Hezbollah supporters travel in a convoy near the border village of Kfar Kila on Tuesday to mark the 21st anniversary of the liberation of south Lebanon. (Credit: Aziz Taher/Reuters)
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Hassan Nasrallah warned that regional war would break out if Israel harmed Jerusalem or its holy sites. The Hezbollah leader issued the warning in a televised address marking the 21st anniversary of the liberation of south Lebanon, but drew no specific red lines that would cause the armed party to respond militarily. In his first public speech since renewed protests against Israeli occupation gripped Palestine and surrounding countries, Nasrallah said Hezbollah would remain patient regarding its response to the death of Mohammad Tahhan, a party member who was killed by Israeli forces while trying to cross the Lebanon–Palestine border during a demonstration on May 14. He also briefly touched on Lebanon’s government formation crisis, counseling Premier-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun to seek the assistance of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri if the two could not reach a deal by themselves.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has run out of money, Reuters reported, posing a potential threat to future trials. Backers of the UN tribunal, set up to try those accused of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and related crimes, said the financing issue could pose dire consequences for ensuring justice and accountability. Last year, the STL issued its long-awaited verdict in the bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others in 2005, finding Salim Ayyash, a Hezbollah affiliate, guilty in absentia. Three others were acquitted. The tribunal cost about €55 million last year, 49 percent of which Lebanon contributes, while 51 percent is covered by “voluntary contributions,” according to the STL’s annual report. Some $747 million have been paid to cover the STL’s expenses since it was launched in 2009.
Refrigerators storing “tens of millions of dollars’” worth of perishables at Beirut’s port may lose electricity as early as today, the Lebanese Shipping Agents Syndicate warned. With diesel supplies for generators running low, the group said some 500 containers of medicine, meat and fresh produce were at risk, calling on caretaker Transport Minister Michel Najjar to ensure a constant supply of electricity to the port from the buckling state grid. The concern was echoed by the International Chamber of Navigation of Beirut, which said that in addition to diesel shortages, some generators at the port require maintenance. About 70 percent of Lebanon’s trade passes through the Beirut port, the chamber said.
Medical practitioners and officials warned that hospitals are running low on medication. The head of the private hospitals’ syndicate, Sleiman Haroun, said on Tuesday that the situation is worsening by the day, as hospitals experience shortages of certain anesthetics. Some hospitals may have to postpone surgeries, including in emergencies, due to anesthetics shortages, Haroun said the day prior, calling on officials to find a solution to this “disaster.” Georges Ghanem, the chief medical officer at Rizk Hospital, told L’Orient Today that his hospital is not facing anesthetics shortages, but that supplies are low. This point was echoed by Hassan Wazni, the head of Nabih Berri Governmental University Hospital in Nabatieh. The blame, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan said, falls on Banque du Liban and importers. The central bank is delaying payments by months, importers of subsidized medicine say, while BDL says that importers are over-requesting subsidized dollars this year, compared to last year’s imports. A new committee formed at the Health Ministry will start accessing these imports today, he said.
Authorities will allow people ages 30 and above to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on a walk-in basis on Saturday, the health minister announced. Those wishing to take advantage of the open vaccination day must be registered on the national platform and go to one of the specially designated centers between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. The program is open to those who have not yet received any doses — the vast majority of the population. Less than 10 percent of the population has taken their first dose of any vaccine, with just half of those receiving a second dose to be fully inoculated, according to the Health Ministry.
A number of labor unions across Lebanon will go on strike this morning to protest deteriorating living conditions. The unions, including the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers, the public transport union, private school teachers’ union, the Électricité du Liban workers’ syndicate and the Federation of Labor Unions in Saida and South Lebanon, will go on strike today over worsening economic and political conditions. Protests will begin at 8:30 a.m. near the Palma resort on the southern approach to Tripoli and will be followed by demonstrations in Aley, Nabatieh, Saida, Zahle and Baalbeck at 10 a.m., and at Corniche al-Nahr in Beirut at 11 a.m., GCLW leader Bechara al-Asmar said.