Destruction from Israeli strikes. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin).
-Airport passengers (arrivals, departures and transit) dropped to 5.1 million in the first 10 months of 2024, down from 6.3 million over the same period in 2023, or a decrease of 19.1 percent, according to data compiled by Byblos Bank’s latest “Lebanon This Week” report, and based on figures released by the Rafik Hariri International Airport (RHIA).
-The World Bank estimated that Israel’s war on Lebanon has cost the country $8.5 billion. In a new report published on Thursday, the organization found the physical damage caused by Israeli shelling to the infrastructures amounted alone to $3.413 billion, while the economic losses surpassed $5.062 billion.
Housing has been the hardest hit, with the damages exceeding $3 billion, and 100,000 housing units damaged in one year.
-Polar, a startup co-founded by Lebanese Charbel Seif and French David Dokes, specializing in data analytics for online businesses, announced it has raised $18 million in a Series A round. The round was led by Chalfen Ventures, with existing partners Point Nine and Frst also participating. This new funding brings Polar's total raised funds since its founding in 2021 to $28.5 million.
-Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, announced in a press release that he had been informed on Nov. 14 by the Iraqi Prime Minister's office and his Ministry of Oil that Iraq was committed to continue supplying fuel to Lebanon’s electricity sector.
In concrete terms, this assistance consists of a third renewal of the fuel oil supply contract signed on July 21, 2021, between Lebanon and Iraq, to enable the country’s Électricité du Liban (EDL) to supply the population with a few hours of electricity a day as the economic crisis lingers and the war persists.
-Gas prices fell again this Friday, a trend since the end of October, according to the latest price list published by the Energy Ministry. Diesel and fuel oil prices rose slightly, while the price of gas cylinders also followed suit.
Here are the new rates:
Piece of the week:
Despite the strikes, the destruction of infrastructure, and the increased costs in the face of danger, Lebanon’s winemakers hope to produce 15 million bottles this year. Read Fouad Gemayel and Lisa Goursaud’s piece:
