English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  May 01/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’”
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 06/22-27:”The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 30-01 May/2026
Elias Bejjani's video and text/exposing and ridiculing the "national meeting" held by Hezbollah today, which brought together rotting corpses, extinct dinosaurs, Baathists, Nasserists, leftists, mercenaries, nationalists, and Christian Trojan horses
Elias Bejjani/Video link to my interview of today from the "Transparency" Youtube platform
Elias Bejjani /Video Link of my Interview with "Arab Files"
Elias Bejjani: Video and Text/ A Critical Reading of Samir Geagea’s Sunday Appearance on Al-Jadeed TV
Video link of an interview with Guardians of the Cedars Party member Shibl al-Zoghbi
US Embassy in Beirut urges Lebanon to negotiate with Israel with ‘full attention’ of US
Israel Army Says Soldier Killed ‘in Combat’ in South Lebanon
Hezbollah Signals Possible Return to 1980s 'Tactics' Against Israeli Army
South Lebanese Mayors, Residents Protest Israeli Demolitions
Lebanon and the Shiites: Between Initiative and Accusations of Treason
Lebanese Defense Minister: Talks With Israel Aimed at Peace, Not Surrender or Trade-Offs
Saudi Arabia Stresses Importance of Strengthening Lebanon’s Stability
Katz says Israel may have to 'act again' against Iran
9 killed, including 2 children, and 23 hurt in Israeli strikes on 3 southern towns
US officials say Lebanon ceasefire not collapsing
Timeline of decades of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
Aoun condemns 'continuing Israeli violations' of truce
Aoun in contact with Lebanon's ambassador to US over Israeli attacks
1.24 million projected to face acute insecurity in Lebanon, UN report says
Araghchi again tells Berri ceasefire in Lebanon part of agreement with US
Israeli soldier killed in south Lebanon, 12 troops injured in north Israel
Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill at least 15
South Lebanese mayors, residents protest Israeli demolitions
Report: Army returns to South Litani, reinforces presence in Beirut
Bassil urges state to go to ICC instead of 'panting after' direct talks
Humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains fragile despite ceasefire
With mass evacuation warnings, Israel upends lives in south Lebanon
Existence, Borders, and the Lebanese Exception/Rafik Khoury/Nidaa Al-Watan/April 30, 2026
The State and Hezbollah: Separation is "Inevitable"/Nabil Bou Monsef /An-Nahar/April 30/2026
On the Illuminating Light of Lebanon/Antoine Douaihy/Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
Lebanon Must Reform its Army or Lose American Aid/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Algemeiner/30 April 2026

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 30-01 May/2026
Trump warns Iran blockade could last months, sending oil prices soaring
US naval blockade squeezes Iran’s oil exports, forces crude onto floating storage
Khamenei says US suffered 'disgraceful defeat'
Grossi: Iran's Highly Enriched Uranium Likely is at Isfahan Site
Pivotal US-Iran War Deadline Approaches with No End in Sight for Conflict
Trump says gas prices will drop as soon as Iran war is over
Trump hails ‘tremendous new chapter’ with Iraq after call with PM-designate
The US president invited Ali al-Zaidi to Washington after he forms a new government
Iran president calls US naval blockade ‘extension of military operations’
US military is in ‘really good shape’ on the munitions front: Pentagon chief
UK raises threat level to 'severe' after London antisemitic attack
Trump in Fresh Attack on Germany’s Merz Over Iran
Israel Defense Minister Says Country May Have to ‘Act Again’ Against Iran
Israel Says Detained Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Taken to Greece
US Auditors Find No Evidence Linking Iraq PM-Designate to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
Man Accused of Trying to Kill Trump at Correspondents’ Gala Agrees to Remain Jailed for Now
France to Host International Meet on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in June
‘Positive’ Mood in Cairo Talks on New Proposal by Mediators
Britain’s King Charles Honors Fallen US Troops on Last Day of Visit
Syria Arrests Former General Accused of Chemical Attack Involvement

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 30-01 May/2026
The Crown's Moral Voice: King Charles in Washington and the Test of Western Clarity/Ahmed Charai/Gatestone Institute./April 30, 2026
The World's Shameful Silence on Hamas/Bassam Tawil/ Gatestone Institute/April 30, 2026
Sudan… Are the Rifts of the Rapid Support Forces Growing?/Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
New Trajectories For Intelligence!/Huda al-Husseini/Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
UAE’s OPEC exit: Strategic shift, not the end of the group/Cornelia Meyer/Al Arabiya English/30 April ,2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets for April 30/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 30-01 May/2026
Elias Bejjani's video and text/exposing and ridiculing the "national meeting" held by Hezbollah today, which brought together rotting corpses, extinct dinosaurs, Baathists, Nasserists, leftists, mercenaries, nationalists, and Christian Trojan horses
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/154033/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tUZ-YgjbGU&t=149s

Elias Bejjani/Video link to my interview of today from the "Transparency" Youtube platform
A Reading into the Reality of the Occupation and the Hezbollah status in Lebanon; The Inevitability of Uprooting it, Placing Lebanon Under International Trusteeship, Imposing Peace by Force, and the Retirement of the Entire Rotten Political Class—If Not Their Prosecution.
To President Aoun: "You must have the courage of Bashir and Chamoun."
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/154013/
The interview was conducted by journalist Patricia Samaha via Zoom for the Transparency Youtube Platform on April 28, 2026.
Introduction by Transparency Youtube Platform
on April 28, 2026.
Elias Bejjani Explodes Political Bombs from Canada: "We are living in a Hezbollah state, and the Army’s doctrine was imposed upon it by Syria!" Is the end of Iran’s influence in Lebanon approaching?
In an exceptional episode of the program "Politics and People," journalist Patricia Samaha hosts political activist Elias Bejjani for a deep and bold analysis of the Lebanese reality. The meeting tackles thorny files starting with a response to Naim Qassem, moving through the file of naturalized citizens and "demographic cleansing," and reaching an explicit call for a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel to end the state of war that has destroyed Lebanon since the seventies.
Interview Timestamps and Headlines
00:00 – The lesson from the humiliating Syrian withdrawal: A message to every invader and occupier.
03:30 – The file of the 1,000,000 naturalized citizens: The necessity of immediately cleaning the Lebanese demography.
07:00 – "The international plan to eliminate Iran's arms": Hezbollah is finished.
08:45 – The difference between peace and normalization: Why does Lebanon need a comprehensive reconciliation with Israel?
10:30 – A fierce attack on Lebanese leaders: "Nationally and sovereignly castrated."
18:20 – A shocking legal analysis: Who is the real "enemy" in the Lebanese Constitution?
25:40 – How the Taif Agreement abolished the "Lebanese Entity" and entered us into the Arab prison?
33:00 – Criticism of the Army Command: "He who forbids criticism lacks dignity."
41:30 – A message of hope: Lebanon will return to its sovereignty, freedom, and original identity.
Elias Bejjanil"I thank journalist Patricia Samaha and those in charge of the Transparency website for hosting me and providing the space to freely express my Lebanese national positions and convictions, and to call things by their true names."

Elias Bejjani / Video Link of my Interview with "Arab Files"
The Arab Normalizers Reject Lebanon’s Peace with Israel
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/154001/
Interviewed by Dr. Zeina Mansour via "Arab News"/April 27/2026
In this fiery interview, political activist Elias Bejjani reveals details regarding the "Arab Veto" preventing Lebanon from signing a peace treaty. He exposes the secrets behind the retreat of Lebanese leaders following a "Saudi Decree," predicting an upcoming international mandate to uproot Hezbollah.
The Arab campaign to obstruct the peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
How did the Saudi envoy change Samir Geagea’s stance on Chapter VII?
The truth about Lebanon’s leaders: "Party-Corporations" and products of foreign occupations.
The Taif Agreement: A lie that marginalized the Christian and Druze roles.
The upcoming American project: International mandate and the end of Hezbollah.
Timestamp Highlights
00:00 - 03:33 | Arab offensive to derail peace.
02:40 - 05:20 | A Saudi decree changes Geagea’s position.
06:00 - 09:00 | Why are they preventing Lebanon from achieving peace?
10:10 - 12:20 | The lie of dialogue with Hezbollah.
12:39 - 17:00 | Lebanon’s rulers are the product of foreign occupations.
26:11 - 28:00 | Taif marginalized Christians and Druze.
31:22 - 32:44 | International mandate and the uprooting of Hezbollah.
Personal Note
Elias Bejjani/Greetings to everyone who watches this interview. My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Zeina Mansour and the "Arab Files" website for hosting me and providing the opportunity to freely express my national and sovereign views and aspirations.

Elias Bejjani: Video and Text/ A Critical Reading of Samir Geagea’s Sunday Appearance on Al-Jadeed TV
 A Coup Against All His Positions Following His Meeting with Yazid bin Farhan and His Receipt of the Arab and Turkish "Firman" Calling for the Obstruction of Peace Between Lebanon and Israel.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/153970/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpsK0y53EtY
April 27/2026
Elias Bejjani’s Analysis / These are the clauses of the Saudi "Firman" expressed by Samir Geagea in his interview with Al-Jadeed TV on Sunday, April 26, 2026:
He retreated from supporting the meeting between [General Joseph] Aoun and Netanyahu, giving a vague response without a direct answer.
He focused on what he calls the "Deep State" to justify his participation in a "peace government" and everything that has transpired since, under Hezbollah’s occupation, including the election of Michel Aoun. This includes covering for the party’s occupation, sharing spoils with Aoun and his son-in-law, and passing an electoral law that deprived expatriates of their constitutional rights—the list goes on.
When asked who this "Deep State" is (which he has recently been singing and tweeting about), he became confused and stuttered, failing to name Hezbollah or Berri. He settled for saying it consists of the judiciary, the security forces, and the army.
He gave a vague response to the question: "What if Hezbollah does not hand over its weapons?" His answer was a coup against his own proposal regarding Chapter VII and placing Lebanon under international trusteeship.
The heresy of demanding compensation from Hezbollah instead of prosecuting it, isolating it, and banning it from political activity.
Blatant ambiguity in all his answers and his refusal to disclose what took place between him and Prince Yazid bin Farhan.
His sudden meeting with Samy Gemayel immediately following the Saudi "Firman" overnight, without announcing the topics discussed or issuing an official statement

Video link of an interview with Guardians of the Cedars Party member Shibl al-Zoghbi
A sovereign and national perspective on the dangers facing Lebanon as a result of the Iranian occupation and the corrupt political class!
April 30/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/04/154060/
In this explosive and highly controversial episode of #قوة_المنطق on the elhaweyah platform, we tackle some of the most sensitive taboos in Lebanese politics. We host Chebel Al-Zoghbi, a member of the central leadership of the "Guardians of the Cedars" party, in an interview that shatters all limits and proposes unprecedented scenarios.
Al-Zoghbi drops political bombshells, proposing a radical plan to deal with the "Party's environment," which includes establishing "rehabilitation camps" or immediate deportation from Lebanon. We also dive deep into the controversial stances regarding the relationship with "The Blue", the hidden reality of the French role, and the future of the Lebanese entity amidst major regional shifts.
Episode Highlights:
The Guardians of the Cedars' bold plan to deal with the Party's environment.
Exposing the alleged political theater and mutual services within the system.
Is normalization with "The Blue" now an option on the Lebanese table?
The fate of the Lebanese identity and sovereignty against foreign agendas.
Are we heading towards a new phase of open confrontation? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Hosted by: Abdul Rahman Dernayka
Don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay updated with the latest bold content from elhaweyah.

US Embassy in Beirut urges Lebanon to negotiate with Israel with ‘full attention’ of US
Al Arabiya English/01 May ,2026
The US Embassy in Beirut said Thursday that the current ceasefire with Israel gives Lebanon “the space and the opportunity to put all of its legitimate demands on the table with the full attention of the United States Government.”“Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future as a truly sovereign, independent nation,” the embassy said in a post on X. The embassy said that direct talks between Lebanon and Israel can mark the beginning of a national revival. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension to the original 10-day ceasefire. He also said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would meet one another at the White House. “A direct meeting between President Aoun and Prime Minister Netanyahu, facilitated by President Trump, would give Lebanon the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory—guaranteed by the United States,” the embassy said on Thursday.“This is Lebanon’s moment to decide its own destiny, one which belongs to all its people. The United States is ready to stand with Lebanon as it seizes this opportunity with confidence and wisdom. The time for hesitation is over.”

Israel Army Says Soldier Killed ‘in Combat’ in South Lebanon
Reuters/April 30/2026
The Israeli army said Thursday that a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, the fourth such death since a fragile ceasefire took effect there earlier this month. Sergeant Liem Ben Hemo, 19, "died in combat in the south of Lebanon", the army said in a statement, adding that another soldier was wounded in the incident. The latest death brings to 17 the number of soldiers killed since the war began with Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2, according to an AFP tally based on military figures.
One Israeli civilian working for the army has also been killed.

Hezbollah Signals Possible Return to 1980s 'Tactics' Against Israeli Army
Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
20Overlapping media leaks from within Hezbollah on activating “martyrdom fighters” (suicide operatives) have raised questions about the next phase on the southern front, amid talk of non-traditional combat options that echo the warfare of the 1980s. Media leaks citing military sources within Hezbollah said the group is studying a return to “1980s tactics,” including activating what it described as “martyrdom units.” The issue gains additional weight in light of prior rhetoric within the group. Former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah described fighters in the south during the 2024 “support war” as “martyrdom fighters,” reflecting the nature of the fighting and battlefield conditions.The renewed use of the term raises questions over whether it is mobilizing rhetoric or an indication of potential operational choices.
Environmental Constraints and Technological Shift
Retired Brigadier General Yarub Sakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the field reality in southern Lebanon makes talk of a return to suicide operations closer to a theoretical proposition than a practical option.”He added: “The south today is largely depopulated due to displacement and destruction, which strips this type of operation of one of its key elements, namely the ability to conceal within a civilian environment.” “Technological advances in surveillance and reconnaissance, along with Israel’s extensive target bank, make carrying out such operations extremely difficult, if not impossible, under constant monitoring and precise tracking, in addition to the difficulty of movement and field access.” He noted that “signaling the existence of such operations along the border with Israel is used in a propaganda context,” adding that “the real message goes beyond the military dimension to the Lebanese domestic arena, where this rhetoric is employed as a pressure tool on officials and political forces to push them toward certain foreign policy choices.”According to Sakhr invoking the 1980s approach does not stop at suicide operations but also recalls a broader pattern that included kidnappings and assassinations.
He affirmed that the comparison between the current situation in the south and that of the 1980s is not accurate, stressing that “talk of a return to this mode of warfare remains within the realm of slogans and political pressure rather than a viable military option under current conditions.”
Between Theory and Application
By contrast, retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Talk of reviving 1980s methods is not merely media rhetoric, but reflects that this option exists within the party’s available capabilities.”He said references to suicide operatives ready to act “fall within the human capabilities that have long been one of the party’s strengths.”“These operations, despite major technological advances in surveillance and monitoring, can still have battlefield impact, because technology remains limited in effectiveness against a human element determined to reach its target.”
Daoud said the effectiveness of such operations “depends on the nature of the target, the level of surrounding security protection, and field measures around sites and facilities,” noting that “the chances of success vary from case to case based on these factors.”He said any potential use of such capabilities would remain directed at Israeli targets, adding that carrying out such operations inside Israel would require infiltration and direct access to the target, which faces major field challenges and makes success rates uneven. “Merely signaling this option carries psychological and strategic weight, recalling past experiences in the Israeli memory and sending a message that any settlement that does not take balances into account could lead to escalation outside conventional frameworks.”
Operational Meaning of the Term
A source following Hezbollah’s operations told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the use of the term ‘martyrdom fighters’ does not necessarily mean a return to traditional suicide operations, but reflects the nature of the current battlefield phase under the siege imposed on areas in southern Lebanon.”He added: “Fighters are fully aware of the scale of risks surrounding them and deal with them on the basis of fighting to the utmost limits.”The source noted: “What is meant by the term is readiness for engagement under the most difficult battlefield conditions, and continuing the confrontation until death if imposed, not as a separate tactical option but as part of the nature of the battle itself.”

South Lebanese Mayors, Residents Protest Israeli Demolitions
AFP/30 April 2026
Dozens of residents and local officials from southern Lebanon gathered in Beirut on Thursday to protest Israel's destruction of their villages, which has been ongoing despite a fragile ceasefire.
Before and after the truce agreed on April 17 in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has been carrying out demolitions in the south and preventing the return of residents to more than 50 villages. "We can't go back. It's been bulldozed -- basically there's nothing to go back to," Ibrahim Hamza, the mayor of the coastal town of Naqoura, told AFP. "The situation is dire and the Israeli enemy is present inside the village." Standing in Beirut's central square, protesters carried Lebanese flags and photos of their devastated villages, some had signs asking "where is the ceasefire?".
Two days after the ceasefire began, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the country's military would "remove the houses in the contact villages near the border that served in every respect as Hezbollah terror outposts". Israel has declared a "yellow line", some 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanon, where its troops are operating. "What is happening in Bint Jbeil... is systematic annihilation and destruction of trees and people," said Mohamed Souheili, 56, a local official in the town, now on the Israeli-controlled side of the "yellow line". The southern town witnessed intense clashes in the days leading up to the ceasefire, evoking for many Lebanese its history of major battles in earlier wars. "Trees are being uprooted from the ground, and not a single sign of life remains in the town," Souheili said. The Lebanese government's scientific research council estimated earlier this month that the war had already damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 housing units.AFP photos from April 15 showed extensive destruction in two such villages, including Mais al-Jabal. Hosn Qabalan, from Mais al-Jabal, lost her home during an earlier round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 and 2024. "We went back and our house was gone," the 55-year-old grandmother said, "we sat on the rubble". Lebanon accused Israel, which refused to withdraw from five positions in southern Lebanon during the 2024 ceasefire, of carrying out a campaign of destruction in those villages and preventing their reconstruction. Qabalan is nonetheless determined to make it back home once again. "Even if we have to sit on bare ground, what matters is that we return to our land," she said.

Lebanon and the Shiites: Between Initiative and Accusations of Treason
Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/April 30, 2026 (Translated from Arabic by LCCC publisher)
President Joseph Aoun's decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel was not an isolated move born in a moment of political calm; rather, it was a direct consequence of the path taken by Hezbollah, which has dragged Lebanon into devastating wars for Iran's benefit.
In response to this initiative—characterized by a high sense of responsibility toward protecting Lebanon and the Shiite community—Aoun found himself facing a harsh campaign of accusations and "treason" labels led by Hezbollah. He also faced clear opposition from Speaker Nabih Berri, who deemed the step a political error that must be rescinded.While Hezbollah's stance is expected given its alignment with the "Wilayat al-Faqih" project—where ideological priorities override national reconciliation—questions are increasingly directed toward Nabih Berri. Berri’s position suggests he continues to prioritize his role as the "Big Brother" protecting Hezbollah's choices over the urgency of saving Lebanon and the Shiite community. It was expected that Berri would be the first to propose a rescue approach, placing the protection of the South above all else—an approach willing to knock on any door, no matter how controversial, to stop the bloodshed. At this dangerous historical crossroads, Berri was expected to reject Hezbollah’s "suicidal" choices rather than confront Aoun's initiative. Responsibility now demands a historic stance: for Berri to personally lead the Lebanese delegation in direct negotiations to end this ongoing massacre, recalling his own words that he would "shake hands with the Devil" to protect the South.

Lebanese Defense Minister: Talks With Israel Aimed at Peace, Not Surrender or Trade-Offs
Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
Lebanon’s Defense Minister, Major General Michel Menassa, said on Thursday that his country had entered negotiations for peace, not for surrender or trade-offs. The state-run National News Agency quoted Menassa as saying, during a meeting with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna in Verdun: “We discussed the Israeli aggression against our country and the ongoing efforts to stop it. Preserving national unity, rallying around Lebanese legitimacy, and ensuring that arms remain exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese army and official security agencies were our shared priorities. Helping our people overcome this ordeal has been our concern, and rising above narrow calculations in favor of major national objectives will remain our goal.” He added: “If we are heading to negotiations, they are for peace, not for surrender. We are going to negotiate, not to trade off. We want to stop the rivers of blood in honor of the martyrs, and we, as Lebanese, Muslims and Christians, insist on remaining united.”He expressed hope that “this ordeal will end, that this cloud will pass, and that the light of deliverance will rise over Lebanon and its people.”
For his part, the Druze spiritual leader stressed “the duty to rally around the state and its legitimate institutions, foremost among them the military establishment, especially under the current circumstances, in support of carrying out its assigned tasks in protecting Lebanon and its sovereignty,” warning against any “attempts to undermine civil peace,” and saying that “a strong Lebanon is a united Lebanon.”

Saudi Arabia Stresses Importance of Strengthening Lebanon’s Stability
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
A meeting between Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros al-Rahi and Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari in Bkerke underscored the priority of consolidating stability in Lebanon by supporting the state and its institutions and fostering a climate of national unity.
A statement from the Maronite Patriarchate said the talks focused on “ways to strengthen stability in Lebanon and support the path of the state and its institutions.”Bukhari conveyed greetings from the Saudi leadership and praised the patriarch’s “national and spiritual role,” stressing that the current phase requires wise leadership capable of reinforcing stability and supporting Lebanon’s constitutional authorities as they confront ongoing challenges. He added that “building people comes before building infrastructure, and that fostering loyalty to the nation remains the fundamental pillar of any future recovery.”The discussion also addressed Lebanon’s situation from a historical and intellectual perspective, drawing on the works of historians such as Philippe Hitti, Kamal Salibi and Asad Rustom. The meeting’s participants raised the notion that Lebanon’s various communities may have reached a stage of “symbolic exhaustion” from recurring crises, potentially opening the door to renewed emphasis on shared national ground rather than division. They stressed that Lebanon’s history, marked by repeated cycles, calls for drawing lessons to avoid future crises and move toward a new phase centered on national cohesion. The meeting also highlighted the importance of supporting dialogue initiatives, particularly interfaith and national gatherings, given their role in reinforcing stability and promoting unity among Lebanon’s diverse communities. Rahi stressed the importance of upholding national principles and safeguarding the dignity and future of the Lebanese people. He expressed appreciation for efforts to support Lebanon and its stability, saying the current phase “requires collective awareness and national responsibility to protect the country and rebuild it on solid foundations.”

Katz says Israel may have to 'act again' against Iran
Agence France Presse/30 April 2026
Israel's defense minister on Thursday said Israel may soon have to "act again" against Iran, to ensure the Islamic republic "does not once again become a threat to Israel.""U.S. President Donald Trump, in coordination with (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is leading the efforts to achieve the campaign's objectives, to ensure that Iran does not once again become a threat to Israel, the United States and the free world in the future," Israel Katz said during a military ceremony, according to a statement from his office. "We support this effort and are providing the necessary support, but it is possible that we may soon have to act again to ensure these objectives are met," he added.

9 killed, including 2 children, and 23 hurt in Israeli strikes on 3 southern towns
Agence France Presse/30 April 2026
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed nine people including two children, the health ministry said Thursday, shortly after the president decried ongoing Israeli violations of a nearly two-week ceasefire. Israel has pressed its attacks on Lebanon as the fragile ceasefire, announced after a round of direct talks between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington, neared its two-week mark. "Israeli enemy strikes on south Lebanon led, in an initial toll, to nine martyrs, among them two children and five women, and 23 wounded, among them eight children and seven women," the health ministry said in a statement. Speaking to a delegation from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, President Joseph Aoun had earlier slammed "continuing Israeli violations" in south Lebanon. He said these were occurring "despite the ceasefire, as do demolitions of homes and places of worship, while the number of killed and wounded rises day after day." On Thursday, an Israeli army spokesperson called for the evacuation of eight southern villages ahead of planned military action there. He later issued a warning for 15 more towns. Shortly after the ceasefire began on April 17, Israel declared a so-called "Yellow Line" -- a strip of Lebanese territory about 10 kilometers deep along the border, where it has been operating and demolishing villages. "Pressure must be exerted on Israel to ensure it respects international laws and conventions and ceases targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defense, and humanitarian health and relief organizations," Aoun told the delegation, on a day when three paramedics killed by Israel were buried. Lebanese state media reported a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday. Hezbollah has claimed a number of operations targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon as well as rockets launched towards northern Israel, since the start of the ceasefire. The text of the ceasefire, published by the U.S. State Department, grants Israel the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks". Hezbollah rejects that language, saying it was never presented to Lebanon's cabinet, in which members of the group are represented. Aoun said on Wednesday that "this wording appeared in a statement issued by the U.S. State Department, and it is the same text that was adopted in November 2024" as part of the ceasefire agreement ending the previous war between the two sides. He added that "all parties" at the time had agreed to the text. In response, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, said in a statement on Wednesday that Aoun's remarks were "inaccurate, to say the least, and this also applies to the November 2024 agreement. While the 2024 agreement mentions the right to "self-defense" for both sides, a side paper agreed between Israel and the U.S. had granted Israel freedom of action against what it perceives as threats in Lebanon. That paper was not presented to Lebanese authorities.

US officials say Lebanon ceasefire not collapsing
Naharnet/30 April 2026 
Trump administration officials have said that the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel is not collapsing, despite the growing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. "Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire, and is trying to derail it," one of the officials told U.S. news portal Axios. "Hezbollah's strategy is clear: provoke, attack, and then blame Israel in order to kill the negotiations and make the Lebanese government look bad. We cannot feasibly expect Israel to just take the hits. This is not the Biden administration," the U.S. official added. But the official said the Trump administration has asked Israel to "show restraint" and give space to the new diplomatic process with Lebanon. "We are going to massively increase our political campaign on Hezbollah and are looking for ways to get the Lebanese Armed Forces to overcome their challenges and intend to do this on a very rapid schedule," the U.S. official said.

Timeline of decades of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
Associated Press/30 April 2026
The ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah is far from the first conflict between them. The two have an enmity that goes back more than four decades, with outbursts of fighting or outright war punctuated by periods of tense calm. Here is a timeline of some significant events in the hostilities between the two: 1982: Israel invades Lebanon in an offensive against the Palestine Liberation Organization and allied groups. Hezbollah is formed, with Iranian backing and based on the Iran's Islamic Revolution model, to fight Israel's ensuing occupation of southern Lebanon. It launches a guerrilla war against Israel. 1992: Hezbollah leader Abbas Mousawi is killed by an Israeli helicopter attack. His successor is Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who will lead the group for the next three decades. 1996: Israel launches an offensive aiming to push Hezbollah north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers from the border. Israeli artillery shelling on a United Nations compound housing hundreds of displaced people in Qana kills at least 100 civilians and wounds scores more.2000: After a long war of attrition, Israel withdraws its forces from southern Lebanon, which is heralded around the Arab world as a major victory for Hezbollah. 2006: Hezbollah fighters ambush an Israeli patrol, killing three Israeli soldiers and taking two hostage in a cross-border raid, sparking a monthlong war between Hezbollah and Israel that ends in a draw. Israeli bombardment razes villages and residential blocks in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, a scorched-earth approach that is dubbed the "Dahieh Doctrine." 2008: Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's military chief, is killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded in Damascus. The assassination is blamed on Israel. 2012: Hezbollah enters the Syrian civil war in support of then-President Bashar Assad. In the years that follow, Israel begins periodically carrying out airstrikes in Syria targeting Iranian and Hezbollah facilities and officials or weapons shipments that it said were bound for Hezbollah. Israel still avoided carrying out strikes on Hezbollah on Lebanese territory during this period.
OCT. 8, 2023: One day after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel sparks the war in Gaza, Hezbollah fires missiles across the border. Israel responds with airstrikes and shelling and the two enter into a low-level conflict that initially remains mainly confined to the border area.
SEPT. 17, 2024: Israel launches an attack in Lebanon using remotely-triggered explosive-laden pagers issued to Hezbollah fighters and civilian employees. A day later, a similar attack targets walkie-talkies. The attacks kill dozens of people and maim thousands, most of them Hezbollah members but also including women and children. SEPT. 27, 2024: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is killed in a series of massive airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs. NOV. 27, 2024: A U.S.-brokered ceasefire nominally ends the Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel continues to carry out regular strikes in Lebanon that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding. MARCH 2, 2026: Two days after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, triggering a wide-reaching war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launches missiles toward Israel. It says the salvo is in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for "repeated Israeli aggressions" in Lebanon.

Aoun condemns 'continuing Israeli violations' of truce
Agence France Presse/30 April 2026
President Joseph Aoun on Thursday decried what he described as Israel's continued violations of the ceasefire, calling for international pressure on Israel to stop strikes on civilians and paramedics. Aoun slammed the "continuing Israeli violations" in south Lebanon, saying they were occurring "despite the ceasefire, as do demolitions of homes and places of worship, while the number of killed and wounded rises day after day". "Pressure must be exerted on Israel to ensure it respects international laws and conventions and ceases targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defense, and humanitarian health and relief organizations," he added in a statement, as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah nears the two-week mark.

Aoun in contact with Lebanon's ambassador to US over Israeli attacks
Naharnet/30 April 2026
President Joseph Aoun emphasized during a Cabinet session Thursday that he and PM Nawaf Salam are continously monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon, Information Minister Paul Morcos said after the meeting.ىHe added that the president is in contact with Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, urging her to work continuously with the U.S. administration to pressure Israel to adhere to the ceasefire. Morcos also noted that Salam clarified that Lebanon "has not yet entered into negotiations and is still in the preparatory meetings phase in Washington, with the priority being a ceasefire."

1.24 million projected to face acute insecurity in Lebanon, UN report says
Associated Press/30 April 2026
1.24 million projected to face acute insecurity in Lebanon. That’s nearly one in four of the population analyzed, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released by Lebanon’s Agriculture Ministry with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program. The figures are projections and it remains unclear how the estimates were reached. The report notes that the current crisis follows seven years of compounded economic collapse and conflict. "Compounded shocks are undermining agricultural livelihoods and impacting food security, highlighting the urgent need for emergency agricultural assistance to support farmers," said Nora Ourabah Haddad, FAO Representative in Lebanon.

Araghchi again tells Berri ceasefire in Lebanon part of agreement with US
Naharnet/30 April 2026
The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has again told Speaker Nabih Berri in their latest phone call that "halting Israeli attacks on Lebanon is included in our agreement with the United States." Araghchi also emphasized to Berri that stopping Israeli attacks on Lebanon will remain a priority for Iran in any future negotiations. The ministry added that "Araghchi affirmed Iran's unwavering support for the Lebanese people in the face of Israeli attacks," explaining that "Araghchi and Berri stressed the necessity for the international community to take action to put an end to Israel's crimes in southern Lebanon."

Israeli soldier killed in south Lebanon, 12 troops injured in north Israel
Agence France Presse/30 April 2026
The Israeli army said Thursday that a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, the fourth such death since a fragile ceasefire took effect there earlier this month. Sergeant Liem Ben Hemo, 19, "died in combat in the south of Lebanon", the army said in a statement, adding that another soldier was wounded in the incident. The latest death brings to 17 the number of soldiers killed since the war began with Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2, according to an AFP tally based on military figures. One Israeli civilian working for the army has also been killed. Twelve Israeli soldiers were wounded on Thursday morning when Hezbollah targeted a military vehicle in northern Israel's Shomera with an explosive drone.

Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill at least 15
AFP, Beirut/30 April ,2026
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed at least 15 people, the health ministry said Thursday, as the country’s president decried what he described as ongoing Israeli violations of a nearly two-week ceasefire. The Lebanese army said another strike on a home in Kfar Rumman had also killed one of its soldiers and “several members of his family,” though the health ministry had yet to include it in its toll. Israel has pressed its attacks on Lebanon as the fragile ceasefire, announced after a round of direct talks between the two countries’ ambassadors in Washington, neared its two-week mark.
The health ministry said Israeli strikes on four south Lebanon locations killed a total of 15 people, including at least five women and two children.The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said one of the strikes killed four people from the same family, while another killed six people who were gathered near their village’s cemetery.
Israel’s army also said Thursday that one of its soldiers had been killed in south Lebanon. President Joseph Aoun had earlier slammed “continuing Israeli violations” in south Lebanon. Speaking to a delegation from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, he said these were occurring “despite the ceasefire, as do demolitions of homes and places of worship, while the number of killed and wounded rises day after day.”Shortly after the ceasefire began on April 17, Israel declared a so-called “Yellow Line” demarcating a strip of Lebanese territory about 10 kilometers (six miles) deep along the border, where it has been operating and demolishing villages. “Pressure must be exerted on Israel to ensure it respects international laws and conventions and ceases targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defense, and humanitarian health and relief organizations,” Aoun told the delegation, on a day when three paramedics killed by Israel were buried.
‘Will not surrender’
The NNA reported a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday, while an Israeli army spokesperson called for the evacuation of more than 20 southern villages. Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed several attacks on Israeli army targets in south Lebanon, including tanks and soldiers. In Beirut, dozens of southern Lebanon residents and local officials gathered to protest Israel’s destruction of their villages, which has been ongoing despite the ceasefire. One of the demonstrators, Hanaa Ibrahim, 48, from the border village of Ainata, told AFP that “we will not surrender and will not normalize” relations with Israel.“We will not accept shaking hands with them. We will continue until the last drop of blood,” she said. The text of the ceasefire, published by the US State Department, grants Israel the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.”Hezbollah rejects that language, saying it was never presented to Lebanon’s cabinet, in which members of the group are represented. On Wednesday, Aoun had said that “this wording appeared in a statement issued by the US State Department, and it is the same text that was adopted in November 2024” as part of the ceasefire agreement ending the last war between the two sides. He added that “all parties” at the time had agreed to the text. In response, parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, said in a statement on Wednesday that Aoun’s remarks were “inaccurate, to say the least, and this also applies to the November 2024 agreement”.

South Lebanese mayors, residents protest Israeli demolitions
Agence France Presse/30 April 2026
Dozens of residents and local officials from southern Lebanon gathered in Beirut on Thursday to protest Israel's destruction of their villages, which has been ongoing despite a fragile ceasefire. Before and after the truce agreed on April 17 in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has been carrying out demolitions in the south and preventing the return of residents to more than 50 villages. "We can't go back. It's been bulldozed -- basically there's nothing to go back to," Ibrahim Hamza, the mayor of the coastal town of Naqoura, told AFP. "The situation is dire and the Israeli enemy is present inside the village." Standing in Beirut's central square, protesters carried Lebanese flags and photos of their devastated villages, some had signs asking "where is the ceasefire?". Two days after the ceasefire began, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel's military would "remove the houses in the contact villages near the border that served in every respect as Hezbollah terror outposts." Israel has declared a "yellow line", some 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanon, where its troops are operating. "What is happening in Bint Jbeil... is systematic annihilation and destruction of trees and people," said Mohamed Souheili, 56, a local official in the town, now on the Israeli-controlled side of the "yellow line". The southern town witnessed intense clashes in the days leading up to the ceasefire, evoking for many Lebanese its history of major battles in earlier wars. "Trees are being uprooted from the ground, and not a single sign of life remains in the town," Souheili said. The Lebanese government's scientific research council estimated earlier this month that the war had already damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 housing units. AFP photos from April 15 showed extensive destruction in two such villages, including Mais al-Jabal. Hosn Qabalan, from Mais al-Jabal, lost her home during an earlier round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 and 2024. "We went back and our house was gone," the 55-year-old grandmother said, "we sat on the rubble". Lebanon accused Israel, which refused to withdraw from five positions in southern Lebanon during the 2024 ceasefire, of carrying out a campaign of destruction in those villages and preventing their reconstruction. Qabalan is nonetheless determined to make it back home once again. "Even if we have to sit on bare ground, what matters is that we return to our land," she said.

Report: Army returns to South Litani, reinforces presence in Beirut
Naharnet/30 April 2026 
A Lebanese military official confirmed to Al-Jazeera on Thursday that "the military establishment is aware of the magnitude of the challenges facing Lebanon on all levels," explaining that "our vision is based on an army capable of securing national sovereignty and providing security for the Lebanese people."He stressed that "officials at all levels must be vigilant in preventing strife," emphasizing that "the awareness of the Lebanese people is the strongest weapon for protecting civil peace, and sectarian incitement is a danger to us."He revealed that "the Lebanese Army has returned to 20 positions south of the Litani River that it evacuated last month," noting that "Israeli forces are targeting the Lebanese Army during its operations to rescue citizens in the border areas."The official added: "We have reinforced our forces and procedures in Beirut, in implementation of the government's decision to extend its authority over the capital."

Bassil urges state to go to ICC instead of 'panting after' direct talks
Naharnet/30 April 2026 
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has pointed out that instead of "panting after direct negotiations, which could be a disgrace to Lebanon," the Lebanese government should instead "turn to the International Criminal Court and accuse Israel of its repeated and ongoing war crimes against Lebanon.""This would constitute a powerful bargaining chip under international law," Bassil said, in an op-ed in al-Joumhouria newspaper. Bassil noted that while he supports "true peace as preached by Jesus Christ," this peace can only be genuine and sustainable "if it is just, guaranteeing Lebanon's rights to sovereignty, land and security, and also guaranteeing Israel's security, as stipulated in the Arab Peace Initiative adopted at the Beirut Summit in 2002.""This initiative also guarantees the Palestinian people's right to establish their state and the rights of all parties," Bassil added.
He also emphasized that any peace process between Lebanon and Israel cannot be isolated from the broader framework of Arab-Israeli peace.

Humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains fragile despite ceasefire
Naharnet/30 April 2026 
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect at midnight on 16 April. On 23 April, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire would be extended for an additional three weeks, following a second high-level trilateral meeting between representatives of Israel, the United States and Lebanon. Following the announcement of the ceasefire, both the Israeli military and Hezbollah called on displaced populations not to return immediately to areas south of the Litani River. The humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains fragile and unpredictable, with a continued risk of conflict escalation and military operations in the south of the country. UNRWA launched its emergency response in Lebanon on 4 March. As of 21 April, it operates two emergency shelters in Siblin and Nahr el-Bared Camp in south and Lebanon. By 28 April, a total of 951 displaced people (274 families) were registered in the two UNRWA emergency shelters, reflecting a substantial decrease compared to 1,337 people recorded last week. This is mainly due to the extension of the ceasefire and subsequent population returns. Between 22 and 28 April, no security incidents affecting on-duty UNRWA personnel or facilities were reported. By 27 April, the Ministry of Social Affairs had documented the displacement of over 1.1 million individuals, including 114,534 people in 616 shelters. More than 321,000 people have crossed into Syria since 2 March, including over 1,200 Palestine Refugees from Syria who had fled to Lebanon in the past. Following the three-week extension of the ceasefire announced on 23 April, gradual returns to Palestine Refugee camps have resumed. Some families have left their belongings in previous displacement locations as a precaution, while others have returned to the initial displacement locations after "go-and-see" visits, or relocated to different areas. Tracking returns remains challenging given the fluidity of movement. As of 28 April, 818 displaced persons were recorded at the emergency shelter at the Siblin Training Centre, while 133 individuals were recorded at Battir emergency shelter in Nahr el-Bared Camp. On 26 April, Israeli authorities issued evacuation orders for seven villages north of the Litani River area, alongside continued orders requiring residents of southern Lebanon to avoid approaching areas near the border with Israel and to stay away from the Litani River area. In coordination with UNICEF, the National Institution of Social Care and Vocational Training (NISCVT), also known as Beit Atfal Assumoud, serves as the main partner at the Battir emergency shelter in Nahr el-Bared Camp. The Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts (ARCPA), also known as Al-Jana, serves as the main partner at the Siblin emergency shelter. Of the two additional shelters operated by the local partner Nabaa in UNRWA schools, both the Nablus shelter and Rafidia shelter in Saida Area have returned to operating as schools since 26 April. UNRWA maintains close coordination with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Cooperazione Internazionale Fondazione (COOPI), as well as UNHCR and their implementing partners. During the reporting period, COOPI delivered seven shelter cleaning kits and 1,540 hygiene kits to UNRWA. The community kitchen at Siblin shelter has been open since 1 April, in partnership with INITIATE-the Community Organization for Development and Empowerment, and co-funded by UN Women. The Women’s Programs Association has been operating a kitchen at the UNRWA Battir shelter since 3 April. In parallel, UNRWA is maintaining operational coordination with other partners including IOM, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, NRC, ICRC, COOPI, ACF, Terre des Hommes Italy, Save the Children, DanChurchAid, Basmeh & Zeitooneh, ANERA, Mousawat, Najdeh, Tadamon, Soufra (Makani), Taawon (Welfare Association), Nashet, and the Community-Based Rehabilitation Association (CBRA). As of 28 April, UNRWA maintained stocks of non-food items, including 1,099 mattresses, 4,796 pillows, 9,500 plastic cups, 1,100 jerrycans, 219 fire extinguishers, 2,190 protective vests, 55 gas burners, 154 cooking pots, various kitchen utensils, and equipment, and 290,000 aluminium foil sheets. A large portion of these supplies is prepositioned in UNRWA’s decentralised warehouses near the shelters. UNRWA teams dispatched 15,000 aluminium foil sheets, 40 rechargeable lights and 12 jars of zinc oxide cream to treat infant diaper rash to Siblin emergency shelter, along with an additional 60 jars of zinc oxide cream to Battir emergency shelter.
A further 825 liters of water were delivered to Siblin emergency shelter.
Health
As of 28 April, 20 out of 26 UNRWA primary health centres and clinics across Lebanon were operational. Due to the security situation five clinics remain closed (Adloun, Shabriha, Maashouk, Qasmieh, and Kfar Badda), while one clinic (Shatila Camp) was closed only on 28 April.
A mobile clinic in Siblin emergency shelter remains operational. Health staff from closed clinics, as well as those who have themselves been displaced, are being redeployed as needed to ensure continuity of services.Family Health Teams (FHTs) continued to rotate through Tyre Area camps (El Buss, Rashidieh, Burj El Shemali) when security conditions allowed. UNRWA’s central pharmacy continues to distribute medicines to all operational clinics. Since the start of the emergency, UNRWA has provided 96,629 medical consultations at UNRWA operational clinics, including 10,758 for displaced persons and 85,871 for non-displaced persons. Another 1,753 consultations have been provided at the two UNRWA emergency shelters.No disease outbreaks in the shelters have been reported to date. Hospitalisation for conflict-related injuries is covered by the Ministry of Public Health and the ICRC.
Education
The UNRWA Education Programme Emergency Preparedness and Continuity Plan has been in effect since 10 March, aligned with the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). By 28 April, all 60 UNRWA schools were operational, with 38 offering in-person learning and 22 operating remotely. At UNRWA’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training Centre at the Siblin Training Centre, south campus students are currently attending remotely as the campus has been turned into an emergency shelter, while north campus students are attending in-person. As of 28 April, attendance rates are 90 per cent for in-person learning and 63 per cent for remote learning. On the same day, three schools that had previously been operating remotely resumed in-person classes following the ceasefire. Security assessments are ongoing in schools affected by the conflict, which are currently operating remotely, to check for unexploded ordnance before reopening in person. Remote learning will continue until security risk management assessments are finalised and operations can safely resume. Remote learning focuses on core subjects (numeracy, literacy, sciences), while in-person schools deliver the full curriculum. UNRWA distributed essential learning materials to support both remote and in-person education. Guidance for remote teaching and learning has been developed to support teachers in delivering effective remote education.
During the reporting period, 13,623 students (7,084 girls and 6,539 boys) received at least one psychosocial support activity delivered by 40 school counsellors.
Psychosocial support and recreational activities in the two emergency shelters are provided by Al-Jana in Siblin and Beit Atfal Assumoud in Battir. During the reporting period, Al-Jana reached 72 children with psychosocial support activities, while Beit Atfal Assumoud provided psychosocial support activities to 62 children, alongside youth empowerment sessions to 54 adolescents and youth and parenting-focused sessions to 28 caregivers.
Protection -
By 28 April, a total of 407 children had registered in UNRWA’s shelters (189 boys and 218 girls).
During the reporting period, 145 displaced persons were reached through Explosive Ordnance Risk Education awareness sessions at Siblin emergency shelter, while 60 sanitation laborers participated in similar sessions at Battir emergency shelter. In addition, more than 250 flyers on Explosive Ordnance Risk Education were distributed in all operational health clinics. Since the onset of the conflict, UNRWA’s Social Work teams in Battir and Siblin shelters have continued providing psychosocial support, psychosocial first aid, family and individual interventions, and case management, reaching 1,218 displaced persons (925 females and 93 males). These activities aim to reduce community tensions and strengthen emotional well-being and coping capacities. During the reporting period, UNRWA’s Social Work teams conducted eight awareness raising sessions on hygiene promotion, child protection, rights and duties within the shelter, child safety, and the prevention of drug use. In Siblin shelter, four sessions reached 118 participants (81 women and 37 men), while four sessions in Battir shelter reached 80 participants (30 women and 50 men).
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene -
As of 28 April, UNRWA continued to provide basic and lifesaving sanitation services across all 12 Palestine Refugee camps in Lebanon, including solid waste collection and water pumping. All 74 water wells are operational. Water and sanitation services continue to operate across all areas, including the south, Bekaa and southern suburbs, with no interruption in water supply. However, systems remain under pressure due to sustained high demand in Saida and northern camps, requiring increased pumping hours to meet the needs of both residents and displaced people. Key challenges persist, including fuel sustainability and high dependence on generators, particularly in Burj El Shemali, where damage to the main transformer has increased reliance on generators and led to higher diesel consumption. Transporting fuel to affected areas, particularly in the south, continues to be challenging due to damaged roads and infrastructure.
Maintenance and repair works continue at the two emergency shelters, addressing issues related to water systems, pumps, and hot water systems. Solid waste collection and disposal continued across all camps. However, operations remained constrained by access limitations, security concerns, and the reduced availability of sanitation laborers. In Burj El Shemali, UNRWA has started moving accumulated waste from the temporary storage locations to the designated final dumping site. During the reporting period, the team removed approximately 168 tons per day from all camps.
Food assistance -
UNRWA continues to provide ready-to-eat food parcels and two hot meals a day to displaced people sheltering in its two emergency shelters. UNRWA operates community kitchens in both shelters, with support from the Women’s Programs Association in Battir emergency shelter and INITIATE-the Community Organization for Development and Empowerment in Siblin emergency shelter. During the reporting period, UNRWA distributed 2 ready-to-eat kits, 7,719 hot meals, 6,380 cold meals and 1,850 bread packs through partners, including WFP, Anera, the SHEILD Association, Basmeh & Zeitooneh, Siblin Municipality, the Women’s Programs Association, and the local organization Nashet.

With mass evacuation warnings, Israel upends lives in south Lebanon
Associated Press/April 30, 2026
The warnings to flee come suddenly: Texts pinging thousands of phones, automated calls from strange numbers, hard-to-read maps shared on social media by an Israeli military spokesperson. Some maps cover broad swaths of Lebanon; others show specific buildings. Sometimes there is no warning at all before strikes, which have continued despite a nominal ceasefire. The warnings cause a rush to collect children and older relatives, and leave families with agonizing choices as they race for the blurry edges of the red-shaded maps. Entire villages have emptied, with over a million people fleeing at the height of the fighting. Unlike Israel, Lebanon has no air raid sirens or missile defenses, and no designated bomb shelters. Israel says the warnings aim to keep civilians out of harm's way. It says Hezbollah has positioned fighters, tunnels and weapons in civilian areas across southern Lebanon, from which it has launched hundreds of drones and missiles — without warning — into northern Israel. International law experts say Israel's warnings are inconsistent and often overly broad and open-ended. They also come as Israel says it plans to occupy a 10 kilometer wide buffer zone along the border and prevent people from returning until the threat from Hezbollah has been eliminated.
Alerts spark panicked flights
The latest war erupted on March 2, when, after holding its fire since a 2024 truce, Hezbollah launched a surprise barrage of missiles into northern Israel in retaliation for the United States and Israel attacking Iran. Israel has posted 132 online alerts since then — including seven covering over 50 towns in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect on April 17. Residents say the narrowly targeted warnings often come with short notice, causing chaos and confusion. Ward Zein al-Din, 56, said that she heard glass shatter from shrapnel just minutes after her father received a call from the Israeli military that made him scream. They have since fled their southern village and taken shelter in a school. "I didn't think we would survive," she said. Then there are the maps shared on social media by Israel's Arabic-speaking military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, urging the entire population to relocate north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers from the border, and in some cases even further north. His blanket warnings also emptied out Beirut's crowded southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, though many people have since returned. The United Nations says large numbers of people remain displaced across the country, including over 150,000 in tent camps. "A legal tool is being used to achieve forced displacement," said Hussein Badreddine, a Lebanese expert in international law at the University of Sydney. "When you evacuate entire areas and keep the orders open-ended, that's when the legality comes into question." In response to numerous questions, the Israeli military said it issues warnings by phone, text, radio broadcast, social media and leaflets dropped from the air, in accordance with the "principles of distinction, proportionality and feasible precautions" under international law. No warning before strikes that killed more than 350 people. There was no warning on April 8, when Israel struck a hundred targets in rapid succession, killing more than 350 people, including in downtown Beirut. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Lebanon's troubled history. The military said Hezbollah commanders and operatives "were expected to be present at many of the sites." It remains unclear how many Hezbollah members were killed. More than 100 of those killed were women and children.There have also been warnings without strikes. Earlier this month, Israel warned it would attack the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, forcing it to close for several days. The strike never came.
A dreaded late-night post
Airstrikes shook the village of Kafr Tebnit when the war broke out. Adraee posted on X that residents should move to "no less than 1,000 meters outside the village."Hussein Farran headed to the city of Nabatiyeh, where he works for an electricity company. His wife, Rola Nahleh, and their 4-year-old daughter, Amal, joined relatives in Kfar Hatta, some 17 kilometers outside Adraee's red zone. A month later, at 11:29 p.m. on April 4, Adraee called on residents to leave Kfar Hatta. It was one of 26 urgent warnings throughout the war posted between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
"When warnings are issued in the middle of the night, on platforms that not everyone uses, you can't expect everyone to get up and leave immediately," said Kristine Beckerle of Amnesty International. "You have people stuck on the road for 12, 13 hours trying to leave. You have elderly people who can't move quickly."Nahleh told her husband by phone that hundreds of people were fleeing, many wearing their pajamas. They agreed it was safest to wait out the chaos until daybreak.Two Israeli missiles hit their apartment at around 3 a.m., killing Nahleh, her mother, father, brother, sister and Amal, who had just started kindergarten. "Even if they gave us a warning, how does it justify killing a civilian family?" Farran asked, gazing at their graves — cardboard signs smeared with handwritten Arabic because the war has made a proper burial in their village impossible.
"They weren't given a real chance," he said.
'No safety,' even after the truce
At first, Ali al-Salim thought it was a prank call, or a scammer trying to rob his abandoned house, as happened to his family during a previous war. The country code said Germany, but the caller identified himself as an Israeli officer and told al-Salim to evacuate north immediately.
As airstrikes inched closer, al-Salim, his wife and three sons fled their southern village of Siddiqin and arrived at a school in Haret Saida after 18 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic.Analysts say the Israeli military often uses randomly generated international numbers since phone calls are not permitted between the two countries, technically at war for decades."There is no way to know if a call is real or fake," said Roland Abi Najem, a Lebanese cybersecurity expert. "The Israeli military benefits from the chaos that helps create a mass exodus."
The military declined to comment on how it calls Lebanese numbers.Several days after fleeing, al-Salim heard that his home was hit by an Israeli missile. The shelter proved just as dangerous. One of the targets that Israel hit without warning on April 8 was a neighboring Shiite mosque, where displaced people took showers. The explosion knocked al-Salim's 14-year-old son, Ali, unconscious and shredded his left leg."The bombing can happen at any moment. There is no safety at all," said Ali, now using crutches. "I've never felt this kind of fear."
The ceasefire has done little to dispel it. Forced to flee his southern hometown of Shaqra at the start of the war, Mohammad Shahadat waited a week into the ceasefire to return. Encouraged by neighbors who said the situation was calm, he made the journey home last week. Days later, he was back in a flimsy tent in Beirut after another Israeli warning. "We didn't know where to go," he said.

Existence, Borders, and the Lebanese Exception
Rafik Khoury/Nidaa Al-Watan/April 30, 2026 (Translated from Arabic by LCCC publisher)
It is an illusion to imagine Hezbollah abandoning the role for which it was founded: fighting Israel and resisting America to serve the "Guardianship of the Jurist" (Wilayat al-Faqih). From the "Islamic Resistance" operations in the South to controlling Lebanon’s political keys, everything has served Iran’s regional project. This context explains their involvement in the Syrian war, the 2006 war, the "support war" for Gaza, and their refusal to negotiate even to reclaim land re-occupied by Israel following Hezbollah's recent conflicts.
However, the game has become more complex following "Al-Aqsa Flood," the fall of the Assad regime, and President Donald Trump’s push to dismantle the Iranian regime’s influence in the Arab world. Neither the Islamic Republic, which raised the slogan of "removing" Israel, nor its proxies can continue to disregard Lebanon’s capacity to bear these burdens—especially as Arab and international partners work to relieve the country of them. How long can the image of a "victorious" party survive in a destroyed, bankrupt country where a million Shiites are displaced and Israel strikes at will?
Lebanon refuses to remain the exception to the rule in the Arab world. After 1967 and 1973, the Arab demand shifted from a "struggle for existence" (aiming to remove the Zionist entity) to a "struggle for borders" (aiming to reclaim land occupied in 1967 in exchange for peace). While groups like Hamas and Hezbollah insisted on the "existence" narrative, the result in Gaza and Lebanon has been total destruction. What Lebanon is doing now is returning to the "border struggle" to reach a political settlement after decades of an existential conflict imposed by Hezbollah. There is no escaping these rapid transformations, and no use in resisting them at Lebanon's expense. As the late US Secretary of State Dean Acheson once said: "It is not necessary for the minds of leaders to be where their feet are."

The State and Hezbollah: Separation is "Inevitable"
Nabil Bou Monsef /An-Nahar/April 30/2026  (Translated from Arabic by LCCC publisher)
The recent schism between the entire Lebanese State and Hezbollah was "inevitable," unfolding through the most violent rounds of polemics between the President of the Republic and Hezbollah. The President raised the ceiling of his responses to the point of huring the accusation of treason back at Hezbollah in its entirety. It is certainly not the first time in Hezbollah’s history that it has opposed legitimate authorities while simultaneously infiltrating them and their "deep state," having never vacated a government or parliament since the 1990s. However, what used to be no longer aligns with what is happening now or what will follow—neither for the State, nor for the rest of Lebanon’s political, sectarian, and social components, and specifically not for Hezbollah itself. The Party is committing the ultimate strategic error. This is not just in its persistence in a failed, unintelligent justification for harnessing itself and the entire Shiite community on behalf of Iran in wars of regional exploitation and investment via the violation of Lebanon; it is even more so in the catastrophic megalomania that leads it to truly believe it is victorious. The recent statement by its Secretary-General suggests a final break with the State, acting as if it does not exist by dismissing any recognition of its decisions. Were it not for the persistent duality—mimicking the behavior of its Iranian reference point in dealing with domestic and foreign affairs—Hezbollah should have immediately withdrawn its ministers from the government.
Nevertheless,Hezbollah grants no weight to what it is accumulating domestically, even after receiving the most expressive message of the rift between it and the pillars of the State in President Joseph Aoun’s response to the campaigns of defamation and accusations of treason launched by Hezbollah. Following the "Raouche incident" with the Prime Minister—and the latter’s firm stance that Hezbollah "does not intimidate us"—and the President’s recent position, Hezbollah continues to draw strength daily from dozens of field statements. In these, it claims to be defeating Israel in the south, while Israel occupies nearly the "Yellow Strip" and has turned all other southern regions into a catastrophic pile of rubble, the magnitude and repercussions of which Lebanon has never seen the likes of. Hezbollah has effectively become outside the entire State, not just "outside the law" according to the Lebanese State’s classification of its military wing. The State’s Cabinet decisions have not been implemented on the ground at all, evidenced by the war Hezbollah is waging. This war naturally reveals that it still possesses an arsenal of missiles, drones, and other combat and field derivatives, including manufacturing capabilities within an underground tunnel network stretching from the eastern borders and Northern Bekaa to the South, passing through the Dahiyeh (Southern Suburbs). However, this arsenal—even if it has inflicted the most painful and harsh losses on Israel—no longer manufactures victory in a war that brought the Israeli imbalance back through every southern gateway in its worst forms. Nor does it provide the capacity for an internal coup, which an antiquated mindset still controlling the Party believes is possible through lackluster intimidation that has lost all effectiveness and no longer frightens anyone, even when riding the modern wave of social media.
Hezbollah is losing the bare minimum of wisdom—the wisdom of refraining from besieging itself. It leaves no room for the "day after" the catastrophe, the consequences of which it bears like no other party, group, or sect in Lebanon has ever borne in ancient or modern history. Tehran persists in its maneuvers with America over the rubble, pushing the Party in Lebanon toward the Day of Judgment!

On the Illuminating Light of Lebanon
Antoine Douaihy/Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
Like much of the Arab region, Lebanon is currently facing grave dangers. For many years, it has been living with the consequences of a conflict waged from its own territory between the “party of the Iranian axis” based within it and its opponents, entirely separate from the state of “Greater Lebanon,” its institutions, and its will, regardless of what it may or may not decide. This has played a decisive role in shattering what was once known as the “Switzerland of the East,” leading to its economic, financial, and political collapse, the corruption of its administrations, the emigration of its elites across the world, and repeatedly preventing its recovery. It has also resulted in repeated Israeli occupations of the South, turning Lebanon into something resembling a failed state, ranking near the bottom among nations in many fields in which it once excelled.
There are, of course, many other reasons for this collapse. However, it is equally certain that no country can function when there exist on its territory two states, two armies, two strategies, two economies, two financial systems, two systems of justice, and two educational systems, all profoundly at odds with one another, under a dense cloud of rhetoric and slogans meant to obscure reality.
At present, however, something even more dangerous is emerging: extreme violence in public discourse across media and social networks. Individuals openly unleash everything they carry within them, from hatred to fear, amid overt or implicit collective cheering. There is no room for understanding, and the atmosphere points to the risk of imminent civil wars. Perhaps the most urgent need today is intervention by the United Nations to deploy military forces from neutral countries, both Arab and international, to prevent the outbreak of violence.
In the meantime, there is a powerful illuminating light that can correct perception, calm inflamed emotions, and attempt to restore balance: the light of modern Lebanese history. The deeper one sinks into a tragic present, the narrower one’s vision becomes and the more intense one’s rigidity and fanaticism grow. Conversely, the more one draws on memory, “the sun of the soul,” and situates the present within the course of history, the more one calms down and gains the capacity for understanding and empathy. This applies to societies as much as to individuals.
The first lesson offered by the light of Lebanese history is that what is happening today, despite its gravity, is neither new nor unique. It is a repetition, in different forms, of conditions this country has experienced since the emergence of its first political entity 165 years ago, and which it may well experience again in the future. The second lesson, which is key to understanding everything, is that there has always been an ongoing struggle on this land between two major and opposing projects: the Lebanese project and the regional project in Lebanon.
The contingencies of nature, geography, location, identity, and the distinct culture of Mount Lebanon’s society, later extended to the regions integrated into a single entity, created a yearning for a way of life different from that prevailing in its surroundings: first under Ottoman rule, then under pan-Arab Baathist and Nasserist frameworks, later under Syrian Assadist influence, and finally under Khomeinist Iran. The Lebanese project is characterized by the pursuit of freedom, pluralism, interaction, openness to modernity and the world, engagement with knowledge and critical reason, and the quest for a certain quality of life.
Opposed to this stands the regional project in Lebanon, which persistently seeks to erase this specificity and reintegrate Lebanon into the broader authoritarian system.
Before the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, the central slogan of the regional project was to overthrow the Lebanese entity in pursuit of Ottoman unity, then Syrian unity, and later the unity of the nation under the leadership of the Iranian Supreme Jurist. After the establishment of Israel, the regional project added another major slogan: the liberation of Palestine from Lebanese territory. Naturally, this can only be pursued through complete control over the state that carries the Lebanese project or, failing that, by eliminating it altogether. This is the reality Lebanon has endured, suffering greatly from it, without weakening Israel over time and, in fact, contributing to its strengthening.
To ease the burden of the present and calm inflamed minds, it is important to note that the current conflict between the “party of the Iranian axis” and the “state of the Lebanese project” is not the most dangerous episode in this long tragic trajectory. It is far less severe and bloody than the turning points of 1860, 1915–1918, and 1975–1990, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives amid immense suffering. Those immersed in the present must recognize that the past was no more merciful, and yet it was overcome.

Lebanon Must Reform its Army or Lose American Aid
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Algemeiner/30 April 2026
Washington is working on establishing a system “where vetted units within the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] have the training, the equipment, and the capability to go after elements of Hezbollah and dismantle them,” according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose statement echoed growing frustration in Congress that Beirut should reform its military, or lose American aid.
On Capitol Hill, frustrated Senate powerhouses Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, seem to have lost all patience with the LAF. After funneling more than $3 billion in US taxpayer dollars into the force since 2004, the returns have been virtually zero.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who once threw the LAF commander out of his office for refusing to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization, is now issuing a blunt ultimatum: not one more American cent unless the LAF undergoes genuine, verifiable, and immediate reform.
That reform must begin right now with the LAF enforcing the Lebanese cabinet’s March 2 resolution ordering the military to disband Hezbollah and prohibit all its military activities.
Five days after that vote, however, LAF Commander Rudolph Haykal met with his top generals and declared that “preventing civil war” was their priority, code for refusing to disarm Hezbollah. The LAF has gone rogue, openly defying the elected civilian government it is sworn to obey.
Under Haykal, the LAF is not worth another dollar of American money. Graham is correct: real reform starts with firing Haykal and purging the senior ranks. Most top officers are compromised by or aligned with Hezbollah. They must be replaced by patriotic ones who put Lebanon first.
But leadership change is only the start. Washington must demand two non-negotiable structural reforms before releasing another dime: a complete reorientation of the LAF’s military doctrine and a rigorous, fully independent audit of its finances and operations.
The Lebanese Army was founded in 1946, with a doctrine that matched the vision of the country’s founders: a sovereign, predominantly Christian nation in a hostile Sunni Arab Levant.
Lebanon’s Christians deliberately carved out a distinct identity, distancing the country from the Arab-Islamic narrative and even emphasizing its European cultural roots.
For decades, the LAF performed its core mission with honor, defending Lebanon’s independence and neutrality against neighbors determined to absorb it into Greater Syria or a pan-Arab or Islamic superstate. Until 1991, every battle it fought served Lebanese sovereignty.
That mission was betrayed in 1991. Eager to reshape the post-Cold War Middle East, the United States rewarded Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad for joining the Gulf War coalition by handing him control of Lebanon.
Assad wasted no time. He purged patriotic officers and gutted the army’s doctrine. The LAF was no longer a defender of Lebanese independence. It became a tool for radical Arab “causes” — above all, an obsessive, unrelenting hostility toward Israel, which was recast from a peaceful neighbor into an existential enemy. Worse, the new doctrine cynically embraced Hezbollah as a legitimate “popular resistance” group supposedly sanctioned by international law — a grotesque lie, especially after Israel’s unilateral, UN-certified withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
This situation lasted far too long. Hezbollah’s decision on October 8, 2023, to attack Israel “in support of Gaza” finally changed the equation. Israel’s devastating 2024 campaign weakened the militia’s leadership, including the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah.
With Hezbollah gravely weakened, Lebanon’s parliament elected President Joseph Aoun in December 2024 and quickly approved Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s cabinet, both openly committed to disarming the Iranian proxy. Yet cabinet resolutions are meaningless if the LAF refuses to obey the government it is supposed to serve.
The army’s excuses for inaction are unconvincing.
It claims Shia soldiers would mutiny and defect. That’s false. Hezbollah’s fighters are almost exclusively Shia, and the militia offers far better pay and benefits than the cash-strapped LAF. Many military-age Shia men have already joined the proxy, leaving the regular army disproportionately Sunni and Christian. There simply aren’t enough Shia left in the ranks to cause a serious split. Surveys repeatedly show that at least one in four Lebanese Shia oppose Hezbollah’s armament. Those who choose the national army over the militia’s lavish incentives are among the most patriotic, and the least likely to follow Hezbollah’s orders. Hezbollah’s real grip on the LAF comes through corruption, not numbers. The militia has co-opted dozens of non-Shia senior officers by securing their promotions and protecting their graft. Corruption is rampant. Lebanon ranks 153rd on Transparency International’s corruption index. Applicants to the military academy routinely pay bribes of at least $30,000 just to get in, according to word on the street.
Before any more US money flows, the LAF must submit to a thorough, independent international audit. The path is clear and uncompromising. Replace Haykal and his compromised lieutenants. Restore a doctrine centered solely on defending Lebanese sovereignty and neutrality. Conduct a full independent audit.
Only then should America resume, and dramatically increase, its aid to build a professional, sovereign, and accountable Lebanese national army. A reformed LAF would finally be worth supporting. The current version is not.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).
The opinions presented by Algemeiner bloggers are solely theirs and do not represent those of The Algemeiner, its publishers or editors. If you would like to share your views with a blog post on The Algemeiner, please be in touch through our Contact page.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 30-01 May/2026
Trump warns Iran blockade could last months, sending oil prices soaring
Agence France Presse/30 April 2026
President Donald Trump said a U.S. naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices to spike to their highest level in more than four years, which held into Thursday. Trump is expected to receive a briefing on Thursday on new plans for potential military action in Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, two sources with knowledge told Axios. With diplomacy between Iran and the United States at a standstill after false starts, Trump spoke by phone Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who warned him of "damaging consequences" if the United States and Israel resume their war on Iran. Meeting oil executives, Trump contended that the blockade of Iranian ports -- which Tehran has demanded must end before any deal -- was more effective than bombing. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday on X that it had reached a "significant milestone after successfully redirecting the 42nd commercial vessel attempting to violate the blockade". It said there are "41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can't sell", estimating the value at more than $6 billion. Trump has faced intense political pressure to end the war, which is unpopular even with much of his base, having increased costs for American consumers and unnerved U.S. allies. Trump, speaking to Axios, said of the naval action on Iran: "They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them."Oil prices soared to four-year highs, with U.S. benchmark Brent spiking more than seven percent to $126.41 for June delivery, while West Texas Intermediate was up around three percent to $110.31. Both later pared the gains. Iran has sought to extract a price for being attacked by exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which about one-fifth of global oil typically transits.
'The issue is always nuclear' -
The U.S. leader on Wednesday lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, threatening to reduce the number of its troops in Germany over Berlin's refusal to back the war in Iran or contribute to a peacekeeping force in the Strait of Hormuz. Merz has become a target of Trump's ire after saying earlier this week that Iran was "humiliating" Washington at the negotiating table. Top U.S. officials including Vice President JD Vance twice turned back last week from trips to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, which has voiced doubts about Trump's sincerity for diplomacy.
U.S. officials contend they do not know who is speaking for Iran, whether it is the hardline and increasingly empowered Revolutionary Guards or diplomats, after Israeli strikes killed a series of top leaders.The U.N. Development Program warned that the war, which has also sent the price of fertilizer soaring, could plunge more than 30 million people into poverty in 160 countries."It's development in reverse," UNDP chief Alexander De Croo told AFP. But despite the defiance of the cleric-run state, the Iranian rial fell to historic lows against the dollar. Tehran residents speaking to AFP journalists in Paris reported a sense of despair. "Every time in recent years that negotiations have taken place, the economic situation of the people has only gotten worse. Sanctions have either started or intensified," a 52-year-old architect told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The issue is always nuclear. There's no talk about people, the economy or freedom. People have the right to not even want to hear the word 'negotiation'," he said.
'Collapse' -
Iran has proposed easing its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz as Washington lifts its blockade and broader negotiations take place. The Trump administration has been skeptical of the proposal. Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has emerged as a key figure since the start of the war, said Wednesday the U.S. naval blockade of the country aimed to create division and "make us collapse from within".

US naval blockade squeezes Iran’s oil exports, forces crude onto floating storage
Al Arabiya English/30 April ,2026
A US naval blockade of Iranian ports has shrunk Tehran’s oil exports, stranding a growing stockpile of crude on tankers as Iranian storage sites run out of space, shipping data showed and analysts said. With some vessels switching off tracking systems and US forces turning back Iranian tankers, how much crude Iran is delivering to customers, particularly main customer China, is impossible to measure. Just a handful of carriers carrying Iranian crude have left the Gulf of Oman between April 13-25, oil analytics firm Vortexa said. That’s down over 80 percent from a comparable period in March, when Iran exported 23.4 million barrels, LSEG data shows. Some of Tehran’s vessels have been intercepted by the US after leaving Iranian ports, along with sanctioned container ships and Iranian tankers in Asian waters. “At this stage, we estimate that around 4 million barrels of Iranian crude has successfully moved out of the Gulf of Oman. We are not currently able to confirm whether any of those vessels have since been interdicted,” it said in an email to Reuters. The loss of Iranian supply adds to wider market tightness as the war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, curtailing oil exports from several Middle Eastern nations and sending prices higher, something the US has sought to avoid. Last month, the US granted Tehran an unexpected temporary sanctions waiver on energy exports to allow prices to cool.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 have jumped by about $50 a barrel since the Iran war began on February 28, raising prices of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The International Energy Agency has called it the world’s largest oil output disruption. No tankers exited Gulf since blockade: Kpler. Analysts at Kpler said they had not observed any Iranian crude tankers exiting the Gulf of Oman since the blockade began. US authorities said on Wednesday their blockade was denying Tehran of much-needed revenue from crude exports.
“Right now there are 41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that Iranian regime can’t sell,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday. Iran’s currency, the rial, fell to a record low against the US dollar on Wednesday, highlighting the financial difficulties that face the oil-reliant economy. Despite the pressure, Iran is still loading crude at its main export hub on Kharg Island, maritime intelligence firm TankerTrackers said. Satellite imagery shows at least 10 tankers parked off Iran’s Chahbahar port on the Gulf of Oman, it added. Iran pumped about 3.24 million bpd of crude in February, around half for domestic refining. Yet, the country may be forced to start cutting output within a week or two, said Kpler analyst Johannes Rauball, with storage scant.
Onshore storage is about 60 percent full, Kpler said, with stocks above 50 million barrels, and capacity at 86 million barrels. Capacity constraints could force Iran to curb production in mid-June, consultancy FGE NextantECA estimated on April 15.With Reuters

Khamenei says US suffered 'disgraceful defeat'
Naharnet/30 April 2026 
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message on Thursday that the United States had been defeated in its war with the Islamic republic, as the Iranian leadership defied President Donald Trump's warnings of a prolonged blockade. "Today, two months after the largest military deployment and aggression by the world's bullies in the region, and the United States' disgraceful defeat in its plans, a new chapter is unfolding for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," said Khamenei in the message read on state television. The message by Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since his appointment on March 9 as Iran's new supreme leader, came on the annual national celebration of "Persian Gulf" day in Iran. Mojtaba Khamenei became supreme leader after the US and Israel launched a massive campaign of strikes on Iran on February 28, killing his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei. Last week, the New York Times citing several unnamed Iranian officials said the younger Khamenei was "gravely wounded" in the strikes but has remained "mentally sharp."In his Thursday message, he said U.S. bases in the region "lack even the capacity to ensure their own security, let alone provide any hope of securing their allies."He hailed what he called Iran's "new legal framework and management" of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key energy chokepoint, as a means to bring "comfort and progress" for countries in the region.
Bright future -
The strait has become a major flashpoint since the outbreak of the Middle East war, with Iran allowing only a trickle of ships to pass through the waterway. Last week, a senior lawmaker said Tehran has received the first revenue from tolls it imposed on the strait. Khamenei predicted a bright future for the Gulf without the United States and condemned what he described as "outsiders", saying those who interfere from thousands of kilometres away "have no place there except at the bottom of its waters". He also lauded the people of Iran who he said "consider all national capacities -- identity, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial, and advanced technologies from nano and bio to nuclear and missile -- as their national capital". Earlier Thursday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had said a U.S. naval blockade imposed in retaliation against Iran's action in Hormuz was "doomed to fail". Pezeshkian added that such measures would "not only fail to enhance regional security, but are in fact a source of tension and a disruption to lasting stability in the Persian Gulf". Other figures have also struck a tone of defiance, with navy commander Shahram Irani signalling that Iran will deploy "in the very near future" naval weaponry which it has recently developed.

Grossi: Iran's Highly Enriched Uranium Likely is at Isfahan Site
London: Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
20The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by airstrikes last year and faced less intense attacks in this year’s US-Israeli war, the UN nuclear agency’s leader. Rafael Grossi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency has satellite images showing the effects of the latest US-Israeli airstrikes against Iran and that “we continue to get information.”IAEA inspections ended at Isfahan when Israel last June launched a 12-day war that saw the United States bomb three Iranian nuclear sites. The UN nuclear watchdog believes a large percentage of Iran’s highly enriched uranium “was stored there in June 2025 when the 12-day war broke out, and it has been there ever since,” Grossi said. “We haven’t been able to inspect or to reject that the material is there and that the seals — the IAEA seals — remain there,” he said. “I hope we’ll be able to do that, so what I tell you is our best estimate.”Images from an Airbus satellite show a truck loaded with 18 blue containers going into a tunnel at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center on June 9, 2025, just before last year’s war started. Those containers, believed to contain highly enriched uranium, likely remain there.
All Iran’s nuclear sites must be inspected
The IAEA also wants to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz and Fordo, where there is also some nuclear material, the IAEA director general added. Iran is a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, whose five-year review is underway at UN headquarters. Under its provisions, Iran is required to open its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection, Grossi said. Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the agency. Grossi has said the IAEA believes roughly 200 kilograms is stored in tunnels at the Isfahan site. The Iranian stockpile could allow the country to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, Grossi told AP last year. Tehran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful. US President Donald Trump said one of the major reasons the US went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons, even as he has insisted that the strikes last summer “obliterated” the country’s atomic program. Last Saturday, The New York Times reported that Iran has a total of 11 tons of uranium, at various enrichment levels. A nuclear expert told the newspaper that Iran’s stockpile could yield roughly 35 to 55 weapons depending on its skill in making not only the bomb’s fuel core but such nonnuclear parts as detonators that spark the chain reactions. Another expert said Iran’s stockpile was sufficient for 50 to 100 bombs if further enriched.
Taking the highly enriched uranium out of Iran
Grossi said the IAEA has discussed with Russia and others the possibility of sending Iran’s highly enriched uranium out of the country — a complex operation that would require either a political agreement or a major US military operation in hostile territory. Grossi noted that “what’s going to be important is that that material leaves Iran” or is blended to reduce its enrichment. He said the IAEA participated in US-Iran nuclear talks in February but has not been part of recent ceasefire negotiations mediated by Pakistan. He said the agency has been in discussions separately with the US and informally with Iran. The IAEA chief said negotiations now are a “completely different ballgame” because of Iran’s “exponential progress” not only on enriching uranium but using the latest generation of centrifuges, different compounds and new facilities.
‘Political will’
It would take “political will” from Tehran to reach a deal, Grossi told AP, stressing that “Iran has to be convinced that it is important to negotiate.”Iran’s leaders say they are willing to negotiate and so does the Republican US president, Grossi said, but “where the frustration kicks in, apparently for both, is that they do not seem to come to agreement, or be at an eye-to-eye level, on what needs to be done first, or on how.”Calling himself a negotiator who likes to see a “flicker of hope,” Grossi noted that “one important thing is that there is apparently an interest on both sides to come to an agreement.” Asked if he thinks the Iranians are serious about making a deal, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Channel this week that they are skilled negotiators looking to buy time and that any agreement must be “one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point.”

Pivotal US-Iran War Deadline Approaches with No End in Sight for Conflict
Reuters/30 April 2026
US President Donald Trump faces a deadline on Friday to end the Iran war or make the case to Congress for extending it, but the date is most likely to pass without altering the course of a conflict that has lapsed into a standoff over shipping routes.
Ending the war appears highly unlikely.Instead, analysts and congressional aides said they expect Trump to either notify Congress that he plans a 30-day extension or disregard the deadline, with his administration arguing that a current ceasefire with Tehran marked an end to the conflict. Like most policies in a bitterly divided Congress, war powers have become deeply partisan, with opposition Democrats calling for Congress to reassert its constitutional right to declare war and Republicans accusing Democrats of trying to use War Powers law to weaken Trump. Democrats have tried repeatedly since the war began on February 28 to pass resolutions seeking to force Trump to withdraw US forces or obtain congressional authorization. But Trump's Republicans, who hold slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, have voted them down almost unanimously. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the ‌US president can wage ‌military action for only 60 days before ending it, coming to Congress for authorization or seeking ‌a 30-day ⁠extension due to "unavoidable ⁠military necessity regarding the safety of United States Armed Forces."The Iran conflict began on February 28, when Israel and the United States began airstrikes on Iran. Trump formally notified Congress of the conflict 48 hours later, as the law requires, starting the 60-day deadline clock that ends May 1.
FRAIL CEASEFIRE
Trump is scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for fresh military strikes on Iran to compel it to negotiate an end to the conflict, a US official told Reuters. If fighting resumes, Trump can tell lawmakers that he has started another 60-day clock, something that presidents from both parties have done repeatedly since Congress passed the War Powers law, over then-President Richard Nixon's veto, in response to the Vietnam War. That conflict also was not ⁠authorized by Congress. Iran said on Thursday that if Washington renewed attacks it would respond with "long and ‌painful strikes" on US positions, complicating Washington's hopes for an international coalition to open the ‌Strait of Hormuz. Opinion polls show that the Iran war is unpopular among Americans, six months before November elections that will determine who controls Congress next year. Trump's ‌approval rating sank to the lowest level of his current term this month, as Americans increasingly soured on the cost of living ‌and blamed the war for higher prices. But Trump remains strongly in control of his party and few Republicans have objected to his policies. Additionally, Republicans strongly back Israel, which is also striking Iran, and welcome weakening of Iran, a bitter enemy of the United States."It's partisanship, plain and simple," said Christopher Preble, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington. "Republicans refuse to defy the president, simple as that."
'ACTIVE CONVERSATIONS'
The White House has not said how it ‌plans to proceed, or if it will ask Congress to approve an Authorization for the Use of Military Force against Iran. "The administration is in active conversations with the Hill on this topic. Members ⁠of Congress who try to ⁠score political points by usurping the Commander-in-Chief’s authority would only undermine the United States Military abroad, which no elected official should want to do," a White House official said on condition of anonymity. The US Constitution says only Congress, not the president, can declare war, but that restriction does not apply for short-term operations or to counter an immediate threat.A few Republicans who have voted against war powers resolutions to date said they may reconsider after May 1. Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah published an essay saying he supported Trump's actions but would not support ongoing military action beyond the deadline without congressional approval. But others said they wanted to wait to act. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the Senate's Republican majority leader, said it would be "ideal" if Washington and Tehran could reach a peace agreement, although he told reporters he has not ruled out a potential vote on authorizing the war. "We're listening, obviously trying to stay dialed in to what's there and getting regular updates from the administration about forward progress," Thune told reporters. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York has co-sponsored resolutions seeking to end the war. "Republicans know Trump’s handling of this war has been a disaster. They see how much the American people are hurting right now," he said in a Senate speech, referring to sharp increases in gasoline and other prices. "How many War Powers Resolutions do Democrats need to put forward before Senate Republicans do what’s right?" Schumer asked.

Trump says gas prices will drop as soon as Iran war is over
Reuters/30 April ,2026
President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters that gas prices would “drop like a rock” as soon as the Iran war ended. Global oil prices earlier hit a four-year high of more than $126 a barrel over concerns that the conflict could lead to a prolonged crisis.

Trump hails ‘tremendous new chapter’ with Iraq after call with PM-designate
The US president invited Ali al-Zaidi to Washington after he forms a new government
Al Arabiya English/30 April ,2026
President Donald Trump called Iraq’s PM-designate Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday and invited him to Washington after he forms a new government, according to a readout of the call, with the US president hailing a “tremendous new chapter” with Bagdad. “Prime Minister-Designate Ali Faleh al-Zaidi received today, Thursday, a phone call from the President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, who congratulated him on the occasion of his official designation to form the new government and extended a formal invitation to visit Washington following the formation of the government,” the Iraqi prime minister’s office said.The two also discussed bilateral ties between Baghdad and Washington as well as ways to deepen them in various field. They also affirmed “joint work and bilateral cooperation to consolidate stability in the region,” the readout said. The call comes a day after the US Embassy in Baghdad congratulated al-Zaidi, following Washington’s interference to block former candidate Nouri al-Maliki from the position. “This is the beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social after their call. “We wish him success as he works to form a new Government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq.”

Iran president calls US naval blockade ‘extension of military operations’
Agencies/30 April ,2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that a US naval blockade of his country’s ports was effectively an “extension of military operations” by Washington, in spite of an ongoing ceasefire between the two sides. “The world has witnessed Iran’s tolerance and conciliation. What is being done under the guise of a naval blockade is an extension of military operations against a nation paying the price for its resistance and independence,” he said on X. “Continuation of this oppressive approach is intolerable.” The US naval blockade of Iranian ports has shrunk Tehran’s oil exports, stranding a growing stockpile of crude on tankers as Iranian storage sites run out of space, according to shipping data and analysts. Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s unseen Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message that the US had been defeated in its war with Iran.

US military is in ‘really good shape’ on the munitions front: Pentagon chief
Al Arabiya English/30 April ,2026:
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth assured US lawmakers on Thursday that the United States military was in “really good shape.”“On the munitions front, we’re in really good shape, but we need to accelerate,” Hegseth said, referring to the replenishment of the entire military's arsenal.
Hegseth was speaking alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. The pair spoke to lawmakers during a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). They took part in a similiar six-hour session with the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
The joint US-Israeli war on Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, commenced on Feb. 28. As he did on Wednesday, Hegseth staunchly defended the Iran war and lashed out at Democrats who questioned the decision to attack Iran. “We are two months into a historic military success in Iran, and you want to call it a defeat. It’s defeatist Democrats like you that cloud the minds of the American people,” Hegseth said in remarks to Senator Richard Blumenthal.

UK raises threat level to 'severe' after London antisemitic attack
Reuters/30 April ,2026
Britain on Thursday raised its national terrorism threat level to “severe,” signaling that a terrorist attack was considered highly likely, following an antisemitic stabbing in north London.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said the level had been increased from “substantial” after the attack in the Golders Green area on Wednesday, adding that the decision reflected a broader and rising threat environment rather than a single event.

Trump in Fresh Attack on Germany’s Merz Over Iran
Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, telling him to focus on ending the Ukraine war instead of "interfering" on Iran. Trump's second broadside of the week against Merz came a day after he said he was considering the redeployment of some of the tens of thousands of US troops stationed in key NATO ally Germany. "The Chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!), and fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy," Trump said on his Truth Social network. He added that Merz should spend "less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place!"Trump was apparently infuriated by Merz's comments on Monday that Tehran was "humiliating" the United States in negotiations to end the US-Israeli war on Iran that has just entered its third month. The US leader's comments also come a day after he had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Trump said focused mostly on ending the war in Ukraine, which Moscow's forces invaded in February 2022. Trump has long said he could bring a quick end to the war there but has made little progress.

Israel Defense Minister Says Country May Have to ‘Act Again’ Against Iran
Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
Israel's defense minister on Thursday said his country may soon have to "act again" against Iran, to ensure the Islamic republic "does not once again become a threat to Israel". "US President Donald Trump, in coordination with (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is leading the efforts to achieve the campaign's objectives, to ensure that Iran does not once again become a threat to Israel, the United States and the free world in the future," Israel Katz said during a military ceremony, according to a statement from his office. "We support this effort and are providing the necessary support, but it is possible that we may soon have to act again to ensure these objectives are met," he added.

Israel Says Detained Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Taken to Greece
Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
Israel on Thursday said that dozens of activists intercepted by the Israeli military from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters off Crete would be taken to Greek shores where they would disembark. Israel's foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats and were heading back to Israel. The intercepted vessels form part of the latest flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break Israel's blockade on Gaza. Flotilla organizers put the number of detained at 211, including a Paris city councilor.  "In coordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked on a Greek beach in the coming hours," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X, thanking the Greek government "for its willingness to receive the flotilla participants." Helene Coron, a spokeswoman for the Global Sumud France, had earlier told an online news conference that the operation took place near the Greek island of Crete, at an "unprecedented" distance from the Gaza coast. Yasmine Scola, an activist on board the flotilla, said her colleagues had been "kidnapped" by Israel. Rome and Berlin said in a joint statement that they were following developments "with deep concern," while Madrid blasted the seizure and said it had summoned Israel's charge d'affaires in Spain. Paris announced that 15 French nationals had been detained and Rome called for the immediate release of "all the unlawfully detained Italians" -- numbering 24 according to the Italian news agency Ansa. Coron said those intercepted included Paris Communist local councilor Raphaelle Primet.
Boats still en route -
In the summer and autumn of 2025, a first voyage by the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean towards Gaza drew worldwide attention. The boats in that flotilla were intercepted by Israel off the coasts of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in early October. Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and then expelled by Israel. The organizers of the latest flotilla announced early on Thursday that their boats had been surrounded by Israeli military ships while off the coast of Crete. "Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as 'Israel', pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees," said the Global Sumud Flotilla. AFP verified, based on tracking data from the organizers, that the boats were intercepted in the Greek exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Around thirty boats from the flotilla are still en route, most now in Greek territorial waters south of Crete, according to the same source. Coron said the operation had taken place over 1,000 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. The longest such operation to date had been 185 kilometers in June 2025, she said. Israel's foreign ministry said "drugs" were found on the boats and published a video of activists "enjoying themselves" doing cartwheels aboard an Israeli vessel. Activist Scola said her ship had been carrying school supplies and food. The flotilla comprising more than 50 vessels set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.
'Brazen interception' -
"Due to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required in accordance with international law," Israel's foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said. But Amnesty International condemned the "brazen interception". "The Israeli navy crossing hundreds of miles at sea just to ensure civilian boats carrying food, baby formula, and medical supplies don't make it to Palestinians reveals the lengths Israel is prepared to go to in order to maintain its cruel and unlawful 19-year-long blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip," Amnesty's Erika Guevara Rosas, said in a statement. Israel controls all entry points to Gaza. It has been accused by the United Nations and foreign NGOs of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of the war in October 2023. The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007. The war triggered by the Palestinian movement's attack on Israel has led to severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel. A fragile ceasefire was reached last October after two years of devastating conflict.

US Auditors Find No Evidence Linking Iraq PM-Designate to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
London: Ali Saray/Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
A US law firm said an independent investigation it recently conducted found no evidence linking Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, to financial activities tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, adding that restrictions imposed on him in 2024 were due to reputational risks, not proven involvement in money laundering.bThe clarification comes as al-Zaidi’s surprise designation to form a government in Baghdad, succeeding Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, faces political scrutiny over his background, after a bank he owns was included in restrictions by the Central Bank of Iraq on access to US dollars, as part of what was described at the time as a campaign to combat illicit financial flows. Representatives of K2 Integrity, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said an independent probe by the firm found no credible evidence linking al-Zaidi or Al-Janoob Islamic Bank to the Quds Force and did not identify direct financial transfers from the bank to regional entities classified as high risk. One representative told Asharq Al-Awsat that the restriction recommended by the US Treasury and the New York Federal Reserve on Al-Janoob Islamic Bank was limited to US dollar transactions and was driven by reputational concerns and the bank’s ownership, rather than confirmed violations related to money laundering or financing Iran-linked entities. Al-Zaidi, a businessman who owns companies with his brother and partners, including Al-Oweis, Al-Janoob, and Dijlah TV, is seen as an opaque figure in Iraq’s political landscape. His designation came amid public US opposition that led to Nouri al-Maliki’s exclusion from the race, while unannounced objections were also reported to have sidelined al-Sudani.
Restrictions linked to Iran
In February 2024, Iraq imposed restrictions on eight local banks, including Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, preventing them from accessing US dollars through the central bank window. The move was part of Washington’s efforts to curb money transfers to Iran. A US Treasury spokesperson said at the time the measures aimed to protect Iraq’s financial system from abuse, citing concerns that US currency could be used in illegal activities. The case highlights the ongoing challenge facing Baghdad in balancing its ties with both the United States and Iran, given its heavy reliance on the US dollar. Iraq receives about $10 billion in cash annually from the Federal Reserve, according to official estimates. The US Embassy in Baghdad welcomed al-Zaidi’s designation, expressing support for efforts to form a government that reflects the aspirations of the Iraqi people. This follows months of political deadlock and comes amid pressure from the administration of Donald Trump, which had threatened to cut support to Iraq if al-Maliki returned to power. Al-Zaidi faces a 30-day deadline to form a government, amid sharp divisions within the Coordination Framework and as regional tensions escalate following military strikes on Iran in February 2026 and subsequent attacks by armed groups on US interests in Iraq.

Man Accused of Trying to Kill Trump at Correspondents’ Gala Agrees to Remain Jailed for Now
Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
A man accused of trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives and attempting to kill President Donald Trump agreed on Thursday to remain jailed for now while he awaits trial. Cole Thomas Allen did not enter a plea during his brief appearance before US Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya. Prosecutors allege Allen planned his attack for weeks and tracked Trump’s movements online before he ran through a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night while holding a long gun and disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. Allen was injured during the attack but was not shot. A Secret Service officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived, officials say. Prosecutors have said they believe Allen fired his shotgun at least once and that a Secret Service agent fired five shots. They have not publicly confirmed that it was Allen’s bullet that struck the agent’s vest. In a letter to prosecutors on Wednesday, Allen's lawyers alleged that some of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's statements "indicate that the recovered ballistics evidence is inconsistent with aspects of the government’s theory, evidence collected by the government and/or statements made by witnesses."The Justice Department, in response, said the evidence shows Allen fired his shotgun at least once in the Secret Service agent's direction. Investigators recovered at least one fragment at the crime scene that is consistent with a buckshot pellet, prosecutors wrote. "The government is aware of no physical evidence, digital video evidence, or witness statements that are inconsistent with the theory that your client fired his shotgun in the direction" of the officer or that the officer "was indeed shot once in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest," prosecutors wrote. Prosecutors said in court papers that Allen took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes before the incident, and that he was outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife. In a message that authorities say sheds light on his motive, Allen referred to himself as a "Friendly Federal Assassin" and alluded obliquely to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions, according to writings sent to family members shortly before shots were fired Saturday night. The Associated Press reviewed the writings. Allen's lawyers are pressing for his release, arguing in court papers that the government's case is "based upon inferences drawn about Mr. Allen’s intent that raise more questions than answers." They defense noted that Allen's writings never mentioned Trump by name. "The government’s evidence of the charged offense –- the attempted assassination of the president –- is thus built entirely upon speculation, even under the most generous reading of its theory," defense lawyers wrote. Allen was charged on Monday with that crime, as well as two additional firearms counts, including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the assassination count alone. Allen, 31, is from Torrance, California. He is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.

France to Host International Meet on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in June
Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
France will host an international meeting in June dedicated to the long-touted two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the French foreign minister announced on Thursday. "On September 22 last year, France took the momentous decision to recognize the State of Palestine and will host an international conference in Paris on June 12 so that Israeli and Palestinian civil societies can make their voices heard," Jean-Noel Barrot said in a video message played to a gathering of peace activists in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The "People's Peace Summit" in Tel Aviv was organized by the "It's Time" coalition, a grouping of more than 80 peacebuilding organizations working to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a political agreement guaranteeing both peoples' right to self-determination and secure lives. Several hundred people attended the meeting in Tel Aviv, AFP journalists reported. "While the Middle East remains deeply scarred by the terrorist attacks of October 7 (2023) in Israel, by more than two and a half years of devastating war in Gaza and by a humanitarian crisis that, sadly, shows no sign of abating, your presence here is an act of resistance against fatalism and resignation," Barrot said. Palestinian movement Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza, where a ceasefire in effect since October has largely halted fighting. Barrot's remarks come as the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, vehemently opposes the emergence of a sovereign and fully independent Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and is working on the ground to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas appears extremely weakened and deeply unpopular.

‘Positive’ Mood in Cairo Talks on New Proposal by Mediators
Gaza: Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
Hamas described as “positive” an initial meeting held by its delegation on Wednesday evening with mediators in Egypt to discuss a new Gaza ceasefire proposal. Asharq Al-Awsat reviewed a message sent by Hamas to Palestinian factions describing the talks as “a preliminary, frank, clear and brief meeting, held in a positive atmosphere.”The message said Hamas told the UN’s senior representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, and his team that “there must be clear implementation of the first phase before moving to the second,” noting this stance had already been adopted by the movement and other Palestinian factions. It added that mediators are awaiting Israel’s response to determine next steps. A senior Hamas source confirmed the message, saying the atmosphere in Wednesday’s meetings with mediators was positive. Another meeting was held later the same evening with Mladenov and other figures, the source said. Mladenov, who arrived in Cairo from Israel on Tuesday, carried Israel’s position on the recently updated proposal covering the first and second phases, the source added. Further meetings are expected on Thursday. The source said Israel is still trying to obstruct the agreement by pushing conditions linking progress to disarmament, including seeking signed approval from Hamas and other factions, a demand all factions in the Cairo talks reject. Mediators, including Mladenov, are attempting to find workable approaches, the source said, with talks set to continue through Friday.
Leftist factions raise concerns
Despite Hamas describing the talks as positive and calling for a clear implementation timeline and firm guarantees, some factions, particularly leftist groups within the Palestine Liberation Organization, raised concerns over the latest mediators’ proposal. A senior source from leftist factions said their observations focused on the absence of a binding timeline for Israeli withdrawal and the lack of a clear monitoring mechanism. The source also cited the need for a defined schedule for the second phase and warned of a reduced Palestinian national role in favor of an international administration. Other concerns included ambiguity in implementing the first phase, linking reconstruction to disarmament, and the exclusion of areas beyond the “Yellow Line” from reconstruction plans. The factions proposed affirming the right to self-determination and a Palestinian state in line with international legitimacy, and that Gaza’s administrative committee begin work from the first phase. They also suggested weapons be neutralized through a national agreement within security arrangements overseen by guarantor states, particularly Egypt, and held in custody there. They further proposed that weapons neutralization coincide with a full Israeli withdrawal, the disarmament of armed groups linked to Israel, and the deployment of international forces starting from the “Yellow Line,” to be completed after withdrawal. They called for international guarantees for both withdrawal and reconstruction, ensuring reconstruction begins in all areas vacated by Israeli forces, including those beyond the “Yellow Line,” alongside the launch of an early recovery plan at the start of the remaining first phase. The proposal stressed the need to ensure freedom of political and civil activity under national laws. It said any arrangements in Gaza must not contradict Palestinian Authority laws and called for strengthening national consensus. It also called for addressing armed groups through a separate track, with the possibility of integrating them into official institutions. The proposal urged a comprehensive solution to the detainees’ issue, particularly those from Gaza, and said any arrangements for weapons neutralization should be linked to resolving this issue. The Hamas source said the factions’ observations were conveyed to the mediators and Mladenov.

Britain’s King Charles Honors Fallen US Troops on Last Day of Visit
Reuters/30 April 2026
King Charles III paid respects to fallen US troops at a military cemetery on Thursday, the final day of a state visit aimed at healing ties between Britain and the United States strained by the war in Iran. By all accounts, the four-day visit has been a success, with President Donald Trump serving as solicitous host-in-chief who kicked off the monarch's stay with a pomp-filled welcome and lavish white-tie banquet at the White House. "He's a great king -- the greatest king, in my book," Trump told reporters as Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at the White House for a brief farewell ceremony under bright spring sunshine on Thursday morning. As the royal couple drove off following handshakes and a bit of chat, Trump added: "Great people. We need more people like that in our country."Charles and Camilla then visited Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, where they laid a wreath and flowers at the hilltop Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honoring America's unidentified war dead. The pair stood solemnly as a bugler played "Taps," before visiting the adjacent display room of military exhibits and artifacts.Next on the agenda was a "block party" to mark 250 years since American independence from Britain and meetings with Native Americans at a national park, before departing for the British island territory of Bermuda in the Atlantic.
- Light moments -
The centerpiece of the whirlwind trip was Charles's speech Tuesday to the US Congress, the first by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. The address was warmly received, even as Charles ranged over subjects from climate change and the need for restraints on presidential power to the importance of NATO and defense of Ukraine -- sensitive issues for Trump's ruling Republicans. The 77-year-old monarch skirted around tensions between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain's refusal to join the war against Iran, insisting the partnership between the two countries was "born out of dispute, but no less strong for it."The royals visited New York on Wednesday, where they stopped at the 9/11 memorial and met leftist Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Charles, who is passionate about gardening and the environment, later visited an urban sustainable farming project in Harlem, while Camilla celebrated the 100th birthday of Winnie the Pooh at the New York Public Library. Security has been tight for the royal visit, which came just days after an alleged assassination attempt against Trump at a Washington media gala. The trip has seen light moments between Charles and Trump, including the US president joking that his Scottish-born mother had a crush on the future king when he was younger.

Syria Arrests Former General Accused of Chemical Attack Involvement
Asharq Al Awsat/30 April 2026
Syria's interior minister on Wednesday said it detained an Assad-era general accused of involvement in the 2013 Ghouta chemical attack. In a post on X, Anas Khattab said that "Adnan Abboud Hilweh, one of the most prominent officers responsible for the chemical massacre in Eastern Ghouta in 2013, is now in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department", AFP reported. US intelligence says more than 1,000 people were killed with sarin nerve gas in the suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus, in 2013 during Syria's civil war. The attack was attributed to the Syrian government under the rule of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in late 2024. The government at the time denied involvement and blamed opposition forces. Hilweh was one of three Syrian generals accused by the US State Department in 2022 of involvement in "gross violations of human rights, namely the flagrant denial of the right to life of at least 1,400 people in Ghouta", banning them along with their immediate family from entering the country. Hilweh was sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries. Syria's 13-year civil war killed more than half a million people and displaced millions of others. Tens of thousands of people disappeared, many into the country's brutal prison system. Syria's new authorities have repeatedly vowed to provide justice and accountability for Assad-era atrocities, while activists and the international community have emphasised the importance of transitional justice in the war-ravaged country. On Monday, a Syrian court conducted the first hearing in the trial of Assad, in absentia, and senior figures from his government, one of whom appeared in person. Former security official Atif Najib, a relative of Assad's, was in the dock in handcuffs. Assad fled to Moscow with only a handful of confidants as opposition-led forces closed in on Damascus in December 2024, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom reportedly went abroad or took refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad's Alawite minority.

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 30-01 May/2026
The Crown's Moral Voice: King Charles in Washington and the Test of Western Clarity
Ahmed Charai/Gatestone Institute./April 30, 2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22485/king-charles-in-washington
[P]arts of the West have become too cautious in naming the nature of the threats they face.
The question is whether, at a time when the West is confronted by terrorism, tyranny, nuclear intimidation, and the suffering of innocent people, the Crown's moral voice can still remind Britain — and the world — of the principles that stand above the calculations of daily politics. It can. And it should.
The Iranian regime is not a normal state pursuing normal interests. It is a revolutionary system built on coercion at home and intimidation abroad. It imprisons, tortures, executes, and kills its own citizens. It threatens dissidents beyond its borders. It arms proxies across the Middle East. It menaces Israel. It destabilizes its neighbors. It uses diplomacy when useful, violence when possible, and ideology always. Its danger is not confined to Tehran, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, or the Gulf. It reaches into Europe. It reaches into Britain itself.
This is not diplomacy. It is intimidation by another name.
Peace is not silence before terror. Peace is not the avoidance of difficult truths. Peace is not asking democracies to restrain their language while tyrannies unleash violence, repression, and fear.
[Britain] cannot invoke the memory of Churchill while appearing uncertain before a regime that despises liberty under law, pluralism, religious tolerance, and the dignity of the individual.
Peace without justice is not peace. It is postponement.
Abandonment... [s]ometimes ... arrives through diplomatic language so carefully balanced that it loses all moral meaning. Sometimes it arrives when leaders speak of stability while ignoring the victims of the system they are trying to stabilize.
[Britain]cannot invoke the memory of Churchill while appearing uncertain before a regime that despises liberty under law, pluralism, religious tolerance, and
[P]olicy is not merely the management of interests, but the defense of principles.
There are moments in diplomacy when ceremony is not decoration, but strategy by other means. The visit of Britain's King Charles III to Washington belonged to that category.
There are moments in diplomacy when ceremony is not decoration, but strategy by other means.
The visit of Britain's King Charles III to Washington belonged to that category. It came not at a quiet moment in Anglo-American relations, but at a moment of visible strain between Washington and London — above all over Iran, the Middle East, and the question of Western resolve.
The state visit was therefore more than a royal occasion. It became a mirror. It revealed the enduring strength of the Atlantic alliance, but also the unease beneath it: the concern that parts of the West have become too cautious in naming the nature of the threats they face.
At the White House state dinner, President Donald Trump brought Iran directly into his remarks, insisting that the regime must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Charles, by contrast, did not address Iran publicly, consistent with his constitutional role as a non-political sovereign.
That distinction is essential.
The king did not come to Washington to conduct policy. He came to embody continuity. He did not negotiate, threaten, or speak as a partisan actor. Instead, he gave presence to something older than government: the nation's memory, dignity, and moral character. And that is precisely why his visit mattered. The question is not whether the British monarch should replace the government. He should not. The question is whether, at a time when the West is confronted by terrorism, tyranny, nuclear intimidation, and the suffering of innocent people, the Crown's moral voice can still remind Britain — and the world — of the principles that stand above the calculations of daily politics. It can. And it should.
The Iranian regime is not a normal state pursuing normal interests. It is a revolutionary system built on coercion at home and intimidation abroad. It imprisons, tortures, executes, and kills its own citizens. It threatens dissidents beyond its borders. It arms proxies across the Middle East. It menaces Israel. It destabilizes its neighbors. It uses diplomacy when useful, violence when possible, and ideology always. Its danger is not confined to Tehran, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, or the Gulf. It reaches into Europe. It reaches into Britain itself.
The recent conduct of the Iranian embassy in London should have shocked every serious observer of Western security. When a foreign embassy uses the language of martyrdom and seeks to mobilize Iranians living in Britain, it is not practicing ordinary diplomacy. It is projecting intimidation onto British soil. This is not diplomacy. It is intimidation by another name.
No sovereign democracy should tolerate a foreign regime attempting to turn diaspora communities into instruments of ideological warfare. No serious government should treat a regime that glorifies martyrdom, threatens dissidents, arms terror networks, and brutalizes its own people as merely another difficult interlocutor. This is where moral clarity matters.
Peace is not silence before terror. Peace is not the avoidance of difficult truths. Peace is not asking democracies to restrain their language while tyrannies unleash violence, repression, and fear.
Peace without justice is not peace. It is postponement. The Iranian people understand this better than anyone. They have paid the price in blood, prison, exile, and silence. Thousands have been killed, detained, disappeared, or condemned by a regime that fears its own citizens because it knows they carry the legitimacy it lacks. The women and men who rise against the rule of the mullahs are not asking the West for poetry. They are asking not to be abandoned.
Abandonment does not always arrive loudly. Sometimes it arrives through ambiguity. Sometimes it arrives through diplomatic language so carefully balanced that it loses all moral meaning. Sometimes it arrives when leaders speak of stability while ignoring the victims of the system they are trying to stabilize.
That is why this moment matters for Britain.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government must understand that the Iran question is not only a nuclear question. It is not only a regional question. It is not only a matter of alliance management with Washington. It is a civilizational question.
Can Britain, with its history, its sacrifices, its constitutional inheritance, and its moral authority, speak clearly when confronted by a regime that represents the negation of everything Britain claims to defend? Britain cannot be eloquent in Washington and hesitant before Tehran. It cannot invoke the memory of Churchill while appearing uncertain before a regime that despises liberty under law, pluralism, religious tolerance, and the dignity of the individual.
The issue is not whether Britain should act rashly. Serious states do not confuse strength with improvisation. The issue is whether Britain can still speak with the moral clarity required by the moment. Here, the role of the Crown is delicate — but not irrelevant. The monarchy does not direct policy. It does not issue ultimatums. That would be neither constitutional nor wise. But the Crown can remind policy of its moral purpose.
Charles's address before Congress was dignified precisely because it did not descend into partisan argument. He spoke of friendship, shared inheritance, democratic responsibility, and the dangers of an uncertain world. Yet one may respectfully hope that the same moral vocabulary — peace, service, duty, human dignity, and the rejection of violence — will be heard with equal force when the world speaks of Iran.
That is not a criticism of His Majesty. It is a recognition of the weight his voice carries.
The King's voice matters precisely because it is not partisan. When he speaks of peace, he does not speak as a tactician. When he speaks of service, he does not speak as a candidate. When he speaks of dignity, he speaks from the moral altitude of an institution that has survived precisely because it stands above the noise of politics. That voice is needed now.
It is needed for the Iranian people. It is needed for the victims of terrorism. It is needed for dissidents, exiles, women, minorities, and young people who know that silence from the free world strengthens their oppressors.
The Crown does not govern. But it can illuminate. It can remind Britain that policy is not merely the management of interests, but the defense of principles. It can remind the world that peace is not passivity before terror, and restraint is not the same as silence.
Charles did not come to Washington to rule. He came to represent. And in representing Britain, he also represented a deeper tradition: continuity without domination, authority without partisanship, and peace without surrender.
At its highest purpose, the Crown gives voice to the moral continuity of the nation — reminding Britain, America, and the wider world that peace without courage, conscience, and human dignity is only the postponement of disorder.
**Ahmed Charai is the Chairman and CEO of World Herald Tribune, Inc., and the publisher of the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, TV Abraham, and Radio Abraham. He serves on the boards of several prominent institutions, including the Atlantic Council, the Center for the National Interest, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the International Crisis Group. He is also an International Councilor and a member of the Advisory Board at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
*This article originally appeared in the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune and is reprinted here by the kind permission of the author.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

