https://www.scmp.com/rss/522981/feed The latest news and top stories on Naim Qassem, who was elected the Secretary-General of Hezbollah on 29 October 2024, following a long tenure as the organisation’s first Deputy Secretary-General since 1991. A founding member of Hezbollah in 1982, Qassem has been a key ideologue and spokesman, overseeing parliamentary and governmental activities, and leading electoral campaigns. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Dewey Sim,Khushboo Razdan Dewey Sim,Khushboo Razdan Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare face-to-face talks, facilitated by Washington, on Tuesday, with all sides agreeing to launch “direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue”. “Israel expressed its commitment to engage in direct negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues and achieve a durable peace that will strengthen security, stability and prosperity in the region,” as per a readout issued by the US State Department. The statement said that Lebanon called for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3350092/israel-lebanon-talks-rare-historic-moment-amid-hopes-conflict-resolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3350092/israel-lebanon-talks-rare-historic-moment-amid-hopes-conflict-resolution?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:41:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with its foe. Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war. The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349959/hezbollah-leader-asks-lebanon-cancel-meeting-israel-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349959/hezbollah-leader-asks-lebanon-cancel-meeting-israel-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:34:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he authorised direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbours. Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them. In a video statement, he said Israel will keep... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349596/israel-plans-talks-lebanon-violence-imperils-iran-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349596/israel-plans-talks-lebanon-violence-imperils-iran-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 02:55:22 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel bombed more targets in Lebanon on Thursday, putting the Middle East ceasefire in further jeopardy after the biggest Israeli attacks of the war on its neighbour killed more than 250 people and threatened to torpedo US President Donald Trump’s truce. In Pakistan, authorities locked down the capital Islamabad in anticipation of the war’s first peace talks, cutting off all access to a 3km (2-mile) zone around the five-star luxury Serena Hotel. Both the US and Iranian delegations are expected... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349538/no-let-israeli-attacks-lebanon-us-iran-ceasefire-teeters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349538/no-let-israeli-attacks-lebanon-us-iran-ceasefire-teeters?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:40:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli strikes hit busy commercial and residential areas in central Beirut without warning on Wednesday, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the US-Israeli war with Iran. A total of 254 people were killed and over 1,100 ‌wounded across Lebanon, the country’s civil defence service said. The highest toll was in Beirut, where 91 people were killed. The health ministry gave a toll of 182 dead across the country and said it was not a final figure. All up, it was the deadliest day in the latest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349447/israel-hammers-lebanon-strikes-killing-and-wounding-scores-deadliest-day-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349447/israel-hammers-lebanon-strikes-killing-and-wounding-scores-deadliest-day-war?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:59:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with the Hezbollah militant group began. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive. The Israeli military said on Friday it had killed about 1,000... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348961/israel-strikes-over-3500-lebanon-targets-month-says-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348961/israel-strikes-over-3500-lebanon-targets-month-says-military?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:26:29 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel said the war against Iran was entering its “decisive phase” on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility. Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, security sources said, the second time it had been targeted since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shock waves through the global economy. Millions have been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346626/iran-war-entering-decisive-phase-israel-says-attacks-continue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346626/iran-war-entering-decisive-phase-israel-says-attacks-continue?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 15:51:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday issued ⁠a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei even as he acknowledged that Israel’s joint air war with the US may not lead to a collapse of Tehran’s clerical government. Holding his first press conference since the start of the war, ‌the Israeli leader said that Iran was “no longer the same” after nearly two weeks of bombardment and that Tehran had suffered blows to its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346419/netanyahu-threatens-irans-new-supreme-leader-defends-joint-assault-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346419/netanyahu-threatens-irans-new-supreme-leader-defends-joint-assault-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:31:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo challenged Lebanon’s political leaders on Sunday to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside, as he sought to give Lebanon’s long-suffering people a message of hope and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East. At Beirut airport, where his plane landed with a Lebanese military jet escort, Pope Leo XIV was greeted first by President Joseph Aoun, then by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Leo arrived in Beirut from Istanbul on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334673/pope-leo-travels-lebanon-will-appeal-peace-amid-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334673/pope-leo-travels-lebanon-will-appeal-peace-amid-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 10:44:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters The head of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Friday it retained the right to respond to Israel’s killing days ago of its top military commander and left open the possibility of a new conflict with Israel. Naim Qassem spoke in a televised address as fears grew in Lebanon that Israel could escalate its bombardment of the country to compel Hezbollah to relinquish its arsenal across the country, which the group has repeatedly rejected. Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s top military commander... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334589/hezbollah-leader-leaves-open-possibility-new-war-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334589/hezbollah-leader-leaves-open-possibility-new-war-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 20:34:19 +0000 Reuters Reuters A de facto partition of Gaza between an area controlled by Israel and another ruled by Hamas is increasingly likely, multiple sources said, with efforts to advance US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war beyond a ceasefire faltering. Six European officials with direct knowledge of the efforts to implement the next phase of the plan told Reuters it was effectively stalled and that reconstruction now appeared likely to be limited to the Israeli-controlled area. That could lead to years of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332373/gaza-faces-de-facto-partition-israel-trumps-peace-plan-falters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332373/gaza-faces-de-facto-partition-israel-trumps-peace-plan-falters?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:35:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United Nations’ aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring dignity and hygiene to Palestinians clinging to life in Gaza’s ruins on Saturday, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more bodies. A convoy of white UN jeeps carried relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to see a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329526/massive-job-ahead-rebuild-ruined-gaza-un-aid-chief-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329526/massive-job-ahead-rebuild-ruined-gaza-un-aid-chief-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 11:35:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Monday that the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with a November 27 ceasefire agreement before talks on a national defence strategy can take place, reaffirming the Iran-backed group’s refusal to disarm. “Israel may occupy but we will confront it to prevent it from settling and achieving its goals, and this confrontation will continue,” Qassem said. “If this government continues in its current form, it cannot be trusted to safeguard... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3323112/hezbollah-leader-rejects-disarmament-demands-israel-comply-ceasefire-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3323112/hezbollah-leader-rejects-disarmament-demands-israel-comply-ceasefire-first?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 16:50:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed Friday to fight government plans to disarm his group, with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accusing him of making “unacceptable” threats to unleash civil war. Qassem gave a televised address after meeting with Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group. Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel, and the Lebanese government – under US pressure – has ordered the army to draw up a plan... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322065/hezbollah-vows-fight-disarmament-lebanon-pm-slams-civil-war-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322065/hezbollah-vows-fight-disarmament-lebanon-pm-slams-civil-war-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 17:57:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel has attacked Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports and a power plant, the Israeli military said early on Monday, marking the first Israeli attack on Yemen in almost a month. The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant were due to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military added. Hours after the strikes, the Israeli military said two missiles were launched from Yemen and attempts were made to intercept them, but the results of interception were still... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317165/explosions-heard-yemens-hodeidah-port-after-israel-issues-evacuation-orders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317165/explosions-heard-yemens-hodeidah-port-after-israel-issues-evacuation-orders?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jul 2025 21:52:01 +0000