Houthis ‘must not become another Hezbollah’: Saudi crown prince 

Arab News
October 27, 2017

Riyadh, Oct 27: The war in Yemen is about preventing Houthi rebels from turning into another Hezbollah on Saudi Arabia’s southern border, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

“We’re pursuing until we can be sure that nothing will happen there like Hezbollah again, because Yemen is more dangerous than Lebanon,” he told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia made global headlines this week as a conference hosted by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) served as a backdrop to key announcements that have defined a new social and economic course for the country.

The crown prince said the Kingdom’s dispute with neighboring Qatar has not affected investment, adding: “Qatar is a very, very, very small issue.”

Earlier this week, he pledged to return the Kingdom to a moderate past. Meanwhile, new projects such as the $500 billion Neom zone, announced at the Future Investment Initiative, look to a technology-driven future.

The futuristic theme continued on the second day of the conference when the audience was stunned by the appearance of a robot and her witty banter on stage.

Sophia became an overnight social media sensation, giving a “Bladerunner”-inspired face to the Kingdom’s decision to invest in artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy picked up on the crown prince’s comments about extremism when he addressed the conference.

Speaking on the final day of the event in Riyadh, Sarkozy praised the crown prince for his fight against extremism.

Sarkozy said extremists are the biggest problem the world faces today, not Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is accused of meddling in US and European elections.

“The problem in the world is extremism, assassins who kill innocent people. Please could someone explain to me why the problem in the world is Putin?” he added.

More than 4,000 delegates from around the world visited Saudi Arabia for the keenly awaited gathering that some had dubbed “Davos in the Desert.”

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. 

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable. 

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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