| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Katz says Bekaa airstrikes ''clear message'' to Hezbollah, govt., 12 turbans toes up |
| 2025-07-16 |
| [NAHARNET] Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Israel's ... KABOOM!... s on the Bekaa earlier in the day were a ''clear message'' to Hezbollah and Leb  ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....'s government, accusing Hezbollah of plotting to restore its Radwan force's ground incursion capabilities. The Lebanese government is ''responsible for upholding the (ceasefire) agreement,'' Katz said. ''We will strike at every terrorist and thwart any threat to the residents of the north and the State of Israel, and we will respond with maximum force against any attempt (by Hezbollah) to restore itself," he threatened. Media reports said hills near the eastern city of Baalbek were targeted by a wave of 15 airstrikes. 12 said killed as Israel hits elite Hezbollah force deep inside Lebanon [IsraelTimes] Military says targets in northeastern Beqaa Valley include Radwan unit facilities, where military activity was taking place in ‘blatant violation’ of November ceasefire Israeli jets carried out a wave of ... KABOOM!... s deep inside Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... aimed at stopping an elite Hezbollah unit from regrouping and rebuilding its strength, authorities said Tuesday. Lebanese state media reported that 12 people were killed. "Enemy warplanes launched raids on the Wadi Fara area in the northern Beqaa Valley, one of which targeted a camp for displaced Syrians, resulting in the deaths of 12 deaders, including seven Syrians, and eight maimed," the country’s state-run National News Agency reported. The strikes in Lebanon’s northeastern Beqaa Valley were aimed at military facilities belonging to the Hezbollah terror group’s Radwan force, where operatives and weapon depots had been detected, the Israel Defense Forces said. "The military camps that were targeted are used by the Hezbollah terror organization for training and preparing gunnies for the planning and execution of terror operations against IDF forces and the State of Israel," the military said in a statement. The weapons stored at the sites and Hezbollah’s activity "constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and pose a future threat to the State of Israel," the statement added. Israel has carried out dozens of strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah operatives and arms since reaching a ceasefire with the group in November following several weeks of intense fighting, while attacks deeper inside Lebanon are less common. There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese government about Tuesday’s strikes, though the official National News Agency reported that "enemy warplanes launched a raid" southeast of Baalbek, the main city in the region. The rugged Beqaa Valley is seen as a stronghold for Hezbollah, and had been considered a key conduit for smuggling weapons into Lebanon via Syria before Hezbollah ally Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... was ousted from the leadership of Syria late last year. On Sunday, the IDF said Israeli troops had raided military facilities of the deposed Syrian regime last week, seizing some three tons of weapons. It indicated that the arms had been intended to be smuggled into Lebanon. According to Israel, the Radwan force had in recent years planned to carry out a large-scale invasion of northern Israel, but was forced to shelve the scheme after Hamas  ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...attacked southern Israel from Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppressionand disproportionate response... on October 7, 2023, plunging the region into war. A day after the attack, Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones, and anti-tank missiles at northern Israeli communities, carrying out attacks on a near-daily basis in solidarity with Hamas. The rocket fire displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel. In a bid to ensure their safe return, Israel stepped up operations in Lebanon in September, leading to two months of open warfare with Hezbollah in which the terror group’s leadership and arsenal were decimated. |
| Link |
| Government Corruption |
| 'Disturbing pattern' of Secret Service 'failures' exposed in new report on Trump's Butler assassination attempt |
| 2025-07-15 |
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] One year after President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...narrowly missed getting struck by a bullet at a campaign rally, a damning new report faults the Secret Service for a 'disturbing pattern of communication failures and negligence that culminated in a preventable tragedy.' Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, on Sunday released the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee's final report from its investigation into the attempt on Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania. It outlines what Paul called 'stunning failures by the United States Secret Service that allowed then-former President Donald J. Trump to be shot on July 13, 2024. 'The truth is, President Trump and the nation was fortunate,' Paul wrote of the shooting that took the life of firefighter Corey Comperatore and left two others maimed before a government sniper killed the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. 'The once-again president survived despite being shot in the head. 'Since that day, there has been another attempt on his life and further threats to do him harm, including most recently, a renewed threat from Iran.' Paul added that the actions of the Secret Service that day were 'inexcusable and the consequences imposed for the failures do not reflect the severity of the situation' despite six agents being temporarily suspended. Yet the report offers few new details about the liquidation attempt and largely echoes a preliminary report on the investigation put forward by then-committee chairman Sen. Gary Peters in September 2024. Instead, it focuses on 10 different instances leading up to the Butler rally in which the Secret Service denied or left unfulfilled requests for additional resources to support the Trump campaign, including an enhanced counter-drone system, counter-assault personnel and counter snipers. Related: Rand Paul 07/05/2025 Remember How The House Voted On The Big Beautiful Bill Rand Paul 07/02/2025 OMB Director Russ Vaught Breaks Down Major Value of Big Beautiful Bill and Likelihood of Passage Rand Paul 06/28/2025 US Senate rejects Democratic bid to curb Trump’s authority to strike Iran Related: Butler, Pennsylvania: 2025-07-10 As many as six U.S. Secret Service agents have been suspended for conduct during the assassination attempt on President Trump. Butler, Pennsylvania: 2025-07-10 By Halting The Federal Judiciary's Left Turn, Trump Has Saved America Butler, Pennsylvania: 2025-07-08 Leb: 10 hurt in Israeli strikes on South and Bekaa Sunday, 2 airstruck Monday Related: Corey Comperatore 07/10/2025 As many as six U.S. Secret Service agents have been suspended for conduct during the assassination attempt on President Trump. Corey Comperatore 11/02/2024 Trump assassination attempt: Secret Service failures may warrant discipline, agency report says Corey Comperatore 10/04/2024 Iran Plot To Assassinate Trump Was FBI Setup |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Barrack says ''Bilad Al Sham'' remarks not a ''threat to Lebanon'' — Naharnet |
| 2025-07-14 |
| [NAHARNET] U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has clarified his remarks about the possibility that Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... might be swallowed by Syria, after they sparked outrage in Lebanon. ''My comments yesterday praised Syria's impressive strides, not a threat to Lebanon. I observed the reality that Syria is moving at light speed to seize the historic opportunity presented by @POTUS's (U.S. President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... 's) lifting of sanctions: investment from Turkiye and the Gulf, diplomatic outreach to neighboring countries, and a clear vision for the future,'' Barrack said in a post on X. ''I can assure that Syria's leaders only want co-existence and mutual prosperity with Lebanon, and the United States is committed to supporting that relationship between two equal and sovereign neighbors enjoying peace and prosperity,'' Barrack added. He had warned in an interview with the UAE's The National newspaper that Lebanon risks being swallowed by regional powers unless it acts to address Hezbollah's arms and implement reforms. ''You have Israel on one side, you have Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word Iranis a cognate form of Aryan.The abbreviation IRGCis the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either Duceor Führeror maybe both. They hate on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn't move, it's going to be Bilad Al Sham again,'' he said, using the historical name for the Syria region. ''Syrians say Lebanon is our beach resort. So we need to move. And I know how frustrated the Lebanese people are. It frustrates me,'' he added. Barrack also said that the U.S., Saudi Arabia  ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... are ready to help if Lebanon takes the lead. As for Lebanon's response to his latest proposal, the envoy said: ''I thought it was responsive, very responsive,'' while acknowledging that sticking points remain. Related: Tom Barrack 07/11/2025 Report: Barrack to ask Israel to lower military pressure on Lebanon — Naharnet Tom Barrack 07/10/2025 Report: Hezbollah tells US ready for concessions in return for ''victory image'' — Naharnet Tom Barrack 07/08/2025 Leb: 10 hurt in Israeli strikes on South and Bekaa Sunday, 2 airstruck Monday |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Report: Hezbollah tells US ready for concessions in return for ''victory image'' — Naharnet |
| 2025-07-10 |
| [NAHARNET] The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad carried a message to Speaker Nabih Berri on the eve of the Lebanese response to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's paper, sources from the U.S. Republican Party said. ''Hezbollah, through its representative, told Berri that it is ready to offer full concessions to the United States in return for being able to claim a victory image through the media,'' the Janoubia news portal quoted the sources as saying. Hezbollah demanded ''a partial Israeli withdrawal from five border points and the release of some of the captives, in order to promote such a step as a heroic achievement that would restore some of its eroding popular legitimacy,'' the sources claimed. Related: Mohammad Raad 06/03/2025 Salam meets Berri in Ain el-Tineh, says his doors ''always open'' for Hezbollah Mohammad Raad 01/30/2025 Israeli strike in southern Lebanon’s Majdal Selm said to injure five people Mohammad Raad 01/28/2025 Israel and Lebanon extend truce, with IDF troop withdrawal deadline moved to Feb. 18 Related: Nabih Berri 07/05/2025 Hezbollah to reply within 48 hours to Lebanese paper after Aoun-Berri talks Nabih Berri 07/03/2025 Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem: 'We will not submit to threats and will not surrender our weapons to the Israeli enemy.' Nabih Berri 07/02/2025 US gave Lebanon until today to respond to demand Hezbollah relinquish weapons, sources say Related: Tom Barrack 07/08/2025 Leb: 10 hurt in Israeli strikes on South and Bekaa Sunday, 2 airstruck Monday Tom Barrack 07/07/2025 Hezbollah chief vows not to surrender weapons under Israeli threats Tom Barrack 07/05/2025 Hezbollah to reply within 48 hours to Lebanese paper after Aoun-Berri talks |
| Link |
| Good Morning | ||||||||||||||
| 2025-07-08 | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| IAF strikes target Hezbollah positions in the Boday Hills area in southern Lebanon |
| 2025-07-07 |
[X]
IDF says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon [IsraelTimes] The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon a short while ago. The strikes targeted military sites, infrastructure used for storing and producing strategic weapons, and a rocket launch site belonging to the terror group, it says. The military says that Hezbollah’s presence and activity in the area constitute a clear violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon. Related: Southern Lebanon: 2025-07-05 Wave of Israeli airstrikes target south Lebanon Southern Lebanon: 2025-07-04 Hezbollah Leader: Israel poses strategic threat to region and beyond Southern Lebanon: 2025-07-04 IDF has eliminated a terrorist from the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards near Beirut |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Report: Over 2,000 Hezbollah fighters quit after Nasrallah's assassination |
| 2025-07-05 |
| [NAHARNET] Around 10,000 Hezbollah fighters have become completely unfit for combat since the eruption of the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppressionand disproportionate response... war, sources told al-Arabiya's al-Hadath channel. ''The latest war cost Hezbollah more than 4,000 deaths, including military commanders, politicians and members,'' the sources said. ''The number of Hezbollah's fighters is now estimated to be around 60,000,'' the sources added, claiming that ''around 2,000 fighters quit Hezbollah after the liquidation of the group's former secretary-general His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> Moreover, the sources said ''Hezbollah has closed most of its training bases in the Bekaa and the South,'' adding that ''over 80% of the area south of the Litani River has become under the authority of the Lebanese Army.'' The sources added that ''Hezbollah's medium- and heavy-caliber weapons have either been confiscated by the Lebanese Army or destroyed by Israel. |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Israeli strike hits al-Manar's transmission building in Toumat Niha |
| 2025-06-24 |
| [Naharnet] An Israeli airstrike has targeted the transmission building of Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV on the heights of the Toumat Niha area, which overlooks West Bekaa and the southern region of Iqlim al-Tuffah, state-run National News Agency reported on Sunday. Al-Jadeed television said the building was being used by several TV stations and mobile network operators as a transmission and coverage point. The TV network added that the building was fully destroyed along with its towers, equipment and transmission facilities, noting that it had been targeted and partially destroyed two days ago. Related: Al-Manar TV: 2025-05-30 Rajji slams Hezbollah as ''outlaw'' group and its tripartite equation as outdated Al-Manar TV: 2024-09-27 BREAKING: Major strike on Hezbollah HQ in Beirut; Israel checking if Nasrallah was there at time of strike Al-Manar TV: 2023-12-24 Senior Hezbollah official says group offered to open all-out war, Hamas didn’t think it would halt Gaza op |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| ''Region-by-region'' plan may be adopted for Hezbollah disarmament |
| 2025-06-03 |
| [NAHARNET] A ''region-by-region'' plan for Hezbollah's disarmament may be proposed when ''serious dialogue'' kicks off between President Joseph Aoun and Hezbollah, a media report said on Monday. Under such a plan, weapons would be handed over ''according to regional order and importance,'' the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper said. The priority would be for the South Litani area, where Israel has nearly destroyed all of Hezbollah's arms depots and military bases and where the Lebanese Army has 80% cleared the area, the report added. The next area would be the North Litani area, where the army has only seized seven Hezbollah bases and depots, the report said, adding that the third area would be Beirut's southern suburbs and nearby neighborhoods, where Hezbollah's military and political leadership is based. The last disarmament area would be the Bekaa, the report said, noting that such a plan would be better than handing over the weapons according to caliber -- heavy-caliber then medium-caliber then light-caliber. |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| What Lebanon's municipal elections say about Hezbollah''s future | |
