Lebanon
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Hannibal Gadhafi released from prison on bail

Lebanese authorities have released the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi after he paid a $900,000 bail, ending his 10-year detention for allegedly withholding information about a missing Lebanese cleric, security officials and a member of his defense team said.

One of Hannibal Gadhafi's lawyers, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, told The Associated Press that Gadhafi was released Monday evening after necessary paperwork was finished. Two security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, also confirmed that Gadhafi was set free.

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Bulgaria adjourns extradition hearing for Beirut blast shipowner

A Bulgarian court on Monday adjourned an extradition hearing for a shipowner wanted over the devastating blast at Beirut port in 2020, asking Lebanon to confirm he would not face the death penalty.

Lebanon wants Bulgaria to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot, over the disaster -- one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions -- which destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killed more than 220 people and injured more than 6,500.

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Israel wages new airstrikes on south and east Lebanon

Israeli warplanes on Monday waged two waves of airstrikes on the heights of Jabal al-Rafih, al-Jarmaq, al-Wadi al-Akhdar and al-Mahmoudiyeh in south Lebanon.

Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of al-Nabi Sheet and the al-Shaara area in the Baalbek district near Syria’s border. A drone strike meanwhile hit a pickup truck in the nearby Hermel region, causing no casualties.

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Israeli official vows gradual pullout if Lebanon disarms Hezbollah

Israel will gradually withdraw from south Lebanon if the Lebanese Army disarms Hezbollah and efforts are ongoing to eliminate any threat from Hezbollah, an Israeli official said on Monday.

“We will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its strength again,” the official told Al-Arabiya television.

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Report: Egypt spy chief may return to Beirut amid broad discussions

Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad may return to Beirut soon to hold further consultations and contacts aimed at backing the “non-escalation course,” Egyptian sources said.

“Egypt is engaged in direct contacts with France and the U.S. over the situation in Lebanon, and the efforts of the past days led to a host of remarks and proposals related to the Egyptian initiative and the possibility of introducing amendments to it,” the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper.

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Army refuses to raid houses in south in search for Hezbollah weapons, report says

Israel is pressing the Lebanese army to search private homes in south Lebanon for weapons, a media report said, after Lebanon's government tasked the army with a plan to disarm Hezbollah.

The report, quoting Lebanese and Israeli officials, said Israel requested these house-to-house raids in October during meetings of the ceasefire monitoring committee, adding that Lebanon has not accepted to do so.

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Aoun: Our army's mission is crucial in these circumstances

President Joseph Aoun announced Monday that the Lebanese Army “has a crucial mission in these circumstances.”

“It alone -- I reiterate, it alone, without a partner, neither from outside the state nor from outside Lebanon -- has to extend our state’s authority over all its territory and borders and to impose its full sovereignty, for the Israeli attacks on our land to cease and for Israel to withdraw from the points it is occupying inside Lebanon,” Aoun added, at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia.

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Gemayel proposes amending constitution to include Lebanon's neutrality

Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel said Monday that he had submitted a proposal to introduce Lebanon's neutrality into the Lebanese constitution.

In a press conference, Gemayel said that Lebanon has an opportunity today to "turn the page", adding that neutrality does not mean not taking positions on issues of justice in the world but it means that Lebanon would not militarily participate in any regional conflicts.

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Senior US official says Aoun will help realize 'Trump's vision for peace'

Senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka described Monday President Joseph Aoun as a "friend" who will help realize U.S. President Donald Trump's vision for peace in the Middle East.

"Today this leader is a friend and is positioned to help realize President Donald Trump's vision for peace in the Middle East under a new, broader Abraham Accords," Gorka posted on X.

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Salam meets US treasury delegation in Beirut

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Monday with a U.S. treasury delegation in Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, as Washington works to cut off Hezbollah's funding and Lebanon's government tries to disarm it.

Deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley had said after the delegation met President Joseph Aoun on Sunday that Lebanon can only be free, prosperous and secure if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran's funding and control.

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