Middle East, rest of the world grapple with rising coronavirus cases

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Kuwait reported seven new cases of coronavirus during the past 24 hours. (AFP)
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Coronavirus cases outside of China surpassed tolls inside the country. (File/AFP)
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Updated 18 March 2020
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Middle East, rest of the world grapple with rising coronavirus cases

  • Iran death toll rises to 988 with 135 new fatalities
  • Kuwait reports seven new cases in the past 24 hours

DUBAI: Countries in the Middle East and the rest of the world continue to set out new regulations regarding group gatherings as COVID-19 infections outside of China reach a higher number than inside the country.

Tuesday, March 17 (All times in GMT)

21:20 - Saudi Arabia will convene a virtual G20 Leaders Summit next week via video conference to discuss the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

20:45 - Oman will close as of Wednesday midday all shops in malls except for food stores, pharmacies, optical shops, and clinics and will shut down all traditional and local souqs, Oman's state TV said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The country announced nine new cases of the virus, bringing its toal to 33, on Tuesday.

Oman closed all tourist sites and banned gatherings in public places including beaches and parks over fears of coronavirus spread, state TV added. It also closed mosques - except for announcing prayers - salons and barbershops, and cultural and sports clubs.

The country also banned serving food in restaurants and cafes, including those in hotels, with the exception of deliveries, state TV said.

20:00 - When life gives you lemons, make lemonade... Or, if you're Italians self-isolating during the coronavirus outbreak, start your own night club from your balcony...

Another example of the human spirit enduring despite the circumstances... (Video: @Karen29_x)

19:50 - The UAE's health ministry said 15 new coronavirus cases have been detected, bringing the total number to 113.

19:45 - King Mohammed VI of Morocco said he has ordered the army to install equipped medical centers.

19:05 - EU leaders have agreed to institute a travel ban that prohibits most foreigners from entering the bloc for 30 days to discourage the spread of the coronavirus.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposal by EU officials “got a lot of support by the member states. It’s up to them now to implement. They said they will immediately do that.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that European leaders agreed to the Commission’s proposal for an entry ban with “very, very limited exceptions.”
The EU leaders also agreed to coordinate the repatriation of EU citizens stranded outside the bloc.

18:30 - The number of people infected by the coronavirus outbreak in Qatar rises to 442, as the country said it is also closing a section of the industrial zone for 14 days.

18:10 - Oman closes mosques, all shops in malls except food stores and pharmacies, also closes traditional and local souqs, all tourist sites, sports clubs, and bans gatherings in public places over coronavirus fears, its state TV said in a tweet.

17:25 - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran is considering releasing some Americans it has detained, as he urged the Islamic Republic to free them as a humanitarian gesture because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are aware that they are thinking about whether to release them or not,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. “Everyone should know that we are working it, we are communicating with them, and we are urging them, as we have done publicly many times, to release every American that is being wrongfully held there as a humanitarian gesture, given the risk that is posed to them given what is taking place inside of Iran.”

16:45 - Bahrain announced a financial package of 4.3 billion Bahraini dinar ($11.39 billion) to combat the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

The measures include covering electricity and water payments for individuals and companies for three months starting in April, the finance ministry said in a tweet.

Bahrain will also double the size of the liquidity fund to reach 200 million dinars ($530 million). The central bank will also raise the lending capacity of banks by 3.7 billion dinars ($9.80 billion) to postpone installments or provide additional financing for clients, the ministry said.

The package also exempts tourist facilities from paying taxes for three months as of April as well, the ministry added. 

16:40 - President Donald Trump wants the government to send checks to Americans in the next two weeks in an effort to curb the economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday.

“The president has instructed me we have to do this now,” he said at the White House briefing. He didn't give details except to say the amount should be significant and millionaires would not get it. The proposal requires approval from Congress.

"We want to make sure Americans get money in their pockets quickly," Mnuchin said. The stock market rose during the briefing after a savage drop Monday.

The White House on Tuesday was asking Congress to approve a massive emergency rescue package to help businesses as well as taxpayers cope with the economic crisis that is paired with the pandemic.

