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For the second consecutive Sunday, residents of southern border villages gathered in what they call return marches, demanding to re-enter their towns with the support of the Lebanese Army. From the early hours, crowds converged at the western entrances of Mays al-Jabal and Houla, calling for access to their homes. Despite the Israeli army opening fire on returnees in Yaroun …

The truce in Gaza witnessed one of its smoothest hostage-prisoner exchanges on Saturday, as Israeli captives were released in return for Palestinian detainees. Meanwhile, the crucial Rafah border crossing reopened ahead of anticipated discussions on the next, more challenging phase of the ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White …

The ongoing ceasefire in Gaza has allowed for the release of hostages, with two Israeli captives arriving back in Israel on Saturday after being handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross. This marks the fourth exchange of hostages under the truce agreement, with dozens of Palestinian prisoners expected to be freed from Israeli detention in return. The ceasefire, which …

The U.S. military confirmed that a senior operative from Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch was killed in an airstrike on northwestern Syria on Thursday. The targeted strike took place in an area that was once controlled by interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), before it led the offensive that resulted in the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. …

Arriving in Lebanon Thursday for her maiden visit as the new U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East, replacing Amos Hochstein, was Morgan Ortagus. Ortagus commenced a tour of inspections with a visit to the US Embassy, where she received from US Major General Jasper Jeffers, chairman of the ceasefire monitoring committee, briefings about what the committee’s missions were …

In a press meeting on Friday, the Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, was keen to underline the dividing line between responsible political parties and those acting irresponsibly. He believed that all political parties should not be regarded as equal, and doing so would definitely nullify the very meaning of political governance. Geagea commented on an ongoing debate going on, with …

Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, is now going to take over the presidency of Syria in what is an unexpected new chapter for the country. He has been propelled into leadership after a protracted war that saw the demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, who ruled for decades. The statement was given by Hassan Abdel Ghani, the spokesman …

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has released a statement confirming the names of three Israeli hostages set to be freed from Gaza on Thursday. The release also mentioned that five Thai hostages are scheduled to be freed, although it did not release their names. These include hostages Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 19, and Gadi Moses, 80, among others. In …