Smoke rises from a site believed to have been hit by an Israeli strike, in southern Lebanon, in this screen grab taken from a video, Feb. 27, 2024. (Credit: Reuters TV via Reuters/File Photo)
Catch up on our LIVE coverage of Day 144 of the Gaza war here.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) commander General Aroldo Lazaro expressed concern over the “expansion and intensification” of Hezbollah-Israeli crossfire. Lazaro warned that “recent risks [are] jeopardizing a political solution” to the cross-border clashes, which have already “claimed too many victims and caused considerable damage to homes and public infrastructure.” Meanwhile, Reuters is citing sources close to the party as saying Hezbollah intends to cease attacks on Israel “the moment the truce is declared,” as long as Israel does not continue to attack Lebanon. Israeli officials, however, have said attacks on Hezbollah will only cease with a guarantee to safely return residents displaced from northern Israel. Israeli public broadcaster Kan 12 reported that some surveillance soldiers and their parents are objecting to the soldiers being stationed nearer to the border with Lebanon on the grounds that they are under-equipped and under-trained.
Israel’s attacks continued to destroy and damage residential buildings and infrastructure in southern Lebanon yesterday, while Hezbollah continued to announce several cross-border attacks on Israeli military sites. Hezbollah’s announcements of cross-border strikes yesterday included two missile barrages targeting the Israeli Meron air control base in retaliation for Israel’s Monday attack on Baalbeck. It was the second salvo the party tied to the killing of two people in airstrikes on warehouses operated by Hezbollah-affiliated supermarket chain al-Nour in Addous, Bekaa. During the funeral of a party member killed Monday, Hezbollah central council member Nabil Qaouq said the downing of an Israeli Hermes-450 reconnaissance drone ushered in a “new phase in confrontation.“
The caretaker cabinet is scheduled to convene this afternoon to tackle a 27-point agenda, including public sector compensation and bank restructuring. The meeting is set to address: A draft law containing “exceptional measures” to rebalance banks’ balance sheets and the requirement to restitute up to $100,000 of foreign currency funds deposited before Oct. 2019 — and up to $36,000 for sums placed after; the provision of “temporary compensations to all public sector employees and retirees,” which, despite repeated salary adjustments, have seen their wages withered by the lira’s depreciation; the Foreign Ministry’s request to suspend work at certain diplomatic and consular missions; and a Justice Ministry request to “appoint a French lawyer to represent the Lebanese state in France” for the prosecution of former Banque du Liban chief Riad Salameh — the appointment would help maintain Lebanon’s claim over assets seized in case Salameh is convicted. The government’s last scheduled meeting was set to take place on Friday but was postponed after Lebanese Army retirees blocked access to the Grand Serail to protest low pensions and perceived unfairness in public sector compensation.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati hosted Arab ambassadors in Tripoli as part of a Culture Ministry-organized tour celebrating Tripoli's designation as the 2024 “Capital of Arab Culture.” Tripoli was designated the Arab world's culture capital in 2023, the city's assumption of the title was postponed for a year due to the municipality's lack of preparedness at the time. The delegation included ambassadors from Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman and Jordan. The charge d'affaires of the embassies of Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Syria were also present. Kazakhstan's ambassador to Lebanon also participated in the event.
At least 29,878 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the latest figures from the enclave’s Health Ministry. Hamas and Israel remain at loggerheads over “the main issues” of a new cease-fire agreement, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters, refusing to comment on US President Joe Biden’s Monday statement that Israeli “would not engage in [military] operations during Ramadan [the Muslim holy month which begins next Monday].” A senior source close to cease-fire mediation told Reuters the latest draft proposal includes a 40-day pause in hostilities, the release of 40 hostages held by Hamas — women, people under 19 or over 50, and the sick — in exchange for 400 people held in Israeli jails, ramped up aid deliveries and gradual Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas in Gaza. Amid reports of severe food shortages, starvation and a looming famine in Gaza, the US announced $53 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians to be delivered through the World Food Program and non-governmental groups. Meanwhile, the United Nations’ humanitarian office (OCHA) accused Israel’s military of “systematically” denying Gazans access to aid as relief convoys come under fire and humanitarian workers are impeded and put at risk of detention, injury or worse. OCHA said the Israeli army blocked a World Health Organization-led medical evacuation convoy in Khan Younis “for hours” while its members were forced to strip “despite prior coordination … with the Israeli side.”
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Why is Syria suddenly interested in watchtowers on the border, 10 years later?”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz