Lebanon
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Palestinian factions hand over weapons from Beirut camps

Palestinian factions in several Beirut refugee camps surrendered their weapons to the Lebanese Army on Friday, an official said, as the government disarms non-state groups.

Ramez Dimashkieh, chairman of the official Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, told AFP that "the Palestine Liberation Organization handed over three truckloads of weapons to the Lebanese Army," including rockets and heavy weapons.

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Berri says US-Israeli proposals 'worse than May 17 Agreement'

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri seemed disappointed after a visit by an American delegation mediating the ceasefire agreement and Hezbollah disarmament between Lebanon and Israel.

Berri said the American proposal was worse than an agreement signed in May 17 under American and Israeli pressure. That peace treaty reached in 1982 never materialized.

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Israel voices 'regret' after Lebanese soldiers killed in drone blast

The Israeli military expressed regret Friday after Lebanon's army reported two of its soldiers were killed when an Israeli drone that crashed in the country's south exploded.

The Lebanese Army said its personnel were inspecting the drone that had fallen in the Naqoura area on Thursday when it exploded, killing an officer and a soldier and wounding two others.

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Graham says 'Plan B' should be disarming Hezbollah by force

Hardline Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has stressed that “it’s time for Hezbollah to go.”

“They are trained by Iran, they are loyal to Iran, and we’re looking for military power in Lebanon to be loyal to the Lebanese people and a good partner to the region,” Graham, who is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, said at a press conference in Tel Aviv, after meeting officials in Lebanon and Israel.

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Israeli drone strike kills one in Seer al-Gharbiyeh

An Israeli drone strike on Friday targeted a car in the southern town of Seer al-Gharbiyeh, killing one person, the state-run National News Agency said.

Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.

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Army Command vows to enforce 'political authority's decisions'

The Army Command on Friday stressed that it is “executing its missions with the highest levels of responsibility, professionalism and keenness on the country’s security and internal stability, in line with the political authority’s decisions and out of commitment to performing duties no matter the difficulties.”

The Command also called on media outlets “not to tackle the affairs of the military institution and launch speculations about its decisions,” urging them to “return to its official statements to obtain accurate information.”

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PM Salam welcomes UN peacekeepers extension

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed a United Nations Security Council decision on Thursday to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

"I welcome the Security Council’s decision to extend the UNIFIL mandate until December 31, 2026," Salam said, thanking France and "all friendly states in this council". The decision provides for the blue helmets to withdraw from Lebanon by the end of 2027.

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UN sets 2027 exit for Lebanon peacekeepers after Israeli strikes

The Security Council has voted for U.N. peacekeepers to leave Lebanon in 2027, allowing only one final extension after pressure from Israel and its U.S. ally to end the nearly 50-year-old force.

Israel hailed Thursday the upcoming termination of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and urged the Beirut government to exert its authority after an Israeli military campaign devastated Hezbollah.

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Disarmament of Palestinian camps could pave way for new refugee rights

As more Palestinian refugee camps handed over caches of weapons to the Lebanese army this week, a Lebanese government official told The Associated Press that the disarmament effort could pave the way for granting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon more legal rights.

Ramez Dimashkieh, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, a government body that serves as an interlocutor between Palestinian refugees and officials, said his group is working on proposed legislation that they hope to introduce by the end of the year that could improve the situation of Lebanon's approximately 200,000 Palestinian refugees.

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Israeli drone explodes after crash, killing two soldiers

Two Lebanese army personnel were killed Thursday after an Israeli drone that had crashed in the country's south exploded, the latest deadly incident for Lebanese troops near the Israeli border.

Under a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities including two months of open war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's army has been deploying in the country's south and dismantling the Iran-backed group's infrastructure there with the support of U.N. peacekeepers.

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