck-Hermel, compared with 45,000 in Akkar and northern Lebanon.In these regions, local authorities are growing increasingly vocal about their frustrations: soaring rents, overcrowded schools, overburdened clinics and heightened competition in a labor market already crippled by the economic crisis. Tensions are reaching a breaking point, and the strain is also being felt within the Syrian community in Lebanon. The numbers reflect this pressure. According to Theresa Fraiha, communications officer at the UNHCR, interviewed by This is Beirut, more than 114,000 registered displaced persons have already expressed interest in joining the voluntary return program. Their names are currently on a waiting list compiled for this purpose, though the timing and organization of the next convoys remain uncertain. A General Security official told This is Beirut that “a schedule of upcoming convoys has been set up to support the voluntary return of displaced persons over the coming weeks, departing from various regions of Lebanon to several towns and villages in Syria.”He added, “At this time, we cannot specify the exact number of remaining convoys, nor the final end date of the program. Everything depends on strict adherence to the measures outlined in the aforementioned schedule.”Fraiha added that “to support those choosing to return, the UNHCR and IOM have stepped up their assistance to ensure the process is safe, dignified and sustainable. This includes cash support, legal guidance and help with transportation.”
The Voluntary Return Program Explained
On July 1, 2025, the UNHCR- and IOM-backed voluntary return program was launched to assist Syrians in Lebanon who choose to return home voluntarily and need transportation assistance. Under the program, each family member receives a one-time cash grant of $100 and support for travel through official border points, including Arida, Qaa and Masnaa. The UNHCR provides guidance on exit procedures, essential documents and recommendations for preparing the journey. Meanwhile, the IOM handles the transportation process, including pre-departure coordination, medical screening when needed and the transfer of personal belongings. Meanwhile, to support the return process, Lebanon’s General Security Directorate issued a circular on July 1, 2025, introducing several facilitative measures. These include the temporary waiver of fines for irregular stays and the lifting of re-entry bans, in effect from July 1 to September 30, 2025. According to Fraiha, the program has two components. First, the “self-organized” voluntary return program supported by the UNHCR. In this case, displaced persons registered with the UNHCR who wish to return to Syria can contact the agency to receive information, services and financial assistance for their return. Second, the “organized” voluntary return program supported by both the UNHCR and IOM. Registered displaced persons who choose to return to Syria can contact the UNHCR to receive information, services, financial assistance and transportation support.
“Refugees receive a cash grant from the UNHCR and can either arrange their own transportation to Syria or join the convoys organized by the IOM and UNHCR,” she explained, to highlight the difference between the two types of return.
Necessary Steps for Syrians Wishing to Return Home
In an interview with This is Beirut, a General Security official explained that the steps for registered displaced persons are available to all. Each person must first express their interest in returning by contacting the UNHCR through a dedicated hotline. “Individual assessments are conducted by the UNHCR to identify refugees’ specific needs and guide them to the appropriate services,” Fraiha explained. Displaced persons are then added to a pre-established list used to organize voluntary returns, and a departure date is set. On the designated day, they gather at a central point, such as Beirut. Teams from the UNHCR and IOM assess individual needs, provide essential information and guidance and distribute cash grants along with other forms of assistance. Each family member receives a one-time cash grant of $100 before departure, while additional support, up to $400, may be provided in Syria by the UNHCR to assist with reintegration. Once these steps are completed, displaced persons are moved in convoys of buses and trucks through a border crossing to their final destinations in Syria. Yet despite these departures, Lebanon remains overcrowded and under pressure. More than one million displaced persons—counting only those registered with the UNHCR—continue to strain infrastructure, public services and the labor market, while upcoming convoys are expected to facilitate a gradual but partial return. The voluntary return program provides some relief, but it also underscores the scale of the challenge: Lebanon, already stretched by more than a decade of crisis, continues to grapple with the impact of a massive population that has never been fully monitored or accounted for. Between official statistics and conditions on the ground, the question remains: How many Syrians will still be in the country tomorrow, and how long can Lebanon sustain this demographic pressure?

Lebanese Army Seizes Largest Drug Haul to Date in Baalbeck District
This is Beirut/September 17/2025
In its largest drug haul on Lebanese territory, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said in a statement on Wednesday that it had seized 64 million Captagon pills from the town of Bouday, Baalbeck. In addition to the pills, the LAF confiscated 79 barrels of chemicals to manufacture the drug, as well as a few manufacturing machines. This operation is part of the Army Command’s framework of combating drug trafficking in various Lebanese regions. According to a statement, “the seized items were handed over, and efforts are underway to arrest the gang members involved in operating the facility.”

The Incredible Pagers Affair: The Shadow Behind the Explosion
Natasha Metni Torbey/This is Beirut
September 17, 2024, 3:30 p.m. Like so many other dates, this one once again thrust Lebanon into the unexpected. In an almost everyday silence, thousands of small devices, pagers, and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah forces exploded almost simultaneously.
A deafening roar, flames erupting from offices, vehicles, and command centers. Dozens killed, hundreds injured, and an entire nation frozen in sheer disbelief. What at first seemed like an accident was quickly revealed to be the result of a chillingly precise operation, planned for more than a decade by Israeli intelligence services. One year later, This Is Beirut revisits the origins, execution, and consequences of this operation. The idea was born more than ten years ago in the discreet offices of Israeli intelligence: strike Hezbollah not through conventional bombing, but by turning its own communication tools against it. Pagers and walkie-talkies, until then deemed reliable, foolproof, and hard to intercept, were to become silent weapons. For years, engineers, explosives experts, and logistics specialists worked in the shadows, calibrating every detail, testing each device, and transforming these mundane objects into instruments of destruction. The operation, internally codenamed “Grim Beeper,” was orchestrated with obsessive precision. Every detail was designed to avoid suspicion: AR-924 pagers were manufactured in Taiwan by Gold Apollo, then shipped through normal trade channels to third countries, including Hungary, making them almost untraceable. Shell companies scattered across Europe and Asia provided legal and logistical cover. At every stage, engineers inserted miniaturized explosive charges, specifically pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), one of the most powerful known explosives, calibrated to detonate simultaneously at the exact scheduled hour. Walkie-talkies were treated the same way, creating a double chain of attack capable of paralyzing communications on multiple fronts. The slightest misstep would have compromised years of work. Once in Lebanon, the devices blended seamlessly into Hezbollah’s daily operations. No alarms went off. They looked ordinary, worked flawlessly, and were used for months without anyone suspecting the dormant threat inside. Each pager and walkie-talkie was, in fact, a Trojan horse, ready to strike at the chosen time.
Logistics of the operation were astonishing in their complexity. The devices were stored in secret depots, transported via civilian and military supply chains, and monitored in real time by command teams in Tel Aviv. Each explosion was precisely timed. The plan was to hit multiple command centers, logistical depots, and communication lines simultaneously, creating total paralysis, yet without immediately pointing the finger at Israel. On the day of the explosion, the execution was surgical, and the results exceeded even the planners’ expectations. At 3:30 p.m., a shockwave rippled across the country: buildings blown apart, vehicles reduced to ashes, and hundreds injured and killed. Confusion reigned. Local units, unable to communicate, were caught off guard. The Israeli plan, painstakingly prepared for a decade, materialized in just a few seconds.
Beyond the material damage, there was also a psychological and strategic dimension. Crippling the communications of a non-state actor was not only about inflicting losses; it was about sowing doubt, fear, and mistrust among cadres and fighters. Hezbollah, long accustomed to the solidity of its structures, was forced to rethink its entire logistics, communication systems, operational strategy, and even its personnel.
The attack also set a precedent: it showed that technology can become an invisible weapon and that everyday objects (here, pagers) can be transformed into war instruments. It underscored the sophistication of Israeli intelligence and the effectiveness of long-term planning, where patience, precision, and technological mastery converge to create maximum impact. The strike was described as a “declaration of war” by Hezbollah’s former secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed ten days later, on September 27, 2024, in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
As for the pager explosion, Israel initially denied involvement. But in November 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed his country’s responsibility. The attack sent shockwaves through the region and further fueled tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
The strike exposed Hezbollah’s vulnerabilities and was hailed as a major strategic blow. Yet, it also raised ethical and legal questions about the use of such methods in modern conflict. International law experts debated the operation’s legality, some branding it “state terrorism,” others framing it as a legitimate act of war. The pagers affair remains a textbook case of modern asymmetric warfare. More than a simple act of sabotage, it is a lesson in strategy, planning, and military psychology. Non-state forces remain vulnerable to a state that combines strategic patience, advanced engineering, and global coordination.

Rifi: Complaint Against Hezbollah’s Qassem Still Pending
This is Beirut/September 17/2025
MP Ashraf Rifi announced on Wednesday that the complaint filed against Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on August 27 remains with Judge Jamal Hajjar’s office and has not yet been referred to the judicial police. Speaking at a press conference for the Sovereign Front, Rifi said, “although more than 24 days have passed since the complaint was submitted, the situation remains unchanged.”He expressed confidence in the judiciary while criticizing the delay, noting, “we have high hopes for the judiciary, and it is unacceptable that the complaint has not been acted upon to date, despite being a personal complaint.”
Rifi added that the Sovereign Front will seek a final review with the Public Prosecutor’s Office to determine the complaint’s status. “After that, we will take the appropriate decision,” he said. He also warned of potential escalation: “We will conduct judicial reviews with the competent authorities, and if the delay in deciding on the complaint continues, we will consider the possibility of criminal prosecution.” Furthermore, Rifi stressed that the group is committed to enforcing the law: “We have decided not to be lenient with violations of the law and will make all necessary contacts and reviews to uphold legal principles. We will subsequently take political and judicial action against this flagrant violation of the Lebanese Constitution,” he concluded. As a reminder, on August 27, several members of parliament and political figures filed a criminal complaint against Naim Qassem after he threatened “confrontation” if the government continued with its plan to disarm Hezbollah.

Same Script, Same Backdrop, Same Secretary-General
Marc Saikali/This is Beirut/September 17/2025
Every single week, like clockwork, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General graces us with yet another appearance. And somehow, even those Turkish soap operas dubbed in the Syrian dialect manage to look like Hollywood blockbusters by comparison. Naturally, the speeches are always prerecorded. Spontaneity is risky business when you’d rather not let the Israelis pinpoint your location. Hence that infamous blank backdrop, so dull and impersonal it could easily be the wall of a forgotten cellar. And what do we get every single time? Reruns. The same recycled threats, the same tired lines, delivered with the hope that endless repetition might terrify the world into submission. If only he’d take a week off, just to build suspense. But no: give him a date on the calendar, and there he is again, faithful to the role, like a series with no ending and no plot twist. One man, one camera, the same solemn face, the same heavy tone. Each line feels scripted, each threat predictable; we know the pauses, the glances, and the gestures before they even happen. Cue the sigh: “Here we go again.”By now, the spectacle has lost its bite. Words meant to strike feel hollow. Threats meant to intimidate fade into the monotony of drawn-out sentences. And we, the weary audience, can’t help but think the real danger lies not in the phantom enemies he invokes but in this relentless weekly déjà vu. Honestly, maybe a round of media training would help. Not that we’re signing up for the job; this one’s beyond heavy lifting. Still, mark your calendars: the next episode airs September 19.

Retired Soldiers Protest: Roadblocks and Postponed Parliamentary Sessions
This is Beirut/September 17/2025
The situation returned to calm on Wednesday in downtown Beirut after former security forces veterans staged a protest in the morning. Following this, it was announced that a new cabinet meeting would be held later in the day to continue reviewing the draft budget. As part of their mobilization, protesters burned tires and blocked the road in the Saïfi area, in front of the Kataëb party headquarters, under the supervision of the Lebanese army. Thick smoke rose over the area, causing severe traffic congestion. The protest spread to several regions across the country. In Beirut, on the Ring Bridge, retired military personnel also burned tires, leading to road closures and significant disruptions to traffic. In Riad El-Solh Square, protesters attempted to remove the barbed wire barriers surrounding the Grand Serail. Some climbed onto Civil Defense vehicles, while others set fire to nearby vegetation, despite repeated calls for calm from Generals Georges Nader and Chamel Roukoz. General Nader made a public appeal, urging protesters to keep their distance from the armed forces and avoid any confrontation. He emphasized that no clashes should occur for any reason and highlighted the importance of keeping roads open for citizens.
He also called on demonstrators to respect the statement issued by the Association of Retired Military Personnel, which called for peaceful demonstrations and rejected disorder. Parliamentary committee sessions, including those of the Finance and Budget Committee and the Media and Telecommunications Committee, were postponed due to the roadblocks. In Tripoli, the protest continued on Wednesday morning, with retired soldiers blocking access to a branch of the Banque du Liban and closing the Palma highway by setting tires on fire. This protest is part of a series of escalating actions coordinated during a consultative meeting held on Tuesday in the southern town of Bourj Rahal, at the invitation of the Association of Veterans. The meeting began with a moment of silence in memory of the martyrs, followed by the Lebanese national anthem and a series of speeches highlighting the importance of Wednesday's protest. Speakers emphasized the unity of retired personnel in confronting the authorities. They also welcomed the recent elections within the Association, which resulted in the election of General Chamel Roukoz as president. They said the Association has evolved from a symbolic entity into an active body leading a protest movement on the ground for the first time. Attendees were encouraged to join the Association and support its efforts.

New Banknotes to Boost the Lebanese Pound
Liliane Mokbel/This is Beirut/September 17/2025
Issuing higher-denomination banknotes for the Lebanese pound is simply common sense, given that the largest note currently in circulation is LBP 100,000—worth about USD 1. The others are worth even less: LBP 50,000 (roughly USD 0.50), LBP 20,000, LBP 10,000, and LBP 5,000. Lebanon has been in the grip of a currency collapse for six years, with the pound losing nearly 60 times its value and now trading at around LBP 90,000 to the dollar. Last week, the Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee amended the law allowing the Banque du Liban (BDL) to issue new banknotes, including denominations of LBP 500,000, LBP 1,000,000, and LBP 5,000,000. The amendment is expected to be approved by Parliament soon.
A New Monetary Context
Lebanon is now moving into a new phase for its paper currency, with banknotes expected to reflect the needs of a market that has been operating for the past two and a half years at an official exchange rate of LBP 89,500 to the dollar and at around LBP 90,500 in day-to-day commercial transactions. The new monetary context calls for Lebanese pound banknotes with denominations higher than those currently in circulation, whether LBP 500,000, LBP 1,000,000, or LBP 5,000,000. In the coming months, an LBP 5,000,000 note will be worth roughly USD 55, compared with an LBP 100,000 note, which was worth nearly USD 66 at the pre-crisis rate of 1,507.5 pounds to the dollar.
No New Currency Issued
“Introducing these new banknotes could restore the pound’s role in payments and commercial transactions,” says an economist interviewed by This is Beirut, speaking on condition of anonymity. Practically, the Lebanese will be able to make payments more easily with fewer notes, speeding up transactions and making them more convenient, while also encouraging the use of the local currency. The economist emphasizes, “Printing these notes is unrelated to the exchange rate or the Finance Ministry’s monetary policy and has no connection to the BDL’s control of the money supply. In other words, this is not money creation but simply the introduction of higher-denomination banknotes.”
BDL’s Circular: Preliminary Measures
When asked, the source said that Intermediate Circular No. 743, issued by the BDL on September 10, 2025, is meant to promote financial inclusion and encourage greater use of the Lebanese pound in commercial transactions. Intermediate Circular No. 743 bans any fees or restrictions on transactions made with Lebanese pound payment cards. These locally issued cards, used by individuals at point-of-sale terminals, can now also be used to withdraw cash.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 17-18/2025
US offers Qatar upgraded defence deal as it seeks to stabilise shaken ties
The Arab Weekly/September 17/2025
The attack in Doha was especially sensitive as Qatar is a close US ally and home to the biggest US military base in the Middle East. Billions of dollars of Qatari investments in the US also ride on the relationship. Qatar and the United States are on the verge of finalising an enhanced defence cooperation agreement geared at reassuring Doha after Israeli strikes and lingering questions about when US President Donald Trump exactly knew about Israel’s attack plans. “We have a close partnership with the Qataris. In fact, we have an enhanced defence cooperation agreement, which we’ve been working on, we’re on the verge of finalising,” Said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio while departing Tel Aviv for Doha.Rubio met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and discussed defence cooperation, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said. “This (Israeli) attack, of course, expedites the need for a renewed strategic defence agreement between us and the United States. It’s not something new per se, but certainly expedited,” Ansari said in a briefing after Rubio’s visit.The attack in Doha was especially sensitive for Washington as Qatar is a close US ally and home to the biggest US military base in the Middle East. Billions of dollars of Qatari investments in the US also ride on the relationship. For Qatar, cementing US security guarantees is crucial while it “reviews” its options, as it pledged after the Israeli attack. Also, Qatar has been hosting and mediating ceasefire talks, alongside Egypt, since the Gaza war started nearly two years ago. But that does not seem to be a Qatari priority right now. When asked about the mediation efforts in the light of the Doha attack, Ansari said, “our focus right now is protecting our sovereignty and we will not look into other issues until this one is resolved.”The Amiri Diwan, or Emir’s Office, said in a later statement that the emir discussed with Rubio the future of joint diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and release Israeli hostages held in the enclave, as well as Palestinian prisoners. The two also discussed the repercussions of the Israeli attack in Doha, the emir’s office added. US President Donald Trump said during a visit to Doha in May that Washington would protect Qatar if it ever came under attack. He said he was not informed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in advance about Israel’s attack. A report by news website Axios contradicted that assertion claiming Trump was informed about the impending strikes about 50 minutes before they happened.
Trump said later he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests. During a meeting with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, he sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again. But Netanyahu threatened to attack Hamas leaders “wherever they are”. He was speaking during a news conference with Rubio on Monday, as the heads of Arab and Islamic states held a summit to back Qatar after Israel’s attack last week in the Gulf state. He later said the attack on Doha was justified because of Qatar’s support to the militant Palestinian group. Rubio called for Qatar to continue its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war, saying there was “a very short window of time in which a deal could happen. “If any country in the world can help mediate it, Qatar is the one. They’re the ones that can do it,” said Rubio. Suggestions of continued mediation efforts conflicted with statements made in Jerusalem where Rubio seemed to give an unconditional green light to Israel’s war plans in Gaza despite the international outcry around them.
Qatar called the Israeli attack “cowardly and treacherous,” but said it would not deter it from its role as a mediator, alongside Egypt and the United States.

Netanyahu ratchets up hostility to Qatar claiming its support for Hamas ‘justified’ strike
The Arab Weekly/September 17/2025
Until now, Israel had based its justification for its attack on Doha on its attempt to eliminate Hamas leaders and not on a desire to punish Doha for its support for the Palestinian group. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that a strike against Hamas officials in Qatar last week was “justified” by the Gulf state’s ties to the group. “Qatar is connected to Hamas, it bolsters Hamas, it harbours Hamas, it funds Hamas … It has strong levers (that it could pull), but it chose not to,” Netanyahu said during a press conference. “Therefore our action was entirely justified.” The Israeli premier also accused Qatar of being part of attempts to isolate Israel on the world scene. Until now, Israel had based its justification for its attack on Doha on its attempt to eliminate Hamas leaders and not on a desire to punish Doha for its support for the Palestinian group. The unprecedented attack on the Hamas meeting in Doha last week was the first such Israeli strike on fellow US ally Qatar. The bombing resulted in the death of six people, none of whom was the top Hamas officials Israel was targeting, according to the militant group and Israeli sources quoted by national media. In response to the strike, Qatar convened an emergency summit of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Monday that brought together nearly 60 countries to call for firm action against Israel. Qatar has no diplomatic ties with Israel but has hosted many Israeli senior officials who visited Doha to take part in indirect talks with Hamas. Before and after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel which triggered the Gaza war it has hosted leaders of the Palestinian militant group, arguing it did so with the approval of Israel and the United States. Doha has played a pivotal role in mediating between Israel and Hamas in negotiations for a ceasefire in the war and the release of the 251 Israeli hostages captured by Palestinian militants during that assault. Its financial assistance to the Hamas government in Gaza was coordinated with Israeli authorities, say experts. Between 2018 and 2023, Qatar sent millions of dollars in monthly cash handouts and aid to Hamas-run Gaza, with the full approval of Netanyahu’s cabinet at the time. Relations between Qatar and Israel have witnessed new twists during the last few months. Earlier this year, Israeli media reported that two of Netanyahu’s aides were being investigated by the Shin Bet internal security agency for allegedly receiving payments from Qatar. The scandal, dubbed “Qatargate,” raised questions about the possibility of Qatari influence in the prime minister’s Office. Netanyahu, who was called to testify in the investigation in March, denounced it as a “political witch hunt.”Israeli media have linked the cabinet’s dismissal of Shin Beth chief Ronen Bar and attempts to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to their role in the investigation.

Israel opens new route out of Gaza City for 48 hours as tanks advance
Al Arabiya English/September 17/2025
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it was opening an additional route for 48 hours that Palestinians could use to leave Gaza City as it stepped up efforts to empty the city of civilians and confront thousands of Hamas combatants. Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in the city and many are reluctant to follow Israel’s orders to move south because of the dangers along the way, dire conditions, a lack of food in the southern area, and fear of permanent displacement. “Even if we want to leave Gaza City, is there any guarantee we would be able to come back? Will the war ever end? That’s why I prefer to die here, in Sabra, my neighborhood,” Ahmed, a school teacher, said by phone. At least 30 people were killed across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in Israel’s latest strikes, including 19 in Gaza City, local health authorities said.
Tanks edge forward, official says assault will take months
The Israeli army said it has struck more than 150 targets in Gaza City since launching a major ground offensive on the Gaza Strip's main urban hub early on Tuesday.
“Over the past two days, the (Israeli air force) and artillery corps troops struck over 150 terror targets throughout Gaza City in support of the maneuvering troops in the area,” the military said in a statement issued Wednesday. A day after Israel announced the launch of a ground offensive to seize control of Gaza’s main urban center, tanks had moved short distances towards the city’s central and western areas from three directions, but no major advance was reported. An Israeli official said military operations were focused on getting civilians to head south and that fighting would intensify over the next month or two. The official said Israel expected around 100,000 civilians to remain in the city, which would take months to capture, and the operation could be suspended if a ceasefire was reached with the Hamas militant group. The prospects of a ceasefire appear remote after Israel attacked Hamas political leaders in Doha last week, infuriating Qatar, a co-mediator in ceasefire talks. Defying global criticism of the attack, including a rebuke by Israel’s stalwart ally, the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will strike Hamas leaders anywhere. Visiting Doha on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “a very short window of time” in which a ceasefire could happen, apparently referring to Israel’s stated plans to crush Hamas by force in Gaza.
Leaflets urge Gaza City residents to flee
In leaflets dropped over Gaza City, the military said Palestinians could use the newly reopened Salahudin Road to escape towards the south and that they had until lunchtime on Friday to do so. “Movement must only take place via the streets marked in yellow on the map as the route for southward transit. Follow the instructions of the security forces and traffic signs,” they said. But the situation remained chaotic and dangerous for civilians, who have been streaming away on foot, by donkey cart or in vehicles in recent days. Much of Gaza City was laid to waste early in the war in 2023, but around 1 million Palestinians had returned there to homes among the ruins. Forcing them out would mean confining most of Gaza’s population to overcrowded encampments in the south where a hunger crisis is unfolding. The United Nations, aid groups and foreign governments have condemned Israel’s offensive and the proposed mass displacement. A UN Commission of Inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel called the assessment “scandalous” and “fake.”
High-rise building hit in refugee camp
Israeli forces control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and have been pounding three areas in the southeast, north and northwestern coastal areas of the city, from which tanks have been pressing towards the center and western areas. “Gaza is being wiped out. A city that is thousands of years old is being wiped out in front of the whole cowardly world,” said Ahmed, the school teacher. Palestinian and UN officials say no place is safe, including in the southern area designated by Israel as a “humanitarian zone.” On Tuesday, an airstrike killed five people in a vehicle as they were leaving Gaza City for the south. In Nuseirat refugee camp in the enclave’s center, an airstrike destroyed a high-rise building on Wednesday, prompting residents of nearby buildings to flee in panic.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza City
The Gaza government media office said Israel has destroyed and damaged 1,600 residential buildings since August 10, when Netanyahu announced Israel’s intention to take full control of the territory by force. Israeli forces have also destroyed 13,000 tents in Gaza City where displaced people had been sheltering, it said. Israel estimates 40 percent of people who were in Gaza City on August 10 have since left. The Gaza media office says 190,000 have headed south and 350,000 have moved to central and western areas of the city.
Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel’s military assault against Hamas has killed over 64,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry says. With agencies

Israeli tanks push into major Gaza City residential area
Rushdi Abualouf - Gaza correspondent/BBC/September 17/2025
Local residents and eyewitnesses say dozens of Israeli tanks and military vehicles have pushed into a major residential district of Gaza City, on the second day of Israel's ground offensive aimed at occupying the area. Video footage shows tanks, bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers moving on the edges of Sheikh Radwan, in northern Gaza City. Thick clouds of smoke can be seen as Israeli forces fire artillery shells and smoke bombs to cover their advance.The Sheikh Radwan district was home to tens of thousands of people before the war and is considered one of the city's most densely populated areas.
Israel says the aim of its Gaza City offensive is to free hostages held by Hamas and defeat up to 3,000 fighters in what it describes as the group's "last stronghold" - but the operation has drawn widespread international condemnation. The leaders of more than 20 major aid agencies, including Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that "the inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable".Residents in Sheikh Radwan said Wednesday's incursion followed a wave of heavy airstrikes targeting buildings and main streets across the neighbourhood, in what appeared to be preparation for the ground assault.
Saad Hamada, a local resident who fled south with his family earlier on Wednesday, told the BBC: "The drones didn't leave anything. They hit solar panels, power generators, water tanks, even the internet network. "Life became impossible, and that is what forced most people to leave despite the danger."
A long line of vehicles and trailers snake along a road, heavily packed with everything they can manage, as people flee south. The road is beachside, and you can see the ocean on the left, and in the distance is Gaza City. Sheikh Radwan includes the areas of Abu Iskandar, al-Tawam, and al-Saftawi, and is intersected by al-Jalaa Street, a vital artery linking central Gaza City with its northern districts. Locals say Israeli control of the neighbourhood could open the way for forces to advance deeper into the city and reach its central areas. The images of tanks in Gaza City's streets have caused widespread panic among residents, particularly those still living in the western and central parts of the city. Witnesses said the sight of tanks approaching their homes revived memories of previous incursions, that ended with entire neighbourhoods being flattened. The incursion into Sheikh Radwan has triggered yet another wave of displacement, with thousands of families fleeing south. Long lines of cars and carts loaded with belongings were seen on the roads, as the Israeli army opened a route to the south via the Salahedin Road. Residents reported journeys taking hours and costing hundreds of shekels due to the scarcity of transport and soaring prices. Before the war, Sheikh Radwan was one of Gaza City's busiest districts, home to dozens of schools, mosques, and marketplaces. It had already been struck repeatedly by air raids in recent months, and there is widespread destruction, but the sight of tanks inside the area now marks a significant new phase in Israel's ground campaign. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday morning that it had struck more than 150 targets across Gaza City in two days in support of its ground troops.
As part of its operations, the IDF is also reportedly utilising old military vehicles loaded with explosives that have been modified to be controlled remotely. They are being driven to Hamas positions and detonated, according to Israeli media.
Resident Nidal al-Sherbi told the BBC Arabic's Middle East Daily programme: "Last night was extremely difficult, with continuous explosions and shelling that lasted from night until dawn.""Israeli vehicles advanced from Sheikh Radwan, Tal al-Hawa, and also from Shejaiya. It was a very, very frightening night."Aid groups, UN agencies and others say the "humanitarian area" people are expected to move to is heavily overcrowded and insufficient to support the roughly two million Palestinians who are expected to cram into it. Some who followed the military's orders to evacuate to the zone say they found no space to pitch their tents, so they returned north."Everyday leaflets are thrown at us ordering evacuation, while the Israeli army shells buildings in every direction," Munir Azzam, who is in northern Gaza, told the BBC. "But where can we go? We have no refuge in the south."The IDF said on Tuesday that around 350,000 people had fled Gaza City, while the UN put the figure at 190,000 since August. Estimates suggest at least 650,000 remain. Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 65,062 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then, almost half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. It said on Wednesday that 98 people had been killed and 385 injured by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. Another four people had died from malnutrition, taking the total number of malnutrition-related deaths since a UN-backed body declared famine in Gaza City in late August to 154, it added. The UN has warned that an intensification of the offensive will push civilians into "even deeper catastrophe".On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry rejected the report and denounced it as "distorted and false".

Israeli troops press forward into Gaza City as more Palestinians flee and death toll passes 65,000
Julia Frankel And Samy Magdy/AP/September 17/2025
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into Gaza City on Wednesday as more people fled the devastated area, and strikes cut off phone and internet services, making it harder for Palestinians to summon ambulances during the military's new offensive.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 65,000, local health officials said. The Israeli military said air force and artillery units had struck the city more than 150 times in the last few days, ahead of ground troops moving in. The strikes toppled high-rise towers in areas with densely populated tent camps. Israel claims the towers were being used by Hamas to watch troops. Regulators said the severed phone and internet services hindered the ability of Palestinians to call for help, coordinate evacuations or share details of the offensive that began Monday and aims to take full control of the city.
Overnight strikes killed at least 16 people, including women and children, hospital officials reported. The death count in Gaza climbed to 65,062, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government. Another 165,697 Palestinians have been wounded since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that triggered the war. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were civilians or militants. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts. Israeli bombardment has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts announcing famine in Gaza City. Palestinians streamed out of the city — some by car, others on foot. Israel opened another corridor south of Gaza City for two days beginning Wednesday to allow more people to evacuate.
More than half of the Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes were in famine-stricken Gaza City, including a child and his mother who died in the Shati refugee camp, according to officials from Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties.
In central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital said an Israeli strike hit a house in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, killing three, including a pregnant woman. Two parents and their child were also killed when a strike hit their tent in the Muwasi area west of the city of Khan Younis, said officials from Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were brought. In a statement, the Israeli military said it took steps to mitigate harm to civilians and that it would continue to operate against “terrorist organizations” in Gaza.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in the 2023 attack, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than half believed to be alive. The Gaza Health Ministry said multiple Israeli strikes hit the Rantisi Hospital for children in Gaza City on Tuesday night. It posted pictures on Facebook showing the damaged roof, water tanks and rubble in a hospital hallway. The ministry said the strikes forced half of some 80 patients to flee the facility. About 40 patients, including four children in intensive care and eight premature babies, remained in the hospital with 30 medical workers, the ministry said. “This attack has once again shattered the illusion that hospitals or any place in Gaza are safe from Israel’s genocide," said Fikr Shalltoot, Gaza director for the aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians. The Israeli military said it was looking into the strikes. In the past, it has accused Hamas of building military infrastructure inside civilian areas. The military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, wrote on social media that a new route opened for those heading south for two days starting at noon Wednesday. But many Palestinians in the north were cut off from the outside world. The Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, based in the occupied West Bank, said Israeli strikes on the main network lines in northern Gaza had cut off internet and telephone services Wednesday morning. The Associated Press tried unsuccessfully to reach many people in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident and that it does not deliberately target public communication networks. An estimated 1 million Palestinians were living in the Gaza City region before warnings to evacuate began ahead of the offensive. The Israeli military estimates 350,000 people have left the city. The U.N. estimates that more than 238,000 Palestinians have fled northern Gaza over the past month. Hundreds of thousands more have stayed behind.
Hamas official speaks
Hamas senior official Ghazi Hamad made his first public appearance Wednesday following the Israeli strike on the militant group in Qatar earlier this month. Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas' political bureau, appeared in a live interview broadcast by the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera and accused the United States of being a bad mediator and siding with Israel. The Hamas negotiating team and consultants were reviewing a U.S. ceasefire proposal when "less than an hour into the meeting, we heard the explosions," Hamad said. The strike killed five Hamas members and a local security official and infuriated Arab leaders. Also Wednesday, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying it condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza. The ministry wrote on X that the operation marked a “extension of the war of genocide” against the Palestinians.
Aid groups condemn offensive
A coalition of leading aid groups Wednesday urged the international community to take stronger measures to stop Israel's offensive on Gaza City. The action came a day after a commission of U.N. experts found Israel was committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave. Israel denies the allegation. “What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the U.N. Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide,” read the statement from the aid groups. “States must use every available political, economic and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action."The message was signed by leaders of over 20 aid organizations operating in Gaza, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Anera and Save the Children.
Israel's return to Gaza City
An Israeli military graphic suggested its troops hope to control all of the Gaza Strip except for a large swath along the coast by the end of the current operation. Israeli forces have carried out multiple large-scale raids into Gaza City over the course of the war, causing mass displacement and heavy destruction, only to see militants regroup later. This time, Israel has pledged to take control of the entire city, which experts say is experiencing famine.An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines, said Tuesday that they believe there are 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants left in Gaza City, as well as tunnels used by the group. Hamas’ military capabilities have been vastly diminished. It now mainly carries out guerrilla-style attacks, with small groups of fighters planting explosives or attacking military outposts before melting away.

EU proposes curbing Israel trade ties, sanctioning ministers over Gaza
AFP/September 17/2025
The European Union on Wednesday proposed curbing trade ties with Israel and sanctioning ministers in its strongest action over the war in Gaza, though reluctance from key member states risks blocking the measures’ adoption. The bloc’s executive however said it would take immediate action by itself by freezing some 20 million euros ($23.7 million) in bilateral support for Israel. The move from the EU’s executive comes as pressure has mounted on the 27-nation bloc to take action against Israel over its devastating near-two-year offensive in Gaza. “The horrific events taking place in Gaza on a daily basis must stop,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said. “There needs to be an immediate ceasefire, unrestrained access for all humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages held by Hamas,” she said. Under its new proposals, Brussels is pressing to suspend parts of a cooperation deal with Israel that allow for reduced tariffs on goods coming from the country. Officials say that would hit more than a third of Israel’s exports to the EU worth around six billion euros, including key agricultural produce such as dates and nuts. The commission also called for asset freezes and visa bans on far-right Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whose “extremist” rhetoric is blamed for fueling the violence. Those measures -- initially floated by von der Leyen in a keynote speech last week -- represent the firmest attempt by the EU chief to pressure Israel. “Today marks a critical turning point in holding Israel accountable,” said Irish foreign minister Simon Harris. But opposition from key member states, especially von der Leyen’s own homeland Germany and Italy, means they will struggle to get the backing of enough EU countries to go through. That reluctance has already stalled a softer proposal to cut funding to Israeli tech start-ups, much to the ire of the raft of EU countries demanding action. Von der Leyen’s commission can however decide on its own to freeze bilateral support. That step will not include funds going to help civil society groups and Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
‘Will not work’
Israel has already urged Brussels against pushing on with the proposals. “Pressure through sanctions will not work,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote in a letter to von der Leyen. Saar on Wednesday warned the EU against taking action against Israel. “The recommendations of the college of Commissioners led by President (Ursula) von der Leyen are morally and politically distorted,” Saar wrote on X, adding that: “Moves against Israel will harm Europe's own interests.”“Any action against Israel will receive an appropriate response, and we hope we will not have to use them,” he wrote. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas insisted “the aim is not to punish Israel,” but to try to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The push for action within the EU comes as Israel has drawn fresh international condemnation by launching a major ground assault against Gaza City. The army unleashed a massive bombardment of Gaza City before dawn on Tuesday and pushed its troops deeper into the Gaza Strip’s largest urban hub. It came as a United Nations probe accused Israel of committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials had incited the crime. The war was sparked by Palestinian group Hamas’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 64,964 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable. The Israeli military estimates there are 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants in central Gaza City, and that about 40 percent of residents have fled.

