Bank holdup in Zgharta, decrease in flights at Beirut’s airport, stable fuel deliveries to Lebanon: Everything you need to know to start your Tuesday

Here’s what happened yesterday and what to expect today, Tuesday, Sept. 7

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United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti urged for a ceasefire “to prevent more people from being harmed,” as cross-border clashes continue in southern Lebanon. The mother of three children killed in an Israeli strike near Ghadmata, South Lebanon is still in intensive care, Sheikh Ragheb Harb Hospital’s management said. Israeli shelling struck around Aita al-Shaab, Labouneh and Naqoura. Hezbollah and Hamas’s military wing, al-Qassam Brigade, separately announced cross-border attacks with Hamas claiming to have targeted Nahariya and Haifa, the furthest a rocket attack has targeted from Lebanon since the start of the war on Oct. 7. Hezbollah announced the death of two more of its fighters, raising the number of party members killed since Oct. 7 to 63 by our count. Mobile telecoms operator Alfa said Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon is interfering with its ability to refuel centers, leading to outages in the region, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. Caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassine said Lebanon intends to file a complaint to the United Nations over the environmental damage in southern Lebanon caused by Israeli incendiary shells, which he said were fired according to a “scorched earth policy.” French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that France will send dozens of armored vehicles to the Lebanese Army, emphasizing the need to boost the military’s ability to coordinate with the UNIFIL amid escalating border clashes.

Departures and arrivals at the Beirut International Airport (BIA) continued their downtrend, travel agency union head Jean Abboud told L’Orient Today. “Departures are down by 20 percent, and arrivals by 30-35 percent” compared to their usual levels at this time of year, Abboud said. Airlines reducing their flights since Oct. 7 has nonetheless led to fully booked flights to certain destinations, Abboud continued. After significantly reducing to and from BIA, Middle East Airlines (MEA) yesterday announced additional flights to Jeddah and Riyadh. Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar claimed that several embassies requested to allow their military aircrafts to land at BIA. After a similar measure by the US Embassy, Britain announced it was withdrawing its staff. Several countries have advised their citizens in Lebanon to leave and to avoid traveling to the country.

There has been “no major change” to fuel deliveries to Lebanon, hydrocarbon importers’ union head Maroun Chammas told L’Orient Today. The Association of Hydrocarbon Importing Companies in Lebanon (APIC) confirmed that fuel prices did not surge because a relative drop in the S&P Platte index offset the impact of increased insurance premiums on carriers imposed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Two to three ships, each carrying 30,000 tons of gasoline or diesel, dock in Lebanon every week on average, according to APIC data.

Security forces arrested an armed depositor attempting to hold up a bank in Zgharta for a second time, a security source and eyewitnesses told L'Orient Today. Fransabank in a statement said the “armed man was expelled in a peaceful manner” from their Zgharta branch. Commercial banks imposed restrictions on foreign currency funds in October 2019. Last October, commercial banks closed for a month after a wave of hold-ups, many of which were organized by depositors’ organizations. While less frequent, these incidents continue to occur.

According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, quoted by Reuters, 10,022 Palestinians, including 4,104 children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. Israeli shelling on the enclave killed at least 200 people overnight, the ministry said. The Israeli army continued its ground invasion of Gaza, accompanied by intensified shelling. Jordan airdropped aid into Gaza overnight in coordination with the Israeli army. The South African government recalled its diplomats from Israel, after a similar move by Turkey. US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the potential for tactical pauses in strikes on Gaza during talks on Monday, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby. Earlier in the day, during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fida, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that humanitarian pauses will depend on the release of hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, AFP reported.

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “'Did you kill a Palestinian?': Anti-West boycott sweeps Mideast (Focus)”

Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz