Dems split on Israel in failed Lebanon vote - Live Updates - POLITICO

The resolution, offered by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), would have limited the Trump administration’s ability to intervene militarily in Lebanon, where Israel has attacked Hezbollah. It was defeated 189-235. But more than twice as many Democrats backed Tlaib on this second effort in less than a month, with 187 members of her party supporting the resolution versus just 91 four weeks prior. Two Republicans voted for it... 

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/06/30/congress/house-lebanon-democrat-split-00981948 

Israel and Lebanon sign framework agreement with US in ‘first step’ toward peace, Rubio says - POLITICO

The agreement does not include Hezbollah. One of the militant group’s officials in Lebanon warned of civil war...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/26/israel-and-lebanon-sign-framework-agreement-with-us-in-first-step-toward-peace-rubio-says-00978447  

US-Iran talks abruptly called off after Israel and Hezbollah trade deadly attacks

JD Vance’s staff were at an airbase ready to fly to summit in Obbürgen before trip was suddenly cancelled…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/19/us-iran-talks-in-switzerland-cancelled 

Trump to Netanyahu in call on Israel striking Lebanon: "You're fucking crazy"

Trump's anger appeared to be driven by the fact that Netanyahu's decision to escalate in Lebanon was threatening to implode his negotiations with Iran. 

After the call, Trump posted on Truth Social that the Iran talks were "continuing, at a rapid pace."

 https://www.axios.com/2026/06/01/trump-netanyahu-israel-lebanon-call 

Israel escalates strikes in Lebanon as Netanyahu vows to ‘crush’ Hezbollah

The Israeli army has intensified strikes in southern Lebanon, as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to escalate its offensive in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah in a further erosion of an already fragmented ceasefire. 

In turn, Hezbollah said it staged several attacks on Monday on three barracks and a military post in northern Israel “in response to the violation of the ceasefire” by Israel...

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/26/israel-escalates-strikes-in-lebanon-as-netanyahu-vows-to-crush-hezbollah

 

EU’s Kallas urges ‘heavy-handed’ Israel to end strikes in Lebanon – POLITICO

Top diplomat’s criticism comes as Iran threatens to abort a ceasefire deal if Israel doesn’t also stop its attacks against Hezbollah...

 https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-kallas-urges-israel-end-strikes-lebanon/ 

Israel’s plan to expand Lebanon ground campaign fuels fears of prolonged occupation

Israel's announcement on Monday of a ground campaign in new areas of southern Lebanon is fuelling fears of a prolonged occupation among hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese. 

Concerns intensified after Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, drawing comparisons with Gaza, warned displaced Lebanese forced from their homeswould not be allowed to return until the safety of Israelis near the border was guaranteed, remarks that appeared to suggest the presence of Israeli troops could become prolonged...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/16/israel-expansion-lebanon-ground-campaign-fears-prolonged-occupation

 

Entire families wiped out and towns emptied as Israel’s war on Lebanon intensifies

Communities displaced and destroyed while death toll rises faster than during any previous war in Lebanon…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/14/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-war-deaths

 

Opinion | America’s forgotten billionaires are at last given voice by Trump - The Washington Post

Members of the reality-based community might have noticed that Trump did not do any of these things but rather is claiming credit for the Biden administration's accomplishments. 

• Illegal crossings along the southern border are now lower than they were at the end of Trump's first term. (And Mexico's president, contrary to Trump's claim, said, "We reiterate that Mexico's position is not to close borders.") 
• It was the Biden administration that brokered the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. 
• Opioid deaths have been dropping at the fastest rate ever and are at or below levels seen at this point in Trump's first term. (And Canada's public safety minister describes the country's offer to Trump to boost border security measures as a "reassurance exercise" because "we believe that the border is secure.") 
• As for the stock market, the S&P 500 hit 47 record highs this year before Election Day...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/06/trump-billionaires-mothers-musk-hegseth/

Cattle, crops and ancient olive groves: Lebanon’s farmers ‘lose everything’ to Israeli bombs

Thousands of hectares of fertile land, including olive trees that have survived for millennia, have been destroyed in the country's agricultural heartland…

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/nov/12/cattle-crops-and-ancient-olive-groves-lebanons-farmers-lose-everything-to-israeli-bombs  

How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse: Exploding Pagers - The New York Times

The Israeli government did not tamper with the Hezbollah phones that exploded, defense and intelligence officials say. It manufactured them as part of an elaborate ruse...

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/world/middleeast/israel-exploding-pagers-hezbollah.html

Netanyahu says attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon ‘not the end of the story’

Israeli air raids on rocket sites are part of dangerous rise in hostilities, increasing fears a major conflict could erupt

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/25/netanyahu-says-attacks-on-hezbollah-in-lebanon-not-the-end-of-the-story

Israel and Hezbollah have escalated attacks on each other. How likely is war? (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)

Hezbollah, the militant group based in Lebanon, shares Hamas’ goal of destroying the state of Israel. New Yorker writer Dexter Filkins talks about his reporting trip to the Lebanese/Israeli border.

Interview: 

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/25/g-s1-13320/israel-and-hezbollah-have-escalated-attacks-on-each-other-how-likely-is-war

Tensions flare between Israel and Hezbollah over disputed gas fields - The Washington Post

"War is much more honorable than the situation Lebanon is heading to now — collapse and starvation."…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/13/israel-lebanon-border-threat/

Israeli think tank: Don’t destroy ISIS; it’s a “useful tool” against Iran, Hezbollah, Syria

According to a think tank that does contract work for NATO and the Israeli government, the West should not destroy ISIS, the fascist Islamist extremist group that is committing genocide and ethnically cleansing minority groups in Syria and Iraq.

Why? The so-called Islamic State “can be a useful tool in undermining” Iran, Hezbollah, Syria and Russia, argues the think tank’s director.

“The continuing existence of IS serves a strategic purpose,” wrote Efraim Inbar in “The Destruction of Islamic State Is a Strategic Mistake,” a paper published on Aug. 2....
http://www.salon.com/2016/08/23/israeli-think-tank-dont-destroy-isis-its-a-useful-tool-against-iran-hezbollah-syria/