CAIRO: Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to hold legislative elections on March 27, parliamentary sources said, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown.
Lebanon's financial crisis, labelled by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions of modern history, had been compounded by political deadlock for over a year before Mikati put together a cabinet alongside President Michel Aoun.
The currency has lost 90% of its value and three quarters of the population have been propelled into poverty. Shortages of basic goods such as fuel and medicines have made daily life a struggle.
Mikati, whose cabinet is focused on reviving talks with the International Monetary Fund, had vowed to make sure elections are held with no delay and Western governments urged the same.
But a row over the probe into last year's Beirut port blast that killed over 200 people and destroyed large swathes of the capital is threatening to veer his cabinet off course.
Some ministers, aligned with politicians that lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar is seeking to question over the explosion, last week demanded that the judge be removed from the probe.
Mikati has since said the cabinet will not convene another meeting until an agreement is reached on how to deal with the matter.
On Thursday, Beirut witnessed the worst street violence in over a decade with seven people killed in gunfire when protesters from the Hezbollah and Amal Shi'ite movements made their way to demonstrate against Judge Bitar.
The bloodshed, which stirred memories of the 1975-1990 civil war, added to fears for the stability of a country that is awash with weapons.
The early election date - elections were originally expected to be held in May - was chosen in order not to clash with the holy Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
Once a new parliament is elected, the Mikati cabinet will only act in a caretaker role until a new prime minister is given a vote of confidence and tasked with forming a new government.
Lebanese parliament confirms March polls amid efforts to secure IMF rescue
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Lebanese parliament confirms March polls amid efforts to secure IMF rescue
UN condemns ‘weaponization of food’ in Gaza
GENEVA: The United Nations on Tuesday condemned Israel’s apparent “weaponization of food” in Gaza, a war crime, and urged Israel’s military to “stop shooting at people trying to get food.”
“Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,” the UN human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing.
“Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.”
The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine.
The UN said in May that “100 percent of the population” of the besieged territory were ” at risk of famine.”
The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF — an officially private effort with opaque funding — over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned in the briefing notes of “scenes of chaos around the food distribution points” of the GHF.
Since the organization began operating, “the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities,” he said.
He pointed to reports that “over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organizations.”
“At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents,” he said.
“Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account.”
Kheetan cautioned that the system “endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
“The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law,” he warned.
The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation.
“The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food,” Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel “allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.”
“It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors,” he said.
And he called on other countries to “take concrete steps to ensure that Israel — the occupying power in Gaza — complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population.”
Oman Air resumes flights as Iraq, Syria reopen airspace after Iran-Israel truce announcement
- Iraq reopened its airspace 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel conflict
DUBAI: Oman Air announced on Tuesday the resumption of flights, as Iraq and Syria reopened their airspace following Israel and Iran’s acceptance of a ceasefire plan to end their 12-day war that had destabilized the region.
Iraq reopened its airspace 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel conflict, aviation authorities confirmed. The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority said the move came “following a comprehensive assessment of the security situation and coordination with relevant national and international authorities.”
The reopening of airspace and resumption of flights is expected to ease regional flight disruptions and allow airlines to resume more direct and efficient routes.
Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid
- Thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations in Gaza, as famine looms across the territory after more than 20 months of war
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid near a distribution site in the center of the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, the latest deadly incident targeting aid-seekers.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded “as a result of the Israeli occupation forces’ targeting of gatherings of citizens waiting for aid... in the central Gaza Strip with bullets and tank shells” in the early hours of Tuesday.
AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment on the incident.
Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian territory.
Bassal added that five people were killed and several injured in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in Gaza City at dawn.
Thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations in Gaza, as famine looms across the territory after more than 20 months of war.
According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May.
Many of those have been near sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to rescuers.
The privately run foundation’s operations in Gaza have been marred by chaotic scenes. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Israel’s opposition leader on Tuesday called for an end to the war in Gaza, after Israel announced it had agreed to a ceasefire with Iran.
“And now Gaza. It’s time to finish it there too. Bring back the hostages, end the war,” Yair Lapid wrote on X.
Over 40 people, including children, killed in Sudan hospital attack, says WHO chief
- Saturday’s attack on the Al Mujlad Hospital took place in West Kordofan, near the front line between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
GENEVA: Over 40 people, including children and health care workers, were killed in an attack on a hospital in Sudan at the weekend, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Saturday’s attack on the Al Mujlad Hospital took place in West Kordofan, near the front line between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for attacks on health infrastructure to stop, without saying who was responsible.
Lebanon health ministry says Israeli strike on south kills 3
- Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike killed three people Tuesday in the country’s south, the latest such raid despite a November ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group
BERUIT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike killed three people Tuesday in the country’s south, the latest such raid despite a November ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
“The strike launched by an Israeli enemy drone on a vehicle” in the Bint Jbeil district “resulted in the death of three people,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.
