How Syrians in war-torn Lebanon are coping with double displacement

Special How Syrians in war-torn Lebanon are coping with double displacement
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Syrian refugee families have been fleeing south Lebanon, main, for the safety of Beirut, following the escalation in Israeli airstrikes. (Getty Images)
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Updated 14 November 2024
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How Syrians in war-torn Lebanon are coping with double displacement

How Syrians in war-torn Lebanon are coping with double displacement
  • Syrians face increasing barriers to shelter and aid access in Lebanon due to overcrowding and mounting hostility
  • Lebanon has the highest refugee population per capita globally, hosting 1.5 million Syrians prior the current escalation

LONDON: Syrians displaced to Lebanon by the civil war in their home country have found themselves on the move once again, as Israel’s targeting of the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia has forced more than a million people from their homes.

Many Syrians, unable to return home for fear of conscription or arrest, face a difficult dilemma — whether to ride out the conflict in Lebanon, despite deepening poverty and mounting hostility, or even risk the irregular sea crossing to Cyprus or beyond.

Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been trading blows along the Lebanese border since Oct. 8, 2023, when the militia began rocketing northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas, its Palestinian militia ally, which had just attacked southern Israel, sparking the Gaza war.

However, in September this year, the Israeli military suddenly ramped up its attacks on Hezbollah positions across Lebanon, disrupting its communications network, destroying arms caches, and eliminating much of its senior leadership.

Israeli jets have pounded Hezbollah positions in towns and villages across southern Lebanon and its strongholds in the suburbs of the capital, Beirut, while ground forces have mounted “limited” incursions into Lebanese territory.

More than 1.2 million people have been displaced since the hostilities began more than a year ago, according to UN figures. Among them, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has identified 34,000 Syrians who have been secondarily displaced since October 2023.

For Lebanese civilians, the conflict has revived grim memories of the devastating 2006 war with Israel and the civil war years of 1975-90. For Syrians, though, the memories of conflict and displacement are even more raw, with the 13-year civil war in their home country still ongoing.




A picture shows smoke billowing from a tissue factory after an overnight Israeli strike on the Lebanese city of Baalbeck in the Bekaa valley on October 11, 2024. (AFP)

Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon took part in the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, on the side of the Bashar Assad regime against armed opposition groups, thereby contributing to the mass displacement of Syrians that followed.

“Refugees who have fled their homeland in search of safety and security are now facing the reality of being displaced once again in Lebanon due to ongoing hostilities,” Lisa Abou Khaled, a UNHCR spokesperson, told Arab News.

“This double displacement exacerbates their vulnerability.”

UNHCR reported that more than 400,000 people, at least 70 percent of them Syrians, have crossed the border into Syria to escape the escalating violence in Lebanon. However, for many, returning home is not an option.





Rescue workers remove rubble, as they search for victims at the site that was hit by Israeli airstrikes in Qana village, south Lebanon, on Oct. 16, 2024. (AP)

The alternative is to remain in Lebanon, where Syrians have reportedly been denied access to work, housing, and services amid the country’s economic crisis, and mounting hostility from Lebanese citizens who believe their own needs have been overlooked.

Rabab, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, spent several nights sleeping rough in Sidon’s Martyrs’ Square last month before locals offered her and her husband a place to stay.

“When we visited the municipality, they refused to register our names and said priority was given to displaced Lebanese families,” Rabab, who is originally from northwest Syria, told Arab News.

“Returning to Syria now is out of the question as I have no family left there, and my husband will face conscription.”

INNUMBERS

• 1.2 million: People displaced by conflict in Lebanon since October 2023.

• 34,000: Syrians in Lebanon who have been secondarily displaced.

• 400,000: Displaced people, 70 percent of them Syrians, who have fled to Syria.

(Source: UNHCR)

The result has been a growing number of Syrian families displaced from southern Lebanon sleeping rough on the streets of Sidon and other cities, with the buzz of Israeli drones and jets overhead and winter temperatures fast approaching.

“Many displaced Syrians in Lebanon, particularly those newly displaced due to recent escalations, face significant challenges in accessing shelters,” Tania Baban, the Lebanon country director of the US-based charity MedGlobal, told Arab News.

