People stand by a hole in the ceiling of a room at a school run by the UNRWA and heavily damaged by Israeli bombardment at the Shati camp for Palestinian refugees, west of Gaza City, on May 7, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
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Catch up on yesterday’s LIVE coverage of Day 214 of the Gaza war here.
Hezbollah announced a composite drone and missile attack targeting Israeli army barracks and air defense equipment while Israel announced the killing of two reservist soldiers in a drone strike the day before. Hezbollah announced several other cross-border strikes while southern Lebanon’s residents continued to report shelling and bombardment in the region. A further five houses have been destroyed by Israeli attacks, L’Orient Today’s correspondent reported.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) qualified Israel’s killing of "seven emergency and relief volunteers" in an attack on Hebbarieh (southern Lebanon) an "unlawful attack on civilians that failed to take all necessary precautions.” The rights group urged an investigation into the attack as an “apparent war crime” for failing to take precautions to “avoid loss of civilian life.” HRW called on the US to cease military aid and arms sales to Israel, weeks after the country’s approval of billions of dollars in military support, over their “unlawful” use, noting that the strike on Hebbarieh left “remnants of a guidance kit produced by the US-based Boeing Company.” Israel has repeatedly targeted medical workers, as well as journalists and civilians, in southern Lebanon.
Students held another protest in solidarity with Palestine at the American University of Beirut (AUB), adding their voices to the global wave of anti-war protests. One student said they believe the demonstration would not be as effective as those held in the US, noting AUB was “already committed to the Palestinian cause.” Another said protesting was the least they could do and called for the university to boycott companies associated with Israel. Thousands face arrest in the US after college crackdowns on pro-Palestinian encampments calling for divestment, and in France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, further protests have sprung up.
Electricité du Liban (EDL) workers are set to go on strike from today until Sunday to protest the state electricity provider’s delays in further adjusting salaries to match the triple-digit inflation rate since Oct. 2019. The EDL union expressed concern over the loss in value of pay adjustments the longer it is delayed in its announcement of the strike. EDL and other public institutions’ employees have regularly protested the depreciation of their salaries, which, despite government adjustments to the minimum wage and pay scales, remain meager fractions of their pre-crisis values.
Ten opposition MPs filed an appeal yesterday against Parliament's decision to extend municipal elections by one year — for the third year running. The MPs say that the fighting in the South, which was the stated reason for delaying elections, cannot legitimize a nationwide postponement, since it only concerns a limited part of Lebanese territory. The appeal cites the 1998 municipal elections, when the ballot was only postponed in southern Lebanon, under Israeli occupation at the time, but held as scheduled throughout the rest of the country.
At least 34,789 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the latest figures from the enclave’s Health Ministry. The Israeli army continued intense bombardments on Rafah to “exert military pressure” forcing Hamas to approve Israel’s cease-fire terms, Netanyahu’s office said. Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossing remained closed by Israel. An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo where Qatari, US and Hamas representatives are also present for mediation amid scrambling diplomatic efforts as Israel’s troops encroach on Rafah — the last refuge for more than one million Palestinians displaced by Israel’s southward onslaught through Gaza. Hamas announced that two Israeli hostages injured and held in Gaza since Oct. 7 have died, after being unable to receive treatment following Israel’s “destruction of hospitals.”
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Banks and businesses are rejecting old, "bad" USD notes in Lebanon. Why?”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz