This photograph taken on Jan. 1, 2024 shows a Palestinian woman standing amid rubble and belongings in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group. (Credit: AFP)
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Catch up on our LIVE coverage of Day 84, Day 85 and Day 86 of the Israel-Hamas war.
Hezbollah second-in-command Naim Qassem challenged Israel’s capability to quell border clashes and return displaced northern Israel residents amid continued cross-border attacks that killed eight more of the party’s fighters since Friday.
Israeli strikes continue to cause death and damage in southern Lebanon: The number of Hezbollah fighters killed since Oct. 8 rose to 138, by our count. Several houses have been damaged by Israeli strikes, which fell across southern Lebanon over the past days, including a two-story house which was completely destroyed, an official and residents from Bint Jbeil told L’Orient Today’s correspondent.
Hezbollah officials remain steadfast about continuing border clashes as the party keeps announcing cross-border attacks on northern Israel: Hezbollah continued to announce strikes on northern Israeli military targets while the party’s central council member Nabil Qaouk reiterated their vow to respond to attacks on homes in southern Lebanon. Party deputy Naim Qassem reiterated that border clashes would continue as long as Israel continues its aggression on Gaza, warning that “persisting in bombing civilians in Lebanon means the response will be stronger.” Israel, which has previously dropped flyers on southern Lebanon saying Hezbollah’s attacks endangered residents, claimed that 80 percent of the party’s attacks Friday fell inside Lebanon.
Israeli politician’s patience for continued border clashes thins, as northern Israeli towns brace for at least another month of strikes: On Monday, Israeli right-wing opposition politician Avigdor Lieberman called for a military intervention in southern Lebanon to establish a buffer zone. In November, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said Israel is “determined to protect” its border with Lebanon “on both sides if necessary.” The municipality of an Israeli town near the southern Lebanese border said it expects that temporary housing for tens of thousands of displaced residents would be extended until the end of January.
Rai criticizes Hezbollah’s southern Lebanese presence, Qaouk says southern buffer zone favors Israel, UN spokesperson warns against escalation: Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in a Sunday homily called for “the removal of any missile platforms planted among homes in southern towns.” Qaouk on Friday qualified calls to remove Hezbollah from the border region, as delineated in United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, as following “Israeli interests.” United Nations Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric warned against the risk of a “broader escalation” resulting from the Hezbollah-Israel border clashes.
After an initial delay and electricity rationing, a bidder agreed to trade Iraqi fuel from Lebanon in exchange for 25,000 tonnes of gas oil compatible with Electricité du Liban power plants, caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad confirmed to L’Orient Today. Dubai-based company BB Energy (Gulf) DMCC was set to deliver the fuel on Sunday. The minister added that the procedure for transmitting fuel samples to the Veritas office in Dubai to check conformity will be accelerated, whereas it usually takes 48 hours. Lebanon’s main source of hydrocarbons for its power plants comes from tenders for Iraqi fuel obtained since 2021 in exchange for unspecified services.
The National Social Security Fund announced an “almost tenfold” increase to beneficiaries’ family benefits, Managing Director Mohammad Karaki told L’Orient Today. Eligible families will receive LL600,000 ($6.7 at the parallel market rate) for the wife and LL330,000 ($3.7) per child, up to five children. Family benefits, along with public sector salaries, have yet to match the lira's depreciation. Last year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of “an unbearable situation” for children in Lebanon, where most surveyed households struggled to provide for their offspring’s needs leading to child labor, malnourishment and interrupted schooling.
The Beirut port welcomed its largest container ship Saturday with the arrival of shipping giant CMA CGM’s Palais Royal to unload 23,000 twenty-foot equivalent units’ worth of staple foodstuffs, furniture, electronic equipment and solar panels. “The CMA CGM Group is once again demonstrating its attachment to Lebanon,” the group’s managing director in the Levant Joseph Dakkak said, adding that it is “positioning Lebanon at the center of world trade in goods.” Longer than four football pitches (400 meters) and as tall as a 26-story building (78 meters), the CMA CGM Palais Royal is the world's largest LNG-powered container ship. In Feb. 2022, French company CMA CGM, the third-largest container shipping firm in the world, won a contract to manage, operate and maintain the container terminal in the Port of Beirut.
At least 21,978 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, the enclave’s health ministry reported Sunday, as Hamas gave Qatar initial approval for a new hostage deal involving a month-long ceasefire, AFP reported.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo Friday to discuss an Egyptian plan for a prisoner exchange and cease-fire deal. While discussions joining Qatari officials with US and Israeli intelligence last week were reportedly positive, the possibility of a new ceasefire breaks with recent rhetoric from Hamas and Israel refusing a second pause.
Israeli attacks continued to devastate Gaza, with reports of over 100 people killed over each of the past three days. Around 100,000 people have moved to Gaza’s southernmost city Rafah amid continued evacuation orders from Israel’s military. “Many are living in the open, in the parks, in the open areas, in their cars,” UN Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) official Juliette Touma told the BBC.
“Gaza in 2023 demonstrates the immense capacity of humans to inflict untold horror on other humans,” the United Nations representative of the United Arab Emirates Lana Zaki Nusseibeh said. South Africa on Saturday accused Israel before the International Court of Justice of acts of genocide over its attacks on Gaza. The Wall Street Journal reported that by mid-December Israel had dropped 29,000 explosives on Gaza, leaving 70 percent of homes in the enclave damaged and much of its infrastructure beyond repair. The World Health Organization warned against the “growing threat of infectious diseases” in Gaza amid massive displacement and the overcrowding of health facilities, most of which have been forced to shut after months of war.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from over the weekend: “Amid war, economic woes, some Lebanese pay hundreds for New Year's Eve parties”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz