Syria: Israel bombs forces entering Druze city after deadly clashes
Benjamin Netanyahu said he was committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria because of their deep ties to those living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.This is the first time that Syrian government forces have been deployed to Suweida since Islamist-led rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.Minority communities are suspicious of the country's new leaders despite their pledges to protect them, and until now the province of Suweida had remained largely under the control of Druze militias which resisted calls to join the government's forces.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Israeli strikes kill 12 in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, governor says
At least 12 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, a regional governor Syrians, including a family of five, and three Lebanese were killed when the Wadi Faara area was hit, Baalbek-Hermel Governor Bachir Khodr wrote on X. The other two deaths were reported in Israeli military said it had struck a number of military compounds belonging to the armed group Hezbollah, including training camps affiliated to its elite Radwan were the deadliest strikes since a ceasefire ended a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war that left the group severely weakened. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the attacks, although its Al-Manar TV channel said they constituted violations of both the ceasefire and Lebanon's sovereignty. The Arabic-language spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lt Col Avichay Adraee, said on X that Tuesday's strikes hit several Hezbollah targets."As part of the strikes, military compounds belonging to the Radwan Force have been targeted, where terrorist operatives and warehouses used to store combat equipment employed by Hezbollah have been identified," Adraee Radwan Force is Hezbollah's elite commando IDF said in a separate English statement that it had killed the Radwan Force's commanders in September 2024 - when it launched an intense air campaign against Hezbollah and invaded southern Lebanon - and that since then the unit had been "operating to re-establish its capabilities".The IDF asserted that Hezbollah's storage of weapons and military activities in the Bekaa Valley constituted a "blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and constitute a future threat to the State of Israel".Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sent "a clear message" to Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, emphasising that Israel was prepared to "respond with maximum force against any attempt at rebuilding" Hezbollah's military basis of the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, brokered by US mediators in November, was the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last war in was required to withdraw its forces to positions north of the Litani River - approximately 30km (20 miles) from the Israeli border - leaving only the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers authorized to operate with arms in that was required to fully pull its forces out of Lebanon, but it has maintained a military presence at five sites in the south that it considers strategically agreement also noted that the resolution reaffirmed previous Security Council calls for the "disarmament of all armed groups" in Lebanon.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Former UK Middle East minister accused of breaching transparency rules in Bahrain advisory role
A former UK Middle East minister has been accused of breaching transparency rules over a paid advisory role with an influential Bahraini centre that has links to the Gulf state's government. The Conservative peer Lord Tariq Ahmad, who denies wrongdoing, was cleared by a watchdog to take up his role as a paid adviser to the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence (KHC). The centre is supervised by Bahrain's ministry of foreign affairs, but the UK's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) said Ahmad was free to undertake the role – for which the salary has not been disclosed – because he said he 'did not have official dealings/contact with the KHC during [his] time in office.' Documents unearthed by human rights activists appear to show that Ahmad, who served between 2017 and 2025, had official contact with the centre while in office, visiting it at least twice and holding meetings on official trips in 2022 and 2023. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird) said that Acoba should now review its advice and it has submitted a formal complaint. It also criticised the former minister, who also held the human rights brief, for taking up the role with such a close association to a repressive government. According to the most recent reports from Human Rights Watch, the Bahraini government has in effect silenced political opposition, banned independent media and subjected internal opponents to brutal treatment including torture. In a letter to Ahmad from April, Acoba advised that the risk in Ahmad taking up the role was low. It said: 'You said that you had no involvement in policy development, contractual and/or commercial decisions specific to the KHC. You also said that you did not have official dealings/ contact with the KHC during your time in office. 'You did not have any involvement in decisions specific to the KHC during your time in office. The committee therefore considered the risk this appointment could reasonably be perceived as a reward for decisions made, or actions taken in office, is low.' However, in the complaint submitted to Acoba and seen by the Guardian, Ahmad was photographed at the centre in February 2022 alongside the British ambassador, in his role as the prime minister's special envoy for preventing sexual violence. Two days later, the Bahraini news agency filed a report saying that Ahmad 'praises the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence's programmes in combating hate speech and extremism' and was pictured receiving a trophy box from the deputy chair of the centre. Documents released under a Freedom of Information request confirm that the KHC was on Ahmad's itinerary for an official government visit. In February 2023, Bahraini media reported Ahmad meeting Betsy Mathieson, the vice-chair of the KHC, where he is quoted as saying: 'Our cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain and the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence will continue in every possible area.' Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Bird's advocacy director, who filed the complaint, said: 'It is impossible to conclude that the risk of benefiting from his former role is low, given that he concealed his involvement with the centre while occupying a ministerial position. This decision must be urgently reviewed in light of the ample evidence of those contacts.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Alwadaei said it was 'morally indefensible' to accept the role. 'Lord Ahmad must now step aside from this role and explain how he failed to declare his official visits to the centre, given the high-profile meetings he held with senior officials at the centre that dominated Bahrain's headlines less than two years ago,' he said. In a statement, Ahmad said: 'I have acted in accordance with the requirements and processes of the Acoba process, and my appointment as is declared in my register of interests.' Bird also called for Ahmad to disclose who paid for two further visits to Bahrain in January and May this year – saying it should be revealed under House of Lords rules if it was paid by the Bahraini government. Ahmad did not respond to the request by the Guardian to disclose this. It is understood Ahmad believes the Acoba process was thorough and that the Foreign Office was fully consulted about his role. He is also understood to have met Bird during his time as Middle East minister. An Acoba spokesperson said: 'Acoba does not endorse any role; its function is to provide independent advice under the government's business appointment rules to protect the integrity of government. The committee seeks information from the applicant and a former minister's department before formulating its advice. Acoba publishes its advice letters – including the information provided and consideration – on its website when a role is taken up. If there are allegations of non-compliance with the government's rules or Acoba's advice, these will be investigated. Findings of any breaches are published online and reported to government.'
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Israeli strikes kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah fighters, source says
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, July 15 (Reuters) - Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself. The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon. The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals. Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force. Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement. There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes. The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting air strikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon. Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.
