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Lebanon Extends Iran Flight Ban After Israeli ‘Threat,’ Hezbollah Funding Allegations
Supporters of Hezbollah attend a protest organized by them against what they said was a violation of national sovereignty, near Beirut international airport, Lebanon, Feb. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Lebanon’s cabinet on Monday extended a suspension of flights to and from Iran, previously set to expire on Tuesday, with no set date for resumption.
The decision followed Beirut’s barring of an Iranian Mahan Air flight last week. Lebanon’s ban came after Israel accused Tehran of using civilian planes to smuggle cash to Beirut to arm the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah and warned of possible military action against such flights.
In response on Friday, Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in the country, saying it would not allow Lebanese flights to land until its own flights were able to land in Beirut.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that Israel had threatened a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens from Tehran, “which caused a disruption in the country’s normal flights to Beirut airport.” He also condemned the alleged Israeli threat as a violation of international law.
The standoff has left dozens of Lebanese citizens stranded in Iran for days after attending a religious pilgrimage.
In a post on X/Twitter last week, Israel’s military spokesman Avichay Adraee said Iran’s elite Quds Force, which is responsible for overseeing the Iranian regime’s terrorist proxies abroad, and Hezbollah had previously used civilian flights to smuggle arms and money to Beirut.
“The IDF will not allow Hezbollah to arm itself and will use all means at its disposal to enforce the ceasefire understandings in order to ensure the security of the citizens of the State of Israel,” Adraee said.
Sources told the Israeli news outlet Ynet that Israeli intelligence had identified millions of dollars in cash aboard the Iranian aircraft, reportedly intended to help Hezbollah recover from its military losses to Israel over the past year.
The ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon, which was struck in November and stopped a year of fighting between the Jewish state and Hezbollah, stipulates that only “official military and security forces” in Lebanon can carry arms and that the Lebanese government must prevent any transfers of arms or related material to non-state armed groups.
In Lebanon, the flight ban sparked protests from pro-Hezbollah supporters, who blocked roads leading to Beirut’s airport and attacked a UN convoy.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, leader of the Shiite Amal movement and an ally of Hezbollah, called for direct negotiations between Iran and Lebanon to resolve the issue.
“We cannot allow the enemy to dictate our decisions as they are trying to do,” Berri said. “We are not an Israeli colony, and we will not become one.”
Last week, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Joe Raggi told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that his ministry was working to resolve the issue with Iranian counterparts.
On Monday, Israel said it would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the Feb. 18 ceasefire deadline for their withdrawal, as Israeli leaders sought to reassure northern residents that they can return home safely.
Tens of thousands of residents in northern Israel were forced to evacuate their homes last year and in late 2023 amid unrelenting barrages of rockets, missiles, and drones from Hezbollah, which expressed solidarity with Hamas amid the Gaza war.
Last fall, Israel decimated much of Hezbollah’s leadership and military capabilities with an air and ground offensive, which ended with the ceasefire. Under the deal, Israel was given 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon, where the Lebanese army and UN forces are supposed to enter and provide security as Hezbollah disarms and withdraws away from Israel’s northern border.
The post Lebanon Extends Iran Flight Ban After Israeli ‘Threat,’ Hezbollah Funding Allegations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.