TEHRAN,— Israel launched strikes on targets in western and central Iran on Monday, prompting reports of explosions in Tehran and two other cities, Iranian state television said.

The action came despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for Israel to avoid a response to Tehran’s latest missile attack. The exchanges took place as the conflict reached its 100th day.

The Israeli operation came in direct retaliation after Tehran struck Israel with missiles on Sunday.

Israel said Iran fired 11 missiles, all of which were intercepted, and reported no casualties. Israeli officials described the response as retaliation and said Tehran had made a grave mistake.

Trump publicly urged restraint. Axios journalist Barak Ravid quoted Trump as saying he intended to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tell him not to retaliate.

Trump was also quoted as saying both sides had already carried out strikes and that another exchange was unnecessary.

Ravid later reported that a U.S. official said Trump and Netanyahu had spoken, although neither the White House nor Trump had commented.

Iran has maintained that any agreement ending the war must also stop the parallel conflict in Lebanon. Tehran previously warned that any new Israeli attacks on Beirut would lead to a full-scale return to hostilities.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ali Safari told Al-Mayadeen television that Tehran’s missile attack followed weeks of restraint, according to local media reports.

The Revolutionary Guards characterized the strike on Israel as a warning after Israel targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier Monday.

Another Iranian strike on Monday targeted what Tehran described as the headquarters of “terrorist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that Israeli forces struck a militant command center in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district after Hezbollah fired toward Israeli territory. Lebanon’s health ministry said the attack killed two people and wounded 20 others.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator in discussions with Washington, said the United States had given a green light to the Beirut strike.

He added that U.S. and Israeli assets were now considered legitimate targets.

The head of Iran’s military central command said Israel had crossed all red lines with the Beirut operation and demanded an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon.

The Revolutionary Guards repeated that the attack on Israel was a warning and said any future response would be broader and include all U.S.-Zionist targets in the region.

Iran announced the closure of airspace in the western part of the country. Iraq and Syria adopted similar measures. Local media reported that incoming flights to Tehran’s international airport were also suspended on Sunday.

The escalation pushed crude oil prices higher as prospects faded for a near-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas shipments that Iran has effectively closed.

Elaheh, a 32-year-old fitness trainer from Ahvaz, told AFP that she had become numb to events and was focused on survival, citing worsening prices and difficult daily conditions.

Mohsin Naqvi visited Tehran over the weekend. Iranian state television reported that Naqvi said he would deliver a special letter from Pakistan’s army chief to Iran’s supreme leader and a message from the prime minister.

Pakistani military leader Syed Asim Munir has been involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the United States after an initial round of direct negotiations in Islamabad.

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN that negotiations with the United States had reached a deadlock and said Trump needed to break it. He also called for the release of about $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

Trump, however, told NBC on Sunday that Iranian assets would not be unfrozen before an initial agreement was reached, adding that talks could begin if Tehran behaved and did a good job.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper joined calls for restraint on X, saying the resumption of conflict between Iran and Israel was in no one’s interest, and called for diplomacy emphasizing that diplomatic efforts should be prioritized amid rising tensions in the region.

She wrote on X urging continued international engagement to prevent further escalation in the conflict.

(With files from AFP)

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JERUSALEM,— Israel’s military said Tuesday it removed two soldiers from combat duty and placed them in military detention for 30 days after they destroyed a crucifix in southern Lebanon.

A photo showed a soldier striking a fallen statue of Jesus on the cross with the blunt side of an axe.

The image drew condemnation from Israeli politicians, the United States, and church leaders on Monday. It was posted by Palestinian reporter Younis Tirawi, who has also shared images of alleged Israeli misconduct in Gaza.

A military statement said an investigation found one soldier damaged a Christian religious symbol while another filmed the act. Six additional soldiers were present but did not intervene.

The army said it is working with local residents to replace the statue.

Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir called the act unacceptable and a moral failure, according to the statement.

The image was taken in Debel, a village in southern Lebanon where residents remained during an Israeli campaign against Hezbollah, backed by Iran.

The campaign began March 2 after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in support of Iran.