Recounting an incident in Sidon, where displaced Syrians had been turned away “due to a lack of shelter capacity,” Baban said: “Municipalities in regions have implemented restrictions, often barring entry to Syrian displaced people, citing overcrowding or security concerns.




Syrian children, who had to fled their country after the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011 and migrated to Lebanon, are seen in an area where refugees live in Sidon city of Lebanon on October 7, 2024. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

“As a result, some families are sleeping in informal makeshift camps, abandoned buildings, or even out in the open parking lots in Sidon,” she added, stressing that the situation is particularly dire in areas like the capital, Beirut, which was already overpopulated prior to the escalation.

Hector Hajjar, Lebanon’s caretaker minister of social affairs, has denied accusations of discrimination against displaced Syrians. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, Hajjar said earlier this month that his government was committed to safeguarding all affected groups.

Stressing that “UNHCR appreciates Lebanon’s generous hospitality in hosting so many refugees and understands the challenges this adds at this very delicate juncture,” the UN agency’s spokesperson Abou Khaled called on “all actors to maintain and apply humanitarian principles and allow equal access to assistance.”

“Newly displaced Syrians and Lebanese in several regions tell us that they have had to sleep in the open,” she said, adding that “UNHCR and partners are working with the relevant authorities on finding urgent solutions to this issue.”

Lebanon has the most refugees per capita in the world, hosting some 1.5 million Syrians prior to the current escalation, according to government estimates.

Zaher Sahloul, president of MedGlobal, called on humanitarian agencies to “act swiftly to provide the protection and support these refugees urgently need.”

“Every person, regardless of nationality, deserves to be treated with dignity and compassion during this crisis,” he said in a statement in late September.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case for many Syrians in Lebanon.

Footage has emerged on social media showing the purported abuse of Syrians. In one such video, a man was seen tied to a post on a city street while the person filming claims this was done because people in Syria’s Idlib had celebrated the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Meanwhile, some Lebanese politicians have seized upon the worsening situation in Lebanon to advance an anti-Syrian agenda, insisting Syria is now safe for them to return.




Syrian Red Crescent rescuers attend to displaced people arriving from Lebanon at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria on October 7, 2024. (AFP)

Last month, Bachir Khodr, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel, told Al-Jadeed TV that “the reason for the Syrians’ presence is the war in Syria. This war has ended, so they must now leave Lebanon, as the war is here now.”

Lebanon has endured a crippling economic crisis since 2019, which has plunged much of the population into poverty. In recent years, Lebanese politicians have characterized displaced Syrians as a burden on society and called for their deportation.

Despite human rights organizations unanimously agreeing in May that no part of Syria is safe for returnees, a UNHCR report in March highlighted that 13,772 Syrians had been deported from Lebanon or pushed back at the border with Syria in about 300 incidents in 2023.




Children sit in a bus as Syrians who were refugees in Lebanon return to their home country after a five-day journey to the northern Idlib province where they are received at a temporary resting point in the town of Qah, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)

Human Rights Watch also reported in April that Lebanese authorities “have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and forcibly returned Syrians to Syria,” including activists and army defectors.

Disputing the findings, Khodr, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel, argued that the return of some “235,000 displaced Syrians” to their country “challenges the theory that the Syrian authorities might arrest those returning to it.”

“We have repeatedly said that the Syrian side has not harassed any of its citizens who have returned since the start of the voluntary return campaigns in 2018, but rather they have been treated in the best possible way,” Khodr posted on the social platform X on Oct. 8.

However, the UK-based Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that Syrian authorities have arrested 23 individuals who had returned from Lebanon since September.




Syrians who were refugees in Lebanon return to their home country after a journey to the opposition held northern Idlib province through the crossing Aoun al-Dadat north of Manbij, on October 9, 2024. Lebanon became home to hundreds of thousands of Syrians after the repression of anti-government protests in Syria in 2011 sparked a war that has since killed more than half a million people. (AFP)

For those Syrians who have chosen to remain in Lebanon, despite its many challenges, assistance provided by humanitarian aid agencies has become a vital lifeline.

Abou Khaled of UNHCR said her agency “is working relentlessly with humanitarian partners and Lebanese authorities to urgently find safe shelter for those without any.”

