Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 10-11/2024
Fasting is prayer, contemplation, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God, oneself, and others/Elias Bejjani/February 10/2024
An Israeli drone strike in Lebanon kills 2 in one of the deepest hits inside the country in weeks
Senior Hamas official in Lebanon survives Israeli strike: sources
2 dead as Israeli drone targets Hamas official in Jadra near Sidon
Moody’s downgrades Israel’s credit rating due to Hamas conflict
Security sources to Reuters: Palestinian figure close to Hamas survives Israeli strike in Lebanon, killing three others
Israeli Army radio: Jadra operation’s target was a senior Hamas Leader in Lebanon
Israeli drone targets car in Jadra, north of Sidon, injures motorcyclist
Failed Israeli drone assassination in Lebanon kills two, including Hezbollah member, amid ongoing conflict
Hezbollah fires large rocket salvo at Israeli-occupied Golan
Iran foreign minister says Iran, U.S. have exchanged messages in recent weeks
Iranian Foreign Minister's Beirut visit signals commitment to regional crisis solutions
Iran's FM Abdollahian meets with Nasrallah and Mikati
Berri meets Abdollahian, Bou Saab
Abdollahian after meeting with Mikati: It is necessary to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and reach fair solutions for the countries of the...
Bou Habib meets his Iranian counterpart
Mikati at beginning of Cabinet session: I asked to wait to complete the study of the compensation file for the public sector

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 10-11/2024
Three dead in Israeli strikes near Syrian capital
Israeli plan for assault on Rafah sparks fears of ‘bloodbath’, sharpens Egypt’s worry about exodus
Israeli military says Hamas had command tunnel under UN Gaza headquarters
Hamas warns Israeli Rafah op may cause casualties in 'tens of thousands'
The looming threat over Rafah: Israel's controversial plan amid international warnings
28 killed in Rafah strikes after Netanyahu says invasion there inevitable
Israeli claims against UNRWA staff were not corroborated before employment was terminated, says Lazzarini
Saudi Arabia warns of extremely dangerous repercussions of Israeli Rafah
3 Emirati armed forces members, one Bahraini officer killed in Somalia
Gaza's Health Ministry: 28,064 Palestinians killed, 67,611 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7
Hamas had command tunnel under U.N. Gaza headquarters, Israeli military says
Yemen's Houthis hold funeral for 17 militants killed in US-UK air strikes

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on February 10-11/2024
The Dangerous Global Order with a Nuclear Armed Iran/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 10, 2024
Biden finally flexes political muscles against Israeli settlers/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/February 10, 2024
If the US wants to be a serious force on the global stage, things must change/Luke Coffey/Arab News/February 10, 2024
The Arab region must prioritize food security/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/February 10, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 10-11/2024
Fasting is prayer, contemplation, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God, oneself, and others
Elias Bejjani/February 10/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/83444/elias-bejjani-cana-wedding-miracle-the-forgiveness-marfaa-sunday-%d8%a3%d8%ad%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%81%d8%b9-%d9%88%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%88%d9%85/
Lent period starts with the Cana Holy Wedding Miracle and ends with the Holy Easter Day. Lent in the Maronite Church rite starts on the ASH Monday and ends on the Light Saturday.
The Sunday that comes before the beginning of the lent period is called  Ahad Al Marfah (أحد المرفع) or forgiveness Sunday (أحد الغفران).
Lent in principle is a Holy period that is ought to be utilized with God in genuine contemplation, self humility, repentance, penances, forgiveness, praying and conciliation with self and others. Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Jesus Who is the fountain of all love, forgiveness and mercy. Lent is a pilgrimage in which Jesus Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty while sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.
The lent period is a spiritual battle that we chose to fight our own selves and all its bodily and earthly instinctual pleasures in a bid to abstain from all acts and thoughts of sin.
Lent is ought to strengthen our hope and faith in a bid to fight Satan and to keep away from his ways of sin and despair. Praying and contemplation teaches us that Almighty God is there to guard us and to lead our steps during the entire Lenten period.
When we fast and pray, we find time for God, to understand that his words will not pass away.
Through fasting and praying we can enter into that intimate communion with Jesus so that no one shall take from us the faith and hope that does not disappoint.
Fasting is a battle of spiritual engagement through which we seek to imitate Jesus Christ who fought Satan’s temptations while fasting in the wilderness. He triumphed over Satan, and we faithfully endeavour during the Lent period to tame and defeat our earthly instincts and make our hearts, conscience and thinking pure, immaculate and pious.
We fast and trust that the Lord is our loving Shepherd.
“Psalm 23:04: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and staff comfort me.”
Reading the Holy Bible and praying offers us God’s Word with particular abundance and empowers our souls and minds with His Word.
Mark 13:31: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”
By meditating and internalizing the Word Of God we learn precious and irreplaceable forms of prayer.
By attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism.
Prayers and fasting allow us to gain a new concept of time and directs our steps towards horizons of hope and joy that have no limits.

An Israeli drone strike in Lebanon kills 2 in one of the deepest hits inside the country in weeks
BEIRUT (AP)/February 10, 2024
An Israeli drone strike hit a car near Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon on Saturday, killing at least two people and wounding two others, security officials said.
The strike came as tensions across the Middle East grow with the Israel-Hamas war, a drone attack last month that killed three U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on vessels passing through the Red Sea. The drone strike near the coastal town of Jadra took place about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Israeli border, making it one of the farthest inside Lebanon since violence erupted along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas' attack in southern Israel. An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the target of the strike in Sidon was Hamas official Basel Saleh, who was “injured to an unknown extent.” The official said Saleh was responsible for enlistment of new Hamas recruits in Gaza and the West Bank.
The attack in Lebanon came as Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met in Beirut with Lebanese leaders including the country’s caretaker prime minister, parliament speaker and the head of the militant Hezbollah group.
Amirabdollahian said that if the United States wants to bring stability to the region again, it should work on forcing Israel to end its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
He told reporters after meeting his counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib that after four months of war, Israel and its backers did not achieve "anything tangible.”
In an apparent reference to attacks by Iran-backed fighters in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Amirabdollahian said that “if American wants calm to prevail in the region, then the mechanism and the solution is to stop the genocide, crimes and the war against Gaza and the West Bank.”He blasted Washington, saying the U.S. is working on two tracks, one of which is sending weapons to Israel “and participating in the genocide in Gaza” and at the same time speaking about reaching a political solution to the war.
Two Lebanese security officials said the strike damaged a car and killed two people, including one on a motorcycle. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Lebanese troops cordoned off the area.
Drone strikes in Lebanon blamed on Israel have so far killed several officials from Hezbollah as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The previous farthest strike was the Jan. 2 attack that killed top Hamas official Saleh Arouri in Beirut.
The U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that the U.S. military conducted self-defense strikes against two mobile unmanned surface vessels, four anti-ship cruise missiles, and one mobile land attack cruise missile that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea from Yemen. The military said the missiles and an unmanned vessel in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. The Houthis’ media office said the U.S.-led coalition launched three airstrikes on Salif district in the Red Sea province of Hodeida on Saturday. Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. In response, the U.S. and Britain launched several airstrikes on Houthi-held areas across Yemen, including the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.
The Houthis held a mass funeral in Sanaa Saturday for 17 of their fighters who they said were killed in strikes by the U.S.-led coalition, according to the Houthi-run SABA news agency. The report didn’t say when and where the fighters were killed.
In Syria, Israeli airstrikes hit several sites on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, the Syrian military said Saturday. The strikes came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing an unnamed military official. It added that air defenses shot down some and those that landed resulted in “some material losses.”Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one of the strikes hit a residential building west of the capital. It reported three unidentified people were killed. Earlier it said causalities could be “figures of non-Syrian nationalities.” The observatory said Saturday's assault was the 10th apparent Israeli strike on Syrian territory since the beginning of the year.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Presumed Israeli strikes in Syria in the past have killed high-ranking figures with Iran's Revolutionary Guard and allied groups. In December, a strike on a Damascus neighborhood killed a high-ranking Iranian general, Seyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria.
Tensions have also flared elsewhere in the region. A U.S. airstrike in Baghdad Wednesday killed a commander of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful armed groups in Iraq, as part of Washington's retaliation for the killing of three U.S. troops in Jordan last month. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that has launched numerous attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, issued a call Friday for fighters to join its ranks to drive “occupying forces” out of the country.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has conducted about 170 attacks on bases with U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria over the last four months, saying they were due to Washington’s support of Israel in its war in Gaza and that it aims to expel U.S. forces from the region.
Iraqi and U.S. officials launched formal talks last month to wind down the presence of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq, but the talks were paused following the death of three U.S. troops in a strike in Jordan attributed to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Officials from both countries announced Thursday that the talks will resume, with the next meeting set for Sunday.
*Zeyad reported from Baghdad. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, Julia Franker in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Senior Hamas official in Lebanon survives Israeli strike: sources
AFP/February 11, 2024
BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on Lebanon Saturday killed two civilians and a Hezbollah member, officials said, while security sources told AFP a senior Hamas officer had survived an assassination attempt south of Beirut. An Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded nine others in the southern border village of Hula, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said. Israeli forces and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have traded near-daily fire since war broke out on October 7 between Israel and the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP the person killed in Hula was a member of the group. Hula mayor Shakib Koteish said the fatality was a civilian killed when his home, facing a local mosque, was hit. While the Israel-Lebanon violence has been largely contained to the border area, a strike earlier on Saturday hit the coastal town of Jadra, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the closest point in Israel. The second-farthest deadly attack from the border in four months of hostilities “was a failed attempt to assassinate a senior official in the (Hamas) movement,” a Palestinian security said, requesting anonymity for security concerns. The NNA reported it was an Israeli drone strike. A Lebanese security official, also requesting anonymity, identified the target as Hamas recruitment officer Bassel Saleh. Shortly after the initial strike on Saleh’s car, a second Israeli drone hit the same location, killing two people, the official said. Hezbollah said one of its members had died. Saleh “survived but suffered burns on his back and was admitted to hospital,” the Lebanese official said. The official added Saleh is “in charge of a recruitment unit in the West Bank,” occupied by Israel since 1967. A Hamas official in Lebanon told AFP that no member of the group had been killed in the Jadra attack. An official with the Lebanese Risala Scout association, which operates rescue teams and is affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, told AFP that two civilians had been killed. But Hezbollah later announced one of its members had been killed by Israeli fire. A source close to the group told AFP the man, Khalil Fares, was one of the two people killed in his town of Jadra.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw a damaged car and a charred motorcycle nearby, with bloodstains all over the site of the strike near the beach. On Saturday, the NNA reported several Israeli strikes on south Lebanon villages, with Hezbollah also claiming attacks on Israeli positions across the border.
Hezbollah in a statement also said it “took control of an Israeli enemy Skylark drone.”Cross-border fire since the start of the Israel-Hamas war has killed at least 230 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 28 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, nine soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to the Israeli army. On Thursday, an Israeli drone strike seriously wounded a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon, with the group later firing a salvo of rockets into northern Israel. In January, a strike widely attributed to Israel killed Hamas’s deputy leader Saleh Al-Aruri in Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold — the most high-profile Hamas figure to be killed during the war.

2 dead as Israeli drone targets Hamas official in Jadra near Sidon
Agence France Press/February 10, 2024
Hamas said two people were killed Saturday in a failed Israeli drone targeting of one of its senior members in Lebanon’s Jadra, some 60 kilometers from the border -- the deepest Israeli strike in Lebanon since the killing of Hamas deputy head Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Witnesses in Jadra said a Syrian national and a Lebanese citizen were killed in the strike. Reports said the drone’s missiles landed at or near a car and a motorcycle.

Moody’s downgrades Israel’s credit rating due to Hamas conflict
AFP/February 10, 2024
WASHINGTON: The US ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit rating Friday due to the impact of its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, lowering it by one notch from A1 to A2. In a statement, Moody’s said it had done so after assessing that “the ongoing military conflict with Hamas, its aftermath and wider consequences materially raise political risk for Israel as well as weaken its executive and legislative institutions and its fiscal strength, for the foreseeable future.”The ratings agency also lowered its outlook for Israel’s debt to “negative” due to “the risk of an escalation” with the far more powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that operates along its northern border. Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. In response, Israel launched air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed at least 27,947 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Following the attack, S&P Global Ratings lowered Israel’s credit outlook from stable to negative on risks that the Israel-Hamas conflict could broaden.
Fitch — which is the last of the big three US ratings agencies — placed Israel on negative watch over risks from the conflict. “The weakened security environment implies higher social risk and indicates weaker executive and legislative institutions than Moody’s previously assessed,” the ratings agency said Friday in the statement explaining its decision. “At the same time, Israel’s public finances are deteriorating and the previously projected downward trend in the public debt ratio has now reversed,” it continued. “Moody’s expects that Israel’s debt burden will be materially higher than projected before the conflict,” it added.

Security sources to Reuters: Palestinian figure close to Hamas survives Israeli strike in Lebanon, killing three others
Reuters/February 10, 2024
Four security sources confirmed to Reuters that a Palestinian figure close to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) survived an Israeli attack on Saturday, about 60 kilometers inside Lebanese territory. The sources added that the attack resulted in the killing of three others.

Israeli Army radio: Jadra operation’s target was a senior Hamas Leader in Lebanon
LBCI/February 10, 2024
Israeli Army Radio reported that a senior leader within the Hamas movement in Lebanon was the target of the operation in the town of Jadra, north of Sidon.  The incident resulted in the martyrdom of two individuals and left two others injured. According to reports, an Israeli drone targeted a car in the town of Jadra on Saturday.

Israeli drone targets car in Jadra, north of Sidon, injures motorcyclist
LBCI/February 10, 2024
An Israeli drone reportedly targeted on Saturday a car in the town of Jadra, situated north of Sidon. The attack resulted in the injury of a motorcyclist. Preliminary information indicates the presence of two individuals in the targeted car, one from the town of Aitaroun, residing in the area.

Failed Israeli drone assassination in Lebanon kills two, including Hezbollah member, amid ongoing conflict
LBCI/February 10, 2024
In a dramatic turn of events in Jadra, Lebanon, an Israeli drone strike intended to assassinate a high-ranking Hamas leader it instead resulted in the tragic deaths of two individuals, including a member of Hezbollah, and injuries to two others.
This incident, which unfolded 58 kilometers from the southern border, underscores the escalating tensions and complex web of alliances and enmities in the region. The operation targeted Basel Saleh, a key figure within the Hamas organization, specifically recognized for his role in recruiting fighters for the Qassam Brigades in the West Bank. Despite the precision aimed by the Israeli military, surveillance footage from the scene showed the drone's missile missing Saleh's vehicle, sparing his life but not without consequence. In the moments following the initial strike, as local citizens rushed to aid those affected, a second missile was deployed, exacerbating the tragedy. Among the casualties was Khalil Fares, a local vegetable vendor who was later identified and mourned as a member of Hezbollah, highlighting the intricate and often overlapping affiliations within Lebanese and Palestinian factions.
A Syrian national, merely passing by on his motorcycle, also fell victim to this strike. The targeted vehicle, belonging to Samer Abdel Hamid, sustained significant damage, and Abdel Hamid himself was injured and required medical attention.
This botched assassination attempt not only failed to eliminate its intended target, Basel Saleh but also inadvertently claimed the lives of individuals unconnected to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The strike has precipitated a wave of emergency responses, leaving behind a grim tableau of wreckage, blood, and debris. This event marks a significant escalation in the conflict that has been ongoing since October 7, 2023, further complicated by the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas, on January 2, 2024, in Beirut. Al-Arouri's killing, part of a series of Israeli operations targeting Hamas leadership, has intensified the hostilities between Israel and various Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Hezbollah. The strike in Jadra not only reflects the volatile and unpredictable nature of the conflict but also serves as a somber reminder of the human cost of these military operations, affecting both combatants and innocent bystanders alike. As the region grapples with the aftermath of these actions, the international community watches closely, concerned about the potential for further escalation and the dire implications for civilian safety and regional stability.

Hezbollah fires large rocket salvo at Israeli-occupied Golan
Agence France Presse/February 10, 2024
Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets at an army position in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, hours after launching a salvo at northern Israel.
Friday's attack came as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Beirut, and hours after Syria said it downed two drones near Damascus that it said entered its airspace from the Golan. Hezbollah fighters targeted an Israeli army barracks "in the occupied Syrian Golan with dozens of Katyusha rockets," the group said in a statement. It had already claimed a number of other attacks on Friday on Israeli targets including "spy equipment" and a tank. Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Lebanon-Israel border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, a Hamas ally. The latest salvo came after Hezbollah said it fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at northern Israel late Thursday in reponse to an Israeli drone strike which seriously wounded a Hezbollah commander in the south Lebanon city of Nabatiyeh.
The Israeli military said that fighter jets struck a "military site" where Hezbollah fighters were operating in Maroun al-Ras and "military compounds" in two other south Lebanon towns. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli bombardment of multiple locations in the south. Recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity in the Lebanese capital, as Britain, France and Germany have all sent their foreign minister to appeal for a return to calm on the border. Concerns have been growing that the Gaza conflict might trigger a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah like that of 2006.
During four months of cross-border fire, at least 228 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 27 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 15 people have been killed, six of them civilians, according to the Israeli army. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

Iran foreign minister says Iran, U.S. have exchanged messages in recent weeks
BEIRUT (Reuters)/February 10, 2024
Iran and the United States have exchanged messages throughout Israel's four-month-old war on Hamas in Gaza, including about Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, the Iranian foreign minister said on Saturday. "During this war and in the recent weeks, there was an exchange of messages between Iran and America," Hossein Amirabdollahian said through a translator at a press conference capping a day-long visit to Beirut. He said the United States had asked Tehran to request Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, "not to get widely, fully involved in this war against" Israel. Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli military along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier to support its Palestinian ally Hamas, and has vowed to "fight to the end" should Israel launch a full-scare war on Lebanon. Israel launched a war it says aims to destroy Hamas after the Islamist group staged a deadly cross-border assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7. The conflict has rippled across the region and earlier this month Washington staged strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Irag, Syria and Yemen in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. troops in Jordan. Amirabdollahian on Saturday warned Israel against taking any steps towards a broader war against Lebanon, saying that would be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "last day." He also said Iran saw a political solution as the only way to end the Gaza war. "Iran and Lebanon confirm that war is not the solution, and that we absolutely never sought to expand it," Amirabdollahian told a news conference earlier on Saturday alongside his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib. He also said Tehran was in talks with Saudi Arabia on a political solution to hostilities in Gaza. Hamas this week proposed a ceasefire of 4-1/2 months, during which remaining hostages held by Hamas would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and agreement would be reached on an end to the war. Netanyahu called the Hamas terms "delusional" and vowed to fight on. But Amirabdollahian said Hamas was presenting ideas based on a "realistic view," and that they should be widely backed in order to end the war. Amirabdollahian met on Saturday with Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, foreign minister, speaker of parliament and Hezbollah head Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television outlet said the foreign minister and Nasrallah reviewed the latest developments in Gaza and southern Lebanon, including "the near future of the situation in Lebanon". Amirabdollahian is set to travel on to Syria, according to Syrian media, and will meet top officials there. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps have suffered one of their most bruising spells in Syria since arriving a decade ago to aid President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. Since December, Israeli strikes have killed more than half a dozen of their members, among them one of the Guards' top intelligence generals.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Frances Kerry)

Iranian Foreign Minister's Beirut visit signals commitment to regional crisis solutions
LBCI/February 10, 2024
In a two-day visit packed with high-level meetings, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian emphasized Iran's role as a key player in resolving regional crises and engaged in strategic consultations with allies in Lebanon during a critical period for the Middle East. According to LBCI, Amir-Abdollahian's presence in Lebanon underscores Iran's dedication to being part of the solution to the area's ongoing tensions. This visit comes at a pivotal time, with ongoing negotiations in Egypt aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Gaza, representing a potential turning point for regional stability. Concurrently, discussions in Oman between American and Iranian representatives continue, highlighting the international efforts to address the complexities of Middle East peace. Throughout his stay in Beirut, Amir-Abdollahian met with Palestinian leaders and Lebanese officials, where the sentiment towards de-escalation in Gaza was palpably positive, even though official announcements on the matter were scarce. In meetings with Ziyad al-Nakhala, Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, and Hamas official Osama Hamdan, there was a concerted emphasis on the need for a unified stance among Palestinian factions regarding the political initiatives proposed to end the conflict in Gaza. A significant aspect of Amir-Abdollahian's visit was his discussion with Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The Iranian Foreign Minister shared outcomes from Iran's recent regional talks, while Nasrallah provided updates on the southern front's situation. However, a noteworthy moment occurred during Amir-Abdollahian's meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The Iranian official expressed optimism about resolving the Gaza crisis through political means, contrasting sharply with the Israeli Prime Minister's view that continuing the conflict is necessary for his survival. Amir-Abdollahian also briefed the Lebanese political sphere on the outcomes of his regional consultations, reinforcing Iran's diplomatic engagement across the Middle East. The Iranian Foreign Minister's tour did not conclude in Beirut; it is set to continue across the region, with subsequent visits to Syria and Qatar. As the Middle East faces a crossroads in its pursuit of peace and stability, the outcomes of these diplomatic efforts remain to be seen, highlighting the ongoing international dialogue surrounding the future of this historically tumultuous region.

Iran's FM Abdollahian meets with Nasrallah and Mikati
Naharnet/February 10, 2024 
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has held meetings in Lebanon with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. In his talks with Mikati, Abdollahian stressed “the need for all efforts to come together to reach a halt to the Israeli aggression against Gaza and to secure fair solutions for all of the region’s countries.”The Iranian minister also met with Nasrallah and discussed with him “the latest political and security developments in the region, especially in the Gaza Strip, south Lebanon and the rest of the Axis of Resistance fronts, tackling the near future of the situations in Lebanon and the region.”

Berri meets Abdollahian, Bou Saab
NNA/February 10, 2024 
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri received in Ain al-Tineh, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani. Discussions reportedly touched on the situation in Lebanon and the region in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese border villages in the south with occupied Palestine. Abdullahian described the meeting with the Speaker as “good.” Berri also received Deputy Speaker, Elias Bou Saab, who briefed Berri on the results of his visit abroad, in addition to discussing the political situation, developments, and legislative affairs.

Abdollahian after meeting with Mikati: It is necessary to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and reach fair solutions for the countries of the...
NNA/February 10, 2024
Prime Minister Najib Mikati received this morning the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian at the Grand Serail. From the Iranian side, Ambassador Mojtaba Amani and the accompanying delegation attended the meeting and from the Lebanese side, the meeting included advisors to the Prime Minister, former Minister Nicolas Nahas, and Ambassador Boutros Asaker. During the meeting, Abdullahian stressed "the necessity of concerted efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and reach just solutions for all countries in the region."

Bou Habib meets his Iranian counterpart
NNA/February 10, 2024
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Abdullah Bou Habib, is currently meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mikati at beginning of Cabinet session: I asked to wait to complete the study of the compensation file for the public sector
NNA/February 10, 2024 
Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed today, Saturday, at the beginning of the Cabinet session, that he requested a reconsideration of the issue of employee compensation in the public and military sectors, as well as the productivity allowance for employees in the public and military sectors and retirees. "Yesterday I held a series of financial meetings, during which it became clear that there is still a disparity between employees in the public sector and the military. Therefore, I asked to wait to complete the study of this file until all the numbers are reviewed," PM Mikati said. Mikati added: "Meetings will be held next week with representatives of the army, the internal security forces, and retirees, with the participation of any ministers wishing to attend the meeting."He continued: “As a result of communications with the Central Bank, I wished to wait to resolve this file until all the numbers were reviewed, to avoid any negative impact on the stability of the exchange rate.”Mikati also expressed his annoyance at being accused of monopolizing the management of the country.“...There is a vacuum, so blame should be directed at those who caused this matter, not at those who seek to run the country to prevent the negative impact of the vacuum,” he indicated. In this context, Mikati reiterated the call for electing a President of the Republic as soon as possible in order to reach the desired solutions for the good of all Lebanese, not just one sect, or one group alone.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 10-11/2024
Three dead in Israeli strikes near Syrian capital
Agence France Presse/February 10, 2024
Israeli air strikes that targeted a building in an upscale area near the Syrian capital killed three people early Saturday, a war monitor said. State media reported that Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli "air attack." Since Syria's civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbor, mainly targeting Iran-backed forces, including Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions. The strikes have increased since Israel's war with Hamas began on October 7. In the latest incident three people were killed, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He could not immediately confirm whether the dead were fighters. Abdel Rahman added that many other people were injured in the strikes on a neighborhood hosting "villas for top military and officials."
The war monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria, earlier reported the "Israeli attack" on "a residential building west of the Syrian capital Damascus," with the sound of "violent explosions." State news agency SANA cited a military source saying that at around 1:05 am (2205 GMT Friday), "the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of points in the Damascus countryside." Air defenses responded to the missiles and "downed some of them," the statement said, adding that the attack caused "some material losses." The strikes came hours after an area near a military airport west of Damascus came under missile attack on Friday, the Observatory said, while the defense ministry said drones had entered Syrian airspace from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Observatory did not say who was behind what it described as a "missile" attack. "Positions belonging to Lebanon's Hezbollah and other pro-Iran groups are present" in the area, added the Observatory. A statement from the defence ministry said that at around 2:10 pm on Friday, "two drones violated Syrian air space from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan." "Air defense systems confronted them and they were shot down west of Damascus," the statement added, also without specifying who was behind the incident. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army declined to comment on "reports in the foreign media."

Israeli plan for assault on Rafah sparks fears of ‘bloodbath’, sharpens Egypt’s worry about exodus
GAZA/JERUSALEM/The Arab Weekly/February 10/2024
Trapped in and around Rafah, more than one million Palestinians braced for Israel to complete an implausible plan to evacuate them and launch a ground assault against Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city. Aid agencies warned that large numbers of civilians could die in the Israeli offensive and the UN Palestinian refugee agency said it did not know how long it could work “in such a high risk operation.” “There is a sense of growing anxiety, growing panic in Rafah,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA agency. “People have no idea where to go.”Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday announced that the military was ordered to develop a plan “for evacuating the population and destroying” four Hamas battalions that it said were deployed in Rafah. Israel cannot achieve its goal of eliminating the Islamist militants who rule Gaza while those units remain, it said. The statement, issued two days after Netanyahu rejected a Hamas ceasefire proposal that included the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militants, gave no further details. Washington, Israel’s main supporter, said it would not back an assault that did not protect civilians, and had briefed Israel on a new US national security memorandum reminding countries receiving US arms to adhere to international law. “There are no new standards in this memo. We are not imposing new standards for military aid,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “They (the Israelis) reiterated their willingness to provide these types of assurances.”More than a million people driven southwards by more than four months of Israeli bombing of Gaza are packed into Rafah and surrounding areas on the coastal enclave’s border with Egypt, which has reinforced the frontier, fearing an exodus. Doctors and aid workers are struggling to supply even basic aid to Palestinians sheltering around Rafah. Many are trapped against a border fence with Egypt and living in makeshift tents. Israeli forces have been moving southwards towards the city after first storming northern Gaza in response to the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen. “No war can be allowed in a gigantic refugee camp,” said Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, warning of a “bloodbath” if Israeli troops move into Rafah. The Palestinian Presidency said Netanyahu’s plans aimed to displace the Palestinian people from their land. “Taking this step threatens security and peace in the region and the world. It crosses all red lines,” said the office of Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority that exerts partial self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. An Israeli official who declined to be named said that Israel would try to organise for people in Rafah, most of whom fled there from the north, to be moved back northwards ahead of any assault. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 27,947 Palestinians had been confirmed killed in the conflict and 67,459 injured. More could be buried under rubble. Hamas gunmen killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in the October 7 rampage into southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Almost one in 10 Gazans under the age of five are now acutely malnourished, according to initial UN data from arm measurements showing physical wasting. The charity ActionAid said some Gazans were eating grass. “Every single person in Gaza is now hungry, and people have just 1.5 to 2 litres of unsafe water per day to meet all their needs,” it said.
Egyptian fears
The Israeli war plans have sharpened Egyptian fears that Palestinians could be forced en masse out of the enclave. Egyptian security sources told Reuters their country has sent about 40 tanks and armoured personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai within the past two weeks as part of a series of measures to bolster security on its border with Gaza. Since the war between Israel and Hamas, Egypt constructed a concrete border wall that reaches six metres into the ground and is topped with barbed wire. It has also built berms and enhanced surveillance at border posts, the security sources said.
Last month Egypt’s state information service detailed some of the measures it had taken on its border in response to Israeli suggestions that Hamas had obtained weapons smuggled from Egypt. Three lines of barriers made any overground or underground smuggling impossible, it said. Satellite images from January and December show some new constructions along the 13 km border close to Rafah and the extension of a wall to the sea’s edge at its northern end. Well before the current war in Gaza broke out, Egypt said it had destroyed tunnels through which smuggling to Gaza had previously flourished, and had cleared a buffer zone close to the border. Egypt and Israel have been at peace for more than four decades and in recent years have extended ties through Israeli exports of natural gas and security coordination around their shared border and the Gaza Strip.
The two countries have maintained a blockade on Gaza, strictly limiting the movement of people and goods across its borders, after Hamas took control there in 2007. But the relationship has come under strain because of Israel’s current military operation in Gaza, unleashed in retaliation for an October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Egypt has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel’s offensive could displace desperate Gazans into Sinai, while bristling over suggestions from Israel that it would retake full control of the Gaza-Egypt border corridor in order to ensure the Palestinian territory’s demilitarisation. An Israeli official told Reuters that restructuring of security on the border, where he said a small number of tunnels remained, was under regular discussion by the two countries. Egyptian security sources have played down any discussions and said they are prioritising efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. The state information service called accusations of smuggling “lies” intended to give cover to Israel’s objective of occupying the border buffer zone, known as the Philadelphi Corridor. Egypt has also blamed Israel for limiting deliveries of aid into Gaza, where the risk of famine is growing and aid workers have warned of disease spreading.
Israel has denied holding up or rejecting humanitarian supplies. Egypt has framed its opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as part of wider Arab rejection of any repeat of what Palestinians mourn as the “Nakba”, or “catastrophe”, when some 700,000 fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948. Diplomats and analysts say Egypt is also concerned about infiltration by Hamas and hosting a large refugee population. In October, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that displacement could turn Sinai into a base for attacks against Israel.

Israeli military says Hamas had command tunnel under UN Gaza headquarters
LBCI/February 10, 2024
Israeli forces have discovered a tunnel network hundreds of metres (yards) long and running partly under UNRWA's Gaza headquarters, the military says, calling it new evidence of Hamas exploitation of the main relief agency for Palestinians.
Army engineers took reporters for foreign news outlets through the passages at a time of crisis for UNRWA, which has launched an internal probe and seen a string of donor countries freeze funding over allegations last month by Israel that some of its staff doubled as Hamas operatives.
The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA, which employs 13,000 people in the Gaza Strip and has been a lifeline for the aid-dependent population for years. The agency runs schools, primary healthcare clinics and other social services, and distributes aid, describing its activities as purely humanitarian. UNRWA Headquarters is in Gaza City, among northern areas that Israeli troops and tanks overran early in the four-month-old war against the governing Islamist faction Hamas, sending hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing southward.
Reporters on the closely escorted trip entered a shaft next to a school on the periphery of the UN compound, descending to the concrete-lined tunnel. Twenty minutes of walking through the stifling hot, narrow and occasionally winding passage brought them underneath UNRWA Headquarters, an army lieutenant-colonel leading the tour said. The tunnel, which the military said was 700 metres long and 18 metres deep, bifurcated at times, revealing side-rooms. There was an office space, with steel safes that had been opened and emptied. There was a tiled toilet. One large chamber was packed with computer servers, another with industrial battery stacks. “Everything is conducted from here. All the energy for the tunnels, which you walked through them are powered from here," said the lieutenant-colonel, who gave only his first name, Ido. "This is one of the central commands of the intelligence. This place is one of the Hamas intelligence units, where they commanded most of the combat."But Ido said Hamas appeared to have evacuated in the face of the Israeli advance, preemptively cutting off communications cables that, in an above-ground part of the tour, he showed running through the floor of the UNRWA Headquarters' basement. It appeared that heavy Israeli barrages and sustained winter rains may also have played a part in the departure: Several stretches of the tunnel were clogged with dislodged sand and knee-high water. In a statement, UNRWA said it had vacated the headquarters on Oct. 12, five days after the war began, and was therefore "unable to confirm or otherwise comment" on the Israeli finding. "UNRWA ... does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises," the statement said. "In the past, whenever (a) suspicious cavity was found close to or under UNRWA premises, protest letters were promptly filed to parties to the conflict, including both the de facto authorities in Gaza (Hamas) and the Israeli authorities."
UNRWA's supporters say it is the only agency with the means of aiding Palestinians in deepening humanitarian distress. Israel says the agency is "perforated by Hamas" and must be replaced. Hamas has denied operating in civilian facilities.
"We know that they (Hamas) have people working in UNRWA. We want every international organization to work in Gaza. That is not a problem. Our problem is the Hamas," Ido told reporters. Lack of cellphone reception in the tunnel made geolocating it as under UNRWA Headquarters impossible. Instead, reporters were asked to put personal items in a bucket that was lowered by rope into a vertical hole on the grounds of the headquarters. They were reunited with the still-tethered items during the tunnel tour. As a condition of taking journalists on the trip, the Israeli military did not allow photographs of military intelligence such as maps or certain equipment in the convoy of armoured vehicles they traveled in. It also requested approval before transmission of photographs and video footage taken on the trip.

