Middle East: Israel strikes Beirut in first since ceasefire

Israel carried out strikes on Lebanese capital Beirut's southern Dahia area, Israeli authorities said. 

The neighborhood is known as a stronghold of Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

"This comes as a response to Hezbollah's shooting towards Israel," ajoint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

The Israeli military described the targets of the strikes as "infrastructure of terrorist group Hezbollah" on its official X account.

This is the first time Israel has carried out strikes in the Lebanese capital since a new ceasefire was announced on Wednesday, with reports saying Israel had wanted to strike Beirut earlier and US President Donald Trump prevented the strikes from taking place.

The Israeli military warned residents to leave the Lebanese city of Tyre and surrounding areas ahead of possible strikes.

The continued clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah come despite a new ceasefire announced Wednesday.

Earlier today, two projectiles were launched from Lebanon towards Israel's north, with the Israeli army saying both were intercepted.

Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the launches.

A 37-year-old man of Palestinian origin was arrested on the Greek island of Crete for allegedly being a member of Islamist organization Hamasand planning terrorist attacks, according to the Athens police. 

The man, who reportedly arrived in Greece about a year ago and received asylum in the country, is one of three Palestinians who received joint training in the use of explosives abroad, police said, with the investigation still ongoing. The other two were recently arrested in Cyprus. 

Searches in flats in Crete and Athens resulted in the authorities finding several mobile phones, a laptop and bank cards.

Many parts of Europe are still on high alert due to the potential targeting of Israeli and Jewish institutions across the continent in connection with the conflict in the Middle East.

At least one man has been killed and at least five injured in a shooting in Israel, rescue services said.

The shooting took place in the Israeli villages of Kochav Yair and Tsur Natan, located near the border with the occupied West Bank, with the suspected shooters fleeing by car.

According to reports in Israel, one of the suspects has been caught and arrested, and a manhunt is underway for a second suspect.

The Pentagon has raised its counterintelligence threat level for Israel to the highest possible level, the US media reported.

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, part of the Pentagon, the Israelis' "ability to conduct human espionage and technical collection is at a 'critical level,'" NBC News reported.

The New York Times has also reported on attempts by Israel to eavesdrop on senior US officials, including Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy and the administration's Middle East negotiator, as well as Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy official.

Israel is considered one of the US's closest allies, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often praised his close relationship with President Trump.

The Israeli military said it had intercepted two projectiles fired from within from Lebanon.

This comes despite a new ceasefire agreement that intends to end the escalation between Israel and Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

Hezbollah rejected the agreement, demanding Israel to stop the fire and withdraw from southern Lebanon first.

Both Israeland Hezbollah blamed each other for violating the previous US-brokered ceasefire, agreed in November 2024.

The US military's Central Command said it intercepted two Iranian drones in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

"Earlier today, US forces in the Middle East shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM posted on X.

"American forces remain postured and ready to continue defending against Iranian aggression," the military added.

The United States and Iran launched retaliatory strikes at each other's assets in the region over the weekend after weeks of indirect ceasefire talks failed to produce an outcome.

A 7-month-old baby boy was laid to rest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The infant was shot by Israeli forces while his parents were driving Friday evening in the Tel Rumeida area, south of the northern West Bank city of Hebron, according to the ministry.

His parents were injured in the same incident.

The Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces fired a shot at the vehicle and that "uninvolved civilians" had been injured, saying that soldiers had "perceived a vehicle accelerating towards them before the shot was fired."

It said that the incident is under review.

The British consulate in Jerusalem said it was "shocked and saddened" by the killing.

"Civilians must be protected. Call for immediate and transparent investigation and accountability," the UK mission said in a post on X.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal departed for Pakistan on Saturday to meet with his counterpart, Asim Munir, Lebanon's military said.

The AFP news agency cited an unnamed source as saying the visit is linked to Pakistan's mediation efforts in the war between the United States and Iran.

Iran has insisted that Israel cease its ground invasion and bombing campaign in Lebanon as part of any ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington.

On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for Iran to stop using Lebanon as a "bargaining chip" in negotations.

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has rejected a conditional truce between Lebanon and Israel announced earlier this week and has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Iran accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of allowing its reports to be politicized in the conflict with the United States.

"If the agency wants to be part of a diplomatic solution, it must refrain from turning a technical report into a tool of political pressure," Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on the platform X.

"One cannot bomb safeguarded facilities, destroy the access and safety necessary for inspections, and then use the consequences of that very attack as a grievance against Iran," he wrote.

The deputy minister's comments come in response to an IAEA report that expressed concern over its lack of access to Iran's nuclear sites.

"While the agency acknowledged that the military attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and sites have created an unprecedented situation, it is critical for the agency to conduct verification activities in Iran without delay," the IAEA said in a statement, as cited by the AFP news agency.

The United States and Israel struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025 and also in the current war with Tehran they launched on February 28.

Washington and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear enrichment program serves purely civilian purposes.

Pope Leo XIV has commended Spain's government during his state visit to the country for its "commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples." 

The US-born pontiff was speaking at a reception at Madrid's royal palace as he began his six-day tour of the country. 

"I express my gratitude to your country for its faithful adherence to international law and multilateralism, which is reflected in an active commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples," he said. 

The pope and members of Donald Trump's administration have clashed repeatedly during the conflict in Iran.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also drew rebukes from the US for refusing the US access to joint military bases for strikes against Iran.

His government is also among the most staunch European critics of the war in Gaza in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks on Israel, and permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel earlier this year. 

You can read our full story on day one of the pope's state visit to Spain here.

Kuwait's Foreign Ministry has condemned, "in the strongest terms," repeated Iranian attacks on the country, "the latest of which occurred at dawn today." 

The ministry said the "brazen" assault disregarded international calls for an end to such attacks "and shows utter indifference to the direct threat they pose to the lives of civilians and residents, as well as to the security and stability of the region." 

Kuwait referred to the attacks as a violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which calls for a halt to Iran's strikes on Gulf states. 

Similarly to Bahrain, for which Kuwait expressed solidarity in a separate statement, Kuwait called the strikes a "dangerous escalation" at a time when the international community "is exerting tireless efforts to halt combat operations and spare the region additional escalation." 

The ministry made no mention of damage or casualties in its statement.

Israel's military has commented on a strike not against Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, but against a Lebanese Army vehicle on Saturday. 

The Israel Defense Forces said they had "identified a vehicle moving suspiciously toward IDF soldiers near the area of Tebnit in Lebanon." 

The IDF claimed that the vehicle was traveling through an active combat zone that had been evacuated. It also said its forces had a "concrete indication" of possible Hezbollah fire in the area. 

"An initial inquiry indicates that two officers and a soldier in the Lebanese Army were inside the vehicle," the IDF wrote. 

"The IDF is reviewing the incident, and lessons will be learned accordingly. The IDF operates against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, not against the Lebanese Army," it said. 

Lebanon's military has not engaged Israel during the fighting this year and the Lebanese government has tried to stop Hezbollah from attacking Israel. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Saturday's attack and called it a "flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of international laws and norms."

Iran's embassy in Turkey has criticized US officials for withholding visas for several members of the Iranian World Cup squad's accompanying staff — after the US ambassador in Ankara had hailed the move to grant visas to the core of the squad.

The Iranian embassy accused Ambassador Tom Barrack of trying to "whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations" and the US's obligations as co-host of the competition.

"Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?" the embassy asked online, responding to a prior post from Barrack. 

The embassy accused the US government of escalating its "deliberate and discriminatory treatment of Iran's national football team to its highest level."

It called on FIFA to "hold the US accountable for violations of its rules." 

According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, a total of 12 visa applications were denied. Those not given US visas included Executive Director Mehdi Kharati, the secretary general of the soccer ​federation, Hedayat Mombini, ‌and Media Director Mohsen Motamedkia, Tasnim reported.

The Iranian squad is traveling to its base of operations in Mexico — relocated from the US in response to the conflict — this weekend. But all three of Iran's group stage matches will take place on the US Pacific Coast, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

Global airline chiefs are gathering in Brazil for an annual three-day summit. 

This year's International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit is sure to be overshadowed by the sharp pressure on aviation fuel costs amid the conflict in Iran and the Gulf. 

It also comes as many airlines continue to restrict their services to the region and alter their flight paths amid security concerns.

The IATA, which represents more than 370 airlines and around 85% of global air traffic, had forecast record net profits of $41 billion (roughly €35.5 billion) for 2026 prior to the conflict. That figure will almost certainly be revised downwards. 

A Deloitte survey of 21 global airline CEOs said that "what was supposed to be a record year" had suddenly turned "into a fight for margin" for the industry.