The World's Shameful Silence on Hamas
Bassam Tawil/ Gatestone Institute/April 30, 2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22486/hamas-sexual-crimes
Six months after the ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip, Hamas remains firmly in power. Despite international promises, diplomatic initiatives, and the much-publicized "Board of Peace," the Iran-backed Islamist group has not disarmed, relinquished control, or moderated its behavior. Instead, it appears to be using the ceasefire as an opportunity to entrench its rule, regroup militarily, and tighten its grip on the Palestinian population.
The persistence of Hamas rule also raises serious questions about the Trump administration's policy. Why is Hamas still in power six months after the ceasefire? Why has Trump's "Board of Peace" failed to achieve its most basic objective: forcing Hamas to hand over its weapons and relinquish control over the Gaza Strip? If anything, the ceasefire has strengthened Hamas, giving it time to rearm, reorganize, and reassert control over the population.
Why is there insufficient pressure on key mediators such as Egypt and Qatar to hold Hamas accountable? What concrete steps will the Trump Administration take to ensure that Hamas does not remain the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip?
Without decisive action, the current approach is legitimizing an Islamist terror regime, Hamas, committed to Israel's destruction, engaged in the systematic abuse of its own people, and, as the Trump Administration has seen with Iran, no intention whatever of giving up its rule.
So long as Hamas remains in power, there can be no positive future for the Gaza Strip.
If anything, the ceasefire has strengthened Hamas, giving it time to rearm, reorganize, and reassert control over the population.
While much of the world's attention remains fixed on Iran and the broader regional conflict, a darker and largely ignored reality is unfolding inside the Gaza Strip: credible and deeply disturbing reports of sexual exploitation, abuse, and coercion carried out under Hamas rule.
New testimonies emerging from the Gaza Strip reveal that Hamas terrorists are systematically sexually exploiting vulnerable Palestinian women -- demanding sex in exchange for basic aid, food, and shelter. The accounts describe a predatory system targeting widows, displaced mothers, and divorcees without male breadwinners, with victims threatened into silence by Hamas operatives.
Six months after the ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip, Hamas remains firmly in power. Despite international promises, diplomatic initiatives, and the much-publicized "Board of Peace," the Iran-backed Islamist group has not disarmed, relinquished control, or moderated its behavior. Instead, it appears to be using the ceasefire as an opportunity to entrench its rule, regroup militarily, and tighten its grip on the Palestinian population. According to an investigative report in Britain's Daily Mail, Palestinian women are being sexually abused by Hamas terrorists and forced to have sex in return for food aid. Human rights organizations in the Gaza Strip told the newspaper that up to 60,000 women are vulnerable, with reports also indicating a rise in child marriages and pregnancies. The report quotes a Gazan man, whose identity was not released for security reasons, describing "how he found a widow displaced in the war being molested inside a tent by 'a bunch of' Hamas members and was warned to stay silent":
"We were contacted by the wife of a friend. She had asked a [Hamas military wing] Qassam Brigades commander to help her, but he took advantage of her. His behavior is disgraceful. We investigated the matter and found her in a tent in the Gharabli area where a bunch of Qassam members were taking advantage of her. We informed the leadership but were told we had to keep silent about it."
The report added:
"Another Gazan man confirmed that a similar episode had happened with one of his female neighbours, who was blackmailed by 'one of Hamas's charity organisations... they wanted her to wh*** herself in exchange for a food parcel, or an aid voucher, or 100 shekels.'"
Noor (not her real name), a divorced mother of four, recounted:
"I am a mother of four children. I am displaced because of the war and I do not belong to a recognised displacement camp, so I did not receive any aid. I went to an Islamic charity that distributes aid to displaced and needy people in Gaza. I was welcomed by a man who looked religious, like a sheikh. He said he would stand by me and help me. I told him I was separated from my husband. He said: 'Oh, separated? A woman as beautiful as you?'"She said the man took her phone number under the pretext that he wanted to help her.
"From the beginning, the way he spoke to me felt like harassment. I am much younger than him. I trusted him because he was an older man; I saw him like a father. He is the age of my father, but he harassed me directly. I was afraid, of course. He was pursuing me. I told him I would expose him. He said: 'You cannot expose me, I am the government here.'"
Noor added, "They exploit women's need for help. But the women are too scared to speak up."
Even more disturbing are allegations involving children. A separate report by the Daily Mail tells of minors who have been sexually abused by Hamas-affiliated clerics and then blackmailed into silence. Families, according to testimonies, are threatened with severe consequences, including accusations of collaborating with Israel, if they dare to speak out. In Palestinian society, an accusation of collaboration with Israel can amount to a death sentence.
A nine-year-old Palestinian boy said he was sexually assaulted by a sheikh inside a mosque:
"I went to pray at the mosque that day, it was before the 'asr prayer, I was studying the Quran,' says the nine-year-old before naming the Sheikh that was there. We were studying the Qur'an together. He said to me, 'come with me, I want to give you something nice.' He took me to the restrooms and undressed me, took off my pants and had his way with me. I started to scream and then I cried."
The report relates the experiences of other victims:
"[A] ten-year-old described how he used to be the first child to arrive at the mosque until one day a Sheikh asked to follow him upstairs. 'So I went upstairs, he pulled down my pants and started to do filthy things to me,' the boy said.
"A 42-year-old father of a third victim who was raped in a Mosque in Khan Younes, recalls how his hysterical wife called him at work to say: 'Your son is bleeding and has bruises all over his body.'"These accounts are not isolated. In fact, they point to a broader pattern.
The use of sexual violence by Hamas did not begin in the Gaza Strip during the recent war, which erupted with the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of Israel. On that day, Hamas terrorists carried out widespread acts of rape and sexual abuse against Israeli girls and women. Israeli hostages – both male and female – who were held by Hamas have since reported sexual harassment and abuse while in captivity.
What is now emerging from the Gaza Strip suggests that such brutality is not only directed outward, against Israelis, but also inward, against Palestinians themselves.
Yet the response from the international community has been conspicuously muted.
Where are the global human rights organizations? Where are the international women's groups that are usually quick to condemn sexual violence in conflict zones? Why has there been no urgent investigation by the United Nations into Hamas's crimes against Palestinian women and children? Why has UN Women failed to respond meaningfully to these allegations?
The silence is beyond offensive. One possible explanation is fear – both among local NGOs operating under Hamas rule and among international organizations wary of confronting the Islamist terror group. Another is political bias: a reluctance to highlight abuses that complicate the prevailing narrative that views Israel as the only villain.
Whatever the reason, the failure to address these allegations amounts to a betrayal of the very people these organizations claim to defend.
The persistence of Hamas rule also raises serious questions about the Trump administration's policy. Why is Hamas still in power six months after the ceasefire? Why has Trump's "Board of Peace" failed to achieve its most basic objective: forcing Hamas to hand over its weapons and relinquish control over the Gaza Strip? If anything, the ceasefire has strengthened Hamas, giving it time to rearm, reorganize, and reassert control over the population.
The Trump Administration, which has championed the ceasefire deal, now faces a critical test. Why is there insufficient pressure on key mediators such as Egypt and Qatar to hold Hamas accountable? What concrete steps will the Trump Administration take to ensure that Hamas does not remain the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip?
Without decisive action, the current approach is legitimizing an Islamist terror regime, Hamas, committed to Israel's destruction, engaged in the systematic abuse of its own people, and, as the Trump Administration has seen with Iran, no intention whatever of giving up its rule.
So long as Hamas remains in power, there can be no positive future for the Gaza Strip.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made possible through the generous donation of a couple who wish to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Sudan… Are the Rifts of the Rapid Support Forces Growing?
Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
Major General Al-Nour Al-Qubba’s (Al-Nour Ahmed Adam) defection from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to join the Sudanese army is not a minor military development. His decision raises deep questions about the cohesion and future of these forces amid mounting battlefield pressure and successive losses. Al-Qubba is no ordinary commander. He was among the most prominent figures of RSF and has been part of shaping its trajectory since its inception, including in the most consequential battles of the current war.
Despite the considerable uproar around his defection, it was neither the first nor likely to be the last. The most notable previous defector is Abu Aqla Keikel, who joined the army with his forces in October 2024 - a major military and moral blow that contributed to the success of operations that led to the liberation of Al-Jazira State, then Khartoum, and he later supported campaigns along the Kordofan axis.
The question now is: how significant will Al-Qubba’s defection be? Could it signal deeper fractures within the RSF that could alter the balance of the war?
Al-Qubba was among its commanders from its founding, whereas Keikel joined only after the war, in April 2023. Al-Qubba also belongs to the same group as the RSF base, and he took part in most of its major battles in Khartoum, Al-Jazira, and Darfur, playing a particularly significant role in Al-Fashir. From this perspective, his defection constitutes a serious blow to the RSF - more than a military problem; it suggests that the group’s foundations are shaking. This is especially true as it follows the offensive in Mistraiha, a stronghold of Musa Hilal (the leader of the Mahamid tribe and head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council), who left the area for Port Sudan and then Omdurman, affirming his support for the army in its war with the RSF.
There have been different interpretations, ranging from support to skepticism and outright rejection. Many believe that the army’s success in getting the RSF’s so-called “third man” on their side amounts to a painful blow for the former. He is privy to many of its secrets, and his departure is likely to weaken the ranks, damage morale, and encourage others to follow suit. His defection also reflects real tensions within the RSF following setbacks in Al-Jazira State and Khartoum, and later on the Kordofan fronts, as well as pressure on supply lines and declining morale.Others, however, view Al-Qubba’s defection with suspicion, arguing that it is a ploy by certain RSF factions seeking to save themselves as they await shifts that could rearrange the political and military landscape. Some have even warned that some of the “surrendering” forces could act as Trojan horses, infiltrating the capital and reigniting the war there.
There is also a broad segment that completely rejects the warm reception given to RSF leaders and fighters after their mass human rights violations and the immense suffering they have caused to Sudanese civilians. After three years of war, there is now a thick psychological wall between the majority of Sudanese and the RSF. This was evident from the indignation around a video showing two individuals in RSF uniform claiming to be in Omdurman. Al-Qubba’s forces quickly denied that the individuals were under their command, claiming that the video had been filmed in Nyala to sow confusion.
While the outrage is understandable, the army leadership may be looking at these defections from a different angle: as a weakening of the adversary and a reduction in the cost of war. Attracting influential RSF figures can accelerate its disintegration and undermine its ability to go on.
What is certain is that the defection has shaken the RSF from within, prompting known figures such as Ali Rizqallah (“Al-Safana”) to publicly criticize its leadership, speaking of what he described as a lack of vision, leadership confusion, poor management, lack of discipline, exploitation of resources, and violations against civilians’ property. For his part, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”) issued a decision stripping Al-Qubba of his rank and sentencing him to death in absentia. Yet such measures, rather than ending internal discontent, may deepen it amid complaints of chaos, unpaid salaries, lack of services and medical care, and the presence of racism and tribal discrimination. Al-Qubba himself described the RSF, after his defection, as “heading toward the abyss.”
In sum, Al-Nour Al-Qubba’s defection represents a clear moral blow to the RSF, but it will only become a decisive turning point if followed by further defections or if he and his forces play an influential role in battles in Darfur - much as occurred in Al-Jazira after Keikel’s defection. Until then, its greatest significance lies in the field intelligence he can provide to the army and in his connections with other commanders.

New Trajectories For Intelligence!
Huda al-Husseini/Asharq Al Awsat/April 30/2026
The war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, along with the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, has brought renewed focus on the role of intelligence in shaping the future of states, presidents, leaders, and scientists. Many argue that strategic intelligence, which is supposed to help shape grand policy, has never been the decisive factor in national security decisions. Leaders, particularly in democratic states, tend to hold their own views and ideas about the world and how to deal with it, and do not rely entirely on intelligence reports to understand the strategic environment. Nonetheless, demand for this type of intelligence in both the United States and Israel appears to be declining.
In recent years, both countries have increasingly adopted preventive strategies based on initiative and preemptive action, using direct force to compel adversaries to change their behavior rather than merely deterring them. This approach is not new. Israel, for example, has long sought to prevent its adversaries from acquiring nuclear weapons, but the pace of implementation has clearly accelerated. According to a security expert I spoke with, this trend was evident in the Israeli campaign against Iran in June 2025, which aimed to prevent it from developing nuclear and missile capabilities, alongside American strikes pursuing the same objective. In this case, deterrence was no longer sufficient to change Tehran’s behavior, and a policy of coercion was adopted. The same logic was applied in the US operation in early 2026 to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; here too, direct force was used after deterrence failed.
Today, the expert says, US and Israeli operations against Iran represent the clearest example of this preventive approach: both countries seek to block Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, reduce its regional influence, and, in the Israeli case, even push toward regime change. Here again, deterrence is no longer seen as an effective tool.
This shift toward preventive strategies may reflect a decline in the importance of strategic intelligence. First, these strategies focus on degrading the adversary’s capabilities rather than attempting to understand and influence its intentions. As a result, operational and technical intelligence, along with targeting intelligence, become more important than strategic analysis aimed at interpreting intent. In Iran’s case, the decision appears to have been made on the assumption that its nuclear program constitutes a threat that must be stopped, regardless of its actual future intentions.
Second, the security expert explains: “Leaders increasingly rely on their political and ideological perspectives to assess the severity of threats, not only on intelligence assessments.” In the United States, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard indicated that the president alone determines whether a threat is imminent, referring to Iran. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his country acted because Iran had begun moving its facilities underground, which could make them harder to target later.
Once again, it is operational information about capabilities, rather than strategic analysis of intentions, that appears to drive decision-making.
Third, there has been a decline in leaders’ confidence in the quality of the strategic assessments provided by their intelligence agencies. In the United States, President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed distrust of intelligence assessments and at one point told intelligence personnel to “go back to school.” Some administrations also view these agencies as politicized, which may in turn contribute to further politicization. In Israel, following the major intelligence failure of October 2023, which involved a misreading of Hamas’s strategy and intentions, the government likely lost part of its confidence in strategic assessments.
The expert adds that in this context, leaders may believe their personal assessments of an adversary’s intentions are more accurate than those of specialists, even though they cannot carry out operations without precise operational intelligence.
This decline is not only the result of political choices; it also reflects the nature of the international environment, which has become more volatile and less predictable. In a rapidly changing world, where traditional threats intersect with cyberattacks and asymmetric warfare, it is increasingly difficult to produce long-term strategic assessments that decision-makers trust. This, he argues, pushes leaders to favor immediate, precise data that can be acted upon quickly, rather than waiting for analyses that may not hold up amid fast-moving developments.
Technology has also played a dual role in this shift. Advances in surveillance, satellites, and artificial intelligence have made vast amounts of real-time data available, increasing the value of operational intelligence at the expense of strategic analysis, which requires time, patience, and complex synthesis. As reliance on these tools grows, decisions are increasingly based on what can be observed and measured immediately, rather than on what can be inferred and analyzed over the long term.
The influence of public opinion and domestic political pressure, especially in democratic countries, cannot be overlooked. The public demands swift and decisive results in confronting threats, pushing leaders toward more direct and visible policies, even at the expense of analytical depth. By nature, strategic intelligence does not provide definitive answers but rather scenarios and probabilities, which may not align with the pace of day-to-day politics.
Still, the question remains, as the expert notes, about the long-term cost of this shift. Weakening the role of strategic intelligence may lead to decisions that lack a deep understanding of adversaries’ behavior, increasing the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation. In moments of major crises, the need for this type of analysis may return strongly after its role has diminished or its capabilities have eroded. The paradox is that when strategic thinking is marginalized, its absence becomes most apparent precisely when it is needed most.
This trajectory may also open a broader debate within security institutions about how to restore balance among the different levels of intelligence, ensuring that the operational dimension does not overshadow the broader strategic perspective. History shows that decisions based solely on immediate information may achieve quick success but do not guarantee long-term stability. The conclusion is clear: the value of strategic analysis must be reconsidered, not as a substitute for field operations, but as a complementary element that reduces risks and provides decision-makers with a broader perspective in moments of uncertainty.

UAE’s OPEC exit: Strategic shift, not the end of the group
Cornelia Meyer/Al Arabiya English/30 April ,2026:
After nearly six decades as a key member of OPEC, the UAE decided to leave the organization. OPEC is expected to remain a significant force in global oil markets with or without the UAE. Several countries have exited before, including Angola, Ecuador, Gabon, Qatar, and Indonesia. The move reduces the group’s membership from 12 to 11. Still, the UAE is a more consequential member than many others, as OPEC’s third-largest producer and the holder of the second-highest spare capacity after Saudi Arabia. As long as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut, there is no impact of the UAE leaving OPEC, because its ability to export crude is curtailed to the 1.5 MM b/d through the Abu Dhabi to Fujairah pipeline. Even if the UAE decides to put all of its incremental production on the market after the Iran war, it may not make too much of a dent as the market will still be undersupplied at that time. The move had been anticipated for some time. Since the COVID-19 pandemic the UAE felt constrained by the OPEC quota after having invested around $150 billion in its upstream capacity, which is projected to reach 5 million barrels per day by 2027. The UAE has expressed frustration about its inability to monetize that investment. In this context we should bear in mind that this fall season, OPEC will conclude its maximum sustainable capacity review, which will determine a new baseline for quotas. In other words, OPEC members get a say in the negotiation of how quotas will be determined as of 2027. On the political level we have seen a cooling of the relationship between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, who is considered the leader of OPEC.
Although somewhat predictable, the move is regrettable. However, this is by no means the end of OPEC, which has weathered far greater shocks in its history, including a period in the 1980s when two of its members, Iran and Iraq, were at war. Pundits have declared the end of OPEC time and time again – and each time they were wrong. The organization has proven to be remarkably adaptable to the ever-changing global landscape of oil markets. In response to the US becoming the world’s biggest oil producer, OPEC added 10 “friendly nations” headed by Russia to form OPEC plus, which increased materiality and provided a counterweight to non-OPEC production. Even with UAE stepping out, OPEC retains a significant hold on markets, through its members and by its association with OPEC+. Members will see validity in having a strong cohort of nations, giving them increased influence in the marketplace.
OPEC adjusts to global developments in order to fulfil its mandate which is to keep markets adequately supplied. The organization has done so consistently, by taking barrels off when there was too much supply and adding barrels when there was too little. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a prime example: Oil markets would have totally imploded, if it were not for OPECs swift adjustment and production discipline. There may be a danger that the UAE leaving OPEC could bring more volatility to oil markets down the road. Too much volatility is neither good for producers nor for consumers. The former needs a degree of certainty to justify investments and the latter – like airlines – need the ability to plan for their operating expenses. Hedging is of course an option to navigate volatility – bearing in mind, however, the danger of being caught on the “wrong side of the hedge” – as evidenced during COVID-19. The UAE’s move can also be seen in a broader context – as a sign of the times. Numerous multilateral institutions established after the Second World War have been criticized increasingly, as members voice their disagreements in both words and deeds. National interests are now being prioritized more heavily, often at the expense of advantages gained from cooperation. This is relevant to several multilateral mechanisms. History has shown that erring on the side of cooperation and emphasizing the greater good of all members states over narrow national gain may in the long run be a prudent approach.

Selected Face Book & X tweets for April 30/2026
Nadim Koteich
https://x.com/i/status/2049843686100607022
"One missile and Dubai is done."
We’ve heard it for years. Then we absorbed 90% of the drones and missiles thrown our way. The city is buzzing, the flights are landing, and the narrative has shifted forever. The UAE builds against the storm.🇦🇪

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
It is long past time for Washington to impose sanctions on Nabih Berri, Hezbollah’s staunch ally and Shia Speaker of Lebanese Parliament, for his active support of a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Today, Berri threw President Joseph Aoun under the bus by claiming he had not been consulted by Aoun on the approval of direct talks with Israel. Aoun said: "In every step I have taken regarding the negotiations, I was in full coordination and consultation with the speaker of parliament and the prime minister, contrary to what is being said in the media." Berri responded: "With all due respect to the presidency and to the statements issued by His excellency the president, the remarks made by [Aoun]... are inaccurate, to say the least."

Hanin Ghaddar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOmRUVZTQxo&t=5s
for having me: #Lebanon cannot afford to wait | Fathom Interview | Hanin Ghaddar –
On April 23 2026, Fathom spoke to Lebanon expert Hanin Ghaddar, the Friedman Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute. As Israeli and Lebanese Ambassadors renewed talks under the auspices of the US, they discussed the current violence between Israel and Hezbollah, the group’s military capacity and political strength, the ability of the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm the group, and the possibility of normalisation between the two countries.