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US, Israel Pressure Lebanon as Hezbollah Rebuilds Military Arsenal, Risk of Renewed Conflict Looms
Lebanese army members and residents inspect damage in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon, Feb. 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
With Hezbollah reportedly rebuilding its military arsenal, the United States and Israel are intensifying pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm the terrorist group and establish a state monopoly on weapons, as tensions rise along Lebanon’s southern border and the risk of renewed conflict grows.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that it killed two Hezbollah operatives in separate precision strikes in southern Lebanon. The announcement came one day after the Israeli military said in a statement that it had eliminated four members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.
Last week, Israel launched airstrikes targeting Hezbollah terrorists and operatives responsible for the Islamist group’s logistical network in Lebanon, claiming they were working to rebuild Iran-backed Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Hezbollah was seeking to rearm and that Israel would exercise its right to self-defense under last year’s ceasefire accord if Lebanon, which borders the Jewish state to the north, failed to disarm the Lebanese terrorist group.
“Hezbollah is constantly taking hits, but it’s also trying to rearm and recuperate,” Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting,
“We expect the Lebanese government to uphold its commitments, namely, to disarm Hezbollah. But it’s clear that we’ll exercise our right to self-defense as stipulated in the ceasefire terms,” he said. “We won’t let Lebanon become a renewed front against us, and we’ll do what’s necessary.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israeli Katz expressed similar sentiments, specifically calling out Lebanon’s president.
“Hezbollah is playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet,” Katz said in a statement. “The Lebanese government’s commitment to disarm Hezbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify – we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun last week ordered the army to confront IDF incursions along the southern border, after accusing Israel of hindering prospects for negotiations by escalating its military operations inside the country.
“Lebanon is ready for negotiations to end the Israeli occupation, but any negotiation … requires mutual willingness, which is not the case,” Aoun said Friday during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Beirut.
Israel “is responding to this option by carrying out more attacks against Lebanon … and intensifying tensions,” the Lebanese leader continued.
According to Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, US and Israeli officials have sent a clear message: if Lebanon fails to properly implement the ceasefire agreement and take stronger action to disarm the Iran-backed terrorist group by the end of the year, Israel will continue to step up its operations along the southern border.
“Lebanon prefers to avoid confronting Hezbollah — essentially, it would rather let Israel do the job than have the Lebanese army face the group directly,” Ghaddar told The Algemeiner.
She explained that the Lebanese government has reportedly considered a plan to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River, located roughly 15 miles from the Israeli border, and contain it to northern areas, but noted that such an approach is unlikely to succeed, as Israel will not tolerate the terrorist group’s presence anywhere in the country.
An Israeli official told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel on Sunday that there are “serious estimations” Hezbollah is rebuilding its military capabilities and has smuggled hundreds of short-range missiles from Syria.
“Israel has relayed a message to the Lebanese side that it might again bomb Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah is not disarmed,” the official told Al Arabiya. “We will not allow the rebuilding of the Lebanese villages that lie directly on the northern border.”
The Israeli added that the IDF will continue occupying five Lebanese hilltop locations and has no plans to withdraw in the “foreseeable future.”
Amid rising tensions and increasing chances of renewed conflict with Jerusalem, new reports indicate that Hezbollah has been actively rebuilding its military capabilities, in violation of last year’s ceasefire agreement with the Jewish state.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hezbollah is restocking rockets, anti-tank missiles, and artillery, effectively rebuilding its armaments and battered ranks.
With support from Iran, Hezbollah is intensifying efforts to bolster its military power, including the production and repair of weapons, smuggling of arms and cash through seaports and Syrian routes, recruitment and training, and the use of civilian infrastructure as a base and cover for its operations.
“The Iranians are much more involved in Lebanon today since Nasrallah was killed, because there is no clear leadership,” Ghaddar told The Algemeiner, referring to Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed during last year’s war with Israel.
“It’s more of an Iranian occupation now, not just a proxy influence,” she continued. “The stronger Hezbollah becomes, the weaker Lebanon gets, and the prospects for disarmament and peace will continue to diminish.”
