https://sagire.online/topic/the-levant/ Rolling analysis and coverage of geopolitics, energy, security and supply chains. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 03:40:00 -0300 https://sagire.online/wire/4649b380/https://sagire.online/wire/4649b380/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:24:00 -0300Officials at Israel’s finance ministry were surprised by Trump’s announcement ending US military aid, according to the Times of Israel, in a report carried by Middle East Eye. An official said no formal document from the prime minister’s office was submitted about the move: “The ministry was aware of the intention to end it, but was surprised by the intention to do so immediately.” Defense ministry officials and the military were also surprised by the announcement, according to the same report.IsraelUnited StatesThe LevantDefense https://sagire.online/wire/f77e5c85/https://sagire.online/wire/f77e5c85/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 13:21:00 -0300Israel's siege of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, reached its tenth day on Sunday, with Israeli forces threatening to expand their military offensive in the city, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, cited by Al Jazeera. The offensive has displaced more than 3,300 Palestinians, particularly in the al-Jalda and Ain Deir Bahha areas, and resulted in the demolition of 15 homes.West BankIsraelThe LevantConflict https://sagire.online/wire/a9140e2c/https://sagire.online/wire/a9140e2c/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 13:21:00 -0300The Catholic priest Samir Daou was murdered in his home and stabbed more than 20 times, and robbed of his personal possessions, including his wallet, car and clothes, according to the Jerusalem Post. Daou's family found his body inside a house he owned in Ain Jrain, in the Jbeil district, with visible traces of blood, L'Orient Today reported. The killing sparked sectarian outrage and calls for the deportation of Syrians, according to Lebanese media reports.LebanonThe LevantPublic security https://sagire.online/wire/2ba8e338/https://sagire.online/wire/2ba8e338/Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:23:00 -0300Three suspects were arrested on Saturday following a clash between Israelis and Palestinians near the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank, amid the ongoing olive harvest, according to the Jerusalem Post.West BankPalestineIsraelThe LevantConflict https://sagire.online/wire/d7b3ea77/https://sagire.online/wire/d7b3ea77/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:22:00 -0300Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he hopes the period after the formation of a new Israeli government will create an opportunity to resume serious political dialogue, according to Xinhua, which cited the Palestinian news agency.PalestineIsraelDiplomacyThe Levant https://sagire.online/wire/014bb3f0/https://sagire.online/wire/014bb3f0/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:22:00 -0300Qatar denied interference in Israel’s elections and called the accusations ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure. “Qatar should not be used as a scapegoat for the political failures of certain Israeli politicians,” the country’s statement said, according to the Jerusalem Post.QatarIsraelElectionsThe LevantDiplomacy https://sagire.online/wire/5175b1f4/https://sagire.online/wire/5175b1f4/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:23:00 -0300Israeli aircraft flew at low altitude and dropped thermal balloons over southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. The Lebanese army had previously warned that the balloons pose a threat to citizens because of their explosive and incendiary contents, urging residents not to approach or touch them since they are prone to exploding.LebanonIsraelThe LevantConflict https://sagire.online/wire/ec1045b1/https://sagire.online/wire/ec1045b1/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 18:23:00 -0300Exit polls from Channels 11, 12 and 13 project 11 or 12 seats for the Joint List and seven for Ra’am, which would give the so-called “Arab bloc” 18 or 19 seats, according to The Times of Israel. The result would surpass the previous record of 15 seats for Arab-majority parties, set in 2020. Turnout in Arab towns surged: 72.2% in Nazareth, against 48.29% in 2022, and 82% in Rahat, against 60.61%.IsraelElectionsThe Levant https://sagire.online/wire/59c2aa6f/https://sagire.online/wire/59c2aa6f/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:23:00 -0300Jordan declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the shooting at a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, about 180km (110 miles) south of Amman, according to the kingdom's Petra news agency. Gunmen opened fire during the funeral on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, according to authorities cited by the Guardian.JordanThe LevantConflictPublic security https://sagire.online/wire/6cf8244e/https://sagire.online/wire/6cf8244e/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:22:00 -0300Jordan's director of public security, Major General Abdullah Al-Maaytah, said the toll from the shooting at a church in the south of the country had risen to seven dead and 34 wounded, 27 of whom were still receiving treatment, according to The Times of Israel. King Abdullah II said the “terrorist attack against Karak” would be met with “the harshest retaliation”, in an English-language post on X. The gunmen killed at least seven people and wounded dozens in the attack on Friday.JordanThe LevantConflict https://sagire.online/wire/af7fa7a8/https://sagire.online/wire/af7fa7a8/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:21:00 -0300Israeli military forces began on Friday, October 23, an operation to evacuate and demolish homes in the cities of Hebron and Halhul in the West Bank, according to Opera Mundi. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would go house to house and demolish homes in an operation on a scale unseen in the occupied West Bank for decades, according to The Guardian. According to RT, he said he had instructed the security forces to immediately blockade the city of Hebron and prepare to completely blockade the entire area of Judea and Samaria, the Israeli government's designation, from today. The shooting that prompted the response left five Israelis wounded and two suspected Palestinian attackers killed by Israeli security forces, according to Israeli officials cited by the BBC.West BankIsraelThe LevantConflict https://sagire.online/wire/26b72240/https://sagire.online/wire/26b72240/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:24:00 -0300Israeli forces killed a man with a disability during a raid into southern Syria on Thursday, Syrian authorities said, according to the Middle East Eye.SyriaIsraelHuman rightsThe Levant https://sagire.online/wire/13f7b045/https://sagire.online/wire/13f7b045/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 20:23:00 -0300Israel carried out a series of air strikes and explosions in several areas of southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s state National News Agency (NNA), cited by Middle East Eye.LebanonIsraelConflictThe Levant https://sagire.online/wire/d10b0539/https://sagire.online/wire/d10b0539/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 20:23:00 -0300The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is most likely to begin withdrawing from the UN-patrolled so-called Blue Line zone on December 31, 2026. The mission has 7,565 peacekeepers from 46 countries, according to DW. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned of the need to “avert the vacuum that UNIFIL's withdrawal could create, were it to take place without agreement on a new international force to replace it”.LebanonUnited NationsThe LevantConflict https://sagire.online/wire/96abdb99/https://sagire.online/wire/96abdb99/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 08:22:00 -0300US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly held a secret meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, according to the Axios news outlet, cited by The Times of Israel, which spoke to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. The meeting took place at the Ovda airbase in southern Israel, where US fighter jets and refuelers are stationed, the sources said.IsraelUnited StatesThe LevantDefenseDiplomacy