Shias in the southern suburbs of Beirut gather as they observe the tenth day of Ashura on Aug. 9. (Credit: Richard Saleme/L'Orient Today)
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday “any attack on any human being in Lebanon will not remain unpunished and will not remain unanswered,” pledging that the party will respond to any Israeli attacks “in Lebanon,” during a speech commemorating the tenth day of Ashura. Nasrallah’s statement comes after the assassination of a Fatah official in Lebanon following three days of violence and the Israeli bombardment in Gaza. Palestinian officials reported 44 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians including children, have died and more than 360 were injured. Nasrallah also urged for the formation of a “real government with full powers,” and said it “must be ready for all possibilities” regarding the indirect maritime border negotiations, as it awaits Israel’s response to Lebanon’s demands.
The Razoni ship en route to Lebanon that was supposed to dock in the country two days ago has been canceled. “Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the closure of the ports, the shipment arrived five months later,” the Ukrainian Embassy tweeted on Tuesday. Because of this the buyer’s company and seller’s company “have reached an agreement to cancel the order,” adding that “the seller is currently considering other grain purchase orders.” The Razoni was the first shipment of grain exported from Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February and included more than 26,000 tons of corn as animal feed. It was scheduled to dock in Tripoli’s port.
The Saida municipality vowed to address issues in private generator pricing after an altercation left three injured. A local committee monitoring private generator prices clashed with a generator operator’s employees injuring three people, one of whom was hospitalized. Saida citizens protested after generator subscriptions increased, and generator owners who mispriced subscriptions were detained leading to protests from other generator operators. The municipality announced in a statement that it would follow up on pricing through a specialized committee and regular meetings with private generator owners.
A fire caused electricity outages in Orman, North Lebanon after damaging electricity cables. Residents called on authorities to restore power to the area which comes amid severe electricity rationing as Lebanon faces its third year of economic crisis. The Environment Ministry had warned of an increased fire risk in Lebanon. There have already been several wildfires around Lebanon, and particularly in Akkar, North Lebanon over the past months.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from this week: “Behind the Moussa al-Hage case: The complex history of clerics crossing the southern border.”