DUBAI: Al-Arabiya news channel has shut down its offices in Lebanon, it said on Friday, in a new sign of tensions with the Iran-backed sectarian movement, Hezbollah.
The Beirut offices of Al-Arabiya and its sister channel Al-Hadath, which offers extensive coverage of political news, have been closed and they no longer have any correspondents in Lebanon, a spokesman told AFP. In a statement, the Dubai-based channel said it has “restructured” its operations in Lebanon “due to the difficult circumstances and challenges on ground, and out of Al-Arabiya’s concern for the safety of its own employees and those employed by its providers.” It said it would nonetheless “continue to closely cover Lebanese affairs.”
The channel said it would help employees affected by the decision to find jobs elsewhere with Al-Arabiya or its providers.
Those dismissed would be given “their full legitimate rights” and “other exceptional grants.”
Lebanon’s National News Agency said the decision would affect 27 employees.
In the lobby of the Al-Arabiya offices in downtown Beirut, half a dozen security guards stood watching as employees left the building for the last time.
One security guard was changing the lock on the office door, an AFP photographer said.
Al-Arabiya shuts down Lebanon offices due to ‘difficult circumstances’
Al-Arabiya shuts down Lebanon offices due to ‘difficult circumstances’
UN Palestinian refugee agency says demolished HQ set on fire
- UNRWA described the blaze as part of an “ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestine Refugees”
- Its compound in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem has been empty of staff since January 2025
JERUSALEM: The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday that its partially demolished headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem was set on fire.
The agency, UNRWA, did not offer details on the cause of the incident at their premises, which Israeli authorities seized and began dismantling last week after banning the organization from operating in the country in 2025.
“After having been stormed and demolished by the Israeli authorities, the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem has now been set on fire,” the agency said in a statement.
It described the blaze as part of an “ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestine Refugees.”
The fire and rescue service said early Sunday that it had responded to a call at the facility, where it was working to “extinguish the blaze and prevent it from spreading,” also without offering a cause.
The UN had slammed last week’s seizure and demolitions, and UNRWA insisted that its property remained protected by the privileges and immunities of the UN, a view it repeated on Sunday.
“Like any UN Member State anywhere in the world, without exception, Israel is legally obliged to protect and respect UN facilities,” UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told AFP on Sunday.
UNRWA was created specifically for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced during the creation of Israel in 1948, and provides refugee status registration and health and education services.
Its compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been empty of staff since January 2025, when the law banning its operations took effect.
Israel accuses UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, and a series of investigations found “neutrality-related issues” at the agency but held that Israel had not provided conclusive evidence.
UNRWA still operates in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