Debel is among several villages now effectively under Israeli control. Israel and Lebanon agreed Thursday to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire aimed at halting fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

An Israeli official previously told Reuters that Christian villages were not given evacuation orders, unlike Shi’ite areas. Lebanese lawmakers have warned Israeli actions could worsen sectarian tensions.

The military has carried out demolitions in southern villages, saying it targets Hezbollah infrastructure.

(With files from Reuters)

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LONDON,— Global air travel continues to face major disruption after the war in Iran forced the shutdown of key Middle Eastern aviation hubs, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The closures have left tens of thousands of travelers stranded and forced airlines worldwide to cancel or reduce services.

Airlines across Europe, Asia and North America have adjusted schedules, suspended routes and extended cancellations as the situation affects major flight corridors.

Greece’s Aegean Airlines said it had cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman until April 22. Services to Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Baghdad remain suspended until May 24. Flights to Dubai are cancelled until April 19 and to Riyadh until April 18.

Latvia’s airBaltic reported that all flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until April 5, while services to Dubai are suspended until October 24.

Air Canada said it had halted all flights to Tel Aviv until May 2 and cancelled flights to Dubai until March 28.

Spain’s Air Europa confirmed cancellations of all flights to Tel Aviv until April 10.

Air France said flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut are cancelled until March 21. The airline also suspended routes to Dubai and Riyadh until March 20. KLM, part of the same group, said it had suspended flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until March 28, and to Tel Aviv until April 11.

Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific cancelled all passenger flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh, along with cargo freighter services to those cities, until April 30.

Delta Air Lines said it had cancelled flights between New York and Tel Aviv until March 31, and return flights until April 1. The airline also delayed the restart of its Atlanta to Tel Aviv service. Flights to Tel Aviv are now paused until August 4, with return flights suspended until August 5.

El Al Israel Airlines said regular flight operations were cancelled until March 21.

Emirates said it is operating a reduced schedule after a partial reopening of regional airspace. Etihad Airways also reported a limited commercial schedule between Abu Dhabi and several key destinations.

Finnair cancelled flights to Dubai until March 29 and to Doha until April 2. The airline said it continues to avoid airspace over Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel.

Saudi budget carrier Flynas extended its suspension of flights to several destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria until March 31.

International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways, extended cancellations of flights to Amman, Bahrain, Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31. Flights to Doha are cancelled until April 30. The group also added flights to Bangkok and Singapore, while services to Abu Dhabi remain suspended until later in the year.

India’s IndiGo said it had suspended operations to Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah until March 28.

Japan Airlines said it had halted Tokyo to Doha flights until March 31 and return flights until April 1.

Poland’s LOT said flights to Dubai are cancelled until March 28 and to Tel Aviv until April 18. Flights to Riyadh are suspended until March 24, while services to Beirut are cancelled from March 31 through April 30.

Germany’s Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways, said it had suspended flights to Tel Aviv until April 9. Flights to Beirut, Dubai, Amman, Erbil, Dammam and Abu Dhabi are cancelled until March 28. Services to Tehran are suspended until April 30 and to Riyadh until April 5 for operational reasons.

Malaysia Airlines said it had suspended all flights to Doha until March 28.

Norwegian Air said it plans to begin flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut from June 15, later than previously scheduled dates in early April.

Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines cancelled flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah until April 12. Flights to Riyadh are cancelled until March 23.

Qatar Airways said it would operate a revised and limited schedule between March 18 and March 28.

Turkey’s transport ministry said Turkish Airlines had cancelled flights to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain and Dammam until March 19. Flights to Iran are cancelled until March 20.

Wizz Air said it had suspended flights to Israel until March 29. Services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Jeddah from mainland Europe are cancelled until mid September.

(With files from Reuters)

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WASHINGTON,— The U.S. Department of State on Monday instructed American citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries immediately as military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran intensified tensions across the region.

Mora Namdar, assistant secretary for consular affairs at the State Department, said Americans in the affected countries should depart using commercial transportation that remains available.

She cited safety risks as the reason for the directive.

