1) At the Alma Center, Dr Zoe Levornik reports on The Military Role of Hezbollah’s Health System.
“The healthcare system of the “Shiite duo” in Lebanon exploits its humanitarian status, which grants it protection from attack under international law, yet in practice it is deeply integrated into the military activities of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, including the smuggling of weapons and the transport of operatives. This phenomenon illustrates one of the central characteristics of Hezbollah’s operational model, the deliberate blurring of the boundaries between civilian and military spheres.”
2) At WINEP, Assaf Orion discusses Lebanon After UNIFIL.
“Resolution 1701 tasked UNIFIL with monitoring the 2006 ceasefire, coordinating with the two sides, assisting with humanitarian needs, and helping the LAF deploy in the south in order to establish a zone free of militia weapons. In the months since officials decided to terminate the force’s mandate, concerns have been raised about a potential “security vacuum” following its departure. Yet UNIFIL’s oversize presence has never translated into effectiveness on the ground, so little if anything will be lost by withdrawing it.”
3) At the JCFA, Ella Rosenberg analyses The Abraham Accords and the UAE’s Sovereign Pivot.
“Effective May 1, 2026, the UAE will terminate a membership with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that stretches back to 1967. On paper, the rationale is heavily economic, driven by the UAE’s frustration with the cartel’s production quotas. Following a massive $150 billion investment program into the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the UAE expanded its production capacity to nearly 4.85 million barrels per day (mb/d), with a target of 5 mb/d by 2027. Yet, under OPEC+ constraints championed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE was forced to pump approximately 30% below its actual capacity.”
4) At the FDD, Mark Dubowitz explains why Hamas Refusal to Disarm Sets Stage for Gaza Escalation.
“The fact that Hamas’s arsenal has been largely reduced to Kalashnikov rifles and improvised explosive devices should have prodded the terrorist group toward accepting the post-ceasefire phase of Trump’s Gaza plan. When there aren’t many weapons to hand, laying them down in return for a lavish international reconstruction project should have been a no-brainer.
But in multiple rounds of negotiations in Cairo — first indirectly, with U.S. envoys and then directly with Nickolay Mladenov, chief envoy for the Board of Peace administering the Gaza plan — Hamas has balked. Some of its leaders have tried to reverse the plan’s sequencing by insisting on Israeli territorial withdrawals first.”
5) NGO Monitor reports on MSF (Doctors Without Borders) and the Gaza “Genocide” Campaign.
“Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas atrocities, MSF joined other influential NGOs in the intensive advocacy campaign that labeled the Israeli response as “genocide,” based on manipulated and distorted evidence to support a predetermined conclusion. The accusations rely on invented criteria and unverified evidence, while blatantly omitting essential details and context: large-scale militarization of hospitals and military requirements for neutralizing a terror organization with a massive underground network embedded in civilian infrastructure. The political campaign, including in social media, parroted invented legal arguments applied exclusively to Israel, and incorporated blatant hypocrisy and double standards in comparison to responses in other conflicts.”
6) The Jewish Onliner reports on an investigation into Eekad, an Arabic-language open-source investigation and fact-checking platform with apparent links to Qatar.
“Rand Abu Hilalah, daughter of former Al Jazeera Managing Director Yaser Abu Hilalah, worked as Eekad’s social media coordinator and news editor after publishing articles on Al Jazeera’s Arabic site.
Video editor Joanne Mrad listed on her LinkedIn profile that she produced content for both Eekad and Qatar’s National Cyber Security Agency, Ministry of Interior, and National Archives. Journalist Mohyeddine al-Dimassi simultaneously worked at Eekad, Al Jazeera, and the Qatari Ministry of Interior.”