Hamas warns Israeli Rafah op may cause casualties in 'tens of thousands'
Agence France Presse/February 10, 2024
Hamas on Saturday warned that any Israeli military operation in the Gazan city of Rafah could lead to "tens of thousands" of dead and injured. The Palestinian militant group, at war with Israel, warned in a statement of catastrophic repercussions of going into the city, where more than one million civilians have fled to escape Israeli bombardment elsewhere in Gaza.

The looming threat over Rafah: Israel's controversial plan amid international warnings
LBCI/February 10, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disregarded international, American, and Palestinian warnings about the grave humanitarian implications of a potential invasion of Rafah, home to at least 1.4 million Palestinians. Despite the outcry, Netanyahu informed Washington and regional countries of the operation, directing the military and security forces to finalize a plan aimed at dismantling Hamas factions before Ramadan. However, the army's Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, deemed the execution of such a plan before Ramadan as impossible due to the necessity of evacuating Rafah's dense population. The Israeli cabinet considered two options: relocating residents to Khan Yunis, north of Rafah, or allowing tens of thousands from Gaza to return to designated residential areas in the northern part of the Strip, like schools and a "tent city."
This focus on civilian evacuation from Rafah, unlike previous instances where residents were merely advised to leave areas of military engagement, highlights the unique demographic challenge. Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip and one of the most densely populated areas in the world, covers an area of 55 square kilometers, teeming with 1.4 million people. This equates to over 27,000 individuals per square kilometer, far surpassing normal crowding measures of three to four persons per square meter. In Rafah, every square meter is shared by 27 individuals, turning any military action into a potential humanitarian disaster. Rafah's history with destruction and displacement dates back to 1982, following the Camp David Accords and Israel's withdrawal from Sinai, dividing the city into Egyptian and Palestinian sections, thereby splitting families and communities with barriers and barbed wire. The establishment of a buffer zone led to the destruction of the city center by Israel and Egypt. Rafah's strategic importance to Israel as a Hamas stronghold, coupled with over four months of unachieved military objectives, positions the city as Israel's last decisive battle against Hamas. The residents of Rafah, now seen as the last bargaining chip for Israel, face an uncertain future. Military and political experts express concern over the operation's timing and feasibility. Amir Bar Shalom, a military affairs expert, criticizes the timing set by the Prime Minister, emphasizing the risk of setting inflexible goals in warfare. Political analyst Yaron Avraham points out the Chief of Staff's stance on the impossibility of executing the plan without relocating 1.4 million citizens to the north and the challenges of reaching understandings with Egypt regarding the Philadelphi Route. As Israel stands on the brink of action in Rafah, the potential for a humanitarian catastrophe looms large, raising questions about the efficacy of military solutions and the grave consequences for the densely populated city's residents.

28 killed in Rafah strikes after Netanyahu says invasion there inevitable
Associated Press/February 10, 2024
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in Rafah early Saturday, hours after Israel's prime minister said he asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the southern Gaza city ahead of a ground invasion. Benjamin Netanyahu did not provide details or a timeline, but the announcement set off widespread panic. More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people are packed into Rafah, many after being uprooted repeatedly by Israeli evacuation orders that now cover two-thirds of Gaza's territory. It's not clear where they could run next. Word of the invasion plans capped a week of increasingly public friction between Netanyahu and the Biden administration. U.S. officials have said an invasion of Rafah without a plan for the civilian population would lead to disaster. Israel has carried out airstrikes in Rafah almost daily, even after telling civilians in recent weeks to seek shelter there from ground combat in the city of Khan Younis, just to the north. Overnight into Saturday, three airstrikes on homes in the Rafah area killed 28 people, according to a health official and Associated Press journalists who saw the bodies arriving at hospitals. Each strike killed multiple members of three families, including a total of 10 children, the youngest three months old. In Khan Younis, the focus of the current ground combat, Israeli forces opened fire at Nasser Hospital, the area's largest, killing at least one person and wounding several, said Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry. He said medical staff are no longer able to move between the facility's buildings because of the intense fire. He said 300 medical personnel, 450 patients and 10,000 displaced people are sheltering in the hospital.
A RIFT WITH WASHINGTON
The steadily climbing Palestinian death toll— now at almost 28,000 after four months of war, according to Gaza health officials — has contributed to the friction between Netanyahu and Washington. Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian deaths because it fights from within civilian areas, but U.S. officials have pushed back, calling for more surgical strikes. President Joe Biden said this week Israel's response is "over the top."Israel says that Rafah, which borders Egypt, is the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza after more than four months of war. "It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah," Netanyahu's office said Friday. "On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat." It said he had ordered the military and security officials to come up with a "combined plan" that included both a mass evacuation of civilians and the destruction of Hamas' forces in the town. It remains unclear where civilians can go. The Israeli offensive has caused widespread destruction, especially in northern Gaza, and hundreds of thousands of people do not have homes to return to. In addition, Egypt has warned that any movement of Palestinians across the border into Egypt would threaten the four-decade-old peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which is mostly closed, serves as the main entry point for humanitarian aid. Rafah had a prewar population of roughly 280,000, and according to the United Nations is now home to some 1.4 million additional people living with relatives, in shelters or sprawling tent camps after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Israel declared war after several thousand Hamas militants burst across the border into southern Israel on Oct. 7, allegedly killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. An Israeli air and ground offensive has killed roughly 28,000 Palestinians, most of them women and minors, according to local health officials. Roughly 80% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced, and the territory has plunged into a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and medical services.

Israeli claims against UNRWA staff were not corroborated before employment was terminated, says Lazzarini
ARAB NEWS/February 10, 2024
BEIRUT: The employment of nine staff working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East — who were alleged by Israel to have aided Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks — was ended in an “exceptional, swift decision” even before corroborating the allegations against them, said the agency’s chief on Friday. UNRWA’s Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini explained that he followed a “reverse due process” in terminating the contracts, and did not probe Israel’s claims before the dismissals, reported The Guardian on Friday. Addressing a press conference in Jerusalem, Lazzarini said: “No, the investigation is going on now,” when asked if he had probed whether there was any evidence against the staff. “I could have suspended them, but I have fired them. And now I have an investigation, and if the investigation tells us that this was wrong, in that case at the UN we will take a decision on how to properly compensate (them),” he was quoted as saying. The termination decision was due to the explosive nature of the claims, he added. He said the agency was already facing “fierce and ugly attacks” at a time when it was providing aid to nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. Lazzarini said: “Indeed, I have terminated without due process because I felt at the time that not only the reputation but the ability of the entire agency to continue to operate and deliver critical humanitarian assistance was at stake if I did not take such a decision.”Discussing the allegations, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a press conference on Thursday: “When there were indications that Hamas had infiltrated UNRWA, I acted immediately in order to guarantee that we do whatever is necessary for UNRWA to be able to avoid any kind of infiltration by Hamas.”
According to the UN chief, the organization received allegations in relation to 12 names, and those allegations were credible. Guterres said: “Now, if the allegations are credible, you are dealing with a high risk. And when you are dealing with a high risk, and you have rules and regulations that allow you to do so, you, I believe, should do what I did — which was to terminate immediately the contracts based on the so-called best interests of the organization, which is what the rules and regulations allow me to do.” He elaborated that the investigation team was immediately on the ground, and added: “And if I had made any mistake, it can be corrected in the future.”He stressed the organization could not run the risk of not acting immediately as the accusations were related to criminal activities that were dangerous. Guterres revealed that he was surprised to read in the press that the military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel were unwilling to share information with the UN. He said: “Even worse, I read in the press that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t expect me to act. I mean, I can’t imagine that this was a trap.”According to The Guardian’s report, the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services is investigating the allegations and is due to report its preliminary findings within weeks. A separate independent review of the agency’s risk management processes is being led by the former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. Lazzarini said the agency was operating in a “hostile” environment and it had faced new “restrictions” since Israel’s allegations were made public.

Saudi Arabia warns of extremely dangerous repercussions of Israeli Rafah
ARAB NEWS/February 10, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has warned of “extremely dangerous repercussions” of an Israeli offensive in southern city of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from the Israel-Hamas war.
The Kingdom’s foreign ministry in a statement Saturday said that “Rafah represents the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians who the brutal Israeli aggression have forced to flee.”The Kingdom said “it stresses it is complete refusal and strong condemnation of the forcible displacement [of Palestinians] and renews calls for an immediate ceasefire. “The deliberate violations to international and humanitarian laws stresses the need for the United Nations Security Council to meet soon to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian disaster.”The UN says about half of Gaza’s 2.4 million people are now sheltering in the city, with many sleeping outside in tents and makeshift shelters, and mounting concern about lack of food, water and sanitation. On Friday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said a major Israeli offensive in Rafah “can only lead to an additional layer of endless tragedy.”Netanyahu has ordered military officials to draw up plans for “evacuating” Rafah alongside “destroying” Hamas fighters in the city. Witnesses reported new strikes on Rafah early Saturday, raising fears among Palestinians of a looming ground invasion. Hamas said in a statement that any military action would have catastrophic repercussion that “may lead to tens of thousands of martyrs and injured if Rafah... is invaded.”

3 Emirati armed forces members, one Bahraini officer killed in Somalia
ARAB NEWS/February 11, 2024
RIYADH: At least five people were reported killed on Saturday in an apparent "terrorist" attack in the capital Mogadishu, and the United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said three of the dead were Emirati soldiers and one was a Bahraini officer. A fifth fatality was presumed to be a Somali officer. In a post on X, the UAE Ministry of Defense said the victims were part of a mission to train Somali Armed Forces, under a program which falls within a military cooperation agreement between UAE and Somalia, the statement said. The ministry did not give other details about the attack but said the UAE “continues to coordinate and cooperate with the Somali government in investigating” the act. A Reuters report, quoting a Somali army officer and hospital staff as sources, said the gunman was also shot dead at the Gordon military base managed by the UAE. “The soldier opened fire on the UAE trainers and Somali military officials when they started praying,” said the officer, who gave his name only as Ahmed. “We understand the soldier had defected from Al-Shabab before he was recruited as a soldier by Somalia and UAE,” the officer told Reuters. Al Shabab, linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement on its Radio al Andalus and said its fighters had killed 17 soldiers. Two nurses and a doctor at the Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu, who asked not to be named, said about 10 injured Somali soldiers had also been brought to the hospital. Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a statement on state media offered his condolences to the UAE following the incident. Al Shabab has waged an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 to try to establish its own rule.

Gaza's Health Ministry: 28,064 Palestinians killed, 67,611 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7
Reuters
Health Ministry gave these causalities figures: 28,064 Palestinians killed, 67,611 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7 The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip stated on Saturday that at least 28,064 Palestinians have been killed and 67,611 injured in the Israeli attack on the Strip since Oct. 7.

Hamas had command tunnel under U.N. Gaza headquarters, Israeli military says
GAZA (Reuters)/February 10, 2024
Israeli forces have discovered a tunnel network hundreds of metres (yards) long and running partly under UNRWA's Gaza headquarters, the military says, calling it new evidence of Hamas exploitation of the main relief agency for Palestinians. Army engineers took reporters for foreign news outlets through the passages at a time of crisis for UNRWA, which has launched an internal probe and seen a string of donor countries freeze funding over allegations last month by Israel that some of its staff doubled as Hamas operatives. The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA, which employs 13,000 people in the Gaza Strip and has been a lifeline for the aid-dependent population for years. The agency runs schools, primary healthcare clinics and other social services, and distributes aid, describing its activities as purely humanitarian. UNRWA Headquarters is in Gaza City, among northern areas that Israeli troops and tanks overran early in the four-month-old war against the governing Islamist faction Hamas, sending hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing southward. Reporters on the closely escorted trip entered a shaft next to a school on the periphery of the U.N. compound, descending to the concrete-lined tunnel. Twenty minutes of walking through the stifling hot, narrow and occasionally winding passage brought them underneath UNRWA Headquarters, an army lieutenant-colonel leading the tour said. The tunnel, which the military said was 700 metres long and 18 metres deep, bifurcated at times, revealing side-rooms. There was an office space, with steel safes that had been opened and emptied. There was a tiled toilet. One large chamber was packed with computer servers, another with industrial battery stacks.
“Everything is conducted from here. All the energy for the tunnels, which you walked through them are powered from here," said the lieutenant-colonel, who gave only his first name, Ido. "This is one of the central commands of the intelligence. This place is one of the Hamas intelligence units, where they commanded most of the combat." But Ido said Hamas appeared to have evacuated in the face of the Israeli advance, preemptively cutting off communications cables that, in an above-ground part of the tour, he showed running through the floor of the UNRWA Headquarters' basement. It appeared that heavy Israeli barrages and sustained winter rains may also have played a part in the departure: Several stretches of the tunnel were clogged with dislodged sand and knee-high water. In a statement, UNRWA said it had vacated the headquarters on Oct. 12, five days after the war began, and was therefore "unable to confirm or otherwise comment" on the Israeli finding. "UNRWA ... does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises," the statement said. "In the past, whenever (a) suspicious cavity was found close to or under UNRWA premises, protest letters were promptly filed to parties to the conflict, including both the de facto authorities in Gaza (Hamas) and the Israeli authorities." UNRWA's supporters say it is the only agency with the means of aiding Palestinians in deepening humanitarian distress. Israel says the agency is "perforated by Hamas" and must be replaced. Hamas has denied operating in civilian facilities. "We know that they (Hamas) have people working in UNRWA. We want every international organization to work in Gaza. That is not a problem. Our problem is the Hamas," Ido told reporters. Lack of cellphone reception in the tunnel made geolocating it as under UNRWA Headquarters impossible. Instead, reporters were asked to put personal items in a bucket that was lowered by rope into a vertical hole on the grounds of the headquarters. They were reunited with the still-tethered items during the tunnel tour. As a condition of taking journalists on the trip, the Israeli military did not allow photographs of military intelligence such as maps or certain equipment in the convoy of armoured vehicles they traveled in. It also requested approval before transmission of photographs and video footage taken on the trip.

Yemen's Houthis hold funeral for 17 militants killed in US-UK air strikes
CAIRO (Reuters)/ Sat, February 10, 2024
Yemen's Houthi militia held a funeral on Saturday for at least 17 militants killed during joint U.S.-British airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed militants, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said. The Houthis have launched waves of exploding drones and missiles at commercial ships since Nov. 19 in what they say is a response to Israel's military operations in Gaza, prompting Britain and the United States to start retaliatory strikes last month. "These crimes will not discourage the Yemeni people from continuing their support and backing of their brothers in the Gaza Strip," Saba said in its coverage of the funerals. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday its forces conducted self-defense strikes against two mobile unmanned surface vessels (USV), four mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, and one mobile land attack cruise missile (LACM) that were prepared to launch strikes against ships in the Red Sea.
"CENTCOM identified these missiles and USVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," it said in a statement. "These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels." Besides the airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, the U.S. and Britain have returned the militia to a list of terrorist groups as turmoil from the Israel-Hamas war spreads through the region.The Houthi campaign has disrupted international shipping, causing some companies to suspend transits through the Red Sea and instead take the much longer, costlier journey around Africa. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba; Writing by Adam Makary; Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Helen Popper and Andrea Ricci)

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 10-11/2024
The Dangerous Global Order with a Nuclear Armed Iran
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 10, 2024
America's actions now – or else its inaction – will determine the ability of global powers to mold an international order that either upholds democratic values or succumbs to the dominance of terror groups and dictatorships.
Inaction or a failure to adopt a resolute stance against the ascent of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism armed with nuclear capabilities, can only pave the way for a world where autocratic regimes and extremist factions dictate the course of international affairs. Inaction or a failure to adopt a resolute stance against the ascent of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism armed with nuclear capabilities, can only pave the way for a world where autocratic regimes and extremist factions dictate the course of international affairs. (Image source: iStock)
As Iran is on the verge of achieving a significant milestone in obtaining nuclear weapons, concerns are mounting over the Biden administration's lack of a coherent strategy to prevent Iran from going nuclear. Since the Biden administration took office, Iran has been rapidly advancing its uranium enrichment, approaching levels of 83.7% close to the 90% needed for nuclear weapons capability.
The consequences of Iran possessing nuclear weapons should not be downplayed or overlooked. The Iranian regime has repeatedly threatened to annihilate Israel, and views that goal a central pillar of its ideology. This commitment is rooted in religious prophecies from the regime's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, foreseeing the eventual eradication of Israel. General Hossein Salami, chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has explicitly outlined the regime's aggressive stance, stating on Iran's state-controlled Channel 2 TV in 2019, "Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map." Khamenei's 416-page guidebook, Palestine, further emphasizes the regime's dedication to Israel's destruction.
The Iranian regime is also committed to exporting its Islamist system globally. Embedded in its constitution is the prioritization of revolutionary ideals, aiming at propagating its governance system in line with its version of Shiite Islam. This mission, outlined in the preamble, seeks to create conditions that align with the values of Islam, and that foster the revolution at home and abroad. Since 1979, the regime has expanded its influence across the Middle East. The regime has deployed the IRGC and its expeditionary Quds Force to influence regions from Yemen to Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip through proxy groups such as the Houthi militia, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq. Expanding on the multifaceted concerns surrounding Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities, a critical dimension lies in the unsettling prospect of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of the regime's extensive network of proxies. This network includes the above-mentioned groups as well as the Syrian regime, Iran's allies in South America, and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The intricate web of alliances and shared interests creates a scenario where the Iranian regime could extend its influence by providing such capabilities to like-minded allies and proxy groups. Iran's establishment of weapons factories abroad and its production of advanced ballistic missiles, including precision-guided ones, underscores the urgency of the situation. This adds a layer of complexity to the global security landscape, raising the stakes and emphasizing the immediate need for a comprehensive strategy to address not only the imminent nuclear threat from Iran but also the broader implications of potential proliferation among its network of proxies and allies.
To address these concerns, two critical policy considerations emerge. First, the consideration of a military option looms large on the strategic horizon. This involves a meticulous examination of targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, thereby disrupting its capacity to advance its nuclear program. A decisive and preemptive strike is necessary to thwart the imminent danger posed by a nuclear-armed Iran.
Second, a fundamental reevaluation of the West's diplomatic and economic engagements with Iran emerges as a crucial policy imperative. The prevailing practice of rewarding the regime with substantial financial incentives, amounting to billions of dollars, and engaging in trade relationships contributes to the funding of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Consequently, a recalibration of Western policies is needed, with a focus on imposing strategic economic sanctions and halting diplomatic relationships that are fueling the regime's nuclear aspirations. Drawing historical parallels: If Hitler had acquired nuclear weapons, would he have hesitated to use them? So far, Iran is "pushing Biden around," as news analyst Aaron Cohen said. The more Biden lets it, the more pushed around Biden will get.
It remains to be seen if the Biden administration will undergo a strategic recalibration and take decisive action, or persist in crafting a legacy that supports the Iranian regime, a top state sponsor of terrorism, to advance its nuclear weapon program to completion, and allows the ruling clerics and their allies, terror groups, and proxies, to acquire nuclear weapons. The ramifications extend far beyond the immediate geopolitical landscape. America's actions now – or else its inaction – will determine the ability of global powers to mold an international order that either upholds democratic values or succumbs to the dominance of terror groups and dictatorships. Inaction or a failure to adopt a resolute stance against the ascent of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism armed with nuclear capabilities, can only pave the way for a world where autocratic regimes and extremist factions dictate the course of international affairs.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Biden finally flexes political muscles against Israeli settlers
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/February 10, 2024
It is gradually creeping into the Biden administration’s consciousness that the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is much more than just the latest battle between these two sworn enemies.
The conflict is destabilizing the region, with dangerous geopolitical and economic implications that reach far beyond the Middle East and might take a long time to resolve.
One issue that has been neglected, not only by the current administration in Washington but a number of previous ones, is the need to take a firm stance against violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, which should never be tolerated, whatever one’s views might be on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its potential resolution.
This month, at last, the Biden administration decided to get off the fence on this issue. Instead of continuing to make ineffectual statements about such ugly behavior, the president imposed sanctions on four Israelis identified as having taken part in settler violence in the West Bank. For now, it is a gesture with very limited scope, despite some expectations that such sanctions would affect other settlers involved in the violence, including more high-profile ones such as those who incite it. But although the decision to impose such measures took some time to arrive, it is nonetheless a case of better late than never. It is to be hoped that the message it sends will have the desired effect. Let us not kid ourselves, Biden’s intention here goes beyond merely making an example of four allegedly violent settlers, and even the issue of settler violence in general. It is also about Washington’s growing exasperation with the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government on a wide range of issues, including the delaying tactics in efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza; the blocking of deliveries of humanitarian aid to the territory; allowing ultra-right members of the ruling coalition, several of whom are settlers themselves, to further inflame an already explosive situation; and for refusing to acknowledge the need for a political resolution to the wider conflict between Israel and Palestine based on a two-state solution.
If the US is to rescue what little credibility it still has in the region — which has been further eroded by its unconditional support for the way in which Israel has conducted its war in Gaza, and the horrific price this has exacted on the population of the territory — what is desperately required of Biden is some show of balance and integrity when it comes to the lives of the Palestinian people.
For years, successive American presidents have been warned that the violent, anti-Palestinian behavior of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank was exacerbating a situation that is now on the verge of exploding. It is especially provocative because such violence takes place not only with impunity but sometimes with the support, direct or indirect, of the Israeli army. By avoiding taking any action to curb this criminal behavior, Washington has become complicit in it. The moral imperative to intervene in defense of innocent civilians — and in most cases this violence affects some of the most vulnerable Palestinians, who live in remote farming communities in Area C of the West Bank, which is under complete Israeli control — should be beyond the need for explanation or justification. After all, the settler attacks are not only wrong but illegal according to the occupier’s own legal standards.
Imposing sanctions on four settlers sends a clear warning that Israel’s closest ally will no longer tolerate settler violence.
The US invests considerable resources in ensuring coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces, which is aimed mainly at protecting Israel from acts of militancy. Because it does not provide equal protection to Palestinians from settler violence, it is failing both communities.
It is not exactly a state secret that the minority of settlers involved in attacking defenseless Palestinian civilians consists of a mob of mindless thugs motivated by a completely ignorant and excessively zealous interpretation of Judaism. For them, the law of the land is merely a suggestion. It is religious law — as interpreted, or more accurately, distorted, by their own rabbis — that guides them.
By imposing sanctions on a few of the settlers, Biden is making it clear to Israeli authorities that if the country’s financial institutions do not comply with the sanctions and freeze the bank accounts of the individuals involved, they will find themselves on a collision course with US banking authorities.
Settlers, especially those of the ultra-nationalist-religious-messianic ilk, have never lacked confidence in their belief that divinity is guiding them toward the eventual annexation of the West Bank, while in the meantime granting them the right to oppress Palestinians, while harboring plans to force them to move to other countries. The fact that they now find themselves at the heart of an Israeli government has increased the arrogance of these settlers, leading them to believe they are free to harass and harm Palestinians with no consequences. This sense of invincible supremacy, and their desire for revenge, has become even more pronounced in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.
Not only did they feel vindicated in their expressed need to continue their own terrorist activities, they also saw an opportunity, while the country’s attention was focused on Gaza or Hezbollah, to step up their assaults on Palestinians.
The security forces did very little to stop them, mainly because at the head of Israeli decision-making there currently squats a weak and unscrupulous prime minister who does not dare to confront the extremist settlers because of his desperate need to maintain the support of their representatives in the Knesset and the Cabinet, to keep his coalition intact. No one is more afraid of another general election than Netanyahu himself. In the absence of any moral or practical compass within the government, it falls to Washington to provide one, particularly as it finds itself deeply involved in other regional conflicts exacerbated by the war in Gaza.
As Netanyahu continues to operate at his most manipulative and evasive in efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in exchange for the release of hostages and prisoner exchanges, and even more so regarding the prospects for a two-state solution, it is left to President Biden to attempt to rein him in, not only for the sake of the Palestinians, but for Israel and the US as well. Imposing sanctions on four settlers is a step in the right direction, and is a warning to several Cabinet members that they might be next should they fail to halt their incitements to violence. The resultant outcry from far-right politicians was only to be expected. But the swift decisions by Israeli banks to comply with the sanctions and freeze the accounts of the sanctioned settlers sent a clear warning that Israel’s closest ally will no longer tolerate settler violence.
It remains to be seen whether the Biden administration is prepared, especially in a presidential election year, to go further by utilizing its financial powers, and other economic and political tools, not to harm or weaken Israel, but to coax it onto a path toward peace and away from the road to self-destruction, by taking steps to prevent political hoodlums from dictating Israeli policies.
For once, there is a flicker of hope about this.
• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Program at international affairs think tank Chatham House.

If the US wants to be a serious force on the global stage, things must change
Luke Coffey/Arab News/February 10, 2024
It has been a bad week for US foreign policy. The divide between the Democrats and the Republicans, and the splits within the Republican Party, have led to political paralysis on Capitol Hill. If it was a bad week for Congress, it was particularly bad for the American people and the nation’s partners around the world. The southern border of the US remains unsecured, and no additional funding has been approved for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran continue to test the resolve of the US and its partners around the globe. At least three US soldiers have been killed and more than 100 wounded as a result of more than 200 attacks by Iranian and Iranian-backed militias. The Houthis in Yemen continue to disrupt commercial shipping in the Red Sea. President Joe Biden’s response has been to launch limited, expensive and seemingly ineffective air strikes that were advertised days in advance. Until the US acts decisively, American troops and international shipping will continue to face attacks. There is no indication that Biden will take a tougher stance. As for the US Congress, there is no better example of its ineptitude than the issue of American support for Ukraine. Listening to some members of Congress, one would think America is emptying its state coffers to fund Ukraine. In reality, as a percentage of gross domestic product, the US ranks 30th in the world in terms of aid to Ukraine. The last time Congress approved any aid for the country was December 2022 — more than 400 days ago.
As a result of the inability of Congress to pass additional funding, there are reports that Ukrainians are now rationing ammunition. Consequently, Russia is starting to make some advances on the frontlines in some places.
Viewing the matter strictly from a US point of view, any objective person can see that helping Ukraine is in America’s national interest. Russia is one of its main adversaries. Europe, which is being destabilized as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, is one of its most important economic partners.
Without a single American soldier pulling a trigger or getting shot at, the US can provide support for an important European partner while delivering a geopolitical blow to one of its leading rivals. At the same time, supporting Ukraine can help deter other adversaries in regions around the world.
Even when considering these obvious advantages to the US of support for Ukraine, there are some in Congress who choose to put political pettiness ahead of policy and are doing their best to block further assistance. They essentially are willing to sell out America’s partners in Ukraine for the sake of domestic political squabbles in Washington. This sends a horrible message to friends and foes alike.  There are some in the US Congress who choose to put political pettiness ahead of policy. No doubt America’s partners and friends are watching this drama unfold. If they are not paying attention to what is happening in Washington, they should be. Considering the lack of support for Ukraine, if you were a US partner in a dangerous neighborhood, it would not be unreasonable to wonder whether you could be the next to be sold out. For example, can Taiwan, Japan and South Korea really depend on Congress to support them during a time of conflict in East Asia?
In the US system of government, foreign policy is mostly the responsibility of the White House. However, Congress is the branch of government that provides the funding for the executive branch to function. Without congressional support, White House foreign policy does not function well. This, in part, is the problem being faced today. The political situation in the US does not look likely to improve anytime soon. Therefore, American foreign policy will continue to suffer. It remains to be seen how foreign affairs will affect the US presidential election campaign this year, if at all.
Most American voters are driven to the polls on “bread-and-butter” domestic issues such as the economy, the state of the job market, and access to affordable healthcare. Unless America is directly involved in a war, foreign policy rarely plays a prominent role in US elections. Therefore, there is unlikely to be a grassroots drive to change the current foreign policy approach taken by Congress or the White House. In fact, the possibility of any meaningful change for the better in terms of foreign policy is bleak for the coming years. Not only should this be a concern for the American people but also America’s partners.
It is time for members of Congress to stop playing political games and start reaching across the aisle and working together to find a way forward to reestablish America’s reputation and role in the world. The nation’s friends, partners, and allies are watching events closely and wondering what the future holds in store. Meanwhile, adversaries can sense weakness, indecisiveness and divisions, not only within the US political establishment but also among the American people.
This gridlock in US foreign policy comes at a dangerous time in global affairs. The inability of the US to develop serious foreign policy has had disastrous, and at times deadly, consequences for Americans and the country’s partners.
It is not too late to get US foreign policy back on track. However, it will require political compromise and consensus of the kind the American political system has not seen in years. But if the US wants to be a serious force on the global stage, things must change.
• Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
X: @LukeDCoffey

The Arab region must prioritize food security
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/February 10, 2024
In the face of growing global food insecurity, a transformative shift in our approach to food systems is urgently needed. We are at a crossroads, where the path we choose today will significantly affect our collective future. Current food systems, which are characterized by inefficiencies and unsustainable practices, contribute to environmental degradation, climate change, and widening gaps in food security. However, recent analyses suggest the global transformation of these systems could unlock economic benefits worth trillions of dollars each year, while simultaneously addressing these critical issues. The transformation of food systems in the Arab region is quickly emerging as a pivotal strategy amid the confluence of global challenges spanning health, poverty, inequality, climate change, and the loss of biodiversity. This transformation, which will be integral to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, demands a comprehensive reimagining of food systems to ensure that they are resilient, equitable, sustainable and deeply integrated within national and global frameworks. The enormity of this ambition reflects the critical role food systems play in addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues, and underscores the need for a broad range of actions, practices, and policies. The urgent need for such a transformation is particularly acute in the Middle East and North Africa, an expansive region that is warming at a rate nearly double the global average. Unmitigated, this environmental shift will continue to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, especially in terms of livability and agricultural sustainability, with the problems compounded by socioeconomic ills such as high inflation, elevated energy prices, and geopolitical tremors.
Additionally, the region’s history of high migration and displacement, rooted in conflict and limited economic opportunities, is also likely to intensify as a result of the intertwined challenges of climate change and escalating food insecurity.
Food security, or the lack thereof, stands out as a principal driver of conflict in the Arab region. Historically, macro and household-level food security have materially influenced the likelihood of prolonged unrest, ultimately leading to major upheavals.
In addition, the region is not insulated from spikes in global food prices; indeed its exposure is high, as was evident in 2008 and 2011, when growing food insecurities in countries such as Egypt, Libya, and Yemen contributed to major social agitations and political upheavals.The risk of continuing food-related eruptions in the region looms large, given rapidly expanding populations, limited agricultural potential, water scarcity, and the compounding effects of a planet on the verge of runaway global warming.
To address the food security challenges in the Arab region effectively, a multifaceted approach is required that combines immediate interventions with long-term resilience-building measures. In stark contrast to the bleak outcomes from solely profit-driven food systems, a complete reformation has the potential to yield substantial socioeconomic benefits; this is not only a matter of the region’s survival but also its prosperity. Thus, a key objective in the Herculean task governments in the Arab region face is to ensure future food systems no longer destroy more value than they create.
After all, the environmental, social and health costs of current agri-food systems is estimated to be more than $10 trillion, which is a serious indictment of the practices, inaction and failures that gave rise to this status quo.
A multifaceted approach is required that combines immediate interventions with long-term resilience-building measures.
Left unchecked, by 2050, the planet’s current food systems will leave more than half-a-billion people underweight, while simultaneously exacerbating the obesity crisis by a horrifying 70 percent. Worse still, doing nothing will guarantee further increases in the agriculture sector’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, escalating the effects of climate change that, paradoxically, make our food systems even more vulnerable.
A do-nothing stance will leave us barreling toward a precipice of enormous economic and human costs, because current food production and patterns of consumption are grossly unsustainable. Not only will inaction erase potential “gains” from climate-related transitions and transformations, it will erode natural resources and increase food insecurity in the world’s most vulnerable regions. It is a path that borrows from the future to satisfy the present, leaving a ballooning deficit for coming generations to face with progressively fewer tools to manage food-related and other crises.
Yet, an alternative exists: a Food System Transformation approach that promises not only to mitigate the challenges but also reverse them. Underpinning this transformative approach is the integration of sustainable practices across the entire food value chain, from production to consumption.
This includes the adoption of agricultural methods that minimize environmental impact, such as reduced use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the embracing of technological innovations that can enhance efficiency and reduce waste.
Furthermore, it entails a significant dietary shift toward predominantly plant-based diets, which research has shown could account for most of the health and environmental benefits of a transformation. This shift is not merely about reducing meat consumption but about fostering a global food culture that values diversity, sustainability, and health. Achieving this transformation will require concerted action from all stakeholders: governments, businesses, civil society and individuals. Policymaking will play a crucial role, with strategies such as taxation of unsustainable food products, subsidies for sustainable farming practices, and investment in agricultural innovation being key levers. However, these policies must be carefully designed to avoid any adverse effects, such as price hikes or job losses, to ensure the transition to sustainable food systems is as inclusive as it is equitable.
The economic case is compelling. The costs of transforming food systems are dwarfed by the potential benefits, not just in monetary terms but in the preservation of natural resources, improved public health outcomes, and climate change mitigation. High-income countries stand to benefit from adopting this transformative approach by avoiding significant economic damage, potentially exceeding the cumulative losses from past financial crises.
Yet, the path to a sustainable food future is not a uniform one. It will require tailored strategies that respect the unique contexts of different countries and regions. In some areas, the focus might be on reducing the consumption of animal products. In others, it might be on improving access to more-nutritious foods to combat lack of nutrition. The overarching goal, however, remains the same: To create food systems that are resilient, sustainable, and capable of feeding a growing global population without compromising the health of our planet.
The call to transform the global food system represents both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge because it will demand significant changes in how we produce, consume, and think about food. But it is an opportunity to redefine our relationship with food, and to build a future in which food systems contribute positively to human health, the environment, and sustained prosperity. The next few decades will be critical and we must therefore spearhead progress, one plate at a time.
• Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.
X: @HafedAlGhwell