Latest news with #Khodr
Middle East Eye
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill 12, in deadliest attack since November truce
Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Tuesday killed 12 people, the region's governor, Bachir Khodr, told Reuters. It marks the deadliest air strikes since a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in November. Israel has breached the ceasefire and carried out strikes on a near-daily basis. A security source told Reuters that five of the dead were Hezbollah fighters. Khodr said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals. Syrians often work in the agricultural fields of the Bekaa region.
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill 12, including five Hezbollah fighters
Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Tuesday killed 12 people, the region's governor Bachir Khodr told Reuters, in the deadliest air strikes since last year's truce ended months of fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel. A security source told Reuters that five of the dead were Hezbollah fighters. Khodr said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals, who often work in the agricultural fields of the Bekaa region.
Qatar Tribune
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli drone attack near Beirut kills at least one, injures three others
An Israeli drone attack has killed at least one person and injured three near the Lebanese capital, Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health says, the latest violation of the ceasefire between the two countries. The air raid on Thursday hit a vehicle on a busy motorway in the Khaldeh area, about 12km south of Beirut. The Israeli military said it targeted 'military sites and weapons depots' in the area. Bombing an area near the Lebanese capital marks another escalation by Israel, which has been carrying out near-daily bombardment in Lebanon since it reached a truce with Hezbollah in November of last year. The identities of the victims of the attack have not been released. Reporting from outside Beirut, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr noted that the Israeli air raid took place during rush hour, with many people making their way from Beirut to south Lebanon. 'Israel is also acting with little restraint. The Lebanese state wants these attacks to stop, but the state has little leverage. Hezbollah, too, if it does respond, could trigger a harsh Israeli retaliation,' Khodr said. 'We don't see a wide-scale Israeli bombardment like we saw last year, targeting areas where Hezbollah has influence, but we see these attacks happening almost on a daily basis.' Later on Thursday, the Israeli military carried out a wave of air strikes across south Lebanon, with heavy bombardment targeting the outskirts of Zawtar al-Charqiyeh, near Nabatieh, Lebanon's official National News Agency reported. Lebanese officials often condemn such attacks and call on the United States and France – the two sponsors of last year's ceasefire – to pressure Israel to end its violations. But diplomatic efforts have failed to stem the ceasefire breaches, amid unwillingness by the US and its Western allies to hold Israel to account. (Agencies)
Al Jazeera
26-02-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Lebanon's new government wins confidence vote in parliament
Lebanon's new government has won a confidence vote in parliament, following a speech by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam promising to push for economic reforms and to start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. Salam's government won the backing of 95 lawmakers in the 128-seat chamber late on Wednesday. Lebanon's political landscape has been overturned since Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummeled in last year's war with Israel. The new government's policy statement, as such, did not include language used in previous years that was seen as legitimising a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon. 'We want a state that holds the exclusive authority over decisions on war and peace, a state loyal to the constitution and national accord ensuring the implementation of unfulfilled provisions,' Salam said before parliament. On Tuesday, Hezbollah had given its backing to the government in a speech delivered by senior Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad. 'We will work on removing Lebanon from the grey list and start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund,' Salam said before the vote. 'We will put depositors at the top of our priorities.' Lebanon's new administration is made up of political outsiders and presented its agenda to a parliament 'still dominated by parties blamed for nearly bankrupting the country', said Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, Lebanon. 'It's a different time, and follows Hezbollah's 14-month conflict with Israel and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria, which closed supply routes from Iran,' said Khodr. 'The new government didn't give Hezbollah status as the only legitimate armed entity other than the military. A post-Hezbollah era is being established.' Beyond issues of security, the new government is going to have to deal with extensive reconstruction, as well as a battered economy and financial sector, among other challenges, Khodr added. Lebanon has been in economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system. The country formed a new government on February 8, following unusually direct US intervention in the process and in a step intended to bring the country closer to accessing reconstruction funds following the Israel-Hezbollah war. Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 – contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.
Shafaq News
27-01-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Kirkuk moves forward on Article 140 compensation cases
Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Article 140 Committee in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, reported significant progress in resolving compensation claims for displaced individuals and newcomers, supported by financial allocations from Baghdad. Hardi Khodr, Director of the Article 140 Committee in Kirkuk, told Shafaq News that 'approximately 2,500 displaced individuals and 2,000 newcomers are set to receive payments as part of the government's annual 100 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $76.7 million) allocation for these cases.' 'During 2023 and 2024, the committee processed 2,969 compensation claims for newcomers and 1,699 claims for displaced Kurds,' Khodr noted, highlighting the committee's achievements. 'Currently, 5,728 claims for displaced individuals and 3,931 claims for newcomers are updated and ready for disbursement.' He explained that the Supreme Article 140 Committee in Baghdad oversees the budget and ensures the proper allocation of funds. 'The committee streamlines the application process for eligible individuals and forwards cases to the central office, where financial entitlements are issued through official checks,' Khodr added. Notably, Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution seeks to address demographic changes imposed by Saddam Hussein's regime, which displaced original inhabitants—predominantly Kurds—and replaced them with Arab newcomers as part of an Arabization campaign. The Article outlines a three-phase process: reversing demographic changes, conducting a population census, and holding a referendum for residents to decide whether to join the Kurdistan Region or remain under Baghdad's administration. Although implementation was initially set to conclude by the end of 2007, political and security challenges delayed the process. In 2019, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled that Article 140 remains valid and enforceable until its objectives are fully achieved.