Genocide in Gaza: What the ICJ and ICC could decide for Israel and Netanyahu
AFP/September 17/2025
After United Nations investigators accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, what charges do the country and its leaders face in international courts, and what happens next?
What courts are involved?
Two institutions based in The Hague, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The two are often mixed up, even by seasoned observers.
The ICC, set up in 2002, prosecutes individuals suspected of committing the world’s worst crimes: War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The much older ICJ, established in 1948, weighs disputes between countries, usually with one nation accusing another of breaking an international treaty.
What impact could the UN report have?
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak on behalf of the world body, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza,” commission chief Navi Pillay told AFP. Pillay said her team had shared “thousands of pieces of information” with ICC prosecutors. Thijs Bouwknegt, a genocide expert at the University of Amsterdam, said both international courts would examine the report as one piece of evidence among several.
“If I were an investigator, I would look at the report and use it as one of the many other sources,” he told AFP. But Bouwknegt said the report was also a call to political action.
“For a report to have effect, you need people to do something with it. This is political agency,” he said. “It’s for state ministers or government leaders to do something with the report if they feel they want to change something in Gaza.”
Where do we stand now?
The International Criminal Court has arrest warrants outstanding for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. They both face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over Israel’s campaign in Gaza, including starvation, murder and persecution. The ICC has not charged either man with genocide.
The court also issued warrants for three senior Hamas leaders, all since withdrawn after their deaths. At the International Court of Justice, South Africa has a case against Israel, accusing it of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. ICJ judges have issued several emergency rulings in that case, including ordering Israel to stop operations in Rafah Governorate and to allow “unhindered” humanitarian aid into Gaza. But the ICJ has not yet begun to weigh the wider case of whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a process that could take months or years.
What happens next?
In the case of the International Criminal Court, it is currently examining an Israeli challenge to its jurisdiction. The court relies on its 125 member states to enforce its arrest warrants, meaning that unless Israel decides to hand over Netanyahu to The Hague, he is unlikely to appear in the dock.
The ICC cannot hold a trial in absentia. The International Court of Justice has given Israel until January 2026 to file in writing a so-called “counter memorial” responding to South Africa’s case. Following that, there is likely to be more legal back-and-forth in writing as the court weighs probable objections by both sides.Only then do judges weigh the “merits” of the case, involving oral hearings.
How long will this take?
A long time. The next thing to watch at the ICC is the jurisdiction challenge, but there is no timeframe for that decision. At the ICJ, most observers do not expect genocide hearings much before 2027. “You know that the law is incredibly slow... So this might be useful or impactful five years from now or ten years from now,” Bouwknegt said.

Doctors Without Borders voices outrage over death of its nurse from Israeli airstrike
Olivia Le Poidevin/Reuters/September 17/2025
GENEVA (Reuters) -Doctors Without Borders said on Wednesday it was appalled by the death of one of its nurses, who died on Tuesday from shrapnel wounds caused by an Israeli airstrike near his tent five days earlier. The nurse, Hussein Alnajjar, was a father of three who worked at the international organisation's medical clinic in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis since January of last year. His sister-in-law and nephew were injured in the same airstrike. He is the thirteenth Doctors Without Borders medic to be killed since the war in Gaza began. "We are outraged that military violence continues to kill our Palestinian colleagues," the organisation said in a statement. At least 540 aid workers have been killed in Israel's nearly two-year-old offensive against Hamas militants, launched after the deadly October 7, 2023, cross-border attacks by Hamas-led militants, according to the latest data by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the October 7 attacks, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has repeatedly denied targeting aid workers and said it is targeting Hamas militants and infrastructure throughout the enclave. Aid workers enjoy protection under international humanitarian law but experts cite few precedents for such cases going to trial, with concerns about ensuring future access for aid groups and difficulty proving intent cited as impediments. On Wednesday, the Palestinian death toll from the war between Israel and Hamas surpassed 65,000, according to local health authorities.

Canada condemns Israel's Gaza City ground offensive as ‘horrific’
Joanne Serrieh, Al Arabiya English/Sepember 17/2025
Canada condemned on Wednesday Israel’s latest ground offensive in Gaza City, warning that the assault is worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis and could jeopardize efforts to secure the release of hostages. “Israel’s new ground offensive in Gaza City is horrific. It worsens the humanitarian crisis and jeopardizes the release of the hostages. The Government of Israel must adhere to international law,” Canada’s Foreign Policy office said in a post on X. It added that Canada stands with international partners in demanding “an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages.”The renewed offensive comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza, where months of conflict have left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, displaced millions, and pushed the enclave to the brink of famine. On Tuesday, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had incited these acts. It cites examples of the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding, adding its voice to rights groups and others that have reached the same conclusion. Canada’s latest statement marks one of its strongest criticisms of Israel since the war began, underscoring growing concern among Western allies over the escalating violence and its impact on civilians.With Reuters

Trump gets royal treatment on UK state visit
AFP/September 17/2025
Britain treated Donald Trump to an elaborate ceremonial welcome featuring a gun salute and mounted horses as the US president’s unprecedented second state visit began under tight security on Wednesday. Heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine warmly greeted Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after the Marine One helicopter touched down at Windsor Castle shortly at 12:15 pm (1115 GMT). Inside a ring of steel and out of sight from noisy protesters, William and Catherine walked Trump and his wife a short distance to meet King Charles III and Queen Camilla as the UK’s major charm offensive got underway. As the president shook hands with the king, a 41-gun salute was fired simultaneously from six World War One-era guns on the castle’s east lawn, as a similar display occurred at the Tower of London, in the center of the capital. Some 120 horses, and 1,300 members of the British military took part in the ceremony, which UK officials say marked the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit to Britain in living memory. The Trumps and the royals then embarked on a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the nearly 1,000-year-old castle. Britain is going the extra mile to dazzle and flatter the unpredictable Trump with an extraordinary show of pomp and pageantry as it tries to keep him onside during a host of international crises. The 79-year-old Republican is, however, being kept far away from Britons among whom polls indicate Trump remains unpopular, with the entire visit happening behind closed doors. “It’s quite sad that the public cannot see the president,” 40-year-old Charlene Bryan, who had traveled from London hoping to see Trump, told AFP. Knowing that Trump is obsessed with Britain’s royals and loves showy displays of pomp, the military welcome was even bigger than when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Trump on his previous state visit in 2019. He is the first US president to receive two state visits. He will also get the first joint flypast by US and UK fighter jets at an event of its kind. It will feature US and British F-35 military jets and the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows display team. The Trumps will lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, and the president and Charles will wrap up Wednesday with a white-tie state banquet, where they are due to make speeches. It’s all designed to appeal to a US leader who this year crowed “LONG LIVE THE KING!” about himself on social media before the White House posted a fake magazine cover of him wearing a crown. The question for Britain is whether the red carpet welcome will win over Trump, whose unpredictability on everything from tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza has caused global turmoil. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be hoping Trump leaves on Thursday feeling the warm glow of royal soft power -- but there are no guarantees. Trump appeared to be feeling the love as he arrived by helicopter at the US ambassador’s official residence in London on Tuesday with First Lady Melania Trump.
Epstein’s shadow
“A lot of things here warm my heart,” said the president, whose mother hailed from Scotland and who owns two golf resorts in the country. He described Charles, 76, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, as “my friend.”The Republican may also relish a chance to escape a turbulent period at home in the United States, where the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has caused deep turmoil. But the specter loomed of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is providing domestic headaches for both Trump and Starmer and who has caused the royal family considerable embarrassment. Police arrested four people after they projected images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle late Tuesday. Thousands were expected to attend protests planned in London on Wednesday. Starmer will host Trump on the second day of the visit on Thursday at his country residence, Chequers. The pair will be buoyed by British pharmaceutical group GSK’s announcement that it will invest $30 billion in the United States over the next five years but talks could turn awkward on several fronts. Starmer in particular faces political troubles at home, after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over a furor involving the diplomat’s connection to the late Epstein.

Anti-Trump protesters march through London as president basks in royal welcome
Reuters/September 17/2025
Thousands of people marched through London on Wednesday to protest against US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain while a much smaller crowd gathered outside the royal Windsor Castle west of the capital to give him a warm welcome. Trump was paying Britain an unprecedented second state visit, and was treated to displays of royal pageantry, including a carriage procession in Windsor and a grand military parade. While all that was happening, a ‘Trump Not Welcome’ protest took place 25 miles (40 km) away in central London organized by the Stop Trump Coalition and supported by other organizations including Amnesty International, women’s associations such as Abortion Rights, and pro-Palestinian activists. “I quite simply dislike everything that Trump and his administration represent around the globe. (They are) absolutely awful,” said Bryan Murray, a retiree, who attended with his wife and held a placard reading ‘Dump Trump.’ While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has struck up an unlikely friendship with Trump, the president still divides public opinion. A YouGov poll showed 45 percent thought it was wrong to invite Trump, while 30 percent said it was the right move.Four people were arrested on Tuesday after images were projected onto Windsor Castle of Trump alongside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - an issue that could surface during the visit after Starmer sacked his US ambassador over Epstein ties last week. More than 1,600 police officers were deployed to deal with the protest, which moved peacefully toward parliament and featured banners reading: “Not Wanted Here, Not Wanted Anywhere” and “Trump, a big step back on the evolution of man.” Police said around 5,000 people took part. A spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition said the rally was a chance to show the government and the world that “Britain rejects hate, division and authoritarianism.”The turnout on Wednesday was similar to that seen for Trump’s previous state visit in 2019 but much lower than for his first official visit to Britain as president in July 2018, when estimates varied between tens of thousands and 250,000. Earlier in Windsor, a few dozen Trump supporters turned out to see the president arrive at the castle, including one man wearing a cap that read: “Trump was right about everything.”Former New York police officer Steven DeFranco, 64, said he knew he had to make a stop at Windsor during his business trip when he heard Trump was coming. “He’s doing a fabulous job,” DeFranco said, describing Trump as a “beaming light.”

‘They May Not Have a Choice but To Militarily Defeat Them’: Rubio Acknowledges Israel’s Dilemma as Gaza City Ground Invasion Begins
FDD/September 17/2025
Gaza City Ground Operation Gets Underway: The IDF on September 16 began its highly anticipated ground incursion into Gaza City following over 850 airstrikes throughout the past week, which killed hundreds of terrorists in the area. According to the Israeli military, both regular and reserve troops from Divisions 98, 162, and 36, under the IDF’s southern command, “began a broad ground operation throughout Gaza City as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II.” The IDF assessed that some 370,000 residents, representing more than 40 percent of the city’s population, had evacuated south toward a designated humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis.
Explosive-Filled APCs Clearing Way for Troops: Waves of airstrikes slammed targets in Gaza City overnight, with explosions being heard as far away as Tel Aviv. Additionally, the IDF reportedly deployed remote-controlled, repurposed M113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) packed with tons of explosives to destroy Hamas infrastructure and preemptively set off booby traps ahead of the advance of ground forces, in attempts to minimize casualties. The APCs reportedly targeted the Gaza City neighborhoods of Tel al-Hawa and Rimal the morning of September 16.
Rubio Says Hamas Unlikely To Make Concessions in Ceasefire Deal: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on September 15 during a trip to Israel that the United States “wants [the war in Gaza] to be finished.” He clarified, however, that while Washington was still pushing for a ceasefire deal that would see the remaining 48 hostages released from captivity, Hamas remained “ a terrorist group, a barbaric group, whose stated mission is the destruction of the Jewish state,” meaning that Israel “may not have a choice but to militarily defeat them.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated alongside Rubio that Israel “must make sure Hamas is eliminated.”
FDD Expert Response
“Hamas is likely to employ the same irregular warfare tactics in Gaza City that it has used across the coastal enclave throughout the war. While it is improbable that Hamas and allied Palestinian factions will halt the IDF’s advance, they will seek to impose heavy costs on Israeli forces. Israeli troops will almost certainly have to face Hamas attempts to abduct soldiers, as well as the terrorist group hiding in the city’s streets and buildings to launch mass-casualty incidents.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal
“Israel cannot meet Hamas halfway on the terrorist group’s determination to destroy the Jewish state and exterminate, expel, or enslave its 7 million Jews. A ceasefire that allows Hamas to remain in power in Gaza is merely kicking the can down the road, guaranteeing future suffering on both sides. What’s more, Hamas is violating international law every second that it holds Israelis as hostages. It is absurd that the United Nations and Western countries are pressuring Israel rather than the ‘savage terrorists’ of Hamas, as Secretary Rubio called them.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

Europeans say Iran yet to take necessary actions to stop ‘snapback’ of UN sanctions
The Associated Press/September 17/2025
European officials told Iran on Wednesday it had yet to take the actions needed to stop the return of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program, warning time was running out. The comments from the German Foreign Ministry and the European Union came after a call Iran had Wednesday with representatives of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas. “The window for finding a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear issue is closing really fast,” Kallas warned in a statement. “Iran must show credible steps towards addressing the demands of France, (the) UK and Germany, and this means demonstrating full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and allowing inspections of all nuclear sites without delay.”The German foreign ministry separately wrote on the social platform X that “Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to” stop the reimposition of UN sanctions. In a statement issued hours later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi again asserted that the reimposition of UN sanctions was “lacking any legal or logical justification.” He also pointed to the fact that Iran and the IAEA earlier reached a deal mediated by Egypt to grant the UN watchdog access to all Iranian nuclear sites and for Tehran to report on the whereabouts of all its nuclear material. However, it remains unclear when Iran will make that report. And Araghchi in his statement offered no other routes to satisfying the Europeans’ concerns. “It is now up to the other parties to seize this opportunity to keep the diplomatic path open and avert an avoidable crisis, showing seriousness and belief in diplomacy,” he said. A 12-day war launched by Israel against Iran in June saw both the Israelis and the Americans bomb Iranian nuclear sites, throwing into question the status of Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched nearly to weapons-grade levels. The process to reimplement sanctions on Iran, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the UN It will take effect at the end of September unless the UN Security Council agrees to stop it. It will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy.Using the “snapback” mechanism will likely heighten tensions between Iran and the West in a region still burning over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, particularly after Israel began its ground offensive targeting Gaza City.

US designates four Iran-aligned militia groups as terrorist organizations
Al Arabiya English/September 17/2025
The Unites States is designating four Iran-aligned militia groups as foreign terrorist organizations, the US Department of State said in a statement on Wednesday. Today, “the Department of State is designating Iran-aligned militia groups Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali as Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” it said in a statement. The Department said it previously designated all four of these groups as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. “As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran continues to provide support that enables these militias to plan, facilitate, or directly carry out attacks across Iraq,” the statement said. “Iran-aligned militia groups have conducted attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad and bases hosting US and Coalition forces, typically using front names or proxy groups to obfuscate their involvement.”

Iran ‘must take action’ to stop return of UN sanctions over nuclear programme
Associated Press Reporter/September 17/2025
The German government has warned Iran it has “yet to take the reasonable and precise actions” needed to stop the return of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme. The comment from the German Foreign Ministry came after a call Iran had on Wednesday with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union’s top diplomat. The process, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the UN. It will take effect at the end of September unless the UN Security Council agrees to stop it.
It will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise any development of Iran’s ballistic missile programme, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy. Using the “snapback mechanism” will likely heighten tensions between Iran and the West in a region still burning over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, particularly after Israel began its ground offensive targeting Gaza City. PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian and European ministers made little progress in talks on Wednesday aimed at preventing international sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme being reimposed at the end of this month, two European and one Iranian diplomats said. Britain, France and Germany, the so-called E3, launched a 30-day process at the end of August to reimpose U.N. sanctions. They set conditions for Tehran to meet during September to convince them to delay the "snapback mechanism".The offer by the E3 to put off the snapback for up to six months to enable serious negotiations is conditional on Iran restoring access for U.N. nuclear inspectors - who would also seek to account for Iran's large stock of enriched uranium - and engaging in talks with the U.S. The status of Iran's enriched uranium stocks has been unknown since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.
TALKS WITH EUROPEANS FOLLOWED ACCORD WITH IAEA
Wednesday's phone call between the E3 foreign ministers, the European Union foreign policy chief and their Iranian counterpart followed an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency last week on resuming cooperation, including, in principle, the inspection of nuclear sites. Several Western diplomats have said, however, that the accord is not detailed enough, sets no timeframe and leaves the door open for Iran to continue stonewalling. There has also been no indication of a willingness from Iran to resume talks with Washington. Iran says it is still refining how it will work with the IAEA. In the call, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi expressed willingness to reach a "fair and balanced" solution, according to a statement on Iranian state media. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has entered into dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a responsible approach ... on how Iran will fulfil its safeguards obligations in the new situation ... It is now the turn of the opposing parties to use this opportunity to continue the diplomatic path and prevent an avoidable crisis," Araqchi said.
GERMANY SAYS IRAN HAS NOT MET CONDITIONS
Germany's foreign ministry said on X that the E3 had "underscored that Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to reach an extension of Resolution 2231", adding that sanctions would be reimposed unless there were "concrete actions in the coming days".The sanctions would hit Iran's financial, banking, hydrocarbons and defence sectors. Four European diplomats and an Iranian official said before the call that the most likely scenario would be the E3 going ahead with a reimposition of sanctions. An Iranian diplomat said Tehran had reiterated that it would retaliate if the decision to restore U.N. sanctions was made. "The understanding in Tehran is that the U.N. sanctions will be reimposed. That is why Tehran refuses to give concessions," an Iranian official said. The West says the advancement of Iran's nuclear programme goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran says it wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.

German, UK, French ministers hold nuclear talks with Iran
Agence France Presse/September 17/2025
Germany said Wednesday that the "ball is still in Iran's court" after the UK, France and Germany held talks with the Islamic republic over its nuclear program. The phone talk came after European powers last month triggered a 30-day deadline for so-called "snapback" sanctions to come back into force in the absence of a negotiated deal on the Iranian nuclear program. A German foreign ministry spokesman said the offer from the so-called E3 powers "to discuss a temporary extension of the snapback if Iran fulfills certain conditions remains on the table", but added that "at this point the steps taken by Iran have not been sufficient".