“A comprehensive emergency shelter strategy has been shared with proposed shelter solutions in all Lebanese regions and work is ongoing at the cadastre and district levels to implement parts of it.”

She added: “Current hostilities, compounded by the ongoing socio-economic situation, create challenges for all communities, all of whom deserve equal access to safety and dignity.”

 

 


Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly

Explosions send smoke and debris into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. (REUTERS)
Explosions send smoke and debris into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 32 min 18 sec ago
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Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly

Explosions send smoke and debris into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. (REUTERS)
  • Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive
  • Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities

WASHINGTON: Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, US President Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details.

Trump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.

“We got most of the hostages back. We’re going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly,” Trump said.

Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive.

A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations.

The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. 

 

 


Israel agree ceasefire with Syria, allows Syrian troops limited access to Sweida

Israel agree ceasefire with Syria, allows Syrian troops limited access to Sweida
Updated 34 min 44 sec ago
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Israel agree ceasefire with Syria, allows Syrian troops limited access to Sweida

Israel agree ceasefire with Syria, allows Syrian troops limited access to Sweida
  • Ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors
  • Syria's Sweida province rocked by days of violence

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM:  Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the US envoy to Turkey said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people.

On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus and hit government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze — part of a small but influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel.

"We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity," Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, said in a post on X.

Barrack said that Israel and Syria agreed to the ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors.

The Israeli embassy in Washington and Syrian consulate in Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions.

Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

The Syrian presidency said late on Friday that authorities would deploy a force in the south dedicated to ending the clashes, in coordination with political and security measures to restore stability and prevent the return of violence.

Damascus earlier this week dispatched government troops to quell the fighting, but they were accused of carrying out widespread violations against the Druze and were hit by Israeli strikes before withdrawing under a truce agreed on Wednesday.

Israel had repeatedly said it would not allow Syrian troops to deploy to the country's south, but on Friday it said it would grant them a brief window to end renewed clashes there.

"In light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the (Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours," the official, who declined to be named, told reporters.

Describing Syria's new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has vowed to shield the area's Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze minority.

It carried out more strikes on Sweida in the early hours of Friday.

The US intervened to help secure the earlier truce between government forces and Druze fighters, and the White House said on Thursday that it appeared to be holding.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has worked to establish warmer ties with the US accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority.

Reuters reporters saw a convoy of units from Syria's interior ministry stopped on a road in Daraa province, which lies directly east of Sweida. A security source told Reuters that forces were awaiting a final green light to enter Sweida.

But thousands of Bedouin fighters were still streaming into Sweida on Friday, the Reuters reporters said, prompting fears among residents that violence would continue unabated.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented 321 deaths in fighting since Sunday, among them medical personnel, women and children. It said they included field executions by all sides.

Syria's minister for emergencies said more than 500 wounded had been treated and hundreds of families had been evacuated out of the city.

Tribal and Bedouin fighters cross the al-Dur village in Syria's southern Sweida governorate as they mobilize amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 18, 2025. (AFP)

'Nothing at all'

Clashes continued in the north and west of Sweida province, according to residents and Ryan Marouf, the head of local news outlet Sweida24.

Residents said they had little food and water, and that electricity had been cut to the city for several days.

"For four days, there has been no electricity, no fuel, no food, no drink, nothing at all," said Mudar, a 28-year-old resident of Sweida who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of reprisals.

"The clashes haven't stopped," he said, adding that "we can't get news easily because there's barely internet or phone coverage."

The head of the UN human rights office urged Syria's interim authorities to ensure accountability for what it said are credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting, including summary executions and kidnappings, the office said in a statement.

At least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on Tuesday when affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the OHCHR said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes the same day. The UN refugee agency on Friday urged all sides to allow humanitarian access, which it said had been curtailed by the violence. Israel's deep distrust of Syria's new Islamist-led leadership appears to be at odds with the United States, which said it did not support the recent Israeli strikes on Syria. 


How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa

How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa
Updated 19 July 2025
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How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa

How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa
  • Researchers link rising temperatures to higher cancer rates and urge deeper study of climate-health risks facing women regionwide
  • New evidence suggests climate change may be worsening cancer outcomes for women, prompting calls for urgent regional response

LONDON: Researchers at the American University in Cairo have identified a disturbing link between rising temperatures and increases in cases of breast, cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers among women in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The key message of a study that has identified “a significant correlation between prolonged exposure to high ambient temperatures and all four cancer types” is as simple as it is urgent, said Wafa Abu El-Kheir-Mataria, senior researcher at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology at the American University in Cairo.

“Our findings make it clear that climate change is not a distant or abstract threat. It is already impacting women’s health in tangible ways,” said Dr. Kheir-Mataria, co-author with Prof. Sungsoo Chun, associate director of the institute, of a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

“In the MENA region, rising temperatures are significantly correlated with increased prevalence and mortality of several cancers affecting women.”

She added: “This evidence highlights the urgent need to integrate climate risks into cancer control strategies today, not tomorrow.”

The study looked at 17 countries in the MENA region and examined how increasing average temperatures coincided with how often women were getting certain cancers and dying from them.

The connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in just six countries — Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria and Jordan.

The finding that the four wealthy Gulf states featured significantly was a “very important observation,” said Dr. Kheir-Mataria, and one that merits urgent further investigation.

Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria, senior researcher at the American University in Cairo. (Supplied)

“The Gulf countries have some of the strongest healthcare systems in the region,” she said.

“However, what our findings may reflect is that even high-performing systems are now facing new, complex challenges brought about by climate change — challenges that may not yet be fully addressed within traditional cancer control strategies.”

The Gulf states, she added, “are also among those experiencing the most extreme and rapid increases in temperature, which can amplify environmental exposures that are not always visible or easily managed, such as air pollution or heat-related physiological stress.”

At the same time, “social and behavioral factors, like health-seeking behaviors or cultural barriers to early screening, may continue to influence outcomes despite strong system capacity.”

DID YOU KNOW?

• Breast, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers are rising in parts of MENA as temperatures increase year on year.

• Even Gulf countries with strong health systems show above-average increases in cancer deaths linked to climate stress.

• Researchers say a 4 C rise by 2050 could amplify health risks, but more local studies are urgently needed.

Dr Kheir-Mataria wants “more in-depth, country-specific research in countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Our study is an important starting point, but it has clear limitations. We worked with publicly available data and focused primarily on the relationship between temperature and cancer outcomes, while controlling for income.

“However, many other important factors such as air pollution levels, urban heat islands, occupational exposure, genetic predispositions, and healthcare utilization patterns were beyond the scope of this analysis.”

Beachgoers are seen at the JBR beach on April 10, 2022 in Dubai. A study says the connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in the UAE and five other Mideastern countries. (Photo by Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images) 

To fully understand all the factors at play, “we need access to more granular data and the opportunity to examine these additional variables in context.

“That’s why we are actively seeking local partnerships with research institutions, ministries of health, and environmental agencies and funding to support collaborative studies.”

The Gulf states, she said, “are uniquely positioned to lead the way in advancing global understanding of climate-related health risks, and we would be honored to work together to generate evidence that informs national policy and protects women’s health in the face of climate change.”

Meanwhile, it is necessary to “acknowledge that environmental stressors such as rising temperatures and air pollution can exacerbate cancer risks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, and incorporate climate change adaptation into cancer control plans.”

Adaptation strategies “might include strengthening early detection and screening services in high-risk areas, ensuring healthcare facilities remain accessible during climate-related disruptions, and integrating environmental risk monitoring into public health planning.”


A woman with cancer cleanses her skin in a make-up class. Cancer therapy with chemotherapy or radiotherapy can drastically change the appearance of the patient with hair loss, loss of eyelashes and eyebrows or skin irritation. (Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

Dr Kheir-Mataria said this “involves cross-sectoral collaboration between health, environmental, and planning ministries to build climate resilient healthcare systems.”

The study combined two decades of data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease with statistics on temperature change from the FAOSTAT Climate Change database of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, for every year from 1998 to 2019.

Applying a method of statistical analysis called multiple linear regression, which adjusted results to take account of socioeconomic differences between countries that might influence health outcomes, the researchers were able to identify “a clear pattern: where temperatures rose, cancer rates and deaths often rose too.”

This was expressed in the percentage increase in cases and deaths for each degree Celcius the temperature rose. For example, the largest increase in deaths was found in ovarian cancer, with an overall average increase across the 17 countries of 0.33 percentage points per degree.

But increased numbers of deaths from ovarian cancer were higher than average in Jordan and the UAE (both 0.48).

Although the overall increase in deaths from cervical cancer was the lowest of the four diseases (0.171), the increase was higher than average in Iran (0.3), Jordan (0.45), and Qatar (0.61).

A study says the connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in six Mideastern countries. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In Saudi Arabia, significant increases in cases were detected in ovarian (0.29) and uterine (0.36) cancers. An above-average increase in deaths in the Kingdom was found in breast cancer (0.31). 

The paper points out that, with a temperature rise of 4 C expected by 2050, “the MENA region is particularly at risk due to global warming.”

In 2019, 175,707 women in the region died from cancer. But, Dr Kheir-Mataria said, it was not possible to simply multiply the study’s findings by four to predict the number of additional cancer deaths by 2050 related to rising temperatures.

“This is a question we fully understand the interest in, but we must be very careful not to overstate what our data can tell us,” she said.

A displaced Palestinian woman is being seen on the beach in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on June 24, 2024. A study says the connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in six Mideastern countries. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Our study found a statistical association between rising temperatures and cancer deaths among women. However, these are correlations, not predictions, and they were based on historical data over a specific period, with many other contributing factors.

“Projecting the number of additional deaths by 2050 based on a hypothetical 4 C rise would go beyond what our data allows, as it would require complex modelling that includes population growth, healthcare system changes, adaptation measures, and other environmental or behavioral variables.

“We did not conduct such a projection in this study, and doing so responsibly would require a separate research design.”

She added: “That said, the potential implications of a 4 C increase are certainly concerning, particularly in countries already experiencing extreme heat.

“This is why we strongly advocate for further research, including dynamic modelling and country-level analyses, to understand and prepare for the possible long-term health impacts of climate change, especially on women.”

 

 


Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted

Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted
Updated 18 July 2025
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Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted

Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted

Israeli military said late on Friday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen after air raid sirens sounded in several areas across Israel.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and attacking shipping lanes.

Houthis have repeatedly said that their attacks are an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault since late 2023 has killed more than 58,000 people, Gaza authorities say.

Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.


Iraq makes ‘decisive findings’ over Israel-Iran war drone attacks

Iraq makes ‘decisive findings’ over Israel-Iran war drone attacks
Updated 18 July 2025
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Iraq makes ‘decisive findings’ over Israel-Iran war drone attacks

Iraq makes ‘decisive findings’ over Israel-Iran war drone attacks
  • Drones used to attack military bases in Iraq were manufactured outside Iraq but launched inside its territory
  • Investigation does not identify who was behind the attacks that targeted radar and air defense systems

BAGHDAD: Drones used to attack military bases in Iraq during the recent Israel-Iran war were manufactured outside Iraq but were launched inside its territory, according to the “decisive findings” of an investigation published on Friday.

The report of an investigative committee formed under the directive of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani did not identify who was behind the attacks that targeted radar and air defense systems last month.

The attacks on several military bases, including some housing US troops, damaged radar systems at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, and at Imam Ali Base in Dhi Qar province.

Iraqi army spokesperson Sabah Al-Naaman said the investigation had reached “decisive findings.”

He said the drones used were manufactured outside Iraq but were launched from locations inside Iraqi territory. All drones used in the attacks were of the same type, indicating that a single actor was behind the entire campaign, he said.

Al-Naaman said the investigation had identified the entities responsible for coordinating and executing the operations, but he did not name them.

“Legal measures will be taken against all those involved, and they will be referred to the Iraqi judiciary to be held accountable in accordance with the law,” the statement said.

Before the drone attacks, Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to target American bases if the US attacked Iran. Some of the militias are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of armed groups that is officially under the command of the Iraqi military, although in practice they largely act independently.

More recently, several oil fields in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region have come under attack by drones, further exacerbating tensions between the central government and Kurdish authorities and raising concerns over the security of Iraq’s critical infrastructure.