Israel launches heavy airstrikes on southern suburbs of Beirut

Frederique Mauduit

In retaliation for Hezbollah launching over 200 rockets into Israel, Israeli airstrikes on Sunday targeted and destroyed several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon.

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  • Assad’s family ‘flees’ to Russia – but Kremlin ‘won’t come’ to Syrian leader’s rescue

    Bashar al-Assad’s family fled to Russia in the days after rebel forces launched a shock offensive that captured swathes of territory across northern Syria, it has been revealed.

  • Iran begins to evacuate commanders as forces abandon Assad

    Iran has started to evacuate military commanders from Syria, in a sign that the regime is losing faith in Bashar al-Assad’s ability to hold back a rebel uprising.

  • In Syria, a ruthless dictator is under siege. Will anyone step up to save him?

    Across northern and central Syria this week, families who've been torn apart by more than a decade of civil war have been holding joyous reunions."I didn't believe it, it was very emotional," said Ismail Alabullah, a volunteer with the Syrian NGO the White Helmets, as he described returning to the city of Aleppo for the first time since 2013 and reuniting with his sister."I couldn't believe I was seeing her again," he told CBC News from northern Syria. "I lost my brother, my mother and father ov

  • Syrian insurgents reach the capital's suburbs. Worried residents flee and stock up on supplies

    Insurgents' stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and with the government forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations.

  • A ‘weakened’ Assad is better than jihadists on Israel’s border

    As Syria’s fragmented opposition groups continue their offensive against Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Israel is closely monitoring the situation across its border.

  • Why the rebel capture of Syria's Hama, a city with a dark history, matters

    More than four decades ago, Hafez Assad, then president of Syria, launched what came to be known as the Hama Massacre. Between 10,000 to 40,000 people were killed or disappeared in the government attack on the central Syrian city. It began on Feb. 2, 1982, and lasted for nearly a month, leaving the city in ruins.

  • ‘He has come out an old man’: joy and grief as loved ones released from Assad prisons

    Family members describe renewed hopes after decades-long searches for political detainees in ‘Kingdom of Silence’

  • Chinese fishing vessel under control of suspected pirates off Somali coast, EU naval force says

    A Chinese fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia has come under the control of alleged pirates, a European Union anti-piracy force operating in the area said Thursday.

  • Islamist rebels seek to assure Christians in Syria's Aleppo

    At a church in Syria's Aleppo, Christian worshippers attended mass days after their city came under the control of Islamist-led rebel forces who have sought to allay residents' concerns over their nascent rule.Rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Aleppo last week in a lightning offensive against President Bashar al-Assad's forces, raising fears in Syria's second-largest city.

  • Hamas armed wing releases video of Gaza hostage

    The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday of an Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack of October 2023.In the undated, three-and-half-minute video that AFP has not been able to verify, Matan Zangauker says in Hebrew that he has been in captivity for more than 420 days and calls for public pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of all captives held in Gaza.

  • Syrian rebel leader says goal is to ‘overthrow’ Assad regime

    The goal of Syria’s rebel coalition, as it wrests another major city from government control this week, is ultimately to overthrow authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the militant leader of the main group driving the country’s armed opposition.

  • Which foreign armies are in Syria and why are they there?

    STORY: The resurgence of fighting in Syria has brought into focus the role of foreign powers in the country. With many having deployed troops since 2011, who are the foreign armies involved in Syria?:: Turkey:: October 11, 2017Turkey has deployed troops across northwestern Syria in support of the 2011 rebel uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.Turkey wants to weaken Syrian Kurdish armed groups which carved out autonomous enclaves along the Turkish border during the civil war.:: February 27, 2020Ankara views the groups as an extension of the Kurdish Workers' Party, which it deems a terrorist group and has been waging an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.:: September 10, 2013It also wants a return home for some three million Syrians who have fled to Turkey during the war.Turkey has mounted multiple operations in Syria involving thousands of troops since 2016.:: Iran and allies:: October 17, 2015Iran deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria as early as 2012 to help Assad. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, played a big part.::February 25, 2019For Iran, Assad is a crucial ally, part of its "Axis of Resistance" to Israel and U.S. influence in the Middle East.Other Tehran-backed Shi'ite Islamist groups, from Afghanistan and Iraq, have also played a vital combat role. :: Israeli army handout:: Released December 13, 2023Iran's presence in Syria has been a big point of concern for Israel, prompting it to carry out frequent airstrikes.:: Russia:: October, 2015Russian forces have had a presence militarily in Syria since the Cold War, but intervened on Assad's side in 2015.Coordinating with Iran they operated from an airbase in Latakia province with Russian air power decisively tilting the conflict Assad's way.:: Released October 5, 2023On the ground, Russian troops are involved in government-held areas, with military police deployed during attempts to de-escalate fighting.:: United States:: March 11, 2019U.S. military intervention in Syria began in 2014 against the Islamic State jihadist group that had declared its rule over a third of Syria and Iraq.:: July 29, 2016Working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) they fought to drive Islamic State from areas it had captured in Syria's north and east.Declaring the battle with Islamic State almost won, President Donald Trump announced in 2018 he wanted to pull out U.S. troops.But the plan was softened after facing criticism for leaving a void that Iran and Russia would fill.Around 9,000 U.S. troops remain in Syria to support the SDF.Assad's government views the U.S. forces as occupiers.

  • Israeli military kills four doctors in raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses say

    Four doctors were killed at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in besieged northern Gaza on Friday, after Israeli forces stormed the compound, killing and injuring dozens of people in areas surrounding the facility, eyewitnesses told CNN.

  • Ukraine says Syrian collapse shows Russia can't fight on two fronts

    The collapse of Russia's ally Syria in the face of an assault from rebel groups shows Moscow cannot fight on two fronts, Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Thursday while reiterating denials that Kyiv was involved in the fighting there. "We can see that Russia cannot fight on two fronts -- this is clear from the events in Syria," ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters at a weekly news conference. After years locked behind frozen frontlines, Syrian rebels have burst forth to mount the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad descended into civil war 13 years ago.

  • Syrian insurgents seize Damascus suburbs while state media deny Assad has fled

    Syrian insurgents have reached Damascus suburbs, their first advance near the capital since 2018, while Syrian state media deny rumours of Assad fleeing.View on euronews

  • Trump pick for hostage envoy suggests using US troops to rescue Hamas captives. Will it work?

    Donald Trump’s choice for special envoy for hostage affairs once advocated using US special forces to rescue people held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

  • Baloch separatists becoming as big a national security threat as Pakistani Taliban, says think tank

    A Baloch separatist group is becoming as big a threat to Pakistan's national security as the Pakistani Taliban, according to a think tank. Last month, the Baloch Liberation Army killed dozens of people in the restive southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan. The BLA wants independence from the federal government, which last month launched an operation against armed groups operating in the province.

  • Chinese embassy in Syria urges citizens to evacuate immediately as civil war reignites

    The Chinese embassy in Syria urged its citizens to leave the Middle Eastern nation "as soon as possible", with the revival of its decade-long civil war and the capture of more cities by anti-government militants. "At present, the war in northwestern Syria is growing tense, and the security situation in Syria is further deteriorating," the embassy said on Thursday. "The embassy in Syria suggests that Chinese citizens in Syria take advantage of the fact that commercial flights are still in operati

  • Thousands of pro-EU protesters march on Georgia parliament

    Thousands of protesters marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Saturday for the 10th day of rallies sparked by the government's decision to shelve EU accession talks following a disputed election.Georgian police said they arrested 48 people during a crackdown on pro-EU protesters the day before.

  • Is the 'writing on the wall' for Syria's Assad?

    More than 13 years since Bashar al-Assad's security forces opened fire on protesters demanding democratic reforms, the Syrian president's grip on power may finally be weakening.In a further sign of Assad's isolation, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group, which controls much of northeast Syria, said it was ready to speak to its foes among the Turkish-backed rebels.