Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — A drone attack hit a crowded military graduation ceremony Thursday in the Syrian city of Homs, killing 80 people and wounding 240, the health minister said, in one of the deadliest recent attacks on an army that’s been fighting a civil war for more than a decade.

The strike killed civilians, including six children, as well as military personnel, and there were concerns the death toll could rise as many of the wounded were in serious condition, Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash said.

BEIRUT, Sept 29 (NNN-NNA) – The Lebanese army received yesterday, the first shipment of Qatar’s fuel donation, the military said in a statement.

The donation is part of Qatar’s efforts, to assist the Lebanese military, during the current financial crisis, the statement said, adding that, the remaining portion of the donation will be delivered in the upcoming months.

Late last month, the Qatar Fund for Development announced that, it would supply the Lebanese army with fuel aid, valued at 30 million U.S. dollars over a period of six months.

26 September 2023; MEMO: Palestine refugees in Lebanon yesterday held a protest in front of the Dutch embassy in Beirut calling for Amsterdam to release humanitarian activist Amin Abu Rashed, Quds Press reported.

23 September 2023; MEMO: Lebanon’s army said it fired tear gas at Israeli forces over the border on Saturday in response to smoke bombs fired at its troops, though Israel said Lebanon started the confrontation, Reuters reports.

Tensions have flared along the frontier this summer, with rockets fired at Israel during flare-ups of Israeli-Palestinian violence, and members of the heavily armed Lebanese group Hezbollah or its supporters facing off with Israeli forces.

BEIRUT, Sept 22 (NNN-NNA) – The Lebanese Army Command said in a statement yesterday that, the army stopped 1,000 Syrians from illegally entering Lebanon, since the beginning of this week.

“Within the framework of combating people smuggling across land borders, army units thwarted, on various dates during the current week, attempts to infiltrate about 1,000 Syrians into Lebanon,” said the statement.

The army added that, it has prevented thousands of Syrians from informally entering Lebanese territories over the past weeks.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Shots were fired outside the US Embassy in Lebanon late on Wednesday evening, but no casualties were reported, Reuters has reported.

“Small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance of the embassy at 10.37pm local time,” explained Embassy Spokesman Jake Nelson. “There were no injuries, and our facility is safe. We are in close contact with [the Lebanese] law enforcement authorities.”

BEIRUT, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Experts called on Lebanese authorities to strengthen industry and agriculture sectors to increase exports and further reduce the trade deficit, which has seen a contraction of nearly 6 percent to 8.2 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months of 2023 compared to a year earlier.

BEIRUT, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese security forces on Friday busted a human smuggling network operating between Syria and Lebanon, the National News Agency reported.

The network of five Syrian nationals smuggles people from Lebanon's northern region of Wadi Khaled to the southern city of Nabatieh in exchange for a sum of money, according to the report.

The suspects were referred to judicial authorities for investigation, the report added.

BEIRUT, Sept 13 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon and Britain launched a joint military exercise in central Lebanon, yesterday, the British embassy in Lebanon said in a statement.

More than 65 military personnel from the British Army’s Second Battalion, joined the exercise with their counterparts from Lebanon’s Air Assault Regiment, it added, without specifying the number of Lebanese soldiers.

The 10-day exercise takes place at the Dani Harb Barracks in Ghosta, a municipality located 36 km north of Beirut.

BEIRUT (AP) — The weeklong clashes between rival U.S.-backed militias in eastern Syria, where hundreds of American troops are deployed, point to dangerous seams in the coalition that has kept a lid on the defeated Islamic State group for years. That could be an opportunity for the radical group to reemerge.