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Naim Qassem will replace Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in September

Hezbollah elects Naim Qassem to succeed Nasrallah

Lebanon's Hezbollah has elected its deputy secretary general Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the group's headquarters in Beirut in September.

Middle East • 29 Oct 24

Israeli politicians voted to ban UN relief agency UNRWA from operating inside Israel

Taoiseach condemns Israeli bill banning aid agency UNRWA

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said all United Nations member states should condemn legislation passed by the Israeli parliament that bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from working in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Middle East • 28 Oct 24

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Saida area, next to southern Lebanese city of Sidon

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon kill at least 11

An Israeli strike on Sidon, a city in coastal south Lebanon, has killed at least eight people and wounded 25, the country's health ministry has said, while elsewhere in the south a strike on Zawtar al-Sharkiya killed three people.

Middle East • 27 Oct 24

A car marked "Press" at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted where a number of journalists were located in the southern Lebanon

Israel claims strike that killed reporters 'under review'

The Israeli army has claimed that a strike that killed three journalists in south Lebanon was "under review", maintaining that it had targeted Hezbollah militants.

Middle East • 25 Oct 24

As it happened: Israel, Hamas signal openness to talks

Follow developments as pressure mounts on leaders to arrange talks to restart Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Middle East • 24 Oct 24

Micheál Martin is one of 70 delegates at the International Conference in Support of Lebanon's People and Sovereignty in Paris (File image)

Tánaiste pledges €5m in funding for Lebanon

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has told an international donor conference for Lebanon in Paris that Israel must be held accountable for any breaches of international law.

Middle East • 24 Oct 24

Hashem Safieddine was likely to replace Hassan Nasrallah as leader of Hezbollah

Hezbollah confirms Israel killed next likely leader

The Israeli military said it had killed the cleric tipped to succeed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on Beirut three weeks ago that targeted commanders of the Iran-backed militant group.

Middle East • 23 Oct 24

Destruction caused as a result of the Israeli airstrike that targeted the vicinity of Rafik Hariri University Hospital in southern Beirut

UN demand 'prompt' probe into strike near Beirut hospital

The UN rights chief has said he is "appalled" by a deadly Israeli strike near a south Beirut hospital, demanding a "prompt and thorough investigation".

Middle East • 22 Oct 24

Smoke rises from areas targeted by an Israeli air strike in Beirut's southern suburbs

Four killed in Israeli strike near Beirut public hospital

Four people have been killed and 24 injured after an Israeli strike hit an area near Beirut's Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the Lebanese health ministry has said.

Middle East • 21 Oct 24

The aftermath of an airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs

Israel 'deliberately' damaged tower in Lebanon - UNIFIL

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon has said the Israeli army "deliberately" damaged one of their positions in southern Lebanon, in the latest incident reported by the force that remains deployed in all positions.

Middle East • 20 Oct 24

Israel began regular strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs about three weeks ago

Pentagon chief calls on Israel to curtail Beirut strikes

The United States would like to see Israel scale back some of its strikes in and around the Lebanese capital of Beirut, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said, adding the number of civilian casualties was "far too high".

Middle East • 19 Oct 24

Nour Shawaf works with Oxfam as its Regional Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor

'Terrified every second of the day' - mother in Lebanon

Israeli operations are also continuing in Lebanon where aid agencies are coming under severe pressure. Among those is a humanitarian worker with Oxfam Nour Shawaf, writes Cian McCormack.

Middle East • 18 Oct 24

Palestinians, who took refuge at Nuseirat refugee camp due to Israeli attacks, wait in queue to receive food in Gaza city

Netanyahu promises more war, Hezbollah vows retaliation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's has vowed to press on with Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon, dashing hopes that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might help end more than a year of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Middle East • 18 Oct 24

As it happened: Israel announces death of Hamas leader

Read back through all of today's developments in the Middle East as the Israeli Foreign Minister announced the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Israel has accused of masterminding the group's attack on 7 October last year.

Middle East • 17 Oct 24

Imagery used during verification and geolocation processes

Irish UNIFIL area: How journalists monitor events in a war zone

As the conflict in Lebanon ramps up, Irish peacekeepers are caught between two warring parties. With independent information difficult to ascertain, media monitoring and verification have become crucial to the reporting process.

Prime Time • 17 Oct 24

The Israeli military said it had killed Yahya Sinwar in an operation in southern Gaza yesterday

Hamas leader Sinwar killed by Israeli troops in Gaza

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war, has been killed by Israeli forces in the Palestinian enclave, Israel has said.

Middle East • 17 Oct 24

Widespread damage following Israeli attack on Nabatieh in Lebanon

Israeli strike kills 16, including mayor, in Lebanon

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the municipal headquarters in a major town in south Lebanon, killing 16 people including the mayor, in the biggest attack on an official Lebanese state building since the Israeli air campaign began.

Middle East • 17 Oct 24

As it happened: Beirut airport security tightened

Follow developments in the Middle East as the UN Human Rights Office calls for an investigation into an Israeli strike on a town in north Lebanon.

Middle East • 15 Oct 24

At least 21 people were killed in an airstrike in the Christian-majority northern town of Aitou

Increasing tension between Israel and UNIFIL

Israel has expanded its targets in its war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, killing at least 21 people in an airstrike in the north, health officials said, while millions of Israelis took shelter from projectiles fired back across the border.

Middle East • 15 Oct 24

As it happened: 21 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Coverage of all today's developments in the Middle East as Taoiseach Simon Harris raised his "serious concern" about the situation in Lebanon in a phone call with Israeli President Issac Herzog.

Middle East • 14 Oct 24

UNIFIL vehicles patrol in Marjayoun in southern Lebanon on 12 October

Israeli minister denounces UNIFIL as fighting rages

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen has accused the United Nations' UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon of being a "useless" force that failed to protect Israelis from Hezbollah attacks and called on it to withdraw as fighting ramps up.

Middle East • 14 Oct 24

Lebanon's Health Ministry reported 22 people killed and 117 wounded in the airstrike on central Beirut

Southern EU states call for Middle East ceasefire

Leaders from nine European countries around the Mediterranean have called for an end to fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.

Middle East • 11 Oct 24

People conduct searches in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Nowayri neighburhodd of Beirut in Lebanon

Israeli strikes kill 22, injure 117 in central Beirut

Israeli strikes on central Beirut have killed 22 people and wounded at least 117, Lebanon's health ministry said, as a Lebanese security source said at least one senior Hezbollah figure was targeted in the attacks.

Middle East • 10 Oct 24

As it happened: Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' crisis

Follow developments in the Middle East as Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli forces near the Lebanese border as sirens sounded in northern Israel.

Middle East • 09 Oct 24

A building hit by Israeli air strikes in Baalbek, Lebanon

Hezbollah says it pushes back Israelis at Lebanese border

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said its fighters had pushed back advancing Israeli forces in clashes along the length of the border, including in a village where Israeli troops had been filmed hoisting an Israeli flag.

Middle East • 09 Oct 24