16:20 - Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Islamic Affairs Abdullatif Al-Sheikh said: We hope that the imams, preachers and muezzins feel the responsibility” and “we will hold accountable any failure to implement the decision to stop congregational prayers.”

16:09 - US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration intends to keep markets open through the coronavirus crisis, although shorter trading hours may be needed at some point.

16:00 - Some good news among the coronavirus gloom - staff at an IKEA store on Sweden's west coast stumbled across a pile of around 50,000 face masks gathering dust in a warehouse and donated them to a nearby hospital.

15:45 - Egypt announces the closure of cinemas and theaters in the country in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.

15:30 - Saudi Arabia suspended prayers in mosques over coronavirus fears, according to Saudi Press Agency.

14:40 - First coronavirus death confirmed in Brazil, say officials.

14:15 - As the UK's confirmed cases reached 1,950 on Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II canceled her annual garden parties and will leave London for Windsor Castle earlier than planned because of the coronavirus outbreak, Buckingham Palace said.

The 93-year-old monarch will carry out a number of small duties at Buckingham Palace in the next few days before she heads to Windsor, west of London, on Thursday - a week earlier than scheduled.

13:50 - UEFA has postponed the European Championship, due to take place across the continent in June and July this year, until 2021 after holding crisis meetings, European football's governing body said on Tuesday.

The move comes with global sport having largely ground to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic which has led to lockdowns in several countries and border closures.

UEFA said the postponement would allow "priority" to be given to finishing domestic leagues that have been suspended due to the crisis.

13:30 - Iran issued its most dire warning yet Tuesday about the outbreak of the new coronavirus ravaging the country, suggesting “millions” could die in the Islamic Republic if the public keeps traveling and ignoring health guidance. READ MORE HERE.

12:50 – British foreign minister Dominic Raab advised British nationals on Tuesday to stop all non-essential travel globally for the next 30 days, the latest stringent measure taken by the government to try to stem a growing coronavirus outbreak.

12:45 – Kuwait donated $40 million to the World Health Organisation in order to support their effort against the novel coronavirus, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah announced in a press conference.

12:45 – The Philippines reported two more coronavirus deaths, bring the total to 14.

11:40 – Iran state TV warned coronavirus could kill ‘millions’ in Islamic Republic if public keeps traveling, ignoring health guidance.

11:00 – Iraq has recorded 21 new coronavirus casualties.

10:50 – Iran said the death toll from coronavirus has climbed to 988 with 135 new fatalities, with 1,178 confirmed new cases in the past 24 hours.

10:45 – Spain’s health ministry official said the coronavirus death toll in the country has risen to 491 on Tuesday, with total confirmed cases at 11,178.

10:25 – Jordan has suspended private-sector work except for the health industry, prohibited gatherings of more than 10 people and the movement between governorates.

10:10 – Egypt has placed over 300 families under quarantine in a Delta village to stem the spread of the new coronavirus after two deaths were recorded this month originating from the area. “We have confined more than 300 families to their homes where they will remain in quarantine,” Health Minister Hala Zayed told late-night television host Amr Adib.

10:05 – A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday that two staff members have been confirmed to be infected with coronavirus.
“The staff had left the office and then at home showed symptoms and were confirmed with COVID-19,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told journalists, referring to the official name of the disease caused by the virus. “We do therefore have two confirmed cases.”

09:50 – The Jordanian army said on Tuesday it will deploy at entrances and exits of main cities in the kingdom in a move officials said was ahead of an imminent announcement of a state of emergency to combat the spread of coronavirus.
The country, which has already announced a tight lockdown after the number of confirmed cases of the virus rose to least 34, was about to take further imminent steps that include announcing a state of emergency, officials told Reuters.
“These measures aim at preventing the spread of coronavirus,” said an army statement.

09:50 – Indonesia will prohibit the entry and transit of visitors from six European countries plus Iran from March 20 due to coronavirus concerns, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
For the next month, all travellers who wish to visit Indonesia will also have to obtain a health certificate from their home countries and must apply for a visa from Indonesian missions, the ministry said in a statement.
Restrictions for travellers from China and South Korea’s Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do province remain in place, the ministry said. 

09:20 – Sri Lanka said on Tuesday said it will ban all incoming flights for two weeks to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Flights already in the air will be allowed to land and passengers to disembark, said Mohan Samaranayake, a spokesman for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

09:15 – The Philippines’ flag carrier Philippine Airlines said it will cancel all domestic and international flights amid coronavirus quarantine measures.

09:10 – Pakistan’s health ministry has reported the country’s first death from coronavirus.

08:55 – Georgia has banned minibuses, and has restricted services of gyms and swimming pools form March 18.

08:45 – Kuwait reported seven new cases of coronavirus during the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 130.

08:40 – The Philippines has reported 45 additional confirmed coronavirus infections, bringing total to 187, the country’s health ministry said.

08:35 – Algeria has closed its mosques until further notice as a precaution against coronavirus, according to the country’s religious affairs ministry.

08:30 – The Philippines’ Cebu Pacific said all its domestic and international flights will be cancelled from March 19 to April 14 to support coronavirus quarantine measures.

08:10 Iran has temporarily freed about 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, a spokesman for its judiciary said on Tuesday, in response to the coronavirus epidemic. “Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners ... Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” said Gholamhossein Esmaili.

07:50 – Budapest Airport will allow Hungarian citizens only to enter the country as of Tuesday after sweeping restrictions imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government on Monday to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
As the restrictions took effect, Hungary reported a jump in confirmed coronavirus infections to 50 on Tuesday from 39 a day earlier as the central European country transitions from isolated cases to cluster infections.
“Budapest Airport is not closing; it will continue to welcome and launch flights,” the airport operator said in a statement.
“However, only Hungarian citizens can enter Hungary from Tuesday. Anyone, Hungarians and foreigners alike, are free to depart from the airport in the coming days,” it said.
Foreigners denied entry must wait in a designated transit area until departure. A previously imposed mandatory medical screening for Hungarians returning from South Korea, Iran, Israel, China and Italy remains in effect, the airport said.

07:05 – Turkey has identified 93 suspects who have made “unfounded and provocative” postings on social media about the coronavirus outbreak and has detained 19 of them, the Turkish Interior Ministry said.

06:50 – Jordan’s Health Ministry recorded 6 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of active cases to 33.

06:45 – South Korea said on Tuesday it plans to tighten border checks for all arrivals from overseas to prevent new cases of coronavirus coming into the country at a time when domestically transmitted infections are subsiding. The stricter checks for all arrivals will start on Thursday and come as China also stepped up monitoring of foreign travelers, in the latest sign of the pandemic’s shifting center of gravity from Asia to Europe.

06:20 – Kazakhstan’s healthcare ministry reported 14 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, raising the total count to 27 in the Central Asian nation.
According to minister Yelzhan Birtanov, the 14 new patients were diagnosed in the capital, Nur-Sultan.

03:45 – Kazakhstan will temporarily soften banks’ prudential regulations between April 1 and Oct. 1 due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and lower oil prices, the Central Asian nation’s banking regulator said on Tuesday.

The move will make it easier for banks to maintain and expand lending by allowing them to create smaller reserves, Madina Abylkassymova, the chairwoman of the financial regulation agency, told a government meeting.

03:35 – Cambodia reported 12 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, doubling its tally to 24.

Of the new cases, 11 were people who had travelled to Malaysia for a religious event at a mosque, a statement from the Ministry of Health said.

Two others who had travelled to the same ceremony had tested positive for the virus in Cambodia over the weekend.

03:20The Philippine Stock Exchange was closed with no trading Tuesday after the president placed the northern part of the country including Manila in quarantine.
The exchange’s CEO said the end of trading activity would be “until further notice.” The Philippines has 140 cases of infection.

Monday, March 16 (All times in GMT)

23:45 – Morocco’s Ministry of Health recorded 9 more cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 37. Morocco has only reported one death due to coronavirus.

20:35 – Algeria suspended travel to and from five Arab and six African Sahel countries to curb the spread of coronavirus. The five Arab countries include Tunisia, Dubai, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.

