Latest news with #Dahieh
The National
7 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Lebanon's Shiite Muslims mark Ashura amid calls for Hezbollah to disarm and security threats
Lebanon's Shiite Muslims on Sunday gathered to mark the religious event of Ashura for the first time since Israel's war last year that largely decimated the upper echelons of Hezbollah. This year's Ashura celebrations also come amid huge pressure on the Iran-backed group to disarm and security concerns surrounding the event that is one of the most important for Shiite Muslims around the world. Events are expected to be held across the country, but the largest will be in the southern suburbs of Beirut – a densely populated area predominantly home to the Shia community - and the target of heavy Israeli bombardment last year. Ashura marks the commemoration by Shiite Muslims of the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein bin Ali, in the 7th century. The gatherings draw large crowds in Lebanon and are typically used by Hezbollah to show its strong following and support base. However, this year's processions will be the first without a speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the group's leader who was killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs in September. Sunday's events will be held under strong security measures. This is not unusual given that large crowds and attendance of senior figures, but recent arrests of cells linked to ISIS have led to fears of attacks targeting the Ashura procession. Cars and bags were searched as The National was escorted by Hezbollah into the heart of Dahieh. The commemoration has already been steeped in controversy in Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday ordered the arrest of armed men taking part in a procession related to Ashura. Hezbollah is under pressure to disarm as the government seeks to remove weapons from all non-state actors. The group's top military leadership was killed and a large part of its arsenal destroyed during more than a year of war with Israel that ended with a ceasefire agreement in November that Israel has been accused of breaching more than 3,000 times. Hezbollah also stayed out of the recent 12-day war between Israel and the group's main patron Iran.
The National
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Lebanese PM orders arrests of armed men who took part in Ashura commemoration
Lebanon 's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday ordered the arrest of armed men who took part in a religious gathering in Beirut. Videos circulated online showed hundreds of people gathered in the Lebanese capital to mark Ashura, the commemoration by Shiite Muslims of the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein bin Ali, in the 7th century. Men dressed in black and carrying automatic weapons are seen leading chants of the Imam's name and carrying red banners that said "Ya Hussein". They are suspected to be supporters of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite armed group and political party. 'I have contacted the Ministers of Interior and Justice and requested them to take all necessary measures to enforce the applicable laws, arrest the perpetrators, and refer them for investigation,' Mr Salam said on X. The Prime Minister said 'armed demonstrations in Beirut are unacceptable under any pretext, shape or form". Member of Parliament Ghassan Hasbani, a former deputy prime minister, said the government had to take a firm stance against the show of weapons in the capital, especially during demonstrations. Security officials must enforce laws, confiscate weapons, and arrest those carrying them, Mr Hasbani said in a television interview on Friday evening. Ashura commemorations in Beirut are usually held in its southern suburbs, the area known as Dahieh that is home to many Shiite Muslims and where Hezbollah enjoys strong support. The gatherings draw large crowds and are seen as a demonstration by Hezbollah of its strong following. Another member of Parliament, Ibrahim Mneimneh, said holding weapons in areas across in Beirut is "unjustifiable". "We call on the judiciary and security authorities to act immediately and arrest everyone that appeared in the online videos and refer them to investigation," he said on X. "Beirut, today more than ever is in dire need of enforcing security and the removal of weapons outside the state control," he said. The Ashura commemorations this year come as Hezbollah is under pressure to disarm as the government seeks to remove weapons from all non-state actors. The group's top political and military leadership was killed and a large part of its arsenal destroyed during more than a year of war with Israel that ended with a ceasefire agreement in November. Under the terms of the US-brokered truce, all armed groups in Lebanon must disarm.
Free Malaysia Today
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Israel warns of more Lebanon strikes if Hezbollah not disarmed
Smoke and flames rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Dahieh district in southern Beirut. (EPA Images pic) TEL AVIV : Israel warned Friday that it will keep striking Lebanon until militant group Hezbollah has been disarmed, hours after it hit south Beirut in what Lebanese leaders called a major violation of a November ceasefire. An Israeli military evacuation call issued ahead of Thursday's strikes sent huge numbers of residents of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, long a bastion of Iran-backed Hezbollah, fleeing for their lives. The attack on what the Israeli military said was Hezbollah's underground drone factories came on the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar. The strikes came around an hour after Israel's military spokesman issued an evacuation call, and sent plumes of smoke billowing over Beirut. The attack came six months after a ceasefire agreement was sealed in a bid to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. 'There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel,' Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said in a statement. 'Agreements must be honoured and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force.' Under the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was once reputed to be more heavily armed than the state itself. Hezbollah sparked months of deadly hostilities by launching cross-border attacks on northern Israel in what it described as an act of solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following its Oct 7, 2023 attack. The war left Hezbollah massively weakened, with a string of top commanders including its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah killed and weapons caches dotted around Lebanon incinerated. Israel has carried out repeated strikes on south Lebanon since the truce, but strikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs have been rare. 'Following Hezbollah's extensive use of UAVs as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the State of Israel, the terrorist organisation is operating to increase production of UAVs for the next war,' the military said, calling the activities 'a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon'. Under the truce, Hezbollah fighters were to withdraw north of the Litani river, about 30km from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south. Israel was to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon but it has kept some in five areas it deems 'strategic'. The Lebanese army has been deploying in the south and removing Hezbollah infrastructure, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam saying Thursday that it had dismantled 'more than 500 military positions and arms depots' in the area. Following the strike on Thursday, Lebanon's leaders accused Israel of a 'flagrant' ceasefire violation by launching strikes ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. President Joseph Aoun voiced 'firm condemnation of the Israeli aggression' and 'flagrant violation of an international accord… on the eve of a sacred religious festival'. The prime minister too issued a statement condemning the strikes as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. One resident of southern Beirut described grabbing her children and fleeing her home after receiving an ominous warning before the strikes. 'I got a phone call from a stranger who said he was from the Israeli army,' said the woman, Violette, who declined to give her last name. Israel also issued an evacuation warning for the Lebanese village of Ain Qana, around 20km from the border. The Israeli military then launched a strike on a building there that it alleged was a Hezbollah base, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
Daily Mail
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Israel launches several attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs
Israel has attacked sites in Lebanon's capital Beirut that it claims are Hezbollah factories producing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The IDF today claimed the proscribed terror group has established five sites in the Dahieh neighbourhood of Beirut that is producing 'thousands of UAVs, with the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists.' The military claims the underground facilities belong to Hezbollah's Unit 127. It said in a statement: 'Following Hezbollah's extensive use of UAV's as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the state of Israel, the terrorist organization is operating to increase production of UAV's for the next war.' In November 2023, Hezbollah, which maintains control over much of Lebanon, signed a ceasefire agreement with Israel following 13 months of conflict that began after the paramilitary group attacked the nation on October 8, a day after Hamas ' deadly attack. Israel claimed that the purported UAV factories on the Beirut sites 'constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.' It added: 'The IDF will operate against every threat posed to the state of Israel and its civilians, and will prevent all attempts of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to reestablish itself.' Smoke was tonight seen rising from the sites highlighted by the IDF, as civilians desperately tried to leave the area following a warning from the military. The IDF has so far not provided proof of the existence of the factories, only sharing their locations and a computer-generated image of two men apparently making drones in a basement. But the warning of an imminent attack was real, with IDF spokespeople warning civilians in the area to leave immediately. Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said: 'You are located near facilities belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah. For your safety and the safety of your families, you must evacuate these buildings immediately and stay at least 300 meters away.' Footage shared online from the Dahieh neighbourhood showed scores of people in cars desperately trying to leave the area, sounding their horns in panic. According to Israeli media, Unit 127 works with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to produce and use drones for intelligence gathering and military attacks. It was reportedly responsible for a drone strike on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea last October. Netanyahu and his family were not at the house at the time. Unit 127 operates a range of drones produced by Iran, including the Ziad 107 'kamikaze' drone with GPS-guided capabilities. They also use Shadaa 101 and Mohajer drones. Israel's strike on a dense civilian centre risks the killing of more innocent people, which it has already come under fire for in Gaza. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 37 people on Thursday alone. The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected the term 'war' to describe the conflict in the devastated Palestinian territory, accusing Israel instead of carrying out 'premeditated genocide'. Gaza civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that '37 people have been martyred in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip', reporting attacks up and down the length of the territory. Calls have mounted for a negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but indirect talks between the parties have failed to yield a breakthrough since the collapse of the last brief truce in March. 'What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children,' said Brazil's Lula, who has previously used the legal term to describe the conflict. 'It's no longer possible to accept,' he added.
Daily Mail
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Israeli airstrikes rain down in Beirut after IDF urged civilians to evacuate as it targeted 'Hezbollah's underground drone factories hidden in the heart of neighbourhoods'
Israel has attacked sites in Lebanon's capital Beirut that it claims are Hezbollah factories producing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The IDF today claimed the proscribed terror group has established five sites in the Dahieh neighbourhood of Beirut that is producing 'thousands of UAVs, with the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists.' The military claims the underground facilities belong to Hezbollah's Unit 127. It said in a statement: 'Following Hezbollah's extensive use of UAV's as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the state of Israel, the terrorist organization is operating to increase production of UAV's for the next war.' In November 2023, Hezbollah, which maintains control over much of Lebanon, signed a ceasefire agreement with Israel following 13 months of conflict that began after the paramilitary group attacked the nation on October 8, a day after Hamas ' deadly attack. Israel claimed that the purported UAV factories on the Beirut sites 'constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.' It added: 'The IDF will operate against every threat posed to the state of Israel and its civilians, and will prevent all attempts of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to reestablish itself.' Smoke was tonight seen rising from the sites highlighted by the IDF, as civilians desperately tried to leave the area following a warning from the military. The IDF has so far not provided proof of the existence of the factories, only sharing their locations and a computer-generated image of two men apparently making drones in a basement. But the warning of an imminent attack was real, with IDF spokespeople warning civilians in the area to leave immediately. Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said: 'You are located near facilities belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah. For your safety and the safety of your families, you must evacuate these buildings immediately and stay at least 300 meters away.' Footage shared online from the Dahieh neighbourhood showed scores of people in cars desperately trying to leave the area, sounding their horns in panic. According to Israeli media, Unit 127 works with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to produce and use drones for intelligence gathering and military attacks. It was reportedly responsible for a drone strike on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea last October. Netanyahu and his family were not at the house at the time. Unit 127 operates a range of drones produced by Iran, including the Ziad 107 'kamikaze' drone with GPS-guided capabilities. They also use Shadaa 101 and Mohajer drones. Israel's strike on a dense civilian centre risks the killing of more innocent people, which it has already come under fire for in Gaza. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 37 people on Thursday alone. The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected the term 'war' to describe the conflict in the devastated Palestinian territory, accusing Israel instead of carrying out 'premeditated genocide'. The IDF has so far not provided proof of the existence of the factories, only sharing their locations and a computer-generated image of two men apparently making drones in a basement People fire live rounds into the air as a warning, following Israeli threats of an impending attack on Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, June 5, 2025 Gaza civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that '37 people have been martyred in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip', reporting attacks up and down the length of the territory. Calls have mounted for a negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but indirect talks between the parties have failed to yield a breakthrough since the collapse of the last brief truce in March. 'What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children,' said Brazil's Lula, who has previously used the legal term to describe the conflict. 'It's no longer possible to accept,' he added. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has declined to use the term himself, vowed at a joint appearance with Lula to 'ramp up pressure in coordination with the Americans to obtain a ceasefire'. France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a United Nations conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
