Lebanon's highest Sunni authority says Palestine concerns all Arabs and Muslims

Lebanon's highest Sunni authority Grand Mufti Abdel Latif Derian said on Saturday that Palestine concerns all the Arabs and Muslims amid an ongoing war in Gaza, which has resulted in more than 32,000 deaths and many more injured, according to the Gaza's health ministry.

"Palestine concerns all Arabs and Muslims. It is our cause and will stay so no matter what the Zionist enemy overshadowed," Derian said during a Ramadan iftar hosted in his honor.

"Gaza and its people are experiencing a genocide. We have to ask the UN and humanitarian organizations what they did to prevent the Zionist aggression and ask them to stop this genocide against people who want to live freely on their land and have a free and sovereign state," the Grand Mufti added.

Lebanon has been experiencing ongoing attacks between Hezbollah and Israel on the Lebanese-Israeli borders following Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks which occasionally spread to other areas. Today, a drone attack struck the Bekaa following an overnight drone attack on Baalbeck.

Presidential elections

Derian also called for electing a new president to get the trust of Arab nations and the international community amid its economic crisis and its part in the regional conflict.

"We still hope for the best regarding the efforts to elect a president ... It is not acceptable that our country stays without a president. Lebanon cannot get the trust of brotherly Arab countries and fellow countries in the world if the state does not re-think its institutions. The delay in electing a president is a suicide project ... It is rejected religiously, politically and legally and in all the standards of patriotism. Let those who are not doing their national duties and are lazy about doing their work, or obstructing other people's solutions to get out of this long tunnel, assume their responsibilities," Derian added.

Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun left office in October 2022.