20:15 – Jordan’s Ministry of Health said the number of coronavirus cases in the country reached 29, state news agency Petra reported.

19:50 – Egypt’s Ministry of Health confirmed 40 new cases of coronavirus, which increased the total up to 166 cases.

19:10 – Oman’s Ministry of Health has registered two new cases of coronavirus after two Omani citizens tested positive. “Their condition is stable and they are under home isolation,” Ministry said in a statement. “This brings the total registered cases to 24,” the health ministry added.

18:50 – Iraq’s Ministry of Health recorded 6 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 133. There have been 10 reported deaths so far, and 32 recoveries.

14:45 – The UAE sent two aid planes carrying critical medical supplies to Iran to support the latter’s efforts to combat the coronavirus.

The two aid aircraft, which took off from Abu Dhabi on Monday, contained over 32 metric tons of supplies, including boxes filled with thousands of pairs of gloves, surgical masks, and protective equipment.


Hezbollah faces long recovery, officials believe thousands of fighters killed

Updated 58 min 1 sec ago
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Hezbollah faces long recovery, officials believe thousands of fighters killed

  • One source said the Iran-backed group may have lost up to 4,000 people
  • Hassan Fadallah, a senior Hezbollah politician, told Reuters the priority will be “the people”

BEIRUT: With the bodies of its fighters still strewn on the battlefield, Hezbollah must bury its dead and provide succour to its supporters who bore the brunt of Israel’s offensive, as the first steps on a long and costly road to recovery, four senior officials said.
Hezbollah believes the number of its fighters killed during 14 months of hostilities could reach several thousand, with the vast majority killed since Israel went on the offensive in September, three sources familiar with its operations say, citing previously unreported internal estimates.
One source said the Iran-backed group may have lost up to 4,000 people — well over 10 times the number killed in its month-long 2006 war with Israel. So far, Lebanese authorities have said some 3,800 people were killed in the current hostilities, without distinguishing fighters from civilians.
Hezbollah emerges shaken from top to bottom, its leadership still reeling from the killing of its former leader Hassan Nasrallah and its supporters made homeless en masse by the carpet bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs and the destruction of entire villages in the south.
With a ceasefire taking hold on Wednesday, Hezbollah’s agenda includes working to re-establish its organizational structure fully, probing security breaches that helped Israel land so many painful blows, and a full review of the last year including its mistakes in underestimating Israel’s technological capabilities, three other sources familiar with the group’s thinking said.
For this story Reuters spoke to a dozen people who together provided details of some of the challenges facing Hezbollah as it seeks to pick itself up after the war. Most asked not to be named to speak about sensitive matters.
Hassan Fadallah, a senior Hezbollah politician, told Reuters the priority will be “the people.”
“To shelter them, to remove the rubble, to bid farewell to the martyrs and, in the next phase, to rebuild,” he said.
Israel’s campaign has focused largely on Hezbollah’s Shiite Muslim heartlands, where its supporters were badly hit. They include people still nursing casualties from Israel’s attack on its mobile communications devices in September.
“I have a brother who was martyred, a brother-in-law who was wounded in the pager attacks, and my neighbors and relatives are all either martyrs, wounded or missing,” said Hawraa, a woman from south Lebanon with family members who fight for Hezbollah.
“We want to collect our martyrs and bury them ... we want to rebuild our homes,” said Hawraa, who stayed in her village until she was forced to flee by the Israeli assault in September. She declined to use her full name, citing safety fears. The Israeli offensive displaced more than 1 million people, the bulk of them from areas where Hezbollah has sway.
A senior Lebanese official familiar with Hezbollah thinking said the group’s focus would be squarely on securing their return and rebuilding their homes: “Hezbollah is like a wounded man. Does a wounded man get up and fight? A wounded man needs to tend to his wounds.”
The official expected Hezbollah to carry out a wide-ranging policy review after the war, dealing with all major issues: Israel, its weapons, and the internal politics of Lebanon, where its weapons have long been a point of conflict. Iran, which established Hezbollah in 1982, has promised to help with reconstruction. The costs are immense: The World Bank estimates $2.8 billion in damage to housing alone in Lebanon, with 99,000 homes partially or fully destroyed.
The senior Lebanese official said Tehran has a variety of ways to get funds to Hezbollah, without giving details.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally, is urging wealthy Lebanese Shiites in the diaspora to send funds to help the displaced, two Lebanese officials said.
The officials also expected significant donations to come from Shiite religious foundations across the region.
Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a detailed request for comment for this story. Iran’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

’THE RESISTANCE’ WILL CONTINUE Hezbollah has indicated it intends to keep its arms, dashing hopes of Lebanese adversaries who predicted the pressures generated by the war would finally lead it to hand them to the state. Hezbollah officials have said the resistance — widely understood to mean its armed status — will continue.
Hezbollah opened fire in support of Palestinian ally Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023. Israel went on the offensive against the group in September, declaring the aim of securing the return home of 60,000 people evacuated from homes in the north.
Despite the resulting devastation, Hezbollah’s Fadlallah said the resistance put up by its fighters in south Lebanon and the group’s intensified rocket salvoes toward the end of the conflict showed Israel had failed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says its campaign has set back Hezbollah decades, eliminated its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated its infrastructure near the border. A senior US official said Hezbollah was “extremely weak” at this moment, both militarily and politically. A Western diplomat echoed that assessment, saying Israel had the upper hand and had almost dictated the terms of its withdrawal. The ceasefire terms agreed by Israel and Lebanon require Hezbollah to have no military presence in an area between the Israeli border and the Litani River, which meets the Mediterranean Sea some 30 km (20 miles) from the frontier.
Hezbollah, which approved the deal, has not declared how it intends to help implement those terms, including whether it actively hands its arms to Lebanese troops who are deploying into the south, or leaves the weapons for soldiers to find.
Israel complains Hezbollah, which is deeply rooted in south Lebanon, never implemented the same terms when they were agreed to end a previous war in 2006 war. Israel says the group was preparing for a large-scale assault into northern Israel, pointing to its military build-up at the frontier.
Andreas Krieg of King’s College in London said Hezbollah had retained considerable capability.
The performance of its “core infantry fighters in southern Lebanon and rocket attacks deep into Israeli territory in recent days showed the group was still very, very capable,” he said.
“But Hezbollah will be very much bogged down in the effort of rebuilding the infrastructure and also, most importantly, securing the funds to do so,” he said.

’REPAYING THE DEBT’
Hezbollah has been handing out cash to people affected by the hostilities since they began, paying $200 a month to civilians who stayed in frontline villages, and offering more as people were forced to flee the areas, according to recipients.
Since the start of the escalation in September, Hezbollah has been paying around $300 a month to help displaced families.
The group has made no secret of the military and financial support it gets from Iran, which shipped huge sums of cash to in 2006 to aid the homeless and help rebuild.
Hezbollah supporters say more will be on the way. One, citing conversations with a local Hezbollah official, said the group would cover a year of rent for the homeless in addition to furniture costs.
Addressing the Lebanese people in an October sermon, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “the destruction will be replaced... repaying the debt to the wounded, bleeding Lebanon is our duty....”
The World Bank, in a preliminary estimate, put the cost in damage and losses to Lebanon at $8.5 billion, a bill that cannot be footed by the government, still suffering the consequences of a catastrophic financial collapse five years ago.
Gulf states Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia helped pay the $5 billion reconstruction bill in 2006, the last time Hezbollah and Israel went to war. But there has been no sign that these Sunni-led Arab states are ready to do so again. Hezbollah conducted a lot of reconstruction work after the 2006 war, financed by Iran and using its construction wing. The project was directed by Hashem Safieddine, a Hezbollah leader killed by Israel 11 days after Nasrallah, in a sign of the bigger challenges it will face this time round.
“For Hezbollah the priority is to guarantee the loyalty of the Shi’ite community. The destruction has been enormous and it will impact the organization,” said Mohanand Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center.


57 dead in army-miltant clashes in northern Syria: monitor

Updated 27 November 2024
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57 dead in army-miltant clashes in northern Syria: monitor

  • Clashes followed “an operation launched by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
  • The air forces of both Syria and its ally Russia struck the attacking militants

BEIRUT: Militants launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo on Wednesday, sparking clashes in which 57 combatants were killed, a war monitor said.
Clashes followed “an operation launched by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham” (HTS), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, referring to a militant group led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria branch which controls a chunk of northwestern Syria.
The Observatory said “26 members of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and allied factions” were killed, as well as “31 members of the regime forces.”
The air forces of both Syria and its ally Russia struck the attacking militants in the area for the first time in years, the Britain-based Observatory said.
The Syrian conflict broke out after President Bashar Assad repressed anti-government protests in 2011. It has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country’s infrastructure and industry.


Displaced residents return to South Lebanon, Israeli army breaches ceasefire twice

Updated 27 November 2024
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Displaced residents return to South Lebanon, Israeli army breaches ceasefire twice

  • Najib Mikati says Lebanese army developing operational plan for the South
  • Nabih Berri: We are entering a new phase, and the moment of truth for the unity of Lebanon has arrived

BEIRUT: As soon as the ceasefire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army took effect at 4 a.m. on Wednesday — after hours of airstrikes targeting Beirut, its southern suburbs, the Bekaa, the South, and even Akkar in the far north — returning residents quickly transformed the tragic scene into one of “victory.”

Roads leading from Beirut to the South and Bekaa were crowded with hundreds of vehicles loaded with families and their belongings heading back to their villages.

People disregarded army warnings to stay away from damaged buildings or those reduced to rubble, citing fears of unexploded missiles. Upon reaching their neighborhoods, whose features had drastically changed, residents climbed the ruins, entered partially destroyed homes, or stood among what remained of their homes, a scene that vividly depicted the pain of war.

The harsh images of destruction and the tears of women over their lost homes were met by the younger generation filled with a determination to speak of “victory.” Celebratory gunfire filled the air, and Hezbollah flags and images of its former Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah were raised atop the rubble of the buildings.

Neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which had turned into ghost towns for two months, came back to life with the sound of honking car horns.

Hezbollah organized a tour for journalists in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the smell of fires and the dust of explosives still emanated from the flattened buildings.

Traffic jams and chaos ensued as Ministry of Public Works bulldozers cleared rubble littered with people’s belongings, memories, children’s books, and toys from the middle of streets.

The road to the South was packed with thousands of cars, with many passengers waving Lebanese flags, declaring they were “returning to their villages, and if their homes are destroyed, they will stay with neighbors.”

Although many of those returning avoided routes damaged by Israeli airstrikes, life in some villages looked likely to be extremely challenging because of the lack of essentials such as water, electricity and operational shops.

The return did not include those border towns into which the Israeli army had advanced and destroyed homes. Reports indicated that civil defense teams were retrieving the bodies of party members killed in battles that no one had previously been able to recover.

Despite the destruction in frontline villages, some youths from the border area approached them. In Aita Al-Shaab, they burned the Israeli flag, while others challenged Israeli tanks stationed in villages such as Kfarkela, Khiam and Odaisseh. They took photos in front of the tanks, flashing victory signs, while photojournalists moved in to capture the moment. Israeli soldiers fired five artillery shells and warning shots in response, to push them away from the area, the first breach of the ceasefire agreement.

A second was reported by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel, which stated that “Israeli drones flew over the skies of Marjayoun and Khardali.”

The Israeli army acknowledged opening fire on those it described as “suspects in several areas of southern Lebanon” and affirmed that it would “respond with fire to any breaches of the agreement.”

In Khiam, photographer Mohammed Al-Zaatari suffered gunshot wounds to his leg in the town when the Israeli army opened fire.

The Lebanese army subsequently closed all access to Khiam due to the presence of the Israeli army in the area.

Some of the returnees to Nabatieh departed at dawn from Akkar, the region to which they had fled in the far north. Ahmad and his companions said: “We set out before the ceasefire took effect and arrived in the Zahrani area as the agreement came into force. The scene of destruction in Nabatieh is alarming, yet it was anticipated.”

