Hezbollah ‘blocking formation of Lebanon government’

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks during a news conference in Beirut on Nov. 13. (Reuters)
Updated 14 November 2018
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Hezbollah ‘blocking formation of Lebanon government’

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused Hezbollah on Tuesday of blocking the formation of a government after nearly six months of wrangling.

“It’s very regrettable that Hezbollah has put itself in the position of bearing responsibility for hindering the government,” Hariri said.

“I’ve done my job and the government is ready” otherwise, he said.

Hezbollah has pushed for Sunni politicians allied to the militia but opposed to Hariri to be represented in the Cabinet. Hariri has refused to give up a portfolio that would otherwise go to his own party.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday no government would be formed if his Sunni allies were not represented. “The lawmakers have demanded their right to be represented,” he said.

Hezbollah is the only political party not to have disarmed after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, and has backed the Assad regime in the civil war in Syria.

On May 24, after parliamentary elections, President Michel Aoun nominated Hariri for his third term as prime minister and asked him to form a Cabinet. But disputes have dragged out the process, starting with a now resolved argument over Christian representation.

Meanwhile the US State Department on Tuesday declared Nasrallah’s son Jawad Nasrallah a “global terrorist.” It said he was a “rising leader” of the group who had recruited people “to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel.”

The US also maintained its 21-year “foreign terrorist organization” designation of Hezbollah. 

 


Children from Gaza return home after medical treatment in Jordan

Updated 26 February 2026
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Children from Gaza return home after medical treatment in Jordan

  • The group, which included 10 children and 18 members of their families, crossed King Hussein Bridge on the border between Jordan and the West Bank on Wednesday
  • Authorities in Jordan have been organizing medical evacuations from Gaza since March last year

LONDON: A group of Palestinian children are returning home to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordanian hospitals.

The patients, who included 10 children and 18 members of their families, crossed King Hussein Bridge on the border between Jordan and the West Bank on Wednesday, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Jordanian authorities said the group was returning to Gaza after treatment in line with Jordan’s commitment to support for Palestinians and the prevention of displacement from their land.

Jordan has been organizing medical evacuations from Gaza since March last year, during which time 635 children and 1,598 caregivers have been taken to hospitals in Jordan.