The department recently revised its travel advisories for multiple countries in the region, advising against travel. The latest guidance applies to Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Earlier Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Amman announced that embassy personnel had left the facility because of what it described as a threat. No additional information about the threat was released.

A U.S. official said the State Department has formed an inter agency emergency task force to address the developing situation and coordinate the United States response to the conflict.

On Saturday, U.S. and Israeli forces carried out extensive strikes on various sites in Iran. The operation resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian authorities responded by launching strikes against multiple U.S. and Israeli targets across the region.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the fighting had been projected to last between four and five weeks, but he noted the timeline could extend beyond that estimate.

The conflict has expanded into a broader regional war and has caused numerous deaths. Oil markets reacted after Iranian officials warned they could target ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for global oil shipments.

The warning contributed to rising energy prices.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are expected to announce measures Tuesday aimed at reducing the impact of higher energy costs, Marco Rubio said. Rubio spoke ahead of a briefing with congressional leaders regarding the recent strikes.

“We anticipated this could be an issue, and Secretary Wright and Bessent will begin to roll out those steps, starting tomorrow, to mitigate, to mitigate against the impact that could have,” Rubio said.

Officials said the situation continues to be closely monitored as developments unfold across the region.

(With files from Reuters)

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WASHINGTON,— The United States on Tuesday formally designated branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as global terrorist organizations, a step that triggers sanctions against a movement that has shaped Islamist politics across the Middle East for nearly a century.

The U.S. Treasury Department said the three branches were added to its list of specially designated global terrorists after a review process that began late last year.

The designation blocks access to U.S. financial systems and restricts transactions involving American individuals or companies.

American officials said the decision was linked to allegations that the groups have backed Hamas, the Palestinian militant group rooted in Gaza.

The Treasury said the branches had supported or encouraged acts of violence targeting Israel and allies of the United States.

In its statement, the department said the organizations claim to operate as lawful social or civic bodies while maintaining ties to armed groups. It said this dual structure allows them to advance extremist causes under a civilian cover.

Egypt’s government quickly welcomed the U.S. move. The Foreign Ministry said the designation reflects the seriousness of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology and its impact on security at both regional and international levels.

The Muslim Brotherhood rose to power in Egypt after the 2011 uprising and secured the presidency in elections held in 2012. Its time in office was short.

In 2013, the military intervened following mass protests, removing the Brotherhood-led government. Authorities have since banned the group and pursued wide-ranging legal action against its members.

Hamas traces its origins to the Muslim Brotherhood. Founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, Hamas emerged as the Palestinian wing of the Brotherhood and later combined political activity with an armed campaign against Israel.

Qatar is routinely accused of supporting and funding Muslim Brotherhood groups. It is also home to many of the top Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including Hamas’ senior leaders.

Turkey is also considered a headquarters for Muslim Brotherhood groups.

The Muslim Brotherhood, formally known as the Society of the Muslim Brothers, was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna. Over decades, his ideas spread beyond Egypt and influenced a wide range of Islamist movements, from charities to political parties.

The organization began as a religious and social movement focused on preaching Islam, education and welfare services such as hospitals and businesses.

It later entered politics, opposing British colonial rule in Egypt and promoting the establishment of a state governed by Islamic law.

U.S. officials said the latest designations aim to curb what they view as the misuse of social and political networks to support militant causes.

(With files from Reuters | Agencies)

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BEIRUT,— Hannibal Gaddafi, the youngest son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, was released Monday after nearly ten years in detention in Lebanon without a trial, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Gaddafi was kidnapped in 2015 by militants in Syria, where he had been living in exile with his Lebanese wife and children following his father’s death during Libya’s 2011 uprising.

Lebanese authorities took him into custody that same year, accusing him of withholding information about the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a prominent Lebanese Shi’ite cleric who vanished along with two companions during a visit to Libya in 1978.

Hannibal Gaddafi was only two years old at the time of Sadr’s disappearance and held no official government position in Libya as an adult.

Human rights groups criticized his detention, describing the charges as baseless. In 2023, he staged a hunger strike to protest his confinement, which led to a decline in his health and required hospitalization.

According to a Lebanese judicial source, the judiciary ordered Gaddafi’s release last month, setting bail at $11 million.

His defense lawyers appealed, resulting in the court reducing the bail to approximately $900,000 and lifting his travel restrictions. The National News Agency confirmed that Gaddafi’s release followed payment of the bail.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, led by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, thanked Lebanon’s president and parliament speaker for their role in facilitating the release.

In a statement, the GNU noted the significance of the event for Libya-Lebanon relations and praised “the sincere intentions expressed by the Lebanese leadership to reactivate diplomatic relations between the two countries and to develop cooperation in political, economic, and security matters.”

The disappearance of Imam Sadr remains a sensitive issue nearly five decades later, and it has long been a source of tension between Lebanon and Libya.

The GNU emphasized that Hannibal Gaddafi’s release could serve as a step toward strengthening ties and increasing collaboration between the two governments.

(With files from Reuters)

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BEIRUT,— Lebanese judicial authorities have lifted a travel ban and lowered bail for Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, paving the way for his possible release after nearly a decade in detention, according to judicial officials and one of his lawyers on Thursday.

Officials said the move followed renewed discussions between Lebanon and a Libyan delegation that visited Beirut earlier this week to advance talks over Gaddafi’s case.

In October, a Lebanese judge ordered Hannibal Gaddafi’s release on bail set at 11 million dollars but prohibited him from leaving the country.

His defense team argued at the time that he could not pay that amount and sought to have both the bail reduced and the travel restriction lifted.

On Thursday, Lebanese authorities agreed to lower the bail to about 80 billion Lebanese pounds, roughly 900,000 dollars, and canceled the travel ban.

The decision allows Gaddafi to leave Lebanon once the amount is paid, according to three judicial officials and one security source who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, citing judicial regulations.

The officials said Gaddafi intends to depart Lebanon once released, and his family is expected to join him later. “We were informed of the new decision today and will review the procedures,” his attorney Charbel Milad al-Khoury told AP.

Gaddafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 without trial, accused of withholding information about the disappearance of prominent Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who vanished during a visit to Libya in 1978. At that time, Hannibal Gaddafi was less than three years old.

Libyan officials formally requested his release in 2023, citing his poor health and a hunger strike he began to protest his lengthy detention without trial.

Gaddafi had been living in exile in Syria with his Lebanese wife, Aline Skaf, and their children until he was abducted in 2015 by Lebanese militants in Baalbek, who were seeking details on al-Sadr’s fate. Lebanese security forces later took him into custody and transferred him to a Beirut prison, where he has been held since.

The mystery surrounding al-Sadr remains one of Lebanon’s most contentious unresolved cases. His family believes he may still be alive in Libya, though most Lebanese presume he died decades ago. Al-Sadr would now be 96 years old.

Al-Sadr, along with Abbas Badreddine and Mohammed Yacoub, disappeared during a trip to Libya. He founded a Shiite political and armed movement that later became a major faction during Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990.

Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011 during Libya’s uprising, which ended more than 40 years of his rule.

(With files from AP)

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Sheri Laizer | Exclusive to iKurd.net

“When your enemy is a criminal, don’t be foolish” (Arab Proverb)

Compiled during a fact-finding visit to Lebanon by Sheri Laizer, May 2, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Rafiq Hariri International Airport perches on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as the Dahiya. Since the civil war that erupted fifty years ago and petered out slowly by October 13, 1990, the location has witnessed many dramatic events; hijackings including TWA flight 847 by Shi’a militants demanding the release of Shi’a prisoners held by Israel in June 1985, hostage taking, gun battles and attacks by various forces including Israeli commandos, the Syrian Army, but more recently, Israeli drones and jet fighters.

RECENT EVENTS

On September 23, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu 1 commenced air strikes against Lebanon in an operation dubbed ‘Northern Arrows’, as a component of its long running conflict with Lebanese Hezbollah.

The military onslaught was launched just five days after Israel’s exploding pager attacks. It followed. an attack on a residential complex that killed Ibrahim Aqil, the commander in chief of Hezbollah’s Special Operations Unit, known as the al-Hajj Radwan Force. Aqil was also a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council. The death toll swiftly spiked to 558 fatalities among them 94 women and 50 children with some 1835 others wounded. The figures were given in a UNICEF press release delivered by the Deputy Representative to Lebanon, Ettie Higgins, postulating the event as Lebanon’s worst day in 18 years.2

Israel opened a second front in its war against Hamas in Gaza, targeting Lebanese Hezbollah, with a ground invasion on the night of September 30, 2024 – its sixth invasion of Lebanon.

The close ties between Hezbollah and Iran are ties of blood as well as of doctrine

Hashem Safieddine, presumed to become Nasrallah’s successor, ahis cousin and head of Hezbollah’s Executive council was assassinated on 8 October 2024 before he had stepped into the role. Adjacent to the airport in the Dahieh, Israel had conducted multiple strikes on October 4, 2024, targeting Safieddine during which time he’d had been lost from view.

His death and that of the commander of Hezbollah’s Intelligence HQ, Ali Hussein Hazima, was confirmed three weeks later on 23 October. An interesting aside is that Safieddine’s son is married to the late Qasem Soleimani’s daughter, the IRGC Qud’s Force commander assassinated in Baghdad in an American drone strike on January 4, 2020.

Heavy bombardment using US-made 2000-pound bombs targeted Beirut central’s Bachoura district on October 10, 2024. The target was Wafiq Safa, the brother-in-law of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was not present in the residential locations targeted in the Nuwayri and Basta districts. A family of eight that had fled their home in southern Lebanon was killed in their apartment along with 22 other Lebanese killed with 117 wounded.3

Wafiq Safa was responsible as the security official heading Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit with the Lebanese security services. Just four days later, on September 27, 2024, Hezbollah General Secretary, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, and others present in an underground basement 18 m deep, were crushed to death in an air strike using bunker buster bombs. Their bodies could not be identified such that for several hours doubts about the death of the Hezbollah leader had lingered. Once confirmed by his non-reappearance a shock wave reverberated across the country and throughout the Shi’a and allied community.

Of all Hezbollah’s officials, religious and military, Hassan Nasrallah was the most revered. His assassination site has since become a place of pilgrimage, the crater filled in and levelled flat and hung with vertical banners of the ‘martyr Sayed Hassan Nasrallah’ on all four sides. 4 It sits near the large, new, white and shining Iranian Embassy in Bir Hassan district close to the Palestinian refugee camp of Burj al-Barajneh.

The former Embassy was bombed in a double suicide attack on November 19, 2013, by Al Qaeda affiliate, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades. 5 Iran’s close ties with Lebanon’s Shi’a and particularly its proxy, Hezbollah, are ties of blood as well as of doctrine.

In January 2025 despite the loss of several of its leading clerics and commanders, Safa proclaimed Hezbollah was stronger than ever. 6

Laylaki district (west of Burj al-Barajneh and the Palestinian refugee camp)

Laylaki district was struck by Israel forces on 23 October 2024 with at least six buildings levelled in bombings overnight.

The centre of the southern city of Tyre was also bombed the same night leaving widespread devastation still largely uncleared five months on.

6-24 November 2024

The second bombing raids hit near the area around ​​Beirut airport, in the Ouzai district.

Haret Baajour locality in Mt. Lebanon

Located near Haret Hreik, Haret Bajouur was attacked on November 8, 2024, destroying buildings and roads.

Tahwitat al-Ghadir

A building located about 163m from one of the Rafiq Hariri International airport’s runways was targeted in the thin residential strip of the neighbourhood named Tahwita al-Ghadir, that runs between two of the airport’s runways.

Haret Hreik

Institutions, apartments, and Hezbollah’s Qard al Hassan Bank branches were hit repeatedly including in Haret Hreik. Other branches of the bank were targeted elsewhere in the country, including the Bekaa valley as another of Hezbollah’s strongholds.

Choueifate el-Amroussiyeh and Ghobeireh

These two densely populated south Beirut districts were hit in the course of multiple strikes on November 14, 2024.

Truce in name and internal divisions in Israel

A truce was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah on November 26, 2024, but the IDF and ground forces constantly bombed and detonated villages along the Blue Line and struck Beirut afresh on 28 March 2025.13 Two further strikes on the Dahiyeh were carried out targeting Hezbollah officials on April 1st and the Sunday evening of April 27th, on a building in residential Hadath. Warning was only given one hour before as locals went about their Sunday leisure customs. Drone strikes and a raid by three fighter jets levelled another building in an already heavily damaged area. Israel continues to justify the raids as preventing Hezbollah from posing any further threat or growing stronger.14

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, a Dutch national, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert 15 (the former Special Representative of the UN General Secretary to Iraq for five years, UNAMI, between and 2020 and 28 May 2024) said the attack had “generated panic and fear of renewed violence” calling on all parties not to undermine the ceasefire, underpinned by guarantors, France and the United States. She had recently visited Russia on April 23, 2025 to discuss the developments in Lebanon with senior officials there.16 She has also met opposition MPs from the anti-Hezbollah bloc including Kataeb.

Israel Independence Day, 30 April-May 1 2025 (Yom Ha’atzmaut) marked by further vows of war

On the anniversary of Israel’s Independence Day, Netanyahu has stated that he prioritises the war and ‘victory over our enemies’ and whilst the return of the remaining 59 hostages remains ‘important’ but is a lesser objective. According to CNN, in recent weeks Israel has publicly said that it believes up to 24 of the 59 remaining hostages are still alive. Sara Netanyahu’s claim appears to be an indication that the government may have information that some of the 24 hostages have died.”

“Prime minister, the return of the hostages is not ‘less’ important – it is the supreme goal that should guide the government of Israel,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.”19

Israel’s internal divisions were also mounting. Large protests have taken place against the failure of the Netanyahu government’s ceasefire with Hamas resulting in the delay in return of the remaining hostages still being held in Gaza. Protests are held every Saturday in Tel Aviv. French agency, Le Monde, reported how Israelis are taking to the streets in their tens of thousands in “a multifaceted protest with a common thread of animosity toward the prime minister. The dissent is amplified by the resumption of bombings in Gaza.” Protests began two years ago before the conflict erupted with Hamas on October 7, 2023, over Netanyahu’s judicial reforms aimed at his remaining in power.

On May Day, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum claimed Netanyahu’s stance is against that of most Israelis. Druze protestors have also joined in as members of their community face sectarian violence in Syria under the HTS Sunni fundamentalist regime.20 Druze reservists stated on Israeli media site Ynet: “We’re receiving increasing reports from our brothers that Sheikhs are going out to defend their villages themselves and are being slaughtered, while Israel stands by and doesn’t do anything to stop these atrocities as they promised they would.”21

Netanyahu threatens to expand the war further despite opposition

Former Israeli military officials, and more than 1000 air force veterans and reservists opposing the war have criticised Netanyahu and the far-right alliance claiming that the war serves their personal interests and not the security of the country. Several such letters have been published recently. The IDF has threatened to fire those in the air force who signed an open letter after Netanyahu decided to resume the war on March 18, 2025.22 Netanyahu has intensified the blockade of aid including vital medical, food and water supplies to Gaza while intensifying strikes. More than 71,000 people have been killed in Gaza. The resumption of strikes has stopped the return of Jewish hostages and Palestinians held by Israel. PBS noted: “Tens of thousands of academics, doctors, former ambassadors, students and high-tech workers have signed similar letters of solidarity in recent days, also demanding an end to the war.”23

Many critics say Hamas is just an excuse. Hamas already faced internal division and opposition in Gaza before October 7. Hamas itself is divided over the October 7 attack, including the surviving Sinwar brothers of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas Bureau chief killed in Rafah on October 16, 2024, in Gaza. He was involved in signing the order for the October 7 attack launched by some 3000 Hamas fighters. 24 1200 people were killed in the attack with some 251 people taken hostage.

To date, an estimated 850 Israeli soldiers have also lost their lives in the war of attrition. Leading the early ceasefire negotiations Hamas political leader was assassinated on July 31, 2024 ,in an IRGC guesthouse in the Neshat compound where a bomb had been planted two months before. Haniyeh had travelled to Tehran for the inauguration of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Post ceasefire strikes on Beirut ongoing

16 February 2025

UNIFIL forces were targeted near Beirut airport. The attack was condemned by Wafiq Safa and the new Lebanese government headed by Joseph Aoun.25

March 28- 27 April 2025

Renewed strikes broke the ceasefire after unknown perpetrators fired rockets from the southern border that caused no damage in the northern Galilee. The IDF’S strikes were again disproportionate. Hamas loyalists and some Lebanese supporters were finally accused in April 2025. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government had both denied any involvement by Hezbollah.

Hadath district, Friday 28 March, April 1 and Sunday 27 April 2025

Hadath, Haret Hreik, Kafaat neighbourhoods were struck by air strikes carried out by Israeli jet fighters on the Dahya afresh.These districts of south Beirut had already been heavily damaged during the active period of combat during the war against Hezbollah and were undergoing renovation at the time they were hit afresh in the second and third strikes that had also first targeted the Kafaat neighbourhood at 3.30 am on the first day of Eid al-Fitr following the end of Ramadan.26

Hayi al Madi district

In the second strike carried out without evacuation warnings, Hezbollah’s Unit 39 leader, Hassan Ali Mahmoud Bdeir 28 – who was also active with the IRGC-QF – was killed amongst at least four others including two of his adult children.

Hassan Bdeir, his son, Ali Bdeir, and his daughter were among those killed in the strike of 1 April, 2025 in Hay al-Madi district. They were mourned officially in a new press release by Hezbollah. Their funeral was held a day later.29

These are mostly the same districts as were heavily hit initially on October 6, 2024, in dozens of strikes that included apartments, a gas station, businesses and a humanitarian supplies warehouse in the area between Al-Laylaki and Al-Mreijeh.30

The war unleashed on Lebanon, that is being perpetuated despite the ceasefire of November 7, 2024, has served to further consolidate support for Hezbollah and international veneration among the Shi’a community for its dead leader.31

More than 6,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, drone attacks and close range gunfire in Lebanon to date.32 The attacks are once more almost occurring on a daily basis as reported on the hour by L’Orient Today, which observed on 23 April that since the ‘ceasefire’ a preponderance of attacks have been carried out by drone and the targets include Hamas and ‘other groups that fought alongside the party in its support front for Gaza. Israel claims its attacks seek to quell Hezbollah’s military resurgence and that the Lebanese government is unable to do so itself…” It cited UN estimates that from March that half the victims were civilians among the 140 people killed post-truce.

22 April 2025: Assassination of Dr. Hussein Atwi

On April 22, Sheikh Dr. Hussein Ezzat Atwi33, an Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya commander prominent in the Al Fajir wing, and a Lebanese university professor, was killed in Baaouerta in the Aley district of Mt. Lebanon en route to his position in the Faculty of Arts at the university 20 km south of Beirut. An earlier assassination attempt against him by Israeli drones in Marjayoun in January 2024 had been unsuccessful after he leapt clear of the car.

A drone killed another person in Tyre’s Haniyeh district.35

Hamas meanwhile sent a delegation to Cairo to refresh talks on ending the conflagration in Gaza. Netanyahu instead has upped the war footing as detailed above.

The ripple effect has extended to the Houthis in Yemen, encompassing Iran, Israel’s attacks on HTS run Syria and the deadlock in the war between Russia and Ukraine, further enflamed by bellicose US President Trump.

Sheri Laizer, a Middle East and North African expert specialist and well known commentator on the Kurdish issue. She is a senior contributing writer for iKurd.net. More about Sheri Laizer see below.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

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BEIRUT,— Tens of thousands gathered Sunday at a stadium in Beirut for the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Nasrallah died when Israeli warplanes targeted Hezbollah’s main operations center in a southern suburb of Beirut, according to sources. His death marked a major setback for the Iran-backed group, which he led for more than three decades, expanding its regional influence.

As a founding member, Nasrallah was a central figure among Iran-aligned factions in Iraq, Yemen, and the Palestinian territories. He was widely regarded within the so-called “axis of resistance.”

“We would have come even under gunfire,” said Sahar al-Attar, who traveled from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to attend. “It is an indescribable feeling.”

Nasrallah’s funeral coincided with that of his cousin and successor, Hashem Safieddine, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut days later.

Nasrallah will be buried in the capital, while Safieddine will be laid to rest in his southern Lebanese hometown. Both were temporarily laid to rest at undisclosed sites for security purposes.

As the coffins were carried through the stadium, mourners threw flowers and personal belongings toward them.

Senior officials, including Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, attended alongside Lebanese officials. The funeral was one of Lebanon’s largest gatherings in two decades.

Qalibaf and Araghchi arrived separately from Tehran, signaling an apparent easing of restrictions on Iranian flights. Lebanese authorities had suspended flights from Iran after Israeli officials alleged Hezbollah was receiving smuggled cash via commercial carriers.

Israeli warplanes flew low over Beirut as Nasrallah’s coffin was paraded through the stadium, with his 2006 war speech playing in the background. The crowd responded with chants of “Death to Israel.”

Hezbollah’s current Secretary-General, Naim Kassem, addressed mourners via a televised speech. “Today, we say goodbye to an extraordinary leader,” he remarked. “The resistance remains strong in numbers and arms, and victory is inevitable.”

“The enemy must withdraw from the land it occupies,” Kassem added, reiterating Hezbollah’s stance. “America will not dictate our future.”

Thousands waved Hezbollah’s yellow banners, chanting slogans against Israel and the United States.

“The turnout proves Hezbollah remains strong,” said attendee Sarah Taqi. “Despite the pain, we must stay resilient.”

Senior Hezbollah official Ali Daamoush said nearly 800 representatives from 65 countries attended, alongside thousands of individuals and activists. The funeral was seen as a show of Hezbollah’s enduring strength despite heavy losses in a 14-month conflict with Israel.

Hours before and during the funeral, Israeli forces carried out airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said the strikes targeted a Hezbollah site containing rocket launchers and weapons. Lebanon’s state news agency reported that a Syrian woman was wounded.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli warplanes flying over Beirut during the funeral were meant to send a “clear message” that those who threaten Israel would face consequences.

Hezbollah suffered another strategic blow with the fall of Syria’s Assad regime in December, a key ally facilitating arms and financial support from Iran.

Under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended the war with Israel on Nov. 27, Hezbollah is barred from maintaining an armed presence along the border. Opposing political factions in Lebanon continue to call for the group to disarm and transition into a political party.

Authorities implemented strict security measures for the funeral, closing major roads and banning drone activity over Beirut and its suburbs. The Lebanese army and police were on high alert, and flights at Rafik Hariri International Airport were halted for four hours starting at noon.

(With files from AP)

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TEHRAN,— Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has appointed Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, as his official representative in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media reports on Wednesday.

In a formal decree, Khamenei introduced Sheikh Naim Qassem, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, as his “representative in Lebanon,” the Tasnim News Agency reported.

The decree specified that Qassem’s role would involve overseeing “non-litigious matters” and handling “religious affairs” in Lebanon, acting as the Iranian leader’s proxy in the country.

The Tasnim report also noted that Qassem is succeeding Hezbollah’s former representative, Hassan Nasrallah, who had held the position before his death in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, 2024 in south Beirut.

Nasrallah’s passing marked a significant moment for the group, as he had led Hezbollah for decades.

Hezbollah, a key player in the “axis of resistance” — a coalition of Iran-aligned groups that oppose Israel and its ally, the United States — has long maintained close ties with Tehran.

Khamenei, as the ultimate authority on all state matters in Iran, has appointed representatives across the country’s provinces to manage religious affairs and collect religious funds.

Qassem, who became Hezbollah’s leader in October following the deaths of his predecessor Hashem Safieddine and Nasrallah, will now carry out these responsibilities in Lebanon.

Hezbollah plans to hold a public funeral for Nasrallah and Safieddine on February 23. The funeral had initially been postponed due to safety concerns amid the ongoing conflict with Israel, which reached a fragile ceasefire on November 27, 2024.

(With files from AFP)

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