On the way to the Baalbek-Hermel region, residents celebrated the ceasefire in their own way by slaughtering sheep in Tamnine El Faouqa.

The Israeli army focused its attacks on the city of Baalbek and surrounding villages just before the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect. Airstrikes, which targeted civilians, hit occupied and unoccupied residential buildings, with some attacks involving phosphorus bombs.

Fifty civilians were killed in the Baalbek-Hermel region during the ceasefire, including a 16-day-old infant named as Jaafar Ali, alongside 10 members of his family.

The Talais family lost 11 members, including children, was killed. In the city of Baalbek, four members of the Wahbi family were also killed their lives.

The recent Israeli airstrikes targeted the last land crossings connecting Lebanon to Syria in the north, particularly the official Al-Arida Border Crossing, disrupting work in the area.

Minister of Public Works Ali Hamieh said during his inspection of the Masnaa Border Crossing that “Al-Arida Border Crossing will be opened within 48 hours.”

Amid these developments, images of Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah’s coordination and liaison unit head, circulated on social media, showing him in good health. This was his first appearance after an assassination attempt a month ago in Beirut, resulting in the deaths and injuries of dozens of civilians.

The Council of Ministers convened under the chairmanship of Najib Mikati to discuss the state’s arrangements for the ceasefire phase and its implementation.

Mikati described the ceasefire as “a new day that we hope will bring peace and stability.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said: “We are entering a new phase, and the moment of truth for the unity of Lebanon has arrived.”

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that Hezbollah has “a program related to reconstruction, but this is a shared responsibility.”


Biden administration advancing $680m arms sale to Israel, source says

Updated 27 November 2024
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Biden administration advancing $680m arms sale to Israel, source says

  • The package includes thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAM) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs
  • However, the package has been in the works for several months

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration is pushing ahead with a $680 million arms sales package to Israel, a US official familiar with the plan said on Wednesday, even as a US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah has come into effect.
The package, which was first reported by the Financial Times, includes thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAM) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs, according to the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The news comes less than a day after the ceasefire agreement ended the deadliest confrontation in years between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, but Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
However, the package has been in the works for several months. It was first previewed to the congressional committees in September then submitted for review in October, the official said.
The package follows a $20 billion sale in August of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel.
Reuters reported in June that Washington, Israel’s biggest ally and weapons supplier, has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The conversations about the latest arms package had been going on even as a group of progressive US senators including Bernie Sanders introduced resolutions to block the sale of some US weapons to Israel over concerns about the human rights catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
The legislation was shot down in the Senate.
Biden, whose term ends in January, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave is at risk of famine, more than a year into Israel’s war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive.


Dozens of underage migrants rescued in Mediterranean

Updated 27 November 2024
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Dozens of underage migrants rescued in Mediterranean

  • The group packed into an overloaded small boat was made up of “90 percent unaccompanied minors,” Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee said in a statement
  • Ocean Viking had intervened after receiving a notification about the boat from a NATO aircraft by VHF radio

MARSEILLE: Rescue ship Ocean Viking on Tuesday pulled 48 mostly underage migrants from the Mediterranean off the Libyan, the aid group that operates the vessel said on Wednesday.
The group packed into an overloaded small boat was made up of “90 percent unaccompanied minors,” Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee said in a statement.
Ocean Viking had intervened after receiving a notification about the boat from a NATO aircraft by VHF radio, it added.
“Most of the survivors are originally from The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau,” according to SOS Mediterranee, which added that they were “now safe and resting in the on-board shelters.”
Guinea-Bisseau on Africa’s western coast is one of the world’s poorest countries, seen also as one of the most plagued by corruption.
The aid group complained at Italian authorities’ issuance of an authorization for Ocean Viking to dock for the people to disembark at the distant port of Ravenna — almost 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) or a four days’ sail away.
“This practice... empties the Mediterranean of search and rescue resources and increases the suffering of rescued people,” SOS Mediterranee said.
Around 1,985 people attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean have gone missing or died this year, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM) figures.