New York Times

NEW YORK:&nbsp;A founding principle of the United States, enshrined in its constitution&rsquo;s opening amendment, is that the republic depends on citizens&rsquo; freedom to disagree with one another. They need to be able to do so intensely, on matters of life and death, including war and divisive modern issues like abortion, gun safety and health insurance.&nbsp; There are limits to free speech, yes, but they involve edge cases, like falsely shouting fire in a theater or inciting an imminent act of violence. If the American ideal of freedom means anything, it is that Americans can engage in an extremely wide range of political speech, including the tasteless and the offensive. The US President Trump is himself a purveyor of tasteless and even threatening language, speaking in ways that no previous president did.&nbsp;Yet his own exercise of his First Amendment rights&mdash;the constitutional protections guaranteeing freedom of speech&mdash;has not stopped him from encroaching on those of others.&nbsp;He has punished universities, immigrants, law firms, federal prosecutors, military leaders, national security officials and others for voicing opinions with which he disagrees. Now he is taking his campaign against free speech to a new level by using the assassination of Charlie Kirk as a justification to promise the repression of groups that he describes as liberal. Mr. Trump&rsquo;s aides are drafting an executive order that could come as soon as this week, The Times reported, and it will most likely target left-leaning organizations. On Monday, the country&#39;s&nbsp;Vice President JD Vance mentioned both the Ford Foundation and George Soros&rsquo;s Open Society Foundations, saying that they benefited from a &ldquo;generous tax treatment,&rdquo; the same tax treatment that benefits nonprofit groups like religious charities and the National Rifle Association Foundation. The intimidation campaign is already having an effect. Federal officials have urged companies to fire workers who have criticized Mr. Kirk, and some have done so. In a direct exercise of government influence, Brendan Carr, the chairman of the F.C.C., threatened Disney for remarks that Jimmy Kimmel made on his late-night ABC show. &ldquo;We can do this the easy way or the hard way,&rdquo; Mr. Carr said. He also urged television stations to stop broadcasting the show. Two major station owners quickly did so, and ABC has suspended the show indefinitely. As we wrote last week, we are horrified by the killing of Mr. Kirk, and we mourn his death. The evidence suggests that he was murdered for his views, which is the most fundamental violation of free-speech principles. We vehemently disagree with people who suggested that Mr. Kirk bore any responsibility for his own shooting. As Spencer Cox, Utah&rsquo;s Republican governor, said afterward: &ldquo;We need more moral clarity right now. I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence.&rdquo; Yet it is the Trump administration, not the left, now violating Mr. Cox&rsquo;s standard. Mr. Trump&rsquo;s promised crackdown depends on the false premise that liberal and nonpartisan groups are part of a far-left conspiracy that promotes violence against conservatives. In truth, the country has experienced a surge of political violence and plots that have targeted both Democrats and Republicans, including Mr. Kirk, Mr. Trump, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and two state legislators in Minnesota. As this list suggests, the highest-profile targets show no clear partisan pattern. Mr. Trump and his aides tell a very different story &mdash; and a false one. They claim that political violence comes mostly from the left. &ldquo;The radicals on the left are the problem,&rdquo; the president said last week. In fact, multiple data sources show that neither side has a monopoly on political violence, but it is more likely to come from the right. Between 2015 and 2024, 54 percent of ideologically connected killings were committed by people on the far right, according to the Anti-Defamation League. By comparison, 8 percent came from the political left. Conservatives and progressives alike should reflect on whether the nasty and often personal rhetoric of today&rsquo;s politics may have contributed to an atmosphere in which unstable or angry people become more likely to commit violence. Still, even that scenario is very different from one in which political groups are organizing and helping commit the violence. There is zero evidence that left-wing groups played a role in Mr. Kirk&rsquo;s killing or in other recent violence against Republicans. &ldquo;Absent additional facts, there was one person responsible for Charlie Kirk&rsquo;s assassination,&rdquo; Mike Pence, Mr. Trump&rsquo;s former vice president, pointed out on Thursday. If anything, many elected Democrats and prominent progressives have clearly and consistently condemned Mr. Kirk&rsquo;s killing in ways that prominent Republicans failed to do after attacks on Democrats. After the attack at Ms. Pelosi&rsquo;s home, which included a brutal assault of her husband, Paul, Mr. Trump himself and other prominent Republicans mocked the victim and spread absurd conspiracies that the episode was staged. After the shooting of two Democratic legislators and their spouses in Minnesota, Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, bizarrely blamed &ldquo;Marxists,&rdquo; while Laura Loomer, an influential Trump confidante, falsely blamed &ldquo;goons&rdquo; working for Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota Democrat. These are terrible things to say. They are not crimes, however, and they are certainly not grounds for a government crackdown against conservative groups. The Trump administration is now targeting other groups for lesser sins and maybe no sins at all. Mr. Vance&rsquo;s specific (and tenuous ) claim about the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations was that they helped to fund The Nation, which published an article lambasting Mr. Kirk after his death. If that article &mdash; whatever you think of it &mdash; is grounds for government punishment, the First Amendment has no meaning. We urge Mr. Trump and his aides to remember the free-speech criticisms that they and other conservatives have often made of progressives over the past decade. Republicans have excoriated the left for its attempts to conflate personal safety with contestable ideas and to quash political expression on Covid-19, race, trans issues and other subjects. Conservatives have been correct about some of these excesses, too. In his Inaugural Address in January, Mr. Trump promised to &ldquo;bring back free speech to America.&rdquo; Mr. Vance, while speaking in Munich in February, excoriated European countries for restricting speech and promised, &ldquo;Under Donald Trump&rsquo;s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.&rdquo; Instead of living up to these principles, the Trump administration and its allies are attempting to restrict speech in ways that are more extreme than anything that Democrats have done. Stephen Miller, a top White House aide, has claimed the existence of a &ldquo;vast domestic terror movement&rdquo; on the left and denigrated the Democratic Party as a &ldquo;domestic extremist organization.&rdquo; Attorney General Pam Bondi has suggested that a business that refused to print signs promoting vigils for Mr. Kirk deserved to be prosecuted. Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana called for permanent social-media bans on &ldquo;every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.&rdquo; Mr. Higgins, it is worth noting, is one of the congressmen who previously criticized social-media companies for suppressing conservative speech &mdash; and who belittled the attack on Mr. Pelosi. If Mr. Trump refuses to stand up for the basic American right to disagree without fear of oppression, others still can. An executive order that follows through on the threats that he and his aides have made would be clearly unconstitutional. And it would deserve an immediate injunction from the federal courts and a swift rejection from the Supreme Court. The ability to disagree with other people on raw, difficult issues, without fear of repression, is the essence of American freedom.

