DUBAI: Iran on Thursday directly acknowledged an accusation attributed to international inspectors that it enriched uranium to 84 percent purity for the first time, which would put the Islamic Republic closer than ever to weapons-grade material.
The acknowledgement by a news website linked to the highest reaches of Iran’s theocracy renews pressure on the West to address Tehran’s program, which had been contained by the 2015 nuclear deal that America unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. Years of attacks across the Middle East have followed.
Already Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently regained his country’s premiership, is threatening to take military action similar to when Israel previously bombed nuclear programs in Iraq and Syria. But while those attacks saw no war erupt, Iran has an arsenal of ballistic missiles, drones and other weaponry it and its allies already have used in the region.
The acknowledgment Thursday came from Iran’s Nour News, a website linked to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nour News separately is sanctioned by Canada for having “participated in gross and systematic human rights violations and perpetuated disinformation activities to justify the Iranian regime’s repression and persecution of its citizens” amid nationwide protests there.
The comments by Nour News follow days of muddled comments by Iran not directly acknowledging the accusation by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran had enriched up to 84 percent.
Bloomberg first reported Sunday that inspectors had detected Uranium particles enriched up to 84 percent. The IAEA, a United Nations agency based in Vienna, has not denied the report, saying only “that the IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent agency verification activities.”
In its comments Thursday, Nour News urged the IAEA to “not fall prey to the seduction of Western countries” and declare that Iran’s nuclear program was “completely peaceful.”
“It will be clear soon that the IAEA surprising report of discovering 84 percent enriched uranium particles in Iran’s enrichment facilities was an inspector’s error or was a deliberate action to create political atmospheres against Iran on the eve of the meeting of" its board, Nour News said on Twitter. The board, a group of nations that oversees the IAEA, will meet beginning March 6 in Vienna.
The IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday over Nour News’ remarks.
It wasn’t immediately clear where the 84 percent enrichment allegedly took place, though the IAEA has said it found two cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges at Iran’s underground Fordo facility “interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency in November last year.” Iran is known to have been enriching uranium at Fordo up to 60 percent purity — at level which nonproliferation experts already say has no civilian use for Tehran.
Iran also enriches uranium at its Natanz nuclear site.
Weapons-grade uranium is enriched up to 90 percent. While the IAEA’s director-general has warned Iran now has enough uranium to produce “several” nuclear bombs if it chooses, it likely would take months more to build a weapon and potentially miniaturize it to put on a missile.
The new tensions over Iran’s program also take place against the backdrop of a shadow war between Iran and Israel that has spilled out across the wider Middle East. Netanyahu, who long has advocated military action against Iran, mentioned it again in a talk this week.
“How do you stop a rogue nation from acquiring nuclear weapons?” Netanyahu rhetorically asked. “You had one that’s called Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. It was stopped by military force, ours. You had a second one that is called Syria that tried to develop nuclear weapons. And it was stopped by a military action, ours.”
He added: “A necessary condition, and an often sufficient condition, is credible military action. The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. We’ve waited very long.”
Iran acknowledges accusation it enriched uranium to 84 percent
https://arab.news/zu23n
Iran acknowledges accusation it enriched uranium to 84 percent
- Weapons-grade uranium is enriched up to 90 percent
- Acknowledgement piles pressure on West to address Tehran’s program
War-displaced Sudanese return to collapsed cities, disease and dwindling aid
- Humanitarian agencies face security threats, access restrictions and deep funding cuts while trying to support returning populations
- Areas reclaimed by the SAF often lack clean water, electricity, shelter and healthcare, forcing returnees to survive in dire conditions
DUBAI: As Sudan’s civil war grinds through its second year, a new chapter is unfolding — the slow and uncertain return of families to towns and cities recently recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
But as they do so, aid agencies say, they are finding not assurances of normalcy but scenes of devastation, disease and dwindling humanitarian support.
Nowhere is this more visible than in the capital, Khartoum. Once the heart of Sudan’s political and economic life, it was among the first cities to be consumed by violence when a violent factional struggle erupted on April 15, 2023.
Following months of intense urban warfare and the occupation of the city by the RSF, Khartoum was retaken by government troops in early March.
Since then, an estimated 6,000 returnees have arrived in the city each day, according to state police. Most return with few possessions and even fewer options, compelled by necessity rather than optimism.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that roughly 400,000 people returned to Khartoum and surrounding states such as Al-Jazirah and Sennar between December and March.
The figures mark the first recorded decline — a modest 2.4 percent — in Sudan’s displaced population since the conflict began. Yet for many, the homecoming is fraught with hardship.
“Many of those returning home from abroad or from elsewhere in the country remain with critical needs, often coming back with only what can be easily carried, or returning to find their previous homes unsafe for dignified living,” Natalie Payne, program support officer in IOM’s emergency response team, told Arab News.
Much of Khartoum’s infrastructure — homes, schools, hospitals, power grids, and water treatment facilities — lies in ruins. In many neighborhoods, rubble clogs the streets, health clinics are shuttered, and there is no running water or electricity.
With no functioning schools or job opportunities, families are forced to rely on the overstretched aid system for survival.
Across Sudan, the needs are immense. Payne said IOM has recorded large-scale gaps in access to food, basic household goods, clean water, healthcare, and sanitation — not only for returnees but for communities that hosted them during the war.IN NUMBERS:
• 24.6 million People facing acute food insecurity in Sudan (World Food Programme)
• 12.5 million People displaced (inside and outside) since April 2023 (International Organization for Migration).
• 13.2 percent Proportion of humanitarian funding received for Sudan’s $4.2 billion UN appeal in 2025 (OCHA).
• 17 million Children out of school in Sudan (Oxfam).
Livelihood support is also urgently needed to help people rebuild some measure of stability.
However, international agencies face mounting challenges in responding. The war has displaced more than 11.3 million people inside Sudan and forced nearly four million more to seek refuge in neighboring countries — including Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan — making it the world’s largest displacement crisis.
At the same time, the conflict has sparked what the UN calls the world’s worst hunger crisis. Famine has already been declared in 10 areas, and aid officials fear this number will grow without immediate intervention.
“Given that the fighting has destroyed health, water, and sanitation infrastructure, IOM looks to operate mobile clinics, rehabilitate primary health care centers, and rehabilitate water infrastructure at gathering sites, as well as major border entry areas, such as the Askheet and Argeen border crossing point in Northern state between Sudan and Egypt,” said Payne.
To operate in insecure or hard-to-reach areas, aid agencies partner with local organizations that have access and trust. One such partner is Sudan Zero Waste Organization, a grassroots NGO based in Khartoum, which is helping prevent disease outbreaks in communities of return.
In a statement to Arab News, SZWO said cholera cases are rising in the capital and nearby Jebel Aulia due to a lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
“Many returnees are being affected by cholera as a result of contact with the affected ones due to lack of awareness, lack of clean water access, and improper hygiene practices,” the organization said.
SZWO is collaborating with NGOs and UN agencies to rehabilitate water points and hygiene facilities. It also plans to scale up community kitchens to combat food insecurity and distribute cash to the most vulnerable households.
Long term, it hopes to support local healthcare centers in newly accessible areas, though it acknowledges that needs are currently far greater than capacity.
Meanwhile, global humanitarian funding is drying up. The UN’s Humanitarian Needs Response Plan for Sudan in 2025 is seeking $4.2 billion to reach nearly 21 million people. As of mid-May, only 13.2 percent of that amount had been secured.
Humanitarians also face logistical challenges, particularly during Sudan’s rainy season, which runs from June to October. Flooded terrain makes it difficult to reach remote or newly liberated areas, many of which are in desperate need of food and medical assistance.
“Access in Sudan is restricted at different times of the year due to adverse weather conditions,” said Payne. “Shocks throughout the rainy season can lead to increased needs with limited opportunities to respond.”
And while some areas are stabilizing, violence is flaring elsewhere. Port Sudan, the de facto wartime capital and humanitarian hub, recently came under attack — prompting the UN to warn that continued hostilities there could disrupt aid operations across the country.
Other areas remain perilously unstable. West Kordofan and West Darfur have seen renewed fighting. In North Darfur, the SAF-held capital of Al-Fasher is under siege, and the nearby Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps — already gripped by famine — have come under attack.
These offensives have pushed new waves of displacement, with an estimated 450,000 people recently fleeing the region.
Beyond Sudan’s borders, neighboring countries are also straining under the weight of the crisis. According to UNHCR, more than 2,000 people are crossing into Chad every day, with rising numbers arriving in Libya and Uganda.
Host countries, many of which are grappling with their own economic or security challenges, are running out of resources.
“Countries and communities receiving refugees have nothing to offer but a big heart,” Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR’s regional refugee coordinator for Sudan, told Arab News.
“In Eastern Chad today, we have more refugees than nationals. South Sudan, itself mired in poverty, is further struggling to meet the needs of Sudan’s refugees. If we do not put an end to this conflict, its repercussions will expand to other countries.”
Within Sudan, the influx of returning and displaced populations into devastated neighborhoods is stretching local resources to breaking point. The economic collapse, lack of essential services, and ongoing violence have created perfect conditions for a humanitarian catastrophe.
Balde said while returns from abroad have begun, the conditions are far from ideal.
“We have started seeing people returning, but these returns happen in adverse circumstances,” he said. “Some people consider going back home or some families have decided to divide the family into two, sending some members first to go and see what properties they have left.”
He added: “People need support, but it needs to be balanced because there are returns that are not in large numbers versus the large number of refugees outside the country. I don’t know whether we will still see this large number of people returning if we continue hearing about all these attacks.”
Ultimately, aid agencies say the success of any return initiative hinges on far more than food or tents. It depends on a sustained ceasefire, political will and a long-term commitment from donors to rebuild essential infrastructure — from hospitals and schools to power stations and roads.
Until then, Sudan’s returnees in Khartoum must remain in a bleak and dangerous limbo while the SAF and RSF slug it out in other parts of the country.
Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ‘temporary ceasefire’
- Netanyahu's remarks came hours after Israeli troops fired what it called 'warning shots' near a delegation of foreign diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank
- A European diplomat said the group had traveled to the area to witness the destruction caused by months of Israeli military raids
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he was open to a “temporary ceasefire” in Gaza, as international pressure intensified over Israel’s renewed offensive and aid blockade in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
“If there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free hostages, we’ll be ready,” Netanyahu said, noting that at least 20 hostages were confirmed alive.
But he added the Israeli military aimed to bring all of Gaza under its control by the end of its current operation.
“We must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action,” he said.
His remarks came hours after Israeli troops fired what the army called “warning shots” near a delegation of foreign diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank, triggering global condemnation and fresh diplomatic tension.
The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israeli forces of “deliberately targeting by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation” near the flashpoint city of Jenin.
A European diplomat said the group had traveled to the area to witness the destruction caused by months of Israeli military raids.
The Israeli army said “the delegation deviated from the approved route” and entered a restricted zone.
Troops opened fire to steer the group away, it said, adding no injuries were reported and expressing regret for the “inconvenience caused.”
Gazans are not receiving aid
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on Israel to investigate the shooting and to hold those responsible “accountable.”
The incident came as anger mounted over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Palestinians are scrambling for basic supplies after weeks of near-total isolation.
Palestinian rescue teams said overnight Israeli strikes had killed at least 19 people, including a week-old baby.
No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven’t received anything
Umm Talal Al-Masri, displaced Palestinian in Gaza City
A two-month total blockade was only partially eased this week, with aid allowed into the territory for the first time since March 2, a move leading to critical food and medicine shortages.
Israel said 100 trucks with aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, following 93 the day before which the United Nations has said had been held up.
Humanitarian groups have said that the amount falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis.
Umm Talal Al-Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, described the situation as “unbearable.”
“No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven’t received anything,” she said.
“We’re grinding lentils and pasta to make some loaves of bread, and we barely manage to prepare one meal a day.”
The army stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.
Israel has faced massive pressure, including from traditional allies, to halt its expanded offensive and allow aid into Gaza.
Kallas said “a strong majority” of EU foreign ministers backed the move to review its trade cooperation with Israel.
EU pressure on Israel
Sweden said it would press the 27-nation bloc to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador.
Pope Leo XIV described the situation in Gaza as “worrying and painful” and called for “the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid.”
Israel’s foreign ministry has said the EU action “reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing.”
Germany defended a key EU-Israel cooperation deal as “an important forum that we must use in order to discuss critical questions” over the situation in Gaza.
In Gaza, Israel resumed its operations across the territory on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead.
Gaza’s health ministry said Tuesday at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,655.
Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’
- “We may have breakthrough achievements,” Rubio told a congressional hearing
- “I don’t want to be disappointed on it again, but I want you to know there are efforts ongoing”
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced guarded optimism Wednesday for a solution “pretty quickly” to end the Gaza war.
“I have some level of optimism that we may have breakthrough achievements here pretty quickly, hopefully on an end to this and the release of all the hostages,” Rubio told a congressional hearing.
Rubio acknowledged that he has made such predictions before and said he did not “want to get ahead of myself.”
“I have felt that way now at least four separate times in the last couple of months, and for one reason or another at the last minute, it didn’t happen,” he said.
“I don’t want to be disappointed on it again, but I want you to know there are efforts ongoing to both provide more humanitarian assistance and bring about the end of this conflict.”
How dried-out wetlands on the Iran-Iraq border threaten the region
- Plans to drill for oil in the receding marshes have galvanised activists to save the mythical wetlands
LONDON: The dust storms that have choked Iranians and Iraqis for weeks and hospitalized thousands, are the canary in the coalmine for a complex environmental disaster unfolding in wetlands straddling the two countries’ border.
The Hoor Al-Hawizeh wetlands, north of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, are drying out and experts warn that continued decline, including in the connected Hoor Al-Azim marshes in Iran, could drive water shortages, migration and even conflict.
“These marshes once acted as natural barriers, trapping fine sediments and maintaining soil moisture,” said Hossein Hashemi, an associate professor of water resource engineering at Lund University in Sweden.
“But their shrinkage, caused by upstream dam construction, wartime destruction, and climate change, has exposed vast stretches of loose, dry sediment,” he said.
“As winds sweep across these barren areas, they lift large quantities of fine dust, leading to more frequent and intense storms.”
The degradation of the wetlands, part of the Mesopotamian Marshes, also threatens unique wildlife, including softshell turtles, birds, fish and water plants.
Hoor Al-Hawizeh is recognized by UNESCO for its biodiversity and cultural heritage, and Iraqi sections are designated wetlands of international importance on the Ramsar List, the world’s largest list of protected areas.
On the Iran side, Hoor Al-Azim is a crucial source of food, water, jobs and tourism to millions of people in the southwestern Khuzestan province. But now it is under threat.
“This brings with it the issue of forced migration, displacement, conflict, poverty, unemployment, hunger and more,” said Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and a former deputy head of Iran’s Department of Environment.
Data from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran shows that since the early 1970s, Hoor Al-Azim has declined from some 124,000 hectares to 60,650 hectares.
That means nearly half of its original area, including water and reed beds, has disappeared, mainly, scientists say, because of oil exploration, farming, dam building and climate change.
“The degradation has contributed to the displacement of local communities, increased poverty, and reduced agricultural productivity,” said Ali Torabi Haghighi, associate professor of water resource management at the University of Oulu in Finland.
“It has led to severe biodiversity loss, particularly among migratory bird species, native fish populations, and other aquatic and semi-aquatic life,” he added.
In July 2021, one of the largest waves of nationwide protests began in Khuzestan over drought and water shortages. Security forces killed dozens and thousands were arrested, according to the human rights group, Amnesty International.
Those same stresses persist today with temperatures exceeding 55 degrees Celsius in the summer months and drought again stalking the land.
In May, around a thousand people were hospitalized in Khuzestan each day with heart and respiratory illnesses from sand and dust storms.
Madani said urgent action was needed, not least to prevent political tensions flaring with countries accusing each other of not releasing enough water into the wetlands.
Wildfires exacerbate the pollution. In early May, thousands of hectares of Hoor Al-Azim caught fire, local media said.
Earlier this year, smoke and pollution from fires on the Iraqi side of the wetlands engulfed villages in Khuzestan, forcing schools and offices to shut for days.
As well as climate effects, human activities are degrading the marshes. Around 80 percent of Iran’s oil production is in Khuzestan and a 2021 study found that since the early 2000s, oil exploration projects have caused “significant damage.”
Hamidreza Khodabakhshi, a water planning expert and environmental activist in Khuzestan, said oil exploration had caused parts of the wetlands to dry up.
“Road construction and pipeline installation have not only damaged the ecosystem, but also blocked the natural flow of water,” he said.
In February, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told a meeting in Ahvaz, the main city in Khuzestan, that the government took responsibility.
“We are the ones who dried up the wetland, and we are the ones who hurt the people of Khuzestan — now we need to prioritize the employment needs of locals,” he said.
The Hoor Al-Hawizeh marshes are fed by water from the Tigris River in Iraq and the Karkheh River in southwest Iran — sources that have sometimes become a point of conflict.
Iran, Iraq and Turkiye have constructed dams upstream that scientists say have significantly harmed Hoor Al-Hawizeh.
Since 2009, the marsh has also been effectively divided by a 65-km dyke built along the border by Iran to keep water inside its territory.
Haghighi said tensions also flared over water allocation.
“In many cases, maintaining ecological water flows is given lower priority compared to agricultural, hydropower and municipal uses, resulting in severe consequences for wetland health,” he said.
Scientists hope to raise the case of Hoor Al-Azim at the next meeting of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in Zimbabwe in July.
“Sand and dust storms and wildfires are examples of the complex problems that are going to require complex solutions through diplomacy and cooperation,” Madani said.
Aoun, Abbas agree Lebanon will not be used as launchpad for strikes against Israel
- ‘Era of weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state has ended,’ presidents say
- Leaders also call for ‘just and lasting peace in the region’
BEIRUT: The Lebanese and Palestinian presidents have agreed that Palestinian factions will not use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel.
The two sides also agreed on Wednesday to remove weapons that are not under the authority of the Lebanese state.
The announcement came at the start of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ three-day visit to Lebanon.
Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed their “commitment to the principle of exclusive possession of weapons by the Lebanese state and to ending any manifestations that fall outside the framework of the Lebanese state.”
In a joint statement they highlighted “the importance of respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and their belief that the era of weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state has ended — especially since the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples have for many decades borne heavy losses and made great sacrifices.”
They said also that the Palestinian side “affirmed its commitment not to use Lebanese territory as a launchpad for any military operations and to respect Lebanon’s declared policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries and avoiding regional conflicts.”
Both sides agreed the need to reach “a just and lasting peace in the region that would allow the Palestinian people to establish their independent state following relevant international legitimacy resolutions, while also ensuring that all countries and peoples in the region obtain their rightful and legitimate rights.”
The statement condemned the “ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting severe human losses and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” and called on the international community “to take immediate and serious action to stop it and to provide full protection for Palestinian civilians.”
Abbas arrived at Beirut airport at about 1 p.m. and immediately headed to the presidential headquarters. A presidential source said the talks focused on the issue of “Palestinian weapons in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, the extension of full Lebanese state authority over these camps and the implementation framework for the plan.”
Aoun and Abbas underscored “the urgent need to strengthen the role of the UN and its institutions in safeguarding the Palestinian people, upholding international law and ensuring the enforcement of the resolutions of international legitimacy.”
They condemned the “repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon” and called on “the international community, particularly the US and France, to pressure Israel to follow the agreement reached under their auspices in November 2024. The agreement stresses a cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal from Israeli-occupied hills and the release of Lebanese prisoners.”
Implementing such measures was “essential for allowing the Lebanese army to complete its deployment to the internationally recognized borders, following Resolution 1701, to which Lebanon remains fully committed,” they said.
The two sides highlighted the need to “enhance coordination between official Lebanese and Palestinian authorities to maintain stability within and around the Palestinian camps” and their commitment to “strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism and to ensuring that the camps do not serve as safe havens for extremist groups.”
On the issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, they stressed the importance of “continued support for UN agency UNRWA, the continuation of its services to refugees and increasing its financial resources to enable it to fulfill its obligations.”
They also agreed to form a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee to monitor the situation in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon and work to improve the living conditions of refugees, “while respecting Lebanese sovereignty and adhering to Lebanese laws.”
During his visit, Abbas is scheduled to hold meetings with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and other senior officials and representatives of Palestinian factions from the refugee camps.
Also, the Hani Fahas Academy for Dialogue and Peace will honor Abbas with the 2025 Peacemakers Award at a ceremony on Thursday in Beirut, “in recognition of his efforts to promote Lebanese-Palestinian reconciliation.”
This is not the first time the issue of weapons in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon has been raised. The matter was included as a clause in the 2006 Doha Agreement and was discussed during the Lebanese National Dialogue in 2008, chaired by former President Michel Suleiman.
The discussion focused on the need to disarm Palestinian factions in refugee camps and in politically protected Palestinian communities.
The clause was not enforced however, leading to clashes in the Nahr Al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp between the Lebanese army and Palestinian factions supported by the former Syrian regime.
The issue was tackled again during Abbas’ visit to Lebanon in 2013. In a meeting with Suleiman he said Palestinians were “guests in Lebanon and are subject to the law.”
“The Palestinian presence in Lebanon is temporary and the Lebanese territory’s unity and sovereignty are a sacred matter for us. We count on the Lebanese government to protect the safety of Palestinian refugees and ensure their well-being,” he said.
Ain Al-Helweh — the biggest and most populated Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon — witnessed armed clashes in 2013 between the Jund Al-Sham and Fath Al-Islam factions, resulting in the death of 16 Lebanese soldiers.
Abbas also visited Lebanon in 2017 and held talks with former President Michel Aoun. The following year, bloody clashes erupted within Ain Al-Helweh between the Fatah Movement and armed extremists, resulting in rifts between Palestinian factions there.
Further clashes took place in 2023 between members of Fatah and individuals affiliated with extremist groups close to Hamas.
According to a 2017 census by the Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 174,422 Palestinian refugees were living in camps and other pockets across Lebanon.
There were also Palestinian military centers affiliated with Palestinian factions loyal to the Syrian regime located outside the Palestinian camps, specifically in Bekaa, which were handed over to the Lebanese army following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
The Palestinian arms crisis reached its peak following the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in November last year, when members of Hamas repeatedly launched rockets toward the Israeli side from southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army pursued and apprehended several suspects but four evaded capture and went into hiding in Palestinian refugee camps in Tyre. Three were later surrendered by Hamas following pressure from the Lebanese government on its leadership, while the fourth, reportedly a religious figure, remains at large.
Haitham Zaiter, a member of the Palestinian National and Central Council, said in a statement that Abbas’ visit carried “a message of support for Lebanon.”
“During the meetings, it will be emphasized that Palestinians are guests on Lebanese territory, respect sovereignty and abide by Lebanese laws until their return to their homeland. This is a right that cannot be waived and does not expire with time,” he said.
“Discussions will also address issues related to the living, social and civil rights of refugees, as well as the right to work and own property in Lebanon, which require amending some laws. It will also be emphasized that Palestinians in Lebanese territory are subject to the law.”
