Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (center) presiding over the ministerial meeting on Monday, March 16, 2026, at the Grand Serail. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT – Cabinet met Monday at the Grand Serail, as part of its daily session to assess the country's situation. Its meeting addresses a surge in online hate campaigns targeting media and political figures, the plight of people displaced by Israeli attacks and rising prices of essential goods.
In their meeting, the ministers recommended that the public prosecutor handle cases of hate speech and online threats.
Journalists and public figures have faced a surge of hate speech and online social media campaign in light of the war pitting Hezbollah and Israel against one another, with Israeli strikes bombing several areas across Lebanon. In one example, Dima Sadek has faced violent social media campaigns, including calls for her murder, over her outspoken criticism of Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Ali Berro, a journalist close to Hezbollah, remains in detention after legal proceedings for issuing online threats against several officials.
Information Minister Paul Morcos said the ministers discussed “hate speech and incitement to discord, which floods certain media outlets and social networks, crossing the boundaries of freedom of opinion, the press, and expression.” He added that the government recommends the public prosecutor take up such cases as they arise.
Meetings are taking place daily at the Grand Serail to assess the country's situation and the status of aid provided to the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Israeli strikes and threats on their region, following the resumption of war on March 2.
The meeting also reviewed the situation of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Israeli strikes and threats since the resumption of war on March 2.
Morcos said 36 reception centers still have space for new arrivals, and authorities could open 100 additional centers if needed. Many displaced people from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs have been forced to shelter in tents on the streets amid heavy rain and storms in the recent days. Those internally displaced have been hesitant or unable to move north despite appeals from the Social Development Ministry, as existing centers in Beirut quickly reached capacity.
The ministers also discussed rising prices driven by import and shipping costs. Morcos said the Economy Ministry will track businesses that hoard goods to sell them at inflated prices and detailed an "initiative to identify and even seal with red wax businesses that violate the law, and to seize the goods for distribution to the displaced and refer violations to the judiciary."
Finally, Morcos said Prime Minister Nawaf Salam instructed officials to closely monitor the distribution of aid to the internally displaced, including support from the urgent humanitarian appeal launched last week in Beirut by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