 President Donald Trump speaking to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

Articles

Although Trump frequently uses offensive language himself, he has aggressively punished others—from universities to officials—who express views he opposes.

The Trump administration’s controversial approach to free speech enforcement

WASHINGTON: The release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas is imminent, US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday, while vowing that the Trump administration would apply all necessary pressure to ensure future stability in Gaza. &quot;It really should be any moment now,&quot; the vice president told NBC News&#39; &quot;Meet the Press&quot; when asked about the timing for the release of the hostages by Hamas. He added later on ABC&#39;s &quot;This Week&quot;: &quot;We expect to see them alive here in the next 24 hours, probably early tomorrow morning, US time, which will be later in the day, of course, in Israel.&quot; Asked on CBS&#39;s &quot;Face the Nation&quot; whether Washington is committed to continuing to apply pressure to stabilize the Middle East, Vance said: &quot;It is going to take consistent leverage and consistent pressure from the president of the United States on down.&quot; Speaking on a succession of Sunday morning talk shows, Vance also stressed that 200 American troops being deployed to Israel would be responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in Gaza and were never intended for any sort of combat role. Vance added that US troops will not be deployed on the ground in Palestinian territory. &quot;That&#39;s everything from ensuring that the Israeli troops are at the agreed-upon line, ensuring that Hamas is not attacking innocent Israelis, doing everything that they can to ensure the peace that we&#39;ve created, actually sustains and endures,&quot; Vance said on ABC. &quot;But the idea that we&#39;re going to have troops on the ground in Gaza, in Israel, that that is not our intention, that is not our plan.&quot;

Americas

Middle East

US Vice President JD Vance said the release of remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas is imminent, adding that 200 U.S. troops in Israel will monitor the Gaza ceasefire but won’t take part in combat

Vance says Israel hostages could be freed 'any moment'

Asfandyar Yahya

From a 1907 invention that promised a modern miracle to a global crisis choking our planet. This is the story of plastic. How it changed everything, how it trapped us, and how innovators in Pakistan are fighting back with recycled roads, eco-bricks, and smarter solutions. This weeks &ldquo;Tell Me Why&rdquo; unpacks the rise, ruin, and rethinking of the material that defines our age.

Tell Me Why

Tell me why - We built a Plastic World

Rome: Zinedine Zidane confirmed Sunday he would one day like to coach the France national team, but did not say if he was hoping to take over from outgoing boss Didier Deschamps.&nbsp;Zidane, who scored twice in France&#39;s 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil, led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in his only previous senior head coaching role.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m sure I&#39;ll get back into coaching,&quot; Zidane said at an event organised by Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m not saying it&#39;s going to happen now, what I want one day is to coach the national team.&quot;&nbsp;The 53-year-old is the favourite to take over from Deschamps when the 2018 World Cup-winning coach steps down after next year&#39;s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.&nbsp;&quot;The most important thing is to have a passion for football and to want to pass on something to your players, what you have in you, deep within you,&quot; added Zidane, whose second spell in charge of Real Madrid ended in 2021.&nbsp;&quot;A coach has an important role in the success of his team. In my opinion his energy and desire are 80 percent of whether things go well.&quot;

Football

Zinedine Zidane confirmed his desire to coach France’s national team someday, expressing passion for football and leadership.

Zidane confirms ambition to coach France

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: &nbsp;Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Egypt on Monday to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit, a high-stakes gathering aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza and launching a new era of regional stability. Hosted jointly by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, the summit will bring together leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world alongside the United States to endorse a peace agreement that diplomats describe as &ldquo;a turning point for the Middle East.&rdquo; According to a statement from Pakistan&rsquo;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, &ldquo;Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the signing ceremony of the peace agreement aimed at ending the prevailing grave situation in Gaza.&rdquo; He will be accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, as well as senior cabinet members. The Ministry noted that the summit &ldquo;is the culmination of diplomatic efforts that began on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month,&rdquo; where Pakistan joined leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and T&uuml;rkiye in talks with President Trump. &ldquo;Prime minister&rsquo;s participation in the Summit reflects Pakistan&rsquo;s historic, consistent, and unwavering support for the just cause of the Palestinian people,&rdquo; the statement added. Islamabad expressed optimism that the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit &ldquo;will pave the way for full Israeli withdrawal, protection of Palestinian civilians, and reconstruction of Gaza.&rdquo; Pakistan reaffirmed that peace in the Middle East must rest on &ldquo;a credible political process aimed at achieving an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,&rdquo; in line with UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. The summit is widely seen as a crucial test of renewed international cooperation for lasting peace in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian supporters wave flags as they wait for the arrival of South African activists at OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park

Foreign Affairs

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt alongside global leaders, aiming to push for a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, and Palestinian statehood under pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital

 Pakistan to join global push for historic Gaza peace summit in Egypt

ANTANANARIVO: Madagascar&#39;s presidency said on Sunday that an attempt to grab power by force was underway in the African nation as more soldiers joined a youth-led protest movement that has rocked the former French colony for more than two weeks. Troops from the elite CAPSAT unit that helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup, urged fellow soldiers to disobey orders on Saturday and back the youth-led protests, which began on September 25 and pose the most serious challenge to Rajoelina&#39;s rule since his reelection in 2023. CAPSAT officers said on Sunday they had command over the country&#39;s security operations and would coordinate all branches of the military from their base on the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo. They said they had appointed General Demosthene Pikulas as head of the army. A unit of the paramilitary gendarmerie, which had so far tackled the protests together with the police, also broke ranks with the government on Sunday. &quot;All use of force and any improper behaviour towards our fellow citizens are prohibited, as the gendarmerie is a force meant to protect people and not to defend the interests of a few individuals,&quot; the Intervention Forces of the National Gendarmerie said in a statement broadcast on Real TV. It said it was coordinating with the CAPSAT headquarters. The Defence Ministry and the military general staff declined to comment. A Reuters witness saw three people injured after shots were fired along a road to the CAPSAT barracks on Sunday. Other witnesses said there was no sign of ongoing clashes. In a statement on the presidency&#39;s official social media account, Rajoelina&#39;s office said &quot;an attempted illegal and forcible seizure of power&quot; was underway, adding that the president had urged &quot;dialogue to resolve the crisis&quot;. Rajoelina&#39;s whereabouts were unknown on Sunday, but late on Saturday his office said he and the prime minister were &quot;fully in control of the nation&#39;s affairs&quot;. Gen Z protesters want president to step down The protests, inspired by Gen Z-led movements in Kenya and Nepal, began over water and electricity shortages but have since spread, with demonstrators calling for Rajoelina to step down, apologise for violence against protesters, and dissolve the Senate and electoral commission. Some demonstrators have been sporting T-shirts and flags with the same symbol - a skull with a straw hat from the Japanese manga series &quot;One Piece&quot; - used by youth-led demonstrators in countries including Indonesia and Peru. Thousands of protesters gathered in Antananarivo on Sunday to protest against the government and pay tribute to a slain CAPSAT soldier, whom the army unit said was killed by the gendarmerie on Saturday. The peaceful gathering was attended by church leaders and opposition politicians, including former President Marc Ravalomanana, as well as CAPSAT troops. Madagascar, a country where the median age is less than 20, has a population of about 30 million - three-quarters of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank. A video broadcast by local media showed dozens of soldiers leaving the barracks on Saturday to escort thousands of protesters into the May 13 Square in Antananarivo, the scene of many political uprisings, which had been heavily guarded and off limits during the unrest. The African Union Commission&#39;s chief Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called for calm and restraint. Citing the security situation on the ground, Air France-KLM&#39;s AIRF.PA French division suspended flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Antananarivo from October 11 to October

Protesters cheer members of the Madagascar military behind a fence during a nationwide youth-led demonstration over frequent power outages and water shortages, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, October 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Africa

Madagascar faces an attempted coup as elite soldiers join youth protests demanding President Rajoelina’s resignation amid unrest, with calls for dialogue and flight suspensions.

Madagascar president warns of coup attempt as more soldiers join protests

JERUSALEM: Israel plans to destroy what remains of Hamas&#39;s network of tunnels under Gaza, working with US approval after its hostages are freed, it said Sunday.&nbsp;Defence Minister Israel Katz said the operation would be conducted under an &quot;international mechanism&quot; led by the United States, sponsor of the three-day-old Gaza ceasefire.&nbsp;&quot;Israel&#39;s great challenge after the hostage release phase will be the destruction of all Hamas terrorist tunnels in Gaza,&quot; Katz said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;I have ordered the army to prepare to carry out this mission.&quot;&nbsp;Katz said the remainder would be destroyed under the framework of Hamas&#39;s disarming and demilitarisation, foreseen in the next stages of the US-backed ceasefire plan.&nbsp;Hamas has agreed to the first stage of the plan, which led to a ceasefire on Friday and on Monday should see the release of 48 Israeli hostages, living and dead.&nbsp;In exchange, Israel is expected to release 250 &quot;national security prisoners&quot;, including several blamed for deadly attacks, and 1,700 Gazans detained by the military.&nbsp;But Hamas has resisted calls to disarm, and on Sunday senior official Hossam Badran told AFP the second phase of the US plan &quot;contains many complexities and difficulties&quot;.

Israel plans to destroy what remains of Hamas's network of tunnels under Gaza, Hamas has agreed to the first stage of the plan, which led to a ceasefire on Friday.

Israel vows to destroy Gaza tunnels once hostages free

WUHAN: Coco Gauff overcame Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday to clinch the third WTA 1000 title of her career in an all-American final at the Wuhan Open.&nbsp;The third-seeded Gauff secured the trophy without dropping a set after a 1hr 42min battle in the central Chinese city.&nbsp;In the first final between the former doubles partners, Gauff erased multiple deficits in the second set to improve her head-to-head record against Pegula to 3-4.&nbsp;The 21-year-old in the process became the first player in the Open Era to win her first nine hard-court finals.&nbsp;The pair had contrasting routes to the final with Gauff breezing dropping a mere 16 games while Pegula battled through three-setters in all eight of her previous matches.&nbsp;Gauff won the first six points of the match and it set the tone for what was to come, as she leapt to a 3-0 advantage.&nbsp;Pegula recovered from her slow start and went on the attack in game seven, breaking with a fierce backhand winner that helped her get back on level terms at 4-4.&nbsp;It looked like the sixth seed had swung the momentum her way but Gauff found a tiny opening two games later and broke to secure the opening set in 47 minutes.&nbsp;Pegula had come back from 2-5 down in her deciding set against world number one Aryna Sabalenka the day before and was more than ready for another fightback.&nbsp;Gauff has been reworking her serve with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan since the end of August.&nbsp;And while her numbers have improved since she added him to her team, the shot remains susceptible to ebbs and flows during stressful situations.&nbsp;The world number three double-faulted six times, allowing Pegula to break her twice for a 3-0 lead, then steadied the ship by getting both breaks back to draw level.&nbsp;There was another exchange of breaks, Pegula inching ahead with a cunning drop shot and Gauff pegging her back thanks to winning 10 consecutive points.&nbsp;Shortly after, Gauff raised her arms in celebration as a Pegula volley sailed wide on match point.

Tennis

Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 in the Wuhan Open final, claiming her third WTA 1000 title. Gauff rallied from multiple deficits, showcasing resilience and strong returns to win without dropping a set.

Gauff beats Pegula in straight sets to win Wuhan Open

LAHORE: Pakistan rode on a brilliant 93 from Imam-ul-Haq to reach 313-5 after a brief fightback from South Africa on the opening day of the first Test in Lahore on Sunday.&nbsp;Shan Masood hit 76, but Haq missed out on his hundred as Pakistan slumped to 199-5 as four wickets fell quickly.&nbsp;Mohammad Rizwan, 62 not out, and Salman Agha, unbeaten 52 at the close, rebuilt the innings during an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 114 in the final session on a spin-friendly Gaddafi Stadium pitch.&nbsp;Rizwan hit two fours and two sixes in his 12th Test half-century while Agha had two fours and a six in reaching his 10th fifty.&nbsp;Pakistan dominated most of the first two sessions, but then had a mini-collapse from 163-1 to 199-5 as they lost four wickets for 36 runs, the last three without adding a run either side of the tea interval.&nbsp;Spinner Prenelan Subrayen trapped Masood lbw for 76, including nine fours and a six, to end a 161-run stand with Haq.&nbsp;Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy then had Haq caught at short-leg by Tony de Zorzi, after a 236-minute knock that included seven fours and a six.&nbsp;Next ball, the last before tea , Muthusamy had Saud Shakeel caught and bowled to bring South Africa back into the game at 199-4.&nbsp;Local hero Babar Azam fell for 23, trapped leg-before by off-spinner Simon Harmer after the interval to make it 199-5 and leave a good 10,000 holiday crowd disappointed.&nbsp;South Africa could have been in a better position had they not dropped Masood on 61 and Haq on 72 with Subrayen the unlucky bowler on both occasions.&nbsp;With the pitch likely to turn, Masood opted to bat after winning the toss and named specialist spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan in the team&nbsp;Pakistan lost opener Abdullah Shafique leg before to pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada off the third ball of the day.&nbsp;South African captain Aiden Markram turned to his spinners in the sixth over and by lunch had used all three -- Subrayen, Harmer and Muthusamy.&nbsp;But there were no further dramas in the opening session as Pakistan reached 107-1 at lunch after Haq had brought up his 10th Test fifty.&nbsp;The two-match series is part of the new World Test Championship two-year cycle. South Africa won the title by beating Australia in June.

Cricket

Pakistan reached 313-5 on day one of the Lahore Test against South Africa, led by Imam-ul-Haq’s 93 and a 114-run stand between Rizwan (62*) and Agha (52*) after a mid-innings collapse from 163-1 to 199-5.

Pakistan recover to 313-5 after South Africa strike back in first Test

MADRID: Israel has released the five remaining Spanish detainees from flotillas it blocked while they were carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists to devastated Gaza, sources at Spain&#39;s foreign ministry said on Sunday. Israel has this month intercepted in international waters two flotillas aiming to break its blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine after two years of brutal conflict. Israel arrested the crews, with Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg among the dozens of activists of various nationalities, sparking huge protests in Europe. Israel has been releasing them over recent days, with Spanish foreign ministry sources saying: &quot;The last five members of the flotilla held by Israel are now on their way to Spain.&quot; Among them is a member of the first flotilla who was not included in a first wave of releases after allegedly biting an Israeli prison officer. &quot;There are no more Spaniards from the flotilla detained in Israel,&quot; the ministry sources added. Almost 50 other Spanish flotilla members had returned home during the past week. The activists have complained of mistreatment during their detention in Israel. Israeli authorities have denied the allegations.

Europe

Israel released the last five detained Spanish flotilla members aiming to break Gaza’s blockade, ending Spain’s detentions amid protests and claims of mistreatment.

Spain says Israel frees its last Gaza flotilla members

BEIRUT: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Sunday that one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country&#39;s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been working with the Lebanese army to support a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah that culminated in two months of open war. &quot;Just before noon yesterday, an Israeli drone dropped a grenade that exploded near a UNIFIL position&quot; in Kfar Kela, the force said in a statement published on Sunday. &quot;One peacekeeper was lightly injured and received medical assistance.&quot; Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped multiple grenades near peacekeepers providing security for workers clearing rubble left over from the war. And in a similar episode in September, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped four grenades near peacekeepers, with Israel insisting at the time that there had been &quot;no intentional fire&quot; directed at the force. UNIFIL said Saturday&#39;s incident represented &quot;another serious violation of resolution 1701 and concerning disregard for the safety of peacekeepers&quot;. UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and formed the basis of the November ceasefire. Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, while UNIFIL deployed there alongside the Lebanese military, in part to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon on what it says are Hezbollah targets despite the truce, and has maintained its troops in five locations it deems strategic. &quot;We again call on the (Israeli army) to cease attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to rebuild the stability that both Israel and Lebanon have committed to restore,&quot; the UN peacekeeping force said. UNIFIL has been deployed since 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, and numbers some 10,000 personnel from almost 50 countries. In August, the Security Council voted to end UNIFIL&#39;s mission in 2027.

Firefighters douse the flames at the site of an overnight Israeli strike in Al-Msayleh area in southern Lebanon on October 11, 2025.

A UN peacekeeper in Lebanon was lightly injured by an Israeli grenade near a UNIFIL position, marking the third such incident in just over a month.

Articles by New York Times