Buses carrying nearly 8,000 of Syrian Jabhat Al Nusra fighters and refugees headed to the Syrian rebel-held province of Idlib on Wednesday morning after Lebanon’s Hizbollah group and the militants exchanged prisoners.
Their departure and the prisoner swap was part of a ceasefire agreement — brokered by the Lebanese authorities — after a six-day battle between the two groups ended last week.
Al Nusra militants burnt down the quarters they occupied in Jurud Arsal before departing, reported the National News Agency, adding there were two convoys, one of which was under the Lebanese army's control.
"The first was carrying 116 armed men and 6,101 refugees, and the other was carrying 1,000 gunmen and 560 refugees," it said, as 150 buses were set to transport the militants, their families and refugees.
Three Hizbollah fighters were released by Al Nusra at approximately 1am Beirut time in exchange for three people held by Lebanon.
Read more: Hassan Hassan on the story of Hayat Tahir Al Sham's rise to prominence
Another five Hizbollah members — who were captured in Aleppo in 2015 — will be released once the buses arrive in Idlib. Following their release, a second convoy of approximately 3,000 militants and refugees will head from Lebanon to Syria.
“Three members of Hizbollah — Mahmoud Harb, Hussam Fakih and Hafez Zakhim — were released in exchange for two inmates in Roumieh Prison and a third that was in the custody of Lebanon’s General Security and had finished his sentence,” said the report.
The three men were transported in Red Cross vehicles from Jurud Arsal to a Lebanese army base, where head of Lebanon’s General Security Maj Gen Ibrahim Abbas led swap operations.
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Syria's war:
Sides exchange bodies after truce on Lebanon-Syria border
Hizbollah strengthens its position in Lebanon with military successes
Hizbollah takes victory lap after defeat of Jabhat Al Nusra
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Hizbollah — which fights alongside president Bashar Al Assad’s forces in Syria — launched its offensive on the mountainous border area of Jurud Arsal, which was used by Al Nusra militants as a hideout for several years, on July 21.
The Lebanese army did not take part in the offensive but set up defensive positions around the town of Arsal to protect civilians.
ISIL and Al Nusra — who are at war in Syria — have been responsible for a number of deadly bombings in Lebanon since 2013.
Nearly 1.5 million Syrian refugees are in Lebanon, around a quarter of its population, where most live in severe poverty. Tens of thousands of refugees, most of whom live in makeshift camps, live in Arsal.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Vikram%20Vedha
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Mobile phone packages comparison
