US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives to board a plane bound for Cairo at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Feb. 6, 2024. Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 5 for another Middle East crisis tour, hoping to secure a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war as Gaza saw no let-up in fighting. (Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP)
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Catch up on yesterday’s LIVE coverage of Day 122 of the Israel-Hamas war here.
An Israeli air raid killed three Amal Movement members in Beit Lif, Bint Jbeil, yesterday and Hezbollah announced the deaths of three of its own members. The Amal Movement has seen six of its members killed since Oct. 8, after another strike Friday killed two other party members contributing to Hezbollah’s “support front.” The total number of Hezbollah members killed in Lebanon and Syria since Oct. 8 now stands at 182. The Amal Movement Risala Scouts suffered a near-miss from an Israeli attack while responding to an earlier strike in Jibbayn. The movement’s ambulances and rescuers have suffered several hits since the start of cross-border fighting
Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib called for “comprehensive solutions, not half-solutions” to the ongoing border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel. Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, warned that "time is running out" to reach a diplomatic solution, reiterating warnings of military action as a means of returning residents evacuated from northern Israel.
Mobile telecom operator employees began a strike to demand salary adjustments and “a collective labor contract that preserves the rights and benefits of all employees.” The striking employees’ union said the action comes after their employers failed to follow through after months of negotiation and an eventual agreement on employee contracts. The employees threatened to escalate their protest if their salaries are not adjusted according to inflation and paid in US dollars. Contracts have been at the center of mobile telecom employee strikes since at least Dec. 2022 and their demands for improved compensation led to a strike last July.
Lebanese Army retirees are scheduled to hold protests today at the Finance Ministry’s VAT building and the Port of Beirut, which they threatened to “close” in the latest demonstrations demanding improved compensation. The retirees said they were protesting the government’s failure “to correct wages and give salary increases to what remains of the public sector,” in seeming solidarity with other public sector employees whose wages have fallen sharply since the start of the economic crisis in 2019. The protesters’ statement threatened escalation, calling today’s demonstration “a final message” after a series of similar protests.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) blamed Israel for an attack on one of its aid convoys preparing to enter northern Gaza. Humanitarian agencies and international organizations have repeatedly warned of the increasingly dire situation in Gaza, where the delivery of aid is exacerbated by ongoing fighting. Several donor countries suspended funding to UNRWA over the past week amid allegations that some of its members were involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Groups of Israeli protesters, including relatives of hostages in Gaza, have impeded the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East for his fifth visit since the start of the regional conflict on Oct. 7 in the hopes of brokering a deal in Gaza.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “One year ago, a massive quake cracked their homes. Now these Tripoli residents fear collapse”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz