All posts tagged: Lebanese

Lebanese in Israeli-Occupied South Fear Bleak Future Once UN Peacekeepers Withdraw

Lebanese in Israeli-Occupied South Fear Bleak Future Once UN Peacekeepers Withdraw

Published by Sam Flores

By Maya Gebeily and Raghed Waked RMEICH, Lebanon, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Kicking up a column of dust, the United Nations peacekeeping vehicles were the only cars on the road as they ⁠passed ⁠bombed-out buildings on their way to Christian towns deep in southern Lebanon’s Israeli-occupied zone. More than six ⁠months of Israeli bombardment and demolition, triggered by a Hezbollah rocket attack in early March, have left villages abandoned and residents forcibly displaced across swathes of land. Shrubs encroach on minarets and rusting metal gates mark where homes ​once stood. Entry from the rest of Lebanon is controlled from newly established Israeli checkpoints. Beyond one, Israeli Merkava tanks were stationed halfway along the desolate road.  Reuters reporters embedded with French peacekeepers from U.N. force UNIFIL for rare access to the area and to Rmeich, one of three predominantly Christian towns whose residents stayed put as Israel’s military established a self-declared “security zone” in southern ‌Lebanon. Since Israel seized the zone, UNIFIL troops have been escorting convoys of food and ‌other goods to the Christian towns. But …

Israel Frees 4 More Lebanon Prisoners in a Deal Tied to Missing Jews From Lebanese Civil War

Israel Frees 4 More Lebanon Prisoners in a Deal Tied to Missing Jews From Lebanese Civil War

Published by Sam Flores

HAROUF, Lebanon (AP) — Four prisoners from Lebanon held in Israel were released and handed over to Lebanese authorities via the International Committee of the Red Cross on Friday as part of a deal between the two countries. In return, Lebanon agreed to search for the bodies of Jewish Lebanese citizens who went missing during the country’s civil war decades ago. Dozens of Lebanese prisoners are believed to be held in Israeli detention centers, including civilians as well as Hezbollah militants captured during fighting in southern Lebanon. A total of five detainees were released under the deal, all civilians. The first Lebanese prisoner, identified as Malek Ghazi, was released to the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, and then to the Lebanese army on Thursday. Those released Friday included two Lebanese citizens and two Syrians who had been captured in Lebanon, according to two Lebanese officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and workers live in Lebanon. It was …

Kinz, London W11: ‘No bells, no whistles, just Lebanese food cooked with immense pride’ – restaurant review | Restaurants

Kinz, London W11: ‘No bells, no whistles, just Lebanese food cooked with immense pride’ – restaurant review | Restaurants

Published by Sam Flores

Some developers would rip the soul out of a 1930s banking hall, but Kinz, a new all-day Lebanese brasserie housed in a former Lloyds Bank in Notting Hill, instead makes a feature of its chunky vault door. Where W11 residents once kept their cash, diners can now take a seat and sip Lebanese wine from the Bekaa valley. After all, what visit to the bank wouldn’t be improved by a cold glass of Chateau Musar Jeune? This triple-height room with mezzanine seating is a very different proposition from all those tiny, homespun Lebanese restaurants typically anchored around Edgware Road since the 1970s. Kinz may offer kibbeh nayyeh (finely minced raw lamb and beef with bulgur, spices and pine nuts), shish barak (tiny lamb and herb dumplings in yoghurt sauce) and warak enab (lamb-stuffed vine leaves and baby courgettes), as do many places in pockets across west London, but there is something altogether more cinematic about this elegant setting. I sat with my pot of mint tea thinking that the place has all the hallmarks of …

Lebanese soldiers injured while Israeli troops intrude on southern town | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Lebanese soldiers injured while Israeli troops intrude on southern town | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Published by Sam Flores

