BEIRUT: For two days after Israel and the US unleashed their joint aerial assault on Iran on Saturday, many Lebanese allowed themselves to believe that, for once, their country was the safest place to be in the Middle East. That all changed on Monday morning, however, when the Iran-backed Hezbollah unleashed a barrage of drones and rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel, “in retaliation for the pure blood of ... Ayatollah Khamenei” and “in defense of Lebanon and its people.” Israel’s response was as swift as it was predictable.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s leaders reaffirmed neutrality amid US and Israeli strikes on Iran, emphasizing that the country must be shielded from the region’s rapidly deteriorating security…

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah positions across Lebanon on Monday, marking a sharp escalation following the group's first…