At a conference in Bahrain on Saturday, US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack warned that Hezbollah maintains an estimated 40,000 fighters in the country, along with 15,000 to 20,000 rockets and missiles. He also described Lebanon as a “failed state” and said it probably won’t be able to comply with the US demand that it disarms Hezbollah.
In recent weeks, Israel has conducted strikes targeting Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts, particularly south of the Litani River, where the group’s operatives have historically been most active against the Jewish state.
For years, Israel has demanded that Hezbollah be barred from carrying out activities south of the Litani.
According to Ghaddar, Jerusalem is considering further escalation in Lebanon, but what form that might take remains unclear.
She explained that a new conflict could involve continued strikes against Hezbollah’s arsenal and personnel, or expand to residential areas where the group is hiding strategic weapons.
“Israel has more opportunity to act now because Hezbollah is at its weakest. The terror group is trying to rearm but hasn’t succeeded yet,” Ghaddar told The Algemeiner. “If Israel waits, Hezbollah will only grow stronger.”
Even though the US is giving the Lebanese army until the end of the year to finish operations south of the Litani River and begin moving north, Ghaddar warned that if the government does not start the second phase immediately, Washington could give Israel the green light to take military action.
For the Lebanese government, the challenge is not just stepping up efforts to meet the ceasefire deadline to disarm Hezbollah but also preventing the country from plunging into a civil war.
Hezbollah has repeatedly defied international calls to disarm, even threatening protests and civil unrest if the government tries to enforce control over its weapons.
Last week, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem once again refused to lay down the group’s arms, insisting that its military arsenal is a “legitimate tool for resisting Israel’s occupation and threats.”
Earlier this year, Lebanese officials agreed to a US-backed disarmament plan, which called for the terrorist group to be fully disarmed within four months — by November — in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from the five occupied positions in the country’s southern region.
According to Ghaddar, the main problem is that the Lebanese forces’ plan to disarm Hezbollah lacks a clear timeline.
So far, they have only set a deadline to complete operations south of the Litani River by the end of the year, with the next phase moving north of the river and eventually covering the rest of the country.
“It is definitely unrealistic for the Lebanese army to achieve full disarmament by the end of the year,” Ghaddar said, noting that the subsequent phases, for which they refuse to provide a timeline, could take months or even years.
“The goal should be to reach a better agreement now. The ceasefire was a good start, but it lacked a clear timeline, and Hezbollah is using this period to rearm and rebuild itself militarily, financially, and politically,” she continued.
Ghaddar also said any new agreement should require Lebanon to engage in direct peace negotiations in order to politically weaken Hezbollah and secure an end to the conflict through a negotiated settlement.
In these efforts, she argued that the US could play a central role by pressuring the Lebanese government through sanctions, intensified diplomatic efforts, and conditional support for the Lebanese army to ensure meaningful progress.
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AUDIO: What does the Sydney attack mean for Jews in Australia?
ס׳איז לעצטנס אַרויסגעלאָזט געוואָרן אַ ראַדיאָ־אינטערוויו אויף ייִדיש וועגן דער שחיטה פֿון ייִדן דעם 14טן דעצעמבער, בעת אַ חנוכּה־פֿײַערונג אין באָנדי־ביטש, אויסטראַליע.
פֿופֿצן מענטשן זענען דערהרגעט געוואָרן אין דעם טעראָריסטישן אַטאַק, אַרײַנגערעכנט אַ 37־יאָריקן רבֿ און טאַטע פֿון פֿיר קינדער, ר׳ יעקבֿ לעוויטאַן, און אַ 10־יאָריק מיידעלע.
דעם שמועס, פּראָדוצירט פֿון דער באָסטאָנער ראַדיאָ־פּראָגראַם „דאָס ייִדישע קול“, האָט דער דיקטאָר פֿון דער פּראָגראַם, מאיר דוד, געפֿירט מיטן מעלבורנער ייִדישיסט אַלעקס דאַפֿנער.
