Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and its allies lost their parliamentary majority, final elections results showed Tuesday, while more than a dozen independent newcomers gained seats.
Arab and U.S. liberals differ on how to handle Iran and its proxies, writes Firas Maksad. He says reactions to the killing of his friend Lokman Slim, a critic of Hezbollah, are a case in point.
Israel says its Operation Northern Shield will "expose and destroy" a series of tunnels that it says Hezbollah dug into Israel from Lebanon, where the militant group is based.
The Lebanese militant organization says it was insurgent shelling near Damascus International Airport that killed Musrafa Badreddine. But major questions remain about the circumstances of his death.
Mustafa Badreddine is believed to oversee the group's extensive military operations inside Syria since 2011. It's not clear what kind of explosion killed him or who is responsible.
The self-declared Islamic State has purportedly claimed responsibility for two blasts on a busy street. Lebanon's Health Ministry says the attack killed at least 43 people and injured 239 more.
President Bashar Assad has suffered a series of recent military setbacks. But Hezbollah keeps fighting in alliance with Syria's army, and it scored a recent victory along the border with Lebanon.
When a general in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard and several ranking members of Hezbollah were killed Sunday, they were within 10 miles of Israel's northeastern border.