With Snapback of UN Sanctions Pending, Tehran Continues To Export Oil
Saeed Ghasseminejad/FDD//September 17/2025
Tehran continues to export oil and acquire new customers despite approaching deadlines for the snapback of United Nations sanctions. Although Iranian oil exports reached their lowest level of the year in August, data for the first half of September indicate a significant increase. Despite its commitment to impose “maximum pressure” on Tehran, the Trump administration is failing to meet its goal of disrupting Iranian oil exports. According to TankerTrackers, in August, Tehran exported 1.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) of condensate, crude oil, and fuel oil, primarily to China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, and Indonesia. China was the largest recipient, taking 90 percent of Iran’s total exports. The UAE accounted for 7 percent, while Indonesia and Singapore received 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Iran’s Oil Exports Declined in August, But Is It Sustainable?
Of the total 1.4 mbpd exported, 86 percent was crude oil, 13 percent was fuel oil, and 1 percent was condensate. Notably, Iran’s exports in August dropped to their lowest level for 2025, falling 15 percent from July and 18 percent below its highest level in April. However, this decline may be due to routine monthly fluctuations, as the data from the first half of September shows a substantial increase in exports to around 2.4 mbpd. If this trend continues in the second half of September, Iran may see its highest level of exports this year. The Chinese ports of Lianyungang, Ningbo, and Zhoushan, along with the Emirati port of Fujairah, the Indonesian port of Karimun, and the port of Singapore, are the primary destinations for Iranian oil. Kharg Island, on Iran’s Persian Gulf coastline, remains the main hub for exporting Iranian crude. Tehran also uses other ports such as Bandar Abbas, Lavan, Mahshahr, Bandar Imam Khomeini, Sirri Island, and Asaluyeh to export its crude, condensate, and fuel oil.
Ten Countries Directly Involved in Transporting Iran’s Oil in August
Iran continues to use vessels registered under the flags of 10 different countries to transport its oil, including Curaçao, Gambia, Guyana, Panama, Benin, Hong Kong, Palau, Jamaica, Guinea, and Comoros. Iranian vessels themselves transported 36 percent of the country’s oil, while vessels flying the flags of Curaçao, Gambia, and Guyana transported 17 percent, 15 percent, and 14 percent of Tehran’s oil exports, respectively. Iranian media and officials boast that the Trump administration’s maximum pressure strategy has failed to impact the regime’s oil trade. They also claim that the snapback mechanism will not lead to a reduction in oil exports.
Promise Made, But Not Kept
At the beginning of the year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised to reduce Tehran’s oil exports to 100,000 barrels per day. “Promises made, promises kept” has been a key pillar of President Trump’s administration, but Washington has yet to successfully uphold Bessent’s promise. This failure has not only emboldened the regime in Tehran but also encouraged other countries to not comply with Washington’s demands, as they see that non-compliance with U.S. requests carries no cost. Removing Iran’s 1.6 mbpd of oil from the market will not significantly impact the United States, as there is enough excess capacity to offset it. Allowing Tehran and China to continue their trade, despite Washington’s clear objectives set earlier this year, undermines U.S. prestige and credibility. This is something that America cannot afford, especially as it seeks to prevent the Axis of Aggressors from disrupting the U.S.-led international order. **Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from the author and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Saeed on X @SGhasseminejad. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 17-18/2025
Welcome to Big Brother's Digital Prison, Part I: Central Bank Digital Currencies
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/September 17, 2025
"We are talking about a very dystopian future if we allow central banks to issue central bank digital currencies. You know, even if the original designers and heads of central banks who are launching this are super well-meaning, you know, let's give them the benefit of the doubt, we just know what human nature is like and history is the best guide... I think the power would be abused, if not by the original generation of launchers, then by the next generation.... It will be a completely totalitarian system of such frightening proportions, it's hard to imagine... The micromanaging decision [about your spending] will then be automated and... you have no right to appeal the algorithm... You just won't be able to use your money for certain things and then there is nothing that you can do... That by definition ends freedom...." -- Richard A. Werner, German economist, 2024,
The Biden administration was actively working towards an American CBDC, but in May 2024, the House of Representatives passed a bill to prevent the Federal Reserve from introducing a CBDC. Shortly after coming into office, President Donald Trump banned the establishment of a CBDC in the United States.
In Europe, the European Union is barreling ahead at full speed towards a central bank digital currency for those EU countries that are part of the eurozone, which includes the majority of EU countries. Yet, the dangers of this euro CBDC are nowhere near being discussed in mainstream European media. Of course, EU leaders stress that Europe must have a CBDC to "adapt to the digital age" – a vapid statement evidently intended to subdue skeptics, and supposedly to protect Europe against "increasing geopolitical fragmentation," whatever that is, if it is even relevant to digital currencies.
Whatever the excuse, the impending CBDCs appear intended to give governments unlimited power: If the government does not like your speech, off to jail you go – as in the UK, where people are imprisoned for months and years for saying or writing things that the government disagrees with. Meanwhile, real crimes, such as the mass-rape of thousands of children over the past 20 years, in Rotherham and other cities, remain rampant and largely unaddressed.
Unfortunately, none of this is far-fetched. In Canada, during Covid-19 when the truckers went to Ottawa peacefully to protest government pandemic restrictions, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau simply invoked the Emergencies Act, which allowed the government to force banks to freeze the truckers' bank accounts. Problem solved.
Agustin Carstens, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, has admitted that CBDCs will give governments total control: "[I]n cash, we don't know, for example, who is using a $100 bill today; we don't know who is using a 1000 peso bill today. A key difference with the CBDC is that central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that we determine the use... and we will have the technology to enforce that."
Your money will no longer be yours, but more like a credit or account that you will have with the government and that you will only have access to on condition that you follow the rules, whatever they might be.
With central bank digital currencies, your money will no longer be yours, but more like a credit or account that you will have with the government and that you will only have access to on condition that you follow the rules, whatever they might be.
Globalist leaders are working at full speed to introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). A CBDC is a digital currency that is issued directly by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve in the US, the European Central Bank in the EU's eurozone, and the Bank of England in the UK.
A CBDC will be the final straw that ensures that every dream of suppression and control that the globalists nurture will come true. Several of those dreams are already a reality, including shutting down dissent and free speech, as in Europe, where people are routinely fined and arrested for saying things their governments do not like. A host of other controlling measures are already in the works, including herding people into "15-minute cities" where it is easier to monitor them, keep tabs on their use of private cars, decide what they can and cannot eat – ideally "ecologically preferable" bugs and lab-grown meat, no beef or cheese -- track their "carbon footprints", determine where and how they can travel, oversee their vaccines and so on.
The Oxford-educated, German economist Richard A. Werner said in an interview last year.
"The push for CBDCs is the final step in a multi-decade program by central planners to increase their power over the people and over countries. This is the ultimate step because the powers of CBDCs are so extraordinary that, I mean, even the worst dictators of past centuries could only have dreamt of having such enormous power over the lives of so many people.
"We are talking about a very dystopian future if we allow central banks to issue central bank digital currencies. You know, even if the original designers and heads of central banks who are launching this are super well-meaning, you know, let's give them the benefit of the doubt, we just know what human nature is like and history is the best guide...
"I think the power would be abused, if not by the original generation of launchers, then by the next generation.... It will be a completely totalitarian system of such frightening proportions, it's hard to imagine...
"The micromanaging decision [about your spending] will then be automated and... you have no right to appeal the algorithm... You just won't be able to use your money for certain things and then there is nothing that you can do... That by definition ends freedom....
"Dictators like Stalin and other dictators, they could only have dreamt of, you know, the enormous power that central bank digital currencies give to central planners... We are talking about dystopian digital prisons that will be created through central bank digital currencies, because the programmability – and this has been mentioned in the studies by the central banks – include of course geography, and there is this proposal for climate change, whatever reasons, that people... should stay within their 15-minute walking small local area... and there will be digital controls... when you walk with all your RFID chips in your cards and your CBDC anyway, of course you will be immediately recognized if you're out of the area and you will be punished. It's a digital prison."
CBDCs will indeed be "programmable": In 2021, the Bank of England asked for ministers to have the final word on whether a central bank digital currency should be "programmable", meaning that the central bank would have a veto over how people would spend their money, the Telegraph reported:
"Tom Mutton, a director at the Bank of England, said during a conference on Monday that programming could become a key feature of any future central bank digital currency, in which the money would be programmed to be released only when something happened."
According to Mutton:
"There could be some socially beneficial outcomes from that, preventing activity which is seen to be socially harmful in some way. But at the same time it could be a restriction on people's freedoms. That is a really delicate debate that needs to be had. It is not something we can settle ourselves, that is for the Government to lead on."Programming, Mutton made it clear, would mean that the technological possibilities would lead to enabling the state or an employer "to control how the money is spent by the recipient."
Not only is such a scenario horrifying beyond words, but half the world is already hurtling towards this nightmare: A study by the Atlantic Council last year found that 134 countries – including the U.S. at the time – were pursuing central bank digital currencies, with almost half of those countries at an advanced stage in this process. The Biden administration was actively working towards an American CBDC, but in May 2024, the House of Representatives passed a bill to prevent the Federal Reserve from introducing a CBDC. Shortly after coming into office, President Donald Trump banned the establishment of a CBDC in the United States.
In Europe, the European Union is barreling ahead at full speed towards a central bank digital currency for those EU countries that are part of the eurozone, which includes the majority of EU countries. Yet, the dangers of this euro CBDC are nowhere near being discussed in mainstream European media. Of course, EU leaders stress that Europe must have a CBDC to "adapt to the digital age" – a vapid statement evidently intended to subdue skeptics, and supposedly to protect Europe against "increasing geopolitical fragmentation," whatever that is, if it is even relevant to digital currencies.
Whatever the excuse, the impending CBDCs appear intended to give governments unlimited power: If the government does not like your speech, off to jail you go – as in the UK, where people are imprisoned for months and years for saying or writing things that the government disagrees with. Meanwhile, real crimes, such as the mass-rape of thousands of children over the past 20 years, in Rotherham and other cities, remain rampant and largely unaddressed.
Those who control CBDCs will not only be able to fine and arrest you, as they do today, but also to simply cut off your money. Are you eating beef or cheese beyond your carbon allowance? You will have to buy bugs or fake meat instead, as the state will cut off your purchasing freedom.
Unfortunately, none of this is far-fetched. In Canada, during Covid-19 when the truckers went to Ottawa peacefully to protest government pandemic restrictions, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau simply invoked the Emergencies Act, which allowed the government to force banks to freeze the truckers' bank accounts. Problem solved. As for the rest? Carbon trackers already exist, 15-minute cities are being implemented, in the UK, for example, and the Covid-19 vaccine passports proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that governments will take harsh measures to exclude from society those who refuse to comply with whatever madness du jour the governments seek to impose on its citizens. Agustin Carstens, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, sometimes known as the bank of all central banks, has admitted that CBDCs will give governments total control:
"[I]n cash, we don't know, for example, who is using a $100 bill today; we don't know who is using a 1000 peso bill today. A key difference with the CBDC is that central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that we determine the use... and we will have the technology to enforce that."
Last year, British MP Danny Kruger asked a representative of the UK Treasury what a CBDC is good for and what problem it is meant to solve. The bureaucrat replied:
"Look. What's it for? It's to keep track with the reality of how we all purchase and save and do our work with our goods."
They are not even hiding it.
Notably, there is at least some coordination among governments across the West on this totalitarian agenda. Professor Werner noted:
"The Covid operation... many of the policies had no proper medical justification or purpose... whereas if you have the hypothesis that [it] was partly used to even. you know, lay the groundwork for CBDCs...
"[T]his vaccine passport was... a way to push digital IDs, which are a precondition for CBDCs. In order to introduce CBDCs you need digital IDs, and digital IDs were meant to be introduced with the vaccine passport or health passport, which is a form of digital ID... The Covid policies... every country in the world seemed to have the same policies, well mostly certainly in Europe and North America, and so there was an extraordinary degree of coordination that was revealed to us, and clearly that did not come from any democratic process, but somehow top-down from behind the scenes... and that's really another reason why we should be against CBDCs; they've shown us what they're going to do..."There is already various credit and debit cards that have the functionality that your spending will be analyzed and you get a report on an ongoing basis of how much CO2 emissions are involved in your spending... Mastercard... is offering that."CO2, however, will more than likely turn out to be just a tiny excuse for the extreme power that governments will be wielding if they get CBDCs into our hands. Your money will no longer be yours, but more like a credit or account that you will have with the government and that you will only have access to on condition that you follow the rules, whatever they might be. In his "Manifesto of the Communist Party," published in 1848, Karl Marx actually called for a national bank, as something that would help bring about "socialism-communism": "Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly," he wrote of the "fifth measure" necessary to bring about Communism.
Is that what we really want?
*Robert Williams is based in the United States.
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The Saudi-Qatari Competition for Influence in Syria
Ahmad Sharawi & Natalie Ecanow/The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune/September 17/2025
With the Syrian state still in its formative stage, lacking a defined political identity, two Gulf monarchies – Qatar and Saudi Arabia – are seeking to dominate Syria. This competition will only intensify as the interim Syrian government of Ahmad al-Shara’a grapples with state-building.
Qatar provided a cash infusion on August 6, when its UCC Holding inked a $4 billion agreement with the Syrian government to construct a new airport in Damascus. The agreement, one of a dozen foreign investment deals signed that day, came on the heels of a $6.4 billion pledge from Saudi Arabia to support tourism, construct housing, factories, and skyscrapers, and develop the medical, telecommunications, and entertainment industries in Syria.
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed an “investment promotion and protection agreement” on August 19, which was followed by a second Saudi-Syrian investment conference on August 24 and the arrival of a Saudi business delegation in Damascus on August 26. The Saudi investments were followed by humanitarian relief projects sponsored by Riyadh that include “61 initiatives in the health sector, rehabilitation programs, orphan care, and overland aid convoys delivering essential supplies,” announced on September 8.
These recent announcements of financial commitments (not all of which will necessarily be realized, if past is prologue) are part of a larger international effort to rehabilitate a Syrian economy decimated by civil war and international sanctions. In May, Saudi Arabia and Qatar paid off Syria’s $15.5 million debt to the World Bank, paving the way for the World Bank Group “to reengage” with Syria and “address the development needs of the Syria people.” Weeks later, Qatar and Saudi Arabia announced “joint financial support” for public sector employees.
While Qatar and Saudi Arabia are cooperating on short-term priorities, their collaboration in Syria mustn’t be mistaken for a lasting partnership. The two monarchies have each sought to expand their regional influence politically and economically, often at each other’s expense.
The point of contention between them is political Islam. Qatar has actively promoted Islamist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood as a core part of its foreign policy, while Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman considers the Brotherhood to be a threat to his kingdom’s stability, condemning the Brotherhood for fostering extremism.
Within days of Bashar al-Asad’s ouster, Qatar began reengaging with Damascus, working with Turkey to bolster the new Syrian government. Turkey and Qatar were the first and second countries, respectively, to reopen embassies in Syria. In January, Qatar’s Emir made the first visit by a foreign head of state to Damascus. Qatar has followed up this diplomatic outreach by financing infrastructure projects in Syria, focused on restoring electricity. Qatar got the greenlight from Washington in March to begin pumping natural gas to Syria via Jordan. In May, Syria signed a $7 billion agreement with Qatar’s UCC Holding, Power International USA, and two Turkish energy companies to construct four power plants and a solar farm in Syria. The latest energy deal launched on August 2, when Qatar began financing natural gas deliveries to Syria from Azerbaijan via Turkey.
This summer has seen Damascus sign close to $2 billion in additional deals with Qatari companies. In June, the Syrian government signed a $1.5 billion agreement with a Qatar’s Al Maha International to establish a hub for “media, film, and tourism” in Syria called “Damascus Gate.” Qatari telecommunications firm Ooredoo is also in the running to build out Syria’s fiber optic communications network. The project’s price tag is roughly $300 million.
Qatar’s investments outweigh Saudi Arabia’s to date, but Riyadh has also provided key political support. In May, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, joined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, successfully lobbied President Trump to lift sanctions on Syria.
In July, a Saudi delegation met with interim Syrian president Ahmad al-Shara’a and hosted an investment forum, where the delegation announced significant infrastructure investments. This visit took place as sectarian clashes roiled southern Syria, signalling Riyadh’s support for Syria’s territorial integrity and positioned Saudi Arabia as a key protector of Syria’s interests, despite atrocities by government-aligned forces in southern Syria. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Barhan told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Saudi Arabia supports the deployment of Syrian troops in the predominantly Druze province of Suwayda. Saudi Arabia wants a stable Syria free of the Iranian influence that led the country to become a hub for both transnational terrorism and drug trafficking. Captagon from Syria placed a significant strain on Saudi Arabia. Its investments also aim to curb Qatari and Turkish influence and to prevent Syria from becoming a client state of either country. Shara’a is currently playing both sides to extract maximum financial and political benefits. He understands that siding too heavily with one camp risks alienating the other—and losing valuable investment. This risk is particularly acute in the case of Saudi Arabia, which has a track record of withdrawing support when a country’s trajectory conflicts with Riyadh’s. For example, Lebanon fell out of Riyadh’s favor after failing to curb Iran’s influence. To prevent a similar fallout, Damascus has carefully distributed projects between both countries to sustain the competition between them.The key question now is which ideological path Shara’a will embrace. Will he foster closer ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and align with Qatar? Will he distance himself from political Islam to reassure Saudi Arabia and prevent Riyadh’s potential withdrawal? Or will he continue to delay choosing an ideological path and play both sides?
Recent statements suggest Shara’a seeks to distance himself, at least rhetorically, from the Brotherhood despite his Islamist background. Shara’a may be aligning more closely with Riyadh, but that is unlikely to push Qatar out of Syria; instead, Doha will likely continue to invest in Syria, hoping to tilt Shara’a back into its orbit. What should the US do? In the short term, it must monitor investment flows in Syria. The risk of investments enriching terrorist groups is high given that the Syrian government has integrated groups into its military that maintain active ties to foreign terrorist organizations such as al-Qa’ida. The military has also committed human rights abuses since coming into power, and Syria continues to host several designated terrorist organizations, including Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.
Despite removing most sanctions on Syria, Washington has not clarified whether there is a monitoring mechanism in place designed to track and prevent terror financing. Washington should press Syria to put such a mechanism in place and cooperate with groups such as the Financial Action Task Force, the intergovernmental watchdog for money laundering and terror finance.
Washington should also make clear to Shara’a that there is a window of opportunity for historic improvements in US-Syria relations. If he takes meaningful steps to protect minorities from abuse, holds perpetrators accountable, and restrains extremists, a new era can begin.
**Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, focusing on the Levant. Natalie Ecanow is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, focusing on the Gulf states.

Three years later, Iran’s freedom martyr Mahsa Amini inspires demands for change
Behnam Ben Taleblu & Richard Goldberg/New York Post/September 17/2025
Mahsa Jina Amini wasn’t looking to become a martyr: She was an ordinary Iranian-Kurdish 22-year-old, stopped by Iran’s “morality police” for not properly wearing the mandatory veil known as the hijab. Days later, on Sept. 16, 2022, she was dead in custody.
Her killing sparked the largest wave of protests in the Islamic Republic’s four-decade history.
People poured into the streets nationwide under the banner “Woman, Life, Freedom” — rebelling not against one law, but against a suffocating regime that had robbed them of choice, dignity and hope. The regime reacted with brutal suppression, killing more than 500 protesters and detaining over 22,000.
Its message was unmistakable: Dissent will be met with bloodshed.
In the three years since, conditions in Iran have only worsened.
Hijab enforcement is now achieved with artificial intelligence along with the state’s thugs.
Facial recognition cameras, surveillance apps and neighborhood vigilantes all police Iranian women’s clothing. Meanwhile, decades of corruption, sanctions and mismanagement have gutted the economy, and rolling blackouts, parched farmland and water shortages pile suffering onto everyday Iranians. The regime survived the 2022-’23 uprising and even the 12-day war with Israel, but it increasingly resembles a failed state.
Executions, already high, have surged: Nearly 1,000 Iranians last year, many for political offenses or so-called morality violations, as the Islamic Republic has weaponized the death penalty as a tool of control.
But the regime is not as invincible as it pretends.
For years, Tehran relied on the threat of nuclear escalation as a shield against foreign pressure.
Now, after President Donald Trump’s June “Midnight Hammer” strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, that card is gone. European powers have moved to “snap back” UN sanctions, which could close the door once and for all on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
The message to global markets is clear: Iran’s economy won’t be normalized under this regime. If Trump follows with maximum enforcement — cutting off Iran’s oil shipments to China and rolling back its grip on Iraq’s energy and financial sectors — the regime’s economic lifeline could collapse, making it harder to pay off security forces and buy domestic quiet.
Even under today’s repression, Iranians are not silent.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has tracked more than 2,500 protests over the past year — 186 in August, and another 43 these last two weeks.
These demonstrations range from small gatherings to large marches, spanning provinces and pulling in every demographic: students and shopkeepers, the secular and the religious, the rich and the poor.
Their persistence matters.
Iran’s rulers depend on the illusion that fear has crushed dissent.
But the ongoing rhythm of protest proves otherwise: The fire that Mahsa Amini lit has not burned out. The key question now is whether Iran is on the edge of real change, or yet another bloody cycle of executions and mass arrests. The hopeful case is that the Islamic Republic has never looked weaker, with its nuclear deterrent smashed, its economy a disaster and its legitimacy evaporated. Women walk unveiled in defiance every day; young men chant against the Supreme Leader; minorities refuse to stay silent. The people’s will for freedom is stronger than the regime’s claim to power. The darker case is that the ayatollahs still command an enormous security machine — and have shown they will use it without hesitation.
Internet blackouts, prison torture, firing squads: These are not relics of the past, but tools of the present. The likeliest outcome is a mix of both — cycles of protest and suppression, hope followed by horror. But every cycle weakens the regime’s grip, erodes its legitimacy and emboldens its people.
America and its allies cannot dictate Iran’s future. But they can tilt the balance.
Consistent pressure on Tehran — through sanctions, accountability for human rights abuses and support for civil society — can amplify the voices of Iranians demanding change.
Looking away, by contrast, only guarantees more repression.
Mahsa Amini’s death exposed the cruelty of a regime built on fear.
On the third anniversary of her death, her name is still whispered in protests, chanted in underground meetings and written on walls.
She is not forgotten.
The world should be clear-eyed: Iran is either on the brink of liberation — or at risk of plunging into another wave of executions. The difference may lie in whether the free world decides to stand with the Iranian people, or give the ayatollahs the benefit of time.
Mahsa Amini did not choose martyrdom. But in death, she has become the regime’s greatest threat: The immortal symbol of what freedom looks like when ordinary citizens demand it.
**Behnam Ben Taleblu is senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Richard Goldberg is a senior advisor.

Jeddah Declaration as a platform for peace: Sudan’s war demands global action
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/ Al Arabiya English/Sepember 17/2025
The war in Sudan has now entered its third year. Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the country has been plunged into one of the most devastating conflicts of the twenty-first century. What began as a violent power struggle between rival generals has metastasized into a national tragedy that threatens the survival of millions. The scale of destruction is staggering: Whole cities reduced to rubble, hospitals and schools targeted, and millions uprooted from their homes. As of lately, the United Nations and humanitarian agencies consider Sudan to be the site of one of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. Yet, despite the enormity of the suffering, international attention has been intermittent and global response insufficient. Sudan’s plight demands urgent re-engagement, and existing frameworks such as the Jeddah Declaration must be revived, reinforced, and supported by stronger cooperation between the international community and the African Union. The scale of suffering: A country in collapse
The toll on the Sudanese people has reached catastrophic proportions. More than twelve million Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes, making this conflict one of the largest displacement crises in modern history. Refugees are pouring across borders into neighboring countries like Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, straining already fragile host states. Inside Sudan itself, civilians are trapped in war-torn cities such as Khartoum, Omdurman, and El-Fasher, where shelling and urban combat have turned neighborhoods into killing grounds. Tens of thousands have already lost their lives, and countless others are unaccounted for, either buried beneath collapsed buildings or languishing in besieged areas cut off from aid.
The food crisis is equally dire. Nearly twenty-five million Sudanese – almost half of the population – are facing acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Program. Entire communities teeter on the edge of famine, and in some areas, hunger has already crossed that threshold. Malnutrition is ravaging the most vulnerable: One in three children suffers from acute hunger, and many will never recover physically or cognitively even if peace comes tomorrow. In rural areas, farmers have been unable to plant or harvest crops for multiple seasons, leaving the land barren and communities destitute.
Healthcare has collapsed under the weight of the war. Hospitals have been bombed or occupied, leaving only a fraction still operational. Those that remain open are overwhelmed and critically under-supplied. Outbreaks of cholera, measles, and malaria sweep through displaced communities, compounding the suffering. Pregnant women are giving birth without medical assistance, surgeries are performed without anesthesia, and children die from preventable diseases simply because medicine cannot reach them. In this environment, survival itself has become an act of resistance.
Barriers to relief: Why humanitarian aid Is failing
While international aid agencies are present and eager to respond, their ability to operate has been crippled. The warring parties often block or attack humanitarian convoys, viewing aid as a resource to be controlled rather than a lifeline for civilians. Roads and supply routes are deliberately destroyed to cut off communities, and relief workers risk being kidnapped or killed. This has created a cruel paradox: even though aid exists, it cannot reach the people who need it most. The health system’s collapse and the destruction of infrastructure further compound this barrier, leaving civilians completely dependent on sporadic, fragile deliveries.
Funding fatigue is another challenge. The global community has failed to provide Sudan with the financial support required to mount a large-scale humanitarian response. International pledges have fallen far short of needs, leaving agencies underfunded and overstretched. Sudan’s crisis is competing with wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere for attention, and too often it is losing that battle. This lack of prioritization has left millions of Sudanese to fend for themselves, with inadequate shelter, food, or medicine.
The Jeddah Declaration: A platform for hope
Amid this bleak landscape, the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan stands out as one of the few diplomatic frameworks that could offer a path forward. Under the mediation of Saudi Arabia and the United States, the agreement was designed to commit both the SAF and the RSF to protecting civilians, respecting humanitarian principles, and allowing aid to flow. At its core, the Declaration sought to establish a ceasefire mechanism that could at least pause hostilities long enough for relief to reach besieged populations.
The significance of the Jeddah Declaration lies in its potential to create a foundation for broader peace talks. Although its implementation has been uneven and repeatedly violated by both sides, it remains a formal, internationally recognized platform that all parties have at least nominally endorsed. Unlike other ad-hoc negotiations, the Jeddah process has the backing of influential regional powers and Western states, giving it a legitimacy and visibility that no other effort has achieved. This makes it an essential tool that should not be abandoned, but rather reinvigorated and reinforced.
The role of the international community and the African Union
The challenge now is to translate the commitments of the Jeddah Declaration into reality. This cannot happen without sustained international pressure, stronger monitoring, and a deeper collaboration between global actors and regional institutions. The International Committee – including the United Nations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the World Health Organization, and the World Food Program – must work in tandem with the African Union to create a coherent strategy for Sudan.
The AU, with its regional legitimacy and closer ties to neighboring states, can bring pressure to bear in ways that outside powers cannot. Together, these institutions must establish humanitarian corridors, enforce accountability for ceasefire violations, and ensure that aid reaches civilians without obstruction.
Such cooperation must also be backed by resources. Without sufficient funding, even the best frameworks collapse under their own weight. Governments must increase their contributions to humanitarian appeals, and donor fatigue must be countered by political leadership that frames Sudan’s crisis not as a distant tragedy but as a moral and strategic imperative. If left unaddressed, the conflict risks spilling further into neighboring countries, destabilizing an already fragile region, and fueling extremism and mass migration. The cost of inaction will far exceed the cost of intervention.
Reviving Jeddah Declaration, restoring hope
Sudan’s war, now in its third year, has already claimed too much. It has shattered communities, destroyed infrastructure, and left millions of people starving, sick, and displaced. The scale of human suffering is almost incomprehensible, yet the world has not matched this tragedy with an adequate response. The Jeddah Declaration remains one of the few viable frameworks to halt the violence and protect civilians, but it requires new life, stronger guarantees, and greater international and regional buy-in.
This is not the moment for the world to look away. It is the moment to act decisively, to insist on the protection of civilians, to enforce humanitarian access, and to demand accountability from both warring factions. International actors and the African Union must seize the Jeddah Declaration not as a failed experiment, but as a platform that –if reinforced and honored – can chart a path toward peace. For the millions of Sudanese suffering today, it may be the only chance left to restore hope and reclaim their future.

The Nile water ‘war’ is over. Ethiopia won...If Egypt’s hands are tied, Sudan’s are broken.
Elfadil Ibrahim/The Arab Weekly/September 17/2025
For more than a decade, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was billed as the flashpoint for what many believed would be the biggest water war in modern history.
The narrative was compelling and simple: a rising upstream power, Ethiopia, was building a colossal dam that would choke the lifeblood of the historic downstream hegemon, Egypt, leading inevitably to conflict. That story is now officially history, terminated on September 9, as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the completed $5 billion dam, hailing it as the “greatest achievement in the history of the Black race.”
The old levers of influence, once firmly in Egyptian hands, have rusted and broken. The downstream alliance has crumbled, international mediation has evaporated, and a new, more complex game is now being played across the Nile Valley, a game for which the GERD is no longer the prize, but the board itself.
The most significant factor in this new reality is the definitive closure of the military option for Egypt. The bellicose rhetoric of the past, which once dominated headlines, now rings hollow. One recalls former US President Donald Trump’s blunt assessment in 2020 that Egypt would eventually “blow up that dam.” At the time, the statement reflected a real, if extreme, policy option under consideration in Cairo.
Today, that option is politically and militarily inconceivable. Egypt’s hands are full. The devastating war in Gaza, a crisis now centred even more squarely on Cairo following Israel’s strikes on Qatar, and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe have consumed its diplomatic, economic and security bandwidth. As a critical interlocutor for Gaza, a host to millions of refugees and a bulwark against wider regional conflict, Egypt simply does not have the appetite for military adventurism on its southern flank. A war with Ethiopia, a nation of 125 million people, is a risk Cairo cannot, and will not, take.
This strategic retreat is not just a matter of circumstance, but of policy. While its diplomats continue to condemn Ethiopia’s “unilateral actions” and issue stern warnings about its “existential threat,” Egypt’s planners are quietly engineering a future that accommodates the GERD. The evidence lies in its massive investment in desalination.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly recently announced an ambitious plan to produce ten million cubic metres of desalinated water daily within the next six years. With nearly 100 desalination plants already operational and more planned in partnership with international firms, Egypt is re-engineering its water security by reducing its near-total dependence on the Nile. It is a tacit acknowledgement that the old hydro-political order, underpinned by colonial-era treaties from 1929 and 1959 that granted it the lion’s share of the water, is gone forever. Cairo is now planning around the dam, not for its destruction.
If Egypt’s hands are tied, Sudan’s are broken. Once the crucial, if often ambivalent, downstream partner, Sudan has been consumed by a brutal civil war since April 2023. The country’s diplomatic weight has crumbled as it becomes a battleground for regional proxy wars. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)-led government in Port Sudan is existentially dependent on Egypt as its primary military and political backer, forcing it to echo Cairo’s anti-GERD line in public forums.
But the reality on the ground reveals a far more desperate and complex picture. A secret document revealed by Al Jazeera shows that in October 2022, before the civil war but when the state was already fragmenting after its 2019 revolution, Khartoum signed a technical agreement with Ethiopia on the filling and operation of the GERD. This was a quiet recognition by Sudan, with a border which sits just nine miles from the GERD, that the project’s completion was a foregone conclusion and that it needed a working relationship with Addis Ababa to manage water flows for its own dams and to secure its electricity supply.
Today, that dependency is especially evident. Even as Cairo props up the SAF, Ethiopia supplies Sudan with electricity, accruing a mounting debt of over $90 million that has gone unpaid for three years. Sudan is therefore rhetorically aligned with its Egyptian patron while practically dependent on its Ethiopian adversary. This fragmentation has shattered the downstream bloc, leaving Egypt diplomatically isolated.
Moreover, another significant pivot has been that of the United Arab Emirates. Once positioned as the key mediator after US and World Bank-led talks stalled, the UAE has transitioned from neutral broker to vested stakeholder. The recent power purchase agreement between Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and a firm linked to the UAE’s National Security Adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, is a tangible sign that Abu Dhabi is not just accepting the new reality but is actively capitalising on it.
Unable to rely on its old allies or mediators, Egypt has been forced to construct a new coalition. Ethiopia’s provocative deal with independence-seeking Somaliland in 2024 for port access, a move which bypassed and angered the Federal Government of Somalia, provided the perfect catalyst. Cairo, seeing its opportunity, moved swiftly to formalise a security pact with Mogadishu, creating the cornerstone of what has become a new Eritrean-Egyptian-Somali axis of containment.
The tripartite alliance delivered distinct advantages for its members: for Egypt, it gained a strategic foothold on Ethiopia’s eastern border; for an isolated Eritrea, it provided a powerful ally against Abiy’s aggressive designs on the port city of Assab; and for Somalia, it offered added support in fighting al-Shabaab as well as a security guarantee against the potential dismemberment of its territory, a direct response to Ethiopia’s controversial port deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Yet, this axis of containment is built on a foundation of convenience, not conviction, rendering it inherently fragile. No one demonstrates this better than Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. He eagerly accepted Egypt’s military support, but with a crucial caveat: his country’s internal security is inextricably linked to thousands of Ethiopian soldiers. These forces operate in a dual capacity: some as part of the formal African Union mission, but an even larger contingent deployed under separate bilateral agreements.
A permanent rupture with Addis Ababa would therefore trigger a security catastrophe, creating a vacuum that Al-Shabaab would immediately exploit. This is why, in a move that surprised observers, President Mohamud flew to Ethiopia to be photographed laughing with and hugging Prime Minister Abiy at the GERD inauguration. His offer to mediate the Nile dispute was the final, clear signal: though the Somaliland tensions persists and Turkish-mediated talks have stalled, Somalia would act as a neutral peacemaker, not an Egyptian proxy. Other upstream and Nile Basin countries are making similar calculations. Kenya, whose president William Ruto, also attended the inauguration, is already a customer for Ethiopian electricity and sees its future intertwined with a regional power grid centered on Ethiopian hydro-electric power. South Sudan, a fragile state courted by both sides, finds itself weighing its historical ties to Egypt, a source of valuable diplomatic support and humanitarian aid, against the pull of its now energy-rich neighbour, whose vision of a “shared future” President Salva Kiir endorsed by committing to become a key customer for GERD-generated power. For Ethiopia, the triumph of the GERD presents its own test. Having defied its neighbours and realised a decades-old dream, financed not by international institutions but largely by the contributions of its own citizens, it must now decide, will it leverage the dam for genuine regional integration, as Abiy’s rhetoric of “shared opportunity” suggests?
Or will it succumb to the temptations of nationalist expansionism, fuelled by the prime minister’s vows to correct the “historical mistake” of losing a Red Sea port, and plunge the Horn into a new and more destructive cycle of conflict?
The dam is built, but the new story of the Nile is only just beginning.
**Elfadil Ibrahim is a writer and analyst focusing on Sudanese and Arab politics.

What can Israel learn from Sparta and Athens?
SETH J. FRANTZMAN/Face Book/September 17/2025
On the eve of the Peloponnesian War in 432 BCE, the wise king of Sparta Archidamus II was called upon to address a clash between the Corinthians and Athenians. Corinth, an ally of Sparta, warned that Athens' power was growing too strong. If Sparta didn’t act soon, the other Greek city states would lose confidence in her and her friends might desert.
Archidamus rose to address his fellow Spartans and their allies. He told the assembled men that he had seen many wars and warned the others not to “fall into the common misfortune of longing for war from inexperience.” If there was to be war, he asked “what can justify us in rashly beginning such a struggle?”
A comment by Israel’s prime minister this week appears to have set off a mini-debate about whether Israel can fairly be compared to ancient Sparta, or Athens. It has also led to complaints that Israel should not view itself as one of these Greek City states, because this would imply the country has become war-like and cut off from the world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel should have an economy with “autarkic features… to be Athens and super-Sparta.” The comparison with Sparta may not be controversial to those on the Right, since it conjures up a warrior society with martial features. By contrast, the center and Left will likely see this as leading Israel to a self-fulfilling prophecy of isolation. In essence, they will say that the Jewish state shouldn’t admire city-states like Sparta that were obsessed with militarism and ruling over others.
THIS DEBATE may miss the wider point. Both Athens and Sparta have often come down to us in history as clichés, a kind of good and evil or Manichean view of the world. Athens was portrayed as a democratic, sea-going power. It had culture and philosophy. It was worldly. Sparta, by contrast, was austere and obsessed with war. It didn’t care about the wider world and dwelled alone on land.
This is a largely unfair portrayal of societies that existed in ancient Greece and had aspects in common with each other and with their neighbors. Athens and Sparta were only two of many small states. They come down to us as prototypical rivals in part because of the Peloponnesian War and the record of it that Thucydides left us.
As such, when Westerners have interpreted their own wars, they see themselves in the models of the Athenians or Spartans. None of them seem to see themselves as the Corinthians, Argos or Macedonians.
This leaves us with a simplistic view of these two rival powers. However, it doesn’t mean that modern countries cannot learn the lessons of the past. The war between these two countries lasted for almost thirty years from 431-404 BC. It consisted of two parts: the ten-year Archidamian War, named for the Spartan king of the time, which ended in 421 BCE, and an expedition by the Athenians to Sicily and a second round of war that erupted in 413.
The war left Athens devastated. It also led to the long decline of Sparta. As such, it was ruinous for both city-states and their allies. It should be recalled that these two states went to war with an extensive list of colonies and allies. Athens was an empire of the sea, Sparta had allies on land. The war was dictated by this limitation, with raids on land by the Peloponnesian allies of Sparta, and battles at sea.
WHILE SPARTA is portrayed as the warlike country, its king at the time of its longest war was actually very pragmatic. “Let us never be elated by the fatal hope of the war being quickly ended by the devastation of their lands. I fear rather that we may leave it as a legacy to our children.” The Spartan king urged calm and to consider Athenian offers of arbitration.
Israel today may have some commonalities with both Athens and Sparta. It is a country that has a martial spirit and a populace willing to sacrifice. It has resilience. These are Spartan qualities. It also has many technological exports and is a global power in technology and other advancements. As such, it has Athenian qualities.
However, Israel’s current leadership also lacks many of the wise words that the leaders of Athens and Sparta had in their prime. There is no speech today among leaders of the coalition discussing peace or warning that the current war will affect generations.
On the contrary, the current Israeli coalition government has worked to enable 50,000 haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men to avoid service while sending reservists back and forth to Gaza. No Spartan king would have helped so many men avoid service. Israeli officials brag about levelling buildings in Gaza and having Gaza “burn” and be destroyed. These are not the words of wise leaders of old, but rather the rash and warlike who plunged countries into long wars.
The notion that Israel can model itself either on the austerity of Sparta or the isolation of Athens behind her Long Walls that were constructed to keep enemies out, is a notion that will lead Israel to the ruin that befell both ancient Greek city-states. On the other hand, Israel might learn from them. Both sides in that war sought to bring hostages home. They did deals to bring their people home. Israel might learn that it is more important to bring citizens and soldiers home, than to continue long wars that have diminishing returns.
There is much in the texts of the leaders of Athens and Sparta and other states of that era that might inform Middle Eastern leadership today. Most of all, the lesson of that era is that entering into an endless, long war did not benefit any of those involved in the long run.

Slected X tweets For September 17/2025
Pope Leo XIV
@Pontifex
We live as if life were never enough. We rush to produce, to prove ourselves, to keep up. But the Gospel teaches us that knowing how to stop is an act of trust that we must learn to perform. Life does not always depend on what we do, but also in knowing how to let go of what we have been able to do. #GeneralAudience

Lindsey Graham
https://x.com/i/status/1968040525577216241
WATCH: @FBIDirectorKash
confirms that Hezbollah - a terrorist organization - is a direct threat to the United States and is involved in narco-terrorism.

Department of State
https://x.com/i/status/1968047332504846836
"There's no shortage of idiots around the world who think it's a great idea to murder someone. Why would we give a visa to those who think it's good that someone was murdered in the public square? It's just common sense. We don't want them here."

Prime Minister of Israel
https://x.com/i/status/1968032635738890621
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, at a press conference:
“Yesterday, I spoke a little about the Israeli economy. So I want to repeat a story that I told: 22 years ago, I took over as finance minister in one of the worst economic crises in Israel’s history.

Prime Minister of Israel
https://x.com/i/status/1968213119987302620
Happy birthday to my dear friend, Prime Minister @narendramodi
Together we will take our partnership to new heights.

Mira
@MiraMedusa
https://x.com/i/status/1968258670497853705
Sweida today: the people are signing a petition demanding the right to self-determination for #Sweida, Jabal al-Druze.

Cedars and Saints
https://x.com/i/status/1968267422357655687
The Nicene Creed is a statement of the foundational Christian faith, originally crafted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE to combat Arianism by affirming Jesus' divine nature as "begotten, not made" and "of one substance with the Father".

Ambassador Mike Huckabee
https://x.com/i/status/1967939169679974700
It was deeply meaningful to join @SecRubio
and @IsraeliPM
at the historic opening ceremony of the Pilgrimage Road at the City of David in Jerusalem - Israel’s eternal capital. The archeological discoveries at the City of David bring the Bible back to life and celebrate our shared Judeo-Christian heritage.

Marc Zell
@GOPIsrael
I'm proud to have played a role in bringing the cause of Syria's Druze and other minorities to the attention of the American and Israeli governments. I will continue to do whatever I can to protect the Druze, Kurds, Christians and other minorities in Syria against the tyranny of the Syrian regime whoever that may be.

Dr Walid Phares
https://x.com/i/status/1968046586308559170
I have been warning about #JihadiPetrodollars and their manipulation by the Ikhwan since the late 1990s, particularly their efforts to penetrate U.S. academia and exert maximum influence. I published two books—one in 2005 and another in 2007—to raise public awareness. For nearly three decades, I and a few other scholars have been sounding the alarm. Only recently has serious investigative work on this issue begun to emerge
ME24 - Middle East 24
@MiddleEast_24
https://x.com/i/status/1968046586308559170
Qatar’s Billions in Western Universities; Dr Walid Phares Warns of Academic Influence
Nearly 100 billion dollars has reportedly been funneled from Qatar and affiliated groups into Western universities, raising growing concern about foreign influence in higher education.
While these funds often go toward naming buildings and securing prestige, critics warn that the real impact is seen in curriculum choices, faculty appointments, and academic programs.
Dr Walid Phares has cautioned that such funding risks shaping intellectual discourse in ways that serve political agendas rather than protecting academic independence.
This important debate is featured in the first episode of our podcast, ME24 Breakdown, released on the anniversary of the Abraham Accords.
@WalidPhares

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Again with the man made borders?
If they are man made why are we treating them like they’re divine? Why not partition Syria by giving the Kurds their state, the Druze and the Alawites?What makes Syrian unity and territorial integrity so special if its borders are random?

Ambassador Tom Barrack
Sincere thanks to Walid Jumblatt for his wisdom and unparalleled stature in harnessing the collective views of valued Druze leaders, who live within various man-made boundaries and borders, but nevertheless are committed to a God that knows no borders or boundaries. The Druze community can thrive as part of one Syria and in tolerance and cooperation with their Druze cousins in the region, who likewise live within their own nation states but share one God. This is a shared goal of all parties involved.
Pope Leo XIV
@Pontifex
We live as if life were never enough. We rush to produce, to prove ourselves, to keep up. But the Gospel teaches us that knowing how to stop is an act of trust that we must learn to perform. Life does not always depend on what we do, but also in knowing how to let go of what we have been able to do. #GeneralAudience

Hanin Ghaddar
HUGE if true. According to Lebanese media reports, Hezbollah's Security Committee cards (aka golden cards) usually used by LH to help facilitate the movements of its militants across the country and into Syria, have been completely suspended. In addition, special cards for Palestinian militants were also cancelled. Lebanese authorities will not recognize any of the existing cards - as part of the action plan and government decision to restrict Hezbollah and Palestinian factions’ weapons.
We still don’t have a timeline for disarmament but this not nothing!
The #LAF should put out a statement to confirm this.