Soldiers disarm unexploded ordnance in Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, near where residents say Israeli forces built an earth barrier. Published On 8 Aug 20268 Aug 2026 Three Lebanese soldiers have been wounded while trying to defuse unexploded ordnance in the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, the Lebanese army said. Hours earlier on Saturday, the village mayor and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli troops had entered and built an earth barrier overnight. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Mayor Abed Ezzeddine told the AFP news agency that residents were surprised to see the barrier, around 100 metres from the village square. The village had been placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement with Israel. A Lebanese military source called the move a violation of the framework accord, but the Israeli military told the AFP agency that it was “not aware of such an event in this area”. “An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah shortly after midnight … and erected a new …

Israeli troops infiltrate Lebanese army-held village and build roadblock, mayor says

Israeli troops infiltrate Lebanese army-held village and build roadblock, mayor says

Published by Sam Flores

Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement, building an earthen barrier there overnight, state media and the local mayor said Saturday. An AFP correspondent saw the barrier situated at the village’s eastern entrance and blocking the road. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area. “An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight… and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. Zawtar al-Gharbiya was one of two designated “pilot zones” where the Lebanese army was to take over as part of a US-sponsored framework agreement signed with Israel. Read moreMiddle East war: Lebanon, Israel and US sign framework agreement in Washington Israel invaded south Lebanon after militant group Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on the side of its sponsor Iran in March. Israeli forces continue to occupy a broad band of territory in the south along the border. Israel-Lebanon Conflict: …

Lebanese who fled the Israeli invasion visit to see what’s left : NPR

Lebanese who fled the Israeli invasion visit to see what’s left : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Najib Ayyad checks his apartment in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, which was heavily damaged and likely to be demolished. The apartment overlooks Beaufort Castle, a national symbol of deep personal meaning for him, now occupied by Israeli forces. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption toggle caption Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR NABATIYEH, Lebanon — Past the shattered glass of the balcony doors of Najib Ayyad’s damaged apartment in southern Lebanon, he can see a historic local landmark — now occupied by Israeli forces. “You see the castle?” he asks. Beaufort Castle, a crusader-era fortress, was seized in May by Israeli forces who have now gone far beyond what the Israeli government describes as a “security zone” in southern Lebanon. “They can see us clearly from there,” he says. “Even if my apartment weren’t damaged I couldn’t stay.” On the day we visit in June, smoke is rising from an Israeli artillery strike near Nabatiyeh, a small city that is a hub in the south of the country. The sound of Israeli drones is a constant backdrop …

UNESCO Adds West Bank Site, Lebanese Castles to World Heritage List

UNESCO Adds West Bank Site, Lebanese Castles to World Heritage List

Published by Jenni Sidey

A UNESCO committee voted on Friday to add an archaeological site in the occupied West Bank and a complex of castles in southern Lebanon to its World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger, despite objections from Israel. The vote took place at a meeting of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Busan, South Korea, as Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged the committee to reject calls to inscribe the West Bank town of Sebastia and five castles in Lebanon’s Mount Amel area, characterizing their nomination as a “weaponization of cultural heritage.” The committee voted to add both sites to the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing the emergency posed by the concurrent conflicts in the Middle East. Related Articles Cultural authorities and civilians alike in Lebanon and the West Bank have called with increasing desperation for international intervention to protect their archaeological treasures, which have been threatened by Israeli military assaults as the regional order continues to unravel. Sebastia, a hilltop town roughly 6 miles northwest …

Lebanese who fled Israeli invasion use satellite images to check on homes : NPR

Lebanese who fled Israeli invasion use satellite images to check on homes : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The images unfold slowly on Mazen Farah’s phone — satellite views of the Christian section of the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun. They are a bit fuzzy but still clear enough to see what is happening. “This is what it shows from the satellite — it shows that it has been destroyed,” says Farah, referring to the two-story stone house his father built after 25 years of working in the Gulf. Mazen Farah points to the location of a convent in his hometown of Yaroun, southern Lebanon, that residents say was destroyed. Despite satellite images and video showing the damage. Israel has denied striking the convent, citing a different building as proof. Unable to return, Yaroun residents are relying on satellite and other imagery to document the destruction from afar. Jane Arraf/NPR hide caption toggle caption Jane Arraf/NPR In March, amid renewed fighting with the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, Israel launched airstrikes and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents in more than 100 villages. After an April 17 ceasefire, Israel sent in …