| 2025-05-29 | |
 ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....'s municipal elections, which concluded on 24 May, were considered by observers as an important test for Hezbollah's popularity following the recent war with Israel. The devastation caused by the conflict, which spanned from October 2023 until the ceasefire agreement in late November 2024, as well as the delayed reconstruction process, are factors that have impacted the group's popularity. Moreover, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024 and the Lebanese government's heightened scrutiny at the Lebanese-Syrian border have also affected the group financially, as Hezbollah had been receiving funds and weapons from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word Iranis a cognate form of Aryan.The abbreviation IRGCis the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either Duceor Führeror maybe both. They hate through Syria for years. Considering these elements, Hezbollah had invested a lot of importance in local elections to show domestic players in Lebanon, as well as foreign countries, that it still dominates its popular base despite the challenges it faces. Before this month's vote, the last municipal elections were held in 2016, having been postponed three consecutive times since 2022 due to logistical, security, or financial reasons. Although municipal elections are not widely seen as an accurate reflection of popular sentiment due to low voter turnout and the distinct nature of local political dynamics, at least compared to the national level, they still give some indication of the influence of political parties on local populations. Uncontested councils Hezbollah and the Amal Movement managed to win a large number of municipalities in Bekaa and Southern Lebanon through convincing people and potential contestants not to participate in the elections or to withdraw their candidacies, meaning the council was uncontested. In the villages where the elections took place - rather than decided by acclamation - the Hezbollah-Amal lists won a majority of seats in Shia villages, albeit with exceptions in some Southern Lebanon municipalities. While the acclamation strategy was initially presented as a way to limit risks to voters amid the tense security situation in Southern Lebanon, both parties may have sought to demonstrate that they are uncontested in their areas of control. Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israel continues to bombard Southern Lebanon almost daily and still occupies five areas within Lebanese territories. | |
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Report: Hamas and Islamist leaders to leave Lebanon for Qatar and Turkey |
| 2025-05-23 |
| [NAHARNET] Wednesday's talks between President Joseph Aoun and Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... on all levels, especially as to the issue of chaos, arms proliferation and the transformation of some camps into havens for outlaws,'' al-Binaa newspaper reported on Thursday. Amid reports that the Hamas  ..always the voice of sweet reason...Movement has ''expressed readiness for cooperation,'' the daily said ''leaders from Hamas and fundamentalist organizations will leave Lebanon within 15 days, likely to Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... and ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... Aoun and Abbas met in Baabda on Wednesday and backed placing all weapons under Lebanese state control, as they discussed efforts to disarm gangs in Paleostinian refugee camps. A joint statement from the Lebanese presidency said the two leaders shared the "belief that the era of weapons outside Lebanese state control has ended" and backed the principle that arms should be held exclusively by the state. Abbas' three-day trip is his first to Lebanon since 2017. The country hosts about 222,000 Paleostinian refugees, according to the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... agency UNRWA, many living in overcrowded camps beyond state control. A Lebanese government source said Abbas' visit aimed to set up a mechanism to remove weapons from the camps. The source requested anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the media. The statement said the two sides agreed "to form a joint Lebanese-Paleostinian committee to follow up on the situation of Paleostinian camps in Lebanon and work on improving the living conditions of refugees, while respecting Lebanese illusory sovereignty and committing to Lebanese laws." By longstanding convention, the Lebanese Army stays out of the Paleostinian camps, where Abbas' Fatah, its rival Hamas and other gangs handle security. Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of hostilities involving its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. The festivities, sparked by the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppressionand disproportionate response... war, largely subsided after a truce in November. "The monopoly of weapons should be in the hands of the state," Aoun said in an interview with Egyptian channel ON TV on Sunday. The army, he added, had dismantled six Paleostinian military training camps -- three in Bekaa, one south of Beirut and two in the north -- and seized weapons. Under the November ceasefire agreement, the army has also been dismantling bad boy group Hezbollah's infrastructure in the country's south. |
| Link |
