Lebanon

( Middle East Monitor ) – The administration of United States’ president Joe Biden has grown increasingly concerned that Israel could drag the US into a war in Lebanon, as Tel Aviv continues to escalate tensions on its northern border and scale up attacks on Hezbollah. According to CBS News , anonymous US officials informed […]

Hizbullah

Lebanon’s Hezbollah is proving to be a serious Problem for Israel

The Conversation

By Zainab Younes, London South Bank University | – (The Conversation) – Hezbollah intensified its attacks in northern Israel on June 2, firing barrages of rockets over the border that set off massive wildfires. This came two days after the Lebanese armed group revealed that it had downed one of Israel’s most advanced drones – […]

Israel

Lebanon: Israel’s White Phosphorus Use risks Civilian Harm

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in south Lebanon is putting civilians at grave risk and contributing to civilian displacement, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities across south Lebanon since October 2023, including 5 […]

Hizbullah

Will Israel’s Gaza Campaign expand to Hezbollah and Lebanon?

The Conversation

By Emilie El Khoury, Queen’s University, Ontario | – The devastating war in Gaza is now in its sixth month, and the figures are alarming: more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed. Almost one-third of the population is suffering catastrophic food insecurity and over two million (almost the entire population) have been displaced. More than […]

Algeria

The Middle East Ranks at the Bottom of Gallup’s Happiness Index, except for Rich Oil States; is the US to Blame?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual Gallup report on happiness by country came out this week. It is based on a three-year average of polling. What struck me in their report is how unhappy the Middle East is. The only Middle Eastern country in the top twenty is Kuwait (for the first time in […]

Hizbullah

Will Current Israeli-Lebanese Fighting derail Historic Land Border Agreement?

The Conversation

By Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College | – In October 2022, Lebanon and Israel signed a maritime border agreement brokered by the U.S., a move interpreted as the beginning of normalizing relations between two countries technically at war. The next step would have been the settlement of the long-running land border dispute. But then came the […]

Hamas

Iran’s “Axis of Resistance:” Different Groups, Similar Goals

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/RL ) – Iran’s so-called axis of resistance is a loose network of proxies, Tehran-backed militant groups, and an allied state actor. The network is a key element of Tehran’s strategy of deterrence against perceived threats from the United States, regional rivals, and primarily Israel. Active in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, […]

Lebanon

From Ukraine to Lebanon, a tale of two Marias

Ibrahim Al-Marashi

On a fateful day in February 2022, Ibrahim al-Marashi found himself praying in two religions for two Marias. In a world where narcissism and conflict cause immeasurable hurt, humanity can triumph over division, he writes. “On 24 February 2022, while travelling to Lebanon to visit his great-aunt Maria in Lebanon, Ibrahim al-Marashi’s thoughts were with […]

Featured

New York Times’ Friedman hits new Low with Animalization of Arabs and Iranians

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Calling people animals is a way to dehumanize them, and probably helps convince individuals that the other people around them approve of treating the animals badly. In ways that aren’t entirely clear, this way of speaking is certainly wrought up with violence and even genocide. Israel’s Defense Minister called the […]