US special envoy Amos Hochstein (R) leaves the government palace in Beirut, accompanied by Lebanese protocol official Lahoud Lahoud (L), after his meeting with Lebanon's caretaker prime minister on Jan. 11, 2024 amid continuing tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.
Catch up on yesterday’s LIVE coverage of Day 97 of the Israel-Hamas war here.
Israel killed two paramedics and destroyed an ambulance in a “direct bombardment” on an Islamic Health Authority emergency center in Hanine, southern Lebanon, according to a statement from Hezbollah. Border clashes continued as Hezbollah announced several attacks on northern Israeli military positions and Israeli strikes were noted across southern Lebanon. Hezbollah Executive Council Vice President Sheikh Ali Dahmouch claimed that the party has so far “only used a tiny part of its capabilities.” Israel has repeatedly threatened escalation if Hezbollah does not cease attacks.
A man who threatened to set himself on fire left without retrieving any funds from a Fransabank branch in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Ali Zeaiter’s attempted hold-up of the Musharrafieh bank to retrieve his father’s deposit ended “calmly,” Fransabank said, and without direct contact with security forces, who had been called to the scene, the NNA reported. Fransabank’s statement asserted that Hawlo Zeaiter, Ali’s father, was authorized to access his funds as mediated by Banque du Liban circulars, which — at best — allows the withdrawal of limited amounts of foreign currency at the Sayrafa rate. The threat of self-immolation has been repeatedly used during attempts to forcibly withdraw frozen funds — but also during protests decrying dire economic conditions.
US Envoy Amos Hochstein, following a visit to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, called for a “middle ground, temporary solution” to the border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, despite an inability to reach a “final agreement at the moment.” Mikati reaffirmed that the "priority should be a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli aggression in Lebanon.” Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad said US diplomatic efforts were “knocking on the wrong door,” adding that the only way to stop the cross-border attacks on Israel was an end to the war on Gaza. Hochstein told Reuters he was in Beirut with the aim of achieving a “diplomatic solution” to the border clashes after Israel threatened escalation if Hezbollah did not cease its attacks. Mikati noted Lebanon backs the withdrawal of Hezbollah to the north of the Litani, as called for in UN Security Council Resolution 1701, provided Israel withdraws from the Lebanese areas it occupies.
The caretaker government is scheduled to convene today with a 34-item agenda that includes licensing offshore oil and gas exploration, fueling public power provider Electricité du Liban, mid-20th century commercial rent reforms and appointing members to a cannabis cultivation regulatory authority.
The Environment Ministry requested the government’s approval on several proposals to ensure public sanitation which includes ensuring the continuity of existing sanitation contracts, examining the possibility of expanding the Naameh landfill’s capacity.
The session’s agenda also includes several items pertaining to donations, loans and grants for, among other things, the continued funding of the Emergency Social Safety Net program, a Chinese grant to provide state telecoms provider Ogero with solar power, good governance programs, as well as a Food and Agriculture Organization-funded program to create employment in the livestock industry.
The cabinet will also discuss transferring the Jounieh Telepherique cable car from the Energy Ministry to the Tourism Ministry. An issue with the cable car last month left at least 25 people stranded in mid-air pending their gradual rescue over the course of the day.
Banks have begun registering for the Bloomberg Interbank Matching System, the foreign exchange platform designed to replace Banque du Liban’s (BDL) Sayrafa with a floating exchange rate, a Lebanese bank executive told L’Orient Today. BDL on Wednesday urged banks to register for the new platform, which was approved by the caretaker cabinet last September. Central Bank third deputy governor Salim Chahine described the platform last year to L’Orient Today as “a reliable tool to enable Lebanon to complete its transition to a floating exchange rate regime.” While the central bank did not give a date for the new platform’s launch, the same banking source said BDL would be “able to launch the platform as soon as the [2024] budget comes into force.” A unified exchange rate is among the reform preconditions from the International Monetary Fund to unlock a multibillion-dollar aid package. The Sayrafa and parallel market rates converged for the first time last month after the former, set by the central bank, had typically lagged behind — and was increased periodically in attempts to curb the lira’s depreciation.
Yesterday was the first day of proceedings in South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Israel has been accused of committing genocide in Gaza. Israeli officials denounced the trial.
Reuters reported that Israel’s attacks intensified in southern Gaza while people returning to the northern part of the enclave amid a relative calm found widespread devastation there.
The Israeli army insisted that two slain journalists had posed a threat to troops, by using a drone, thus justifying a deadly strike on their car. One of the journalists was a videographer and used a drone to get footage from above, a common practice worldwide.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Lebanese MP warns of corruption and security flaws at Beirut airport”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz