Lebanese Newspapers' Headlines for March 19, 2025
NNA -
- ANNAHAR:
Cautious Calm as Eastern Border Storm Recedes
Military Deployment Underway
Le Drian Heads to Beirut, While Paris Focuses on Central Bank Governorship
- AL-JOUMHOURIA:
Lebanon Pushes for Israeli Withdrawal… Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham Stalls, Army Grants Time for Withdrawal
- AL-AKHBAR:
Riad Salameh's Embezzlements: How the Former Central Bank Governor Bought HSBC's Silence in Switzerland
- NIDAA AL-WATAN:
The Arc of Crises Stretches From Gaza to Hosh al-Sayyed Ali
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Al Manar
13 minutes ago
- Al Manar
Hezbollah Denounces Israeli Interception of 'Madleen' Aid Ship: Statement
Hezbollah issued on Monday a statement to condemn the crime of piracy committed by the Zionist enemy through seizing 'Madleen' Aid Ship in the international waters, arresting international activists, and preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid on board into the besieged Gaza Strip. This is a flagrant violation of international laws, norms, and humanitarian values, the statement maintained. The enemy's interception of the ship and the detention of its civilian crew as well as the free activists on board reflect the moral and political bankruptcy of this temporary entity and its inability to break the will of the people of Gaza and their resistance, according to Hezbollah statement. Hezbollah expressed its full solidarity with the brave, free people on board the ship, calling on the international community and human rights and humanitarian institutions to condemn this heinous crime, and to take urgent and immediate action to ensure the release of the kidnapped, hold the occupation entity accountable for its ongoing aggression, force it to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and lift the siege on the Strip. Israeli occupation forces attacked a humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza as the vessel approached the coastal waters of the besieged Palestinian territory.
Nahar Net
3 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Reports: US, Israel mulling end to UNIFIL's presence
by Naharnet Newsdesk 09 June 2025, 13:18 U.S. officials are considering pulling American support from UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, in a bid to cut costs associated with its operations, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported Sunday evening, with US sources later confirming to The Times of Israel that the option was on the table. Should the U.S. move ahead with its decision to pull support from the U.N. body, Israel will back the decision, Israel Hayom reported, both out of a desire to align itself with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and in light of the Israeli security establishment's 'cooperation with the Lebanese army since the ceasefire in November,' the Times of Israel said. According to Israel Hayom, the presence of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon has proven relatively effective in 'beating back the threat of Hezbollah' and keeping the group from rearming itself, making 'redundant' much of UNIFIL's operations in the region. Sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that the U.S. has not yet made up its mind regarding its future support for UNIFIL, but that it wants to see major reforms, which could mean pulling support. As UNIFIL's mandate is granted through a U.N. Security Council resolution each year, the U.S. could simply veto the next resolution, due to be put forward in August. UNIFIL has been operating in southern Lebanon since 1978, when it was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area following the end of Israel's first invasion of south Lebanon. The U.N. peacekeeping force expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country's south for the first time in decades. Aimed at ending the 2006 war, Resolution 1701 also called for a full cessation of Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities and the disarmament of Hezbollah. UNIFIL's mandate has been renewed annually ever since, although critics have questioned the efficacy of the force. Following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which put an end to more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war, the Lebanese Army moved into southern Lebanon to enforce the terms of the ceasefire, which itself is based on Resolution 1701. The resolution requires Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border — and dismantle all military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the Wall Street Journal last month that his government had achieved 80 percent of its objectives regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militias in the country's south. At the same time, the Israeli army has continued to launch strikes on Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure, alleging violations of the truce agreement. According to the Israeli army, over 180 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since the truce came into effect.
Nahar Net
3 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Israel diverts Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
by Naharnet Newsdesk 09 June 2025, 12:51 Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid boat on Monday, preventing the activists on board -- including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg -- from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory. The Madleen set sail from Italy on June 1 to raise awareness of food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations has called the "hungriest place on Earth". After 21 months of war, the UN warns the entire population is at risk of famine. At around 4:02 am (0102 GMT), Israeli forces "forcibly intercepted" the vessel in international waters as it was approaching Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said. "If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters," Thunberg said in a pre-recorded video shared by the coalition. Footage from the group shows the activists with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one of them saying nobody was injured prior to the interception. Israel's foreign ministry wrote on social media, "all the passengers of the 'selfie yacht' are safe and unharmed," adding that it expected the activists to return to their home countries. Turkey condemned the interception of the Madleen as a "heinous attack" in international waters. Iran also denounced it as "a form of piracy", citing the same grounds. In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported it was struck by drones in an attack the group blamed on Israel. In 2010, a commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach Israel's naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place since years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. - 'Risked their lives' for food - The boat was intercepted about 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of the coast of Gaza, according to coordinates provided by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. It recently allowed some humanitarian deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticized the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defense agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution center. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal and witnesses said the civilians had been heading to a GHF-run site west of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Abdallah Nour al-Din, a witness, said "the Israeli army opened fire" on people who had started gathering at the site in the early morning. The Israeli military said it fired on people who "continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers" despite warnings. - Sinwar - The GHF said there had been no incidents "at any of our three sites" on Sunday. Outside Nasser Hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body bags. "I can't see you like this," said Lin al-Daghma by her father's body. She spoke of the struggle to access food aid after the two-months Israeli blockade, despite the recent easing. At a charity kitchen in Gaza City, displaced Palestinian Umm Ghassan told AFP she had been unable to collect aid from a GHF site "because there were so many people, and there was a lot of shooting. I was afraid to go in, but there were people who risked their lives for their children and families". Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said it had located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, presumed Hamas leader in Gaza, in an "underground tunnel route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis", in southern Gaza. The military, which until Sunday had not confirmed his death, said Israeli forces killed Sinwar on May 13. Sinwar was the younger brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, accused by Israel of masterminding the 2023 attack that triggered the war. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,880 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The U.N. considers these figures reliable. After the deaths of several Hamas leaders, Mohammed Sinwar was thought to be at the heart of decisions on indirect negotiations with Israel. The military said that alongside Sinwar's body, forces had found "additional intelligence" at the Khan Yunis site "underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room."