דאַפֿנער, אַ ייִדישע ראַדיאָ־פּערזענלעכקייט אין מעלבורן, אַנאַליזירט עטלעכע מעגלעכע סיבות וואָס האָבן מסתּמא אומדירעקט דערפֿירט צו דעם טעראָריסטישן אַטאַק. ער באַשרײַבט אויך די פּאָליטישע שטימונג אין לאַנד לגבי ישׂראל און דעם הײַנטיקן זיכערהייט־מצבֿ פֿאַר די אָרטיקע ייִדן.
The post AUDIO: What does the Sydney attack mean for Jews in Australia? appeared first on The Forward.
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US Education Department’s New Database Reveals Qatar Ranks as Top Foreign Funder of American Universities
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, Dec. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Qatar is the single largest foreign source of funding to American colleges and universities, according to a newly launched public database from the US Department of Education that reveals the scope of overseas influence in US higher education.
The federal dashboard shows Qatar has provided $6.6 billion in gifts and contracts to US universities, more than any other foreign government or entity, outpacing the next highest contributions from Germany ($4.4 billion), England ($4.3 billion), China ($4.1 billion), Canada ($4 billion), and Saudi Arabia ($3.9 billion).
Of the schools that received money from Qatar, Cornell University topped the list with $2.3 billion, followed by Carnegie Mellon University ($1 billion), Texas A&M University ($992.8 million), and Georgetown University ($971.1 million).
The newly publicized figures come as universities nationwide face heightened scrutiny over campus antisemitism, anti-Israel activism, and academic priorities, prompting renewed concerns about foreign influence on American campuses.
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon unveiled the Foreign Gift and Contract transparency portal this week, saying the tool gives taxpayers, lawmakers, and students a clearer view of how billions of dollars from abroad flow into US universities. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, federally funded institutions are legally required to disclose gifts and contracts from foreign sources worth $250,000 or more annually.
“America’s taxpayer funded colleges and universities have both a moral and legal obligation to be fully transparent with the US government and the American people about their foreign financial relationships,” McMahon said in a December statement announcing the formation of the database.
Supporters of the initiative argue the disclosures confirm longstanding concerns that potentially nefarious foreign financial ties may shape academic discourse, research priorities, and campus culture. Those concerns have intensified in the wake of controversies at elite universities over their handling of antisemitism and anti-Israel demonstrations amid the war in Gaza.
The presence of American universities in Qatar has long been controversial, with critics pointing out that the Qatari government has helped fund the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Qatar also hosts several high-ranking Hamas leaders, who often live in luxury outside of Gaza. Some observers argue that the Islamic country curtails academic freedom of American universities.
While universities say the funds support scholarships, research partnerships, and international programs, many critics point to Qatar’s geopolitical record and its ties to Hamas as reason for increased skepticism.
Last month, the Middle East Forum published a report showing the children of the Qatari aristocracy are vastly overrepresented at the Northwestern University campus in Qatar, a fact that, according to the US-based think tank, undermines the school’s mission to foster academic excellence by acting in practice as a “pipeline” for the next generation of a foreign monarchy’s leadership class.
The Middle East Forum released a separate report in May exposing the extent of Qatar’s far-reaching financial entanglements within American institutions, shedding light on what experts described as a coordinated effort to influence US policy making and public opinion in Doha’s favor. The findings showed that Qatar has attempted to expand its soft power in the US by spending $33.4 billion on business and real estate projects, over $6 billion on universities, and $72 million on American lobbyists since 2012.
This effort has focused heavily on higher education.
Beyond the Education Department’s database, a recent report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), for example, found that Qatar has funneled roughly $20 billion into American schools and universities over five decades as part of a coordinated, 100-year project to embed Muslim Brotherhood ideologies in the US.
The 200-page report, unveiled in Washington, DC to members of Congress, chronicled a 50-year effort by Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups to embed themselves in American academia, civil society, and government agencies, exposing what ISGAP called the Brotherhood’s “civilization jihad” strategy, while maintaining an agenda fundamentally at odds with liberal democratic values.
Activists and US lawmakers say the scale of Qatari funding raises legitimate questions about whether foreign donors are influencing Middle East studies programs, faculty hiring, and student activism, even if indirectly.
The new database builds upon a broader effort by the Trump administration to rein in antagonistic foreign influence on American universities.
“Protecting American educational, cultural, and national security interests requires transparency regarding foreign funds flowing to American higher education and research institutions,” US President Donald Trump said in April.
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Candace Owens Posts Kanye West’s Notorious ‘Death Con 3 on Jewish People’ Tweet, Calls It a ‘Vibe’
Right-wing political commentator Candace Owens speaks during an event held by national conservative political movement ‘Turning Point’, in Detroit, Michigan, US, June 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Candace Owens on Wednesday posted a screenshot of Kanye West’s notorious “Death Con 3 on Jewish People” tweet from 2022, calling it a “whole vibe.”
In October 2022, West, the rapper who now goes by Ye, posted on X, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing us I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda [sic].”
There was swift backlash to the post, which was widely perceived as antisemitic. West followed up the tweet with a series of interviews in which he made antisemitic comments such as “Every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.” West, speaking in the voice of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also said, “We have to control the history books, we have to control the banks, and we have to go and kill people.” He later released a song titled “Heil Hitler” in February 2025.
Owens, a popular far-right podcaster, re-upped the initial “death con 3” post this week, writing along with it: “Intercepted an email chain from the Daily Wire, further illuminating their deranged plot against me. After 2 years of dealing with this s–t I just want to respectfully submit that this tweet is a whole vibe. And I’m not sleepy. So I will be responding thoroughly to the DW on today’s show.”
Intercepted an email chain from the Daily Wire, further illuminating their deranged plot against me. After 2 years of dealing with this shit I just want to respectfully submit that this tweet is a whole vibe.
And I’m not sleepy. So I will be responding thoroughly to the DW on… pic.twitter.com/qkCX2p0aQ0
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 7, 2026
The apparent cause of the post was Owens’ escalating feud with Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, a conservative media company for which she used to work until she was fired last year.
Since then, Owens has intensified her rhetoric against Jews and Israel, even admitting in November that she has become “obsessed” with Jews.
In June, she suggested that then New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was an Israeli plant, that Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was lying about being in the Holocaust, and that Israel is the “master of the universe” that plants characters into stories so that it can control them.
In January, Owens attacked the Babylon Bee — a conservative Christian satire organization — for making a joke about her fixation on Jews.
“It’s just very obvious they are worshipping Israel,” Owens said. “That they base their jokes on people who don’t worship Israel and ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu.” She also referred to the Babylon Bee as the “Zionist Bee” and the “Babylonian Talmudic Bee.”
Last July, Owens claimed that the Star of David originated from an evil, child-sacrificing, pagan deity and has only become associated with Judaism within the past few hundred years.
In a June episode, Owens argued that “it seems like our country [the US] is being held hostage by Israel.” She lamented, “I’m going to get in so much trouble for that. I don’t care.”
In the same episode, Owens claimed US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was “wading into some dangerous waters” when, during an interview with host Tucker Carlson, he spoke about how effective the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is at lobbying members of Congress and suggested the group should have to register as a foreign agent that is acting on behalf of Israel.
The reason it was dangerous, Owens said, was because “we know there was once a president that wanted to make AIPAC register, and he ended up shot … so Thomas Massie better be careful.”
Owens was referencing the fact that former US President John F. Kennedy wanted the American Zionist Council, a lobby group, to register as a foreign agent.
However, there is no evidence the group had anything to do with Kennedy’s assassination.
AIPAC is a lobbying group comprised of American citizens that seeks to foster bipartisan support for the US-Israel alliance.
Weeks later, Owens promoted a series of talking points downplaying the atrocities of the Holocaust and said experiments by Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele performed on Jews during World War II sounded “like bizarre propaganda.”