This handout image provided by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) shows a fork-lift transporting boxes as two military planes from Qatar containing aid for Gaza, including medicine for hostages, are unloaded at El Arish airport in Egypt on Jan. 17, 2024. (Credit: MOFA Qatar/AFP)
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Catch up on yesterday’s LIVE coverage of Day 103 of the Israel-Hamas war here.
Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon killed one person and injured two others in Qleileh, Sour district, medical and security sources told L'Orient Today. Shortly after, the military wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam brigades, announced the death of one of its fighters in the strike. Hezbollah also announced the death of a member after nearly a week with no casualties. The deadly strikes came amid continued cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that a full-fledged conflict in Lebanon must be avoided “at all costs” warning against the “spillover” that has already taken place. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, called on “influential states to put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression on southern Lebanon.”
Baalbek farmers called on international organizations to settle an Electricité du Liban (EDL) bill of LL 20 billion claiming it was driven up by the electricity consumption from informal Syrian refugee camps in the area. Farmers from Masharia al-Qaa blocked the main road leading to al-Qaa, Baalbeck to protest calls by EDL to settle their outstanding electricity bills. Al-Qaa Municipality Council President Bashir Matar told L’Orient Today that Syrian nationals in the area had been reassured that their bills would be settled by a third-party payer.
The cyberattack targeting Beirut International Airport (BIA) continues to have repercussions, a Middle East Airlines source told L’Orient Today. Internet connectivity is down for most services and the baggage system is operating at 20 percent. The same source said that "priority [is] given to restoring connectivity in critical departments.” Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh over the weekend said that any issues from the cyberattack would be resolved by Monday — a goal that was not met. In the aftermath of the hack that displayed an anti-Hezbollah message on the BIA Flight Information Display System and affected the baggage handling system, Hamieh and other officials emphasized the return to normalcy at the airport and that passengers would be safe.
At least 24,448 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, the enclave’s health ministry said. The ministry reported at least 81 overnight deaths in Israeli shelling as Israel intensified attacks on the south of the enclave. The ministry also warned of the spread of hepatitis A in Gaza “due to overpopulation and the low level of hygiene in places housing displaced people.” Web monitoring organization NetBloks said that most people in Gaza have “not been able to contact the outside world since Jan. 12” amid “the longest telecommunications disruption recorded since the start of the conflict.”
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Pollution and Lebanon’s marine biodiversity: New study samples Sour, Beirut and Tripoli”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
