Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 12-13/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video and Text: Reading in Sister Maya Ziadeh’s Plea for Prayer for Jihadist Hezbollah Militants Who Glorify Death, Occupy Lebanon, and Seize Church Real Estate Properties
An unexploded Israeli missile falls in Keserwan...and the army dismantles it
Night raids in the vicinity of Baalbek... and Israeli leaders are preparing for war
The Israeli escalation expands: two martyrs and two wounded in two raids on the Bekaa
The US State Department seeks to resolve the tension on the Israeli-Lebanese border
The quintet foreign ministers will visit Beirut
Israeli warplanes hit Lebanon's Bekaa Valley for a second day
Hezbollah fires 100 rockets into Golan, Israel hits again near Baalbek
Israeli army announces that it struck 4,500 Hezbollah targets within five months
Baalbek-Hermel Governor discloses toll of strike: Two killed, six injured
Army Command: Specialized unit examining unexploded rocket found in Hrajel
Escalating tensions: Israel's response to drone threats from Lebanon
Hezbollah Fires Rocket Barrage at Israel in Escalating Fight
1 killed, 10 wounded in Israeli airstrikes deep inside Lebanon
Unexploded missile, likely Israeli, found in Keserwan
Nasrallah meets top Hamas official in Beirut
Mikati, Cypriot Foreign Minister discusses illegal migration of Syrian refugees to Europe via Cyprus
Cyprus FM calls for 'diplomatic dialogue' to resolve conflict with Israel
Berri discusses general situation with Cypriot Foreign Minister, meets with UN Special Coordinator
Lebanese Army Commander, French Army’s Director of Health Services sign cooperation protocol for military health sector
Is War Between Lebanon and Israel Inevitable?/Nadim Koteich/Al Sharq Al Awsat/March 12/2024
Is Hochstein’s Lebanon-Israel peace mediation over?/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/March 12, 2024

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 12-13/2024
Source confirms to LBCI: Hamas and Israel accept proposal, truce expected within 48 hours
View from a US military aid flight shows Gaza desolation
Israel blocks aid trucks from entering Gaza over medical kit scissors
First Gaza aid ship leaves Cyprus with Palestinians on brink of famine
Morocco inaugurates Gaza aid route via Israel
Israel to deploy thousands of police in Jerusalem for Friday prayers
International community divided on resumption of UNRWA funding, says UK minister
Starvation being used as a weapon of war in Gaza, says top EU diplomat
Health Ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 31,184
Turkish President Erdogan urges to pressure Israel to allow more aid into Gaza
Sudan’s army claims control of national broadcast building
White House announces new US aid to Ukraine valued at $300 million
Iran, Russia and China show off their ships in a joint naval drill in the Gulf of Oman
Houthis warn Red Sea attacks will intensify during Ramadan
US targets Iran-backed group in Bahrain with sanctions on affiliates, Treasury says Reuters
Three Egyptian Coptic monks killed in S.Africa, Coptic Orthodox Church says

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 12-13/2024
Palestinians: 'Revitalized' Means Unity with Hamas Terrorists...Would the Biden administration like to stop the war this week?/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/March 12, 2024
Democrats’ painful Biden dilemma/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 12, 2024
Civil society key to future of Israeli-Palestinian peace-building/Alistair Burt/Arab News/March 12, 2024
Why won’t Israel’s critics support a six-week humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza?/Gregory Wallance, Opinion Contributor/ The Hill./March 12, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 12-13/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video and Text: Reading in Sister Maya Ziadeh’s Plea for Prayer for Jihadist Hezbollah Militants Who Glorify Death, Occupy Lebanon, and Seize Church Real Estate Properties
Elias Bejjani/March 12, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/127823/127823/
A recent incident has sparked widespread debate across social media platforms following Sister (Nun) Maya Ziadeh’s call for her students at "Immaculate Conception School in Ghabala town- Kesrouan" to pray for what she termed as "resistance fighters" in southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah  Terrorists. This incident underscores a disturbing ignorance or deliberate disregard for Christian principles.
Prayer holds significant importance within Christianity, with Christ himself teaching us the Lord’s Prayer, emphasizing repentance and forgiveness. However, (The Nun), Sister Maya Ziadeh's request to pray for individuals, the Hezbollah Jihadist, who glorify death, occupy Lebanon, and engage in acts of terrorism is a distortion of this principle. Prayers are not  intended to bless sinful acts but rather for repentance and redemption.
Sister Maya's call for prayers extends to individuals (Hezbollah Iran Terrorist proxy) involved in criminal activities, including the unlawful seizure of church property and the persecution of Christians. Moreover, her support for those seeking to transform Lebanon into Jihadist a puppet state under Iranian influence is deeply troubling.
In response, there have been numerous comments both in support and opposition, with some, like Gebran Bassil, attempting to justify her actions. However, Bassil and others fails to acknowledge Hezbollah's own admission that their members are jihadist, undermining claims of martyrdom in defense of Lebanon.
The real issue here lies not in praying for the people of the South, but in the dangerous rhetoric perpetuated by individuals like Sister Maya Ziadeh. Their support for groups like Hezbollah, a terrorist organization backed by the Iranian regime, only serves to perpetuate violence and instability in Lebanon.
In conclusion, it's imperative to distinguish between genuine resistance and terrorist activities. Sister Maya Ziadeh's call for prayers for Hezbollah Jihadist fighters only contributes to the culture of violence and undermines the true principles of Christianity.

An unexploded Israeli missile falls in Keserwan...and the army dismantles it
Al-Modon 12 March 2024
In a remarkable event, during the continuous flight of Israeli aircraft over Lebanese airspace, an unexploded missile fell on Tuesday in an empty land in the town of Hrajel Keserwaniyah. There was conflicting information about a drone also falling in the same place, on the roof of a house, after pictures emerged of wings carried by some citizens in the area. It is believed that a technical error occurred that led to the crash of the drone and the missile while it was flying towards the Bekaa Valley to carry out raids. Security forces and a military expert arrived at the site, who worked to dismantle the missile, while army units worked to move the debris from the site. The Army Command - Directorate of Orientation announced that on 3/12/2024, an army force in the town of Hrajel-Ftouh Keserwan found an unexploded rocket that had fallen during an Israeli aggression. The Army Command stated, in a statement, that the competent unit is conducting the necessary examination on him so that he can be treated safely. According to information, the missile is a JBU 39, which is a developed aerial bomb and is installed inside an F35 aircraft. On the other hand, information indicates that the wings seen in the pictures are wings placed on the diameter of the bomb or missile to make it more accurate. Representative Nada Al-Bustani wrote through her account on the “X” platform: Divine providence and the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary prevented a truly great catastrophe among our people in Bahrajil as a result of the fall of the Israeli missile. This is a new assault on sovereignty that joins the 30,000 violations documented in the Security Council, and the hundreds of crimes committed by Israel against our people in the south. Condemnation alone is not enough, just as it is not acceptable to underestimate sacrifices and blood. Certainly, the only solution is to fully implement Resolution 1701. God protector!”
It is noteworthy that some time ago there was Israeli incitement to the Lebanese that Hezbollah was using their villages, towns, and the vicinity of their homes to carry out military operations or store weapons. The Israelis had leaked information about the presence of Hezbollah military sites in the Jbeil and Keserwan outskirts.

Night raids in the vicinity of Baalbek... and Israeli leaders are preparing for war
Al-Modon 12 March 2024
A new wave of Israeli escalation against Lebanon. This time towards the Bekaa and the surroundings of the city of Baalbek. This is the second time the region has been targeted, after the July 2006 war. More than one raid was carried out by warplanes in the vicinity of Baalbek. According to information, the first raid targeted the “Ansar” neighborhood behind Dar Al Amal University Hospital, and the second targeted a warehouse between Shamstar and Taria. Information also spoke of a house under construction being targeted and completely destroyed. Ambulances rushed to the targeted locations, where information reported casualties, and calls were made to donate blood. The Governor of Baalbek-Hermel, Bashir Khader, announced in a statement that the raid that targeted Dorris targeted an olive oil factory, and contact with one of the workers was lost after the raid. Later, Khader announced the fall of a martyr in the town of Durus, the young man Mustafa Gharib. Israeli media reported that the attack on Baalbek was unusual and exceptional, especially since it occurred 100 kilometers from the border.
Love of war!
The targeting of the Bekaa Valley comes after a series of strikes directed by Hezbollah against Israeli sites on Monday evening, while Israeli threats continue to expand the scope of the war against the party. The Israeli "Walla" website pointed out that the Israeli army is preparing for war against Hezbollah, which, according to indications, will break out soon, and everyone in the Israeli War Council and the senior leadership of the Israeli army have fallen in love with the Israeli war of attrition against Hezbollah, considering that the latter represents the Iranians, and he continued: “In practice, the Israeli army succeeded in killing Hezbollah members, destroying the infrastructure that the organization had worked on for twenty years, removing the Radwan Force from the border line, and disrupting Israel’s incursion plans, which had been rehearsed since 2016.” Walla adds that many senior officials in the Israeli security apparatus claim that the Israeli government must exploit military achievements in a political process that ultimately leads to peace and stability in southern Lebanon, even if temporary, and then the return of tens of thousands of civilian residents. To their homes. For his part, Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, announced that "if clashes occur in the north, there will not be enough soldiers to fight them." “If the Haredim do not enlist, we have no right to issue further orders to the reserves,” Lapid said.

The Israeli escalation expands: two martyrs and two wounded in two raids on the Bekaa
Al-Modon 12 March 2024
For the second day in a row, and in less than 24 hours, a new Israeli aggression targets the Bekaa region. Two air strikes carried out by Israeli warplanes. The first is in the Sarein area, and the second is in the Nabi Al-Sheet area. This came after two raids were carried out on the night of Monday and Tuesday on the vicinity of the city of Baalbek and on the Durus area. This Israeli escalation and expansion of the scope of targeting threatens to make matters worse, especially since Hezbollah had pledged to expand its strikes in response to the Israeli expansion. Thus, the level of clashes increases gradually, as confrontations continue in the south and in the Gaza Strip.Destruction of a building... In the details, Israeli warplanes launched a raid on a residential building in the “Dahr al-Ayroun” locality on the Baalbek-Riyaq International Road, between the towns of Al-Safari and Sarein, near the Al-Moussawi Foundation, which led to its destruction and the fall of two martyrs, whom Hezbollah mourned as two. Sadig Hussein Jaafar “Kifah,” born in 1970 from the town of Garmash in the Bekaa, and Muhammad Ali Jamal Yaqoub “Yasser Zgheib,” born in 1988 from the city of Baalbek, and 8 wounded. About 5 minutes later, an Israeli march targeted a farm on the outskirts of the town of Nabi Sheet. Al-Jadeed TV indicated that it targeted a three-story building in the center of the town, near the shrine of Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi.
The Israeli army announced, "We carried out raids on important Hezbollah compounds in Baalbek, deep in Lebanon." He said, in a statement, “Warplanes raided two Hezbollah command headquarters in the Baalbek region deep in Lebanon, where important means used by Hezbollah in the field of increasing its weapons capabilities were stored inside the two headquarters.” The Israeli army added in its statement that "the raids came in response to the rocket launches carried out by Hezbollah towards northern Israel this morning. The IDF also attacked earlier today a military building in the Khiam area, and a terrorist structure in the Bint Jbeil area."At the same time, Israeli aircraft continued to fly over various Lebanese regions, reaching the skies of Keserwan and some northern regions. An unexploded missile was found under the main road in the town of Hrajel Keserwaniyah. It is believed that it fell from one of the Israeli aircraft during its flight heading to the Bekaa Valley to carry out raids. Security forces and a military expert arrived at the site, who dismantled the missile. Hezbollah still considers these operations to be part of the rules of engagement, as long as they still target military centers. Therefore, he will target new military centers based on what military and field officials determine. This does not necessarily mean going to a wide or major war. While the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, said today, Tuesday, addressing the Israeli Defense Minister, “The army is your responsibility and the war on Lebanon must start now.”

The US State Department seeks to resolve the tension on the Israeli-Lebanese border
Al Markazia/March 12, 2024
The US State Department said that it is seeking to reach a diplomatic solution to the tension on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The quintet foreign ministers will visit Beirut
Nedda Al Watan/March 13, 2024
Diplomatic sources revealed the possibility of the Foreign Ministers of the Five-Year Committee visiting Beirut at the end of this month or the beginning of next month, and said that among the possibilities presented is that the next meeting of Foreign Ministers will be held in Beirut, because it is not reasonable for their next meeting to be hosted by a country other than Lebanon, which is the country concerned with discussing... Eligibility for the presidency. The sources added that among the circulating formulas is that a consultative meeting be held between the ministers of the “quintet” and representatives of the parliamentary blocs in the presence of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who welcomed the idea of hosting them in Parliament. The sources added that the goal is to reach an agreement to elect a president of the republic after more than a year of vacuum. To this end, the five-member committee is preparing for a new round of officials, which will begin with a visit to Ain al-Tineh to consult with Berri on the latest developments in the presidential issue. Diplomatic sources said that the committee did not propose names of candidates, but rather was looking into the possibility of assistance in removing the nodes that delay the process of electing the president. This comes at a time when reliable information revealed that Qatar has invited more than one Lebanese party leader to visit it with the aim of consulting on presidential affairs, and trying to use the time in the event of a truce being reached in the ongoing war in Gaza, expressing its hope for an agreement soon on this truce, whose effects will apply to Definitely the South Lebanese Front.

Israeli warplanes hit Lebanon's Bekaa Valley for a second day
Reuters March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
Israeli warplanes struck deep into Lebanon for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, hitting a facility belonging to Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley and killing at least one member of the Iran-backed group, sources in Lebanon said.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets had "struck two Hezbollah military command centers" in the Baalbek area, in response to Hezbollah rocket launches towards northern Israel earlier in the day. The violence marked an uptick of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel which has been fought in parallel to the Gaza war and fuelled fears of an all-out conflict between the heavily armed adversaries. Hezbollah said in a statement it had fired more than 100 Katyusha rockets at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), targeting several Israeli military posts, in response to Israeli shelling of the Bekaa Valley region on Monday night. At least one civilian was killed and several others were wounded in Monday's strikes by Israel, one of which hit the southern entrance to the city of Baalbek, about 2 km (1.2 miles) from its ancient Roman ruins, two security sources in Lebanon and the Baalbek governor, Bashir Khader, said. The Israeli military said that in response to Monday's rocket launches, its fighter jets had struck sites in the Baalbek area which Hezbollah used to store "significant assets used to strength its weapons arsenal". "A military compound in the area of Khiam and terrorist infrastructure in the area of Bint Jbeil were also struck," the Israeli military added, referring to two towns in southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah member was killed and several more were wounded in an airstrike in the Bekaa Valley village of Nabi Chit, said one of the Lebanese sources.

Hezbollah fires 100 rockets into Golan, Israel hits again near Baalbek
Associated Press March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
Hezbollah fired Tuesday 100 rockets at two military bases in the Golan Heights, in some of the heaviest fire emanating from Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza. The Israeli military confirmed that about 100 projectiles have been launched from Lebanon into Israel. In retaliation, Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes on the towns of Sareen and al-Nabi Sheet near the country’s northeastern city of Baalbek. Warplanes had earlier bombed the southern border towns of Houla and Markaba. The strikes on Baalbek killed at least one person and injured eight others. They came a day after other strikes also near Baalbek killed a civilian and wounded six others. Hezbollah said the morning attack was in response to Monday's strikes. It said it has struck "with more than a hundred Katyusha rockets" the headquarters of the Air and Missile Defense Command in the Kaila' Barracks, a missile and artillery base in Yo'av and artillery positions around it, "in response to Israeli attacks on our people, villages and cities," and the killing of a citizen in Baalbek. The Israeli military said early Tuesday it struck sites belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s aerial forces in retaliation for previous Hezbollah attacks towards the Golan Heights.
Later on Tuesday, Hezbollah targeted the al-Raheb post and surveillance equipment in Berkat Risha and Jal al-Alam, while Israeli warplanes struck the outskirts of al-Naqoura, al Khiam, and a house in Bint Jbeil, reportedly wounding a civilian. Israel’s military and fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah have been trading fire since the Israel-Hamas was began on Oct. 7. More than 220 Hezbollah fighters and nearly 40 civilians have been killed on the Lebanese side, while in Israel, nine soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed in the attacks. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border because of the fighting.

Israeli army announces that it struck 4,500 Hezbollah targets within five months
AFP March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
The Israeli army reported on Tuesday that it had targeted about 4,500 Hezbollah targets during the past five months in Lebanon and Syria, leaving 300 dead among the party’s fighters and 750 injured. It said in a statement that the targets were struck from the air and from the ground, and included “weapons storage facilities, military facilities designated for Hezbollah’s offensive activities, and operational command and control centers.”

Baalbek-Hermel Governor discloses toll of strike: Two killed, six injured
LBCI March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
On Tuesday, Baalbek-Hermel Governor Bachir Khodr revealed on the "X" platform that the strike that targeted an abandoned house in Nabi Chit and a carpet warehouse in Saraain resulted in the death of two individuals and six wounded.

Army Command: Specialized unit examining unexploded rocket found in Hrajel
LBCI March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
A statement from the Army Command – Directorate of Orientation revealed that on March 12, 2024, a military force in the town of Hrajel, Ftouh Keserwan, discovered an unexploded rocket that had fallen "during an Israeli aggression."
It also stated that the specialized unit is conducting the necessary examination to safely handle it.

Escalating tensions: Israel's response to drone threats from Lebanon
LBCI March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
The sirens in northern Israeli towns did not cease until Tuesday afternoon after being targeted by rockets launched from Lebanon in the widest bombardment since the beginning of Operation al-Aqsa Flood, escalating tension in the region, including the Golan Heights and Jabal al-Sheikh, reaching as far as Haifa.The Northern Command and the Cabinet assessed the situation in emergency sessions, under pressure from settlers in the north who threatened to escalate their protests. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that its strike in Baalbek targeted the aerial unit of Hezbollah, aiming to destroy drones and extensive infrastructure. The army, which attempted to reassure Israelis of its security capabilities, claimed that the strike in Baalbek confirmed its intelligence capabilities and its ability to address the challenges posed by drones in the event of war with Lebanon. According to security reports, Hezbollah possesses at least five thousand drones of various types, some of them advanced and capable of serving as an alternative to air forces. This comes despite Tel Aviv's failure to secure a sophisticated system to counter these drones. Based on this, Tel Aviv is devising plans to confront the launch of dozens of drones simultaneously towards the airspace of the northern region, some capable of carrying at least forty kilograms of explosives. In contrast, others are capable of penetrating the most sensitive and strategic sites, potentially jeopardizing Israel's control of the situation. At this time, ministers escalated their threats towards Lebanon, with Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calling for an immediate decision to wage war on Lebanon. The escalating tension coincides with the intensification of army exercises in an area stretching from Jabal al-Sheikh through the Golan Heights to the Lebanese border. If the war expands, this area is expected to be affected.

Hezbollah Fires Rocket Barrage at Israel in Escalating Fight
Bloomberg/ March 12, 2024
Hezbollah launched more than a hundred missiles at Israeli military sites in one of the Lebanon-based group’s heaviest assaults in recent months, threatening to escalate an already simmering conflict. The Tuesday morning rocket attack was in response to an Israeli strike on the Lebanese city of Baalbek the day before that killed one person, Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement. At least 10 people were injured in another Israeli assault Tuesday on a town in the same area in the eastern Bekaa region, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. Israel rarely attacks that deep — around 80 kilometers — into Lebanese territory. Israel Defense Forces said it hit two sites belonging to Hezbollah’s aerial forces. “What are you waiting for? More than 100 missiles on the State of Israel and you sit quietly?” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on a post on social-media site X, aimed at Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “Let’s start reacting, attacking.” Ben-Gvir is an ultra-nationalist who frequently urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act more forcefully against Hezbollah. The latest exchanges are likely to increase concerns that the near daily trading of fire between the two sides could escalate into a full-blown conflict, opening up a new front to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. Hezbollah, one of the most powerful militias in the Middle East, and Hamas are both supported by Tehran and have the destruction of the Jewish state among their goals. Tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have evacuated their homes due to the cross-border fighting, which erupted around the time Hamas invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and triggering the war in Gaza. The Israel-Hezbollah skirmishes had previously been kept mostly within what each side defines as the implicit rules of engagement — civilians aren’t directly targeted and the areas of attack are close to the border. But exceptions have started to become more frequent. Hezbollah said its rockets targeted air defense facilities in the Keila barracks in the Golan Heights, in the north of Israel. The organization, considered like Hamas a terrorist group by the US, also aimed for a missile and artillery base in Yoav and other positions. The IDF confirmed that over 100 rockets were fired toward the north of the country and that its fighter jets struck three launchers in response.

1 killed, 10 wounded in Israeli airstrikes deep inside Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/March 12, 2024
BEIRUT: One man was killed and 10 others wounded in Israeli airstrikes targeting the Baalbek-Hermel area in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday.
The attack struck deep inside Lebanon for the second consecutive day, raising the threat of Lebanon sliding into open warfare. Four Syrians working in the Bekaa Valley were among those injured in the strikes. This is the third time the area, located more than 100 km north of the southern border, has been targeted since 2006. The risk of a rise in hostilities was made clear in the aftermath of the attacks when the Lebanese Army decided to suspend joint patrols with UNIFIL in the operational area south of the Litani River. A security source told Arab News that the decision follows an incident several days ago when Israeli troops fired on a joint UNIFIL and Lebanese army patrol. The source said that little pressure was being placed on Israel to implement Resolution 1701. After joint patrols were suspended from Monday until noon on Tuesday, the UNIFIL commander headed to the Lebanese army headquarters in Yarzeh to discuss the issue, while US, French, and Italian diplomats in Lebanon also intervened. Amid rising tensions in Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah held talks with a prominent Hamas delegation led by Khalil Al-Hayya, deputy head of the movement in Gaza. An Israeli raid early on Tuesday destroyed a three-story residential building between the towns of Safri and Sarein, on the Rayak-Baalbek International Road, near the Al-Moussawi Foundation. Several minutes later, an Israeli raid on a farm near the town of Nabi Sheet destroyed a three-story building.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X that fighter jets “attacked two Hezbollah command centers in the Baalbek region of Lebanon, where important equipment used by Hezbollah to enhance its weapons capabilities were kept.”
The raids were in response “to rocket attacks carried out by Hezbollah on northern Israel this morning,” he said. Adraee said that Israeli forces had targeted a military building in the Khiam area in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah infrastructure in the Bint Jbeil area earlier in the morning. Lebanese military forces discovered an armed Israeli drone that had crashed near the main road leading to Hrajel Kesrouaniyah in Mount Lebanon while heading toward the Bekaa Valley to carry out an attack.
Hezbollah said in a statement that it attacked Israeli air and missile defense command headquarters in the Kaila barracks, a missile and artillery base in Yoav, and surrounding artillery positions “using over 100 Katyusha rockets.” The attack was in response “to Israeli attacks on our people, villages and cities, the latest of which was in the vicinity of Baalbek on Monday night and the martyrdom of a citizen,” the group said.‏ Israeli Army Radio said 70 missiles fired from Lebanon landed in the Golan Heights, and that Israeli interceptor missiles detonated in the airspace above border villages in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon. Israeli troops stepped up their attacks on Baalbek late on Monday, carrying out a raid on a warehouse between Shamstar and Taria, and another raid near Baalbek at the Ansar town junction behind Dar Al Amal Hospital.
One man, Mustafa Gharib, died in the attacks and six others were injured.Bashir Khader, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel, said the raid targeted an olive oil factory. Israel claimed that it attacked “two Hezbollah compounds deep inside Lebanon,” which were linked to the Hezbollah air force. Hezbollah advised people in the Bekaa region to stay away from the targeted areas, and to “leave relief efforts to the authorities charged with this task.” Israeli operations in southern Lebanon included raids on the valley of Barghaz, Al-Dalafa in the Hasbaya district, the outskirts of Sarira, and Wadi Al-Saluki. The outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab, Al-Khiyam, and Bint Jbeil were also hit, while artillery shelled the outskirts of Hula and Markab.During the Israeli raids, there were frequent airspace violations, particularly in southern areas of Lebanon. F15 fighter jets were seen flying above many areas.

Unexploded missile, likely Israeli, found in Keserwan
Naharnet March 12, 2024 at 10:21 a.m. EDT·2 min read
An unexploded missile was found Tuesday near the public road in the Keserwan town of Hrajel after an Israeli drone crashed in the town. The army dismantled the missile that the drone was carrying. “Security forces have arrived on the scene and a military expert is dismantling the missile,” the National News Agency said. NNA had earlier reported low-altitude Israeli overflights in the Keserwan region. Israel carried out two waves of airstrikes overnight and at noon in the eastern Baalbek region, allegedly targeting Hezbollah sites, in retaliation to strikes in the occupied Golan Heights

Nasrallah meets top Hamas official in Beirut
Associated Press/March 12, 2024
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met with a top Hamas official involved in negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Lebanese group said in a statement Tuesday. Nasrallah’s meeting with Khalil Hayeh in Beirut came at the start of Ramadan after Qatar- and Egyptian-mediated negotiations for a truce before the holy month broke down. Israel's military and Hezbollah militants continue to clash along the Lebanon-Israel border, while other governments scramble to prevent all-out war in the tiny Mediterranean country. Amos Hochstein, a senior advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, has urged both parties to seek a lasting cease-fire in the tense border area. Hezbollah's leadership has said that a cease-fire in Gaza would be the only way to restore calm along the Lebanon-Israel border, but Israeli officials say that wouldn’t be the case. Israeli strikes late Monday deep into Lebanon killed one person and wounded six others near the country’s northeastern city of Baalbek. The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Israeli jets bombed two Hezbollah compounds in northeastern Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah launching attacks on the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Since the Israel-Hamas war began, more than 220 Hezbollah fighters and nearly 40 civilians were killed on the Lebanese side while in Israel, nine soldiers and 10 civilians were left dead in the attacks.

Mikati, Cypriot Foreign Minister discusses illegal migration of Syrian refugees to Europe via Cyprus
NNA/March 12, 2024
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Tuesday welcomed Cypriot Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, at the Serail, in presence of Cyprus Ambassador to Lebanon, Maria Hadjitheodosiou. During the meeting, the Cypriot minister emphasized "the existing and future cooperation between Lebanon and Cyprus in all fields." He expressed his desire for "intensifying joint efforts to resolve the crisis of illegal migration of Syrian refugees to Europe through Cyprus, starting from the Lebanese shores."Kombos also briefed on Cyprus' efforts to provide aid to Gaza through the maritime humanitarian crossing and expressed his wish "for security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the near future." Prime Minister Mikati, for his part, affirmed that "there are several sectors in which Lebanon and Cyprus can cooperate economically, commercially, and in tourism and energy fields." “We look forward to stronger cooperation between the two countries in development areas, and Lebanon is interested in Cyprus being supportive within the European Union to request support and relief for Syrian refugees in their country." In another meeting, the Prime Minister received UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, with whom he discussed the regular briefing to the Security Council on Resolution 1701. Prime Minister Mikati also met with Minister of Justice, Henry Khoury, with whom he discussed matters related to his ministry. Furthermore, the Prime Minister received Nisreen Mashmoushi, President of the Civil Service Council, with whom he discussed discussed administrative affairs with her.

Cyprus FM calls for 'diplomatic dialogue' to resolve conflict with Israel
Associated Press/March 12, 2024
Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib met Tuesday with Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos in Beirut and discussed the bilateral relations between their countries, the refugee crisis and the border clashes. In a news conference after their meeting, Kombos encouraged "all parties to engage in a diplomatic dialogue" to "peacefully settle" the Israeli-Lebanese conflict. Kombos and Bou Habib also discussed the Syrian refugees crisis. "The refugee problem has become a source of concern for both of us and must be addressed in an effective manner by addressing the roots of the problem," Kombos said.
An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food had set sail for Gaza on Tuesday in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation. Kombos said that after the first ship carrying aid from Larnaca to the besieged Gaza Strip has landed, "we have already put the mechanism in place" for larger shipments and "will be working towards making this a more systematic exercise with increased volumes."

Berri discusses general situation with Cypriot Foreign Minister, meets with UN Special Coordinator
NNA/March 12, 2024
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday discussed the country’s general situation with Cypriot Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos and his accompanying delegation. The meeting took place at the second presidency headquarters in Ain el-Tineh, in the presence of Cypriot Ambassador to Lebanon, Maria Hadjitheodosiou. During the meeting, the most recent local and regional developments were addressed, especially in light of Israel's ongoing aggression against southern Lebanese border villages and the Gaza Strip. Additionally, the meeting discussed bilateral relations between Lebanon and Cyprus were discussed. Speaker Berri separately received UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, with whom he discussed the latest political and field developments.

Lebanese Army Commander, French Army’s Director of Health Services sign cooperation protocol for military health sector
NNA/March 12, 2024
Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Tuesday welcomed the French Armed Forces’ Director General of Health Services, MGA Jacques Margery, in his office at the Yarzeh Headquarters, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro. The meeting delved into discussions on cooperation between the Lebanese and French armies, as well as avenues to support the military institution amid the current situation and the exceptional challenges it faces. During the meeting, the Chief of Military Medicine and the Director General of Health Services of the French Armed Forces signed a cooperation protocol between the Lebanese and French armies. The protocol encompasses support for military medicine in areas such as medical staff training, provision of medical supplies and equipment, and the development of military dispensaries.

Is War Between Lebanon and Israel Inevitable?
Nadim Koteich/Al Sharq Al Awsat/March 12/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/127807/127807/
The chasm separating Israel and Hezbollah’s assessments regarding the future of warfare in the region is widening in an alarming manner. Hezbollah has tied the cessation of hostilities in South Lebanon to a ceasefire in Gaza, reflecting the "unity of arenas" approach that the axis of Iran and its militias have adopted. Israel’s position has shifted in the opposite direction. It has decoupled its approaches to the arenas in Lebanon and Gaza, announcing that calm in Gaza would not immediately translate into calm in Lebanon.
This divergence highlights the broader, difficult test that the "unity of arenas" theory has been put to since the conflict in Gaza erupted following Hamas' attack on the morning of October 7, 2023. Despite the theory’s spectacular populist pretensions, it is facing immense obstacles in practice. For one thing, Iran's priority is realizing the regime's geopolitical ambitions; Palestine is not an objective in and of itself. Another problem is the complexity of the national interests of the people in these “arenas,” who bear the brunt of the destruction and chaos; a third is the flagrant disparity between the belligerents’ capabilities.
In contrast to the Iranian schema, Israel’s calculus in each of these arenas is independent of developments in the others. It deals with each arena on a case-by-case basis, based on its assessment of the risks that each of these arenas poses and its implications for Israeli security. Accordingly, Israel is using developments on the ground to undercut the theory of "unity of arenas" by exposing the practical challenges to implementing this strategy faced by Iran. Moreover, Israel seeks to portray Tehran as being self-interested and exploitative in its dealings with Hamas and the Palestinians, highlighting the gap separating its rhetoric in support of Palestinians and the feeble actions it takes to support their cause in decisive junctures, like this war.
Israel is mindful of Iran's strategic calculations in its confrontation with Hezbollah, which Iran sees as a strategic shield and the "golden bullet" it can fire at Israel should the latter decide to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel understands that for Iran, safeguarding Hezbollah, its first line of defense, is non-negotiable, but Israel wants everyone else to recognize that as well.
We now know, for example - based on documents obtained by Israelis - that the military leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, had been certain that Iran and its militias would rush to support Gaza and turn the fronts they control into a single, unified front. However, that never actually materialized. As for the speeches of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah about the imminent battles for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, they are now held against him. Nasrallah has recently shied away from the podium, only making rare appearances after having given almost weekly speeches at one point.
It will be difficult to prevent this state of affairs from creating tensions among the members of the Iranian axis, especially as it becomes clear that the "unity of arenas" is little more than a slogan adopted to obscure the fact that Iran’s strategy prioritizes Iranian objectives, even if achieving them comes at the expense of Palestinians and Lebanese. If Gaza has all but been left to its fate, then Lebanon must come to terms with the fact that the strikes, attacks, assassinations, and bombings it is witnessing today have become the new normal. They will continue to be a feature of life in Lebanon, regardless of how the situation in Gaza develops. Recognizing the significance of Hezbollah for Iran's broader strategy, Israel seeks to preemptively remove the party from the equation, in anticipation of a potential conflict with Iran in the future. Israel would feel compelled to confront Iran directly if the latter were to develop nuclear weapons or edge ever closer to developing them, as that would radically change the regional security landscape.
From its perspective, neutralizing Hezbollah weakens Iran's capacity to retaliate and shifts the strategic balance in Israel’s favor. Thus, the dynamics unfolding in Lebanon are not just fleeting skirmishes, but a reflection of Israel’s new rules of engagement. Israel is now focused on targeting and destroying Hezbollah's operational infrastructure and systematically weakening its military capabilities, thereby undermining its ability to mount an effective response to escalation. Indeed, the theoretical appeal of a deal between Hezbollah and Israel was swiftly dispelled by the realities on the ground. Political science does not offer a solution that resolves the fundamental irreconcilability between Hezbollah's ideological commitment to destroying Israel and any form of peaceful coexistence with it.
Here, it is important to note that Iran's exploitative approach to the Palestinian issue is not at odds with its genuine devotion to the destruction of Israel. Rather, they are complementary elements of its broader geopolitical ambitions in the Middle East. Iran’s claims to defending Palestinian rights and supporting factions opposed to Israel have allowed Iran to position itself as a key player in the Islamic world. As for Iran's position on the destruction of Israel, it serves ideological ends tied to the stability and continuity of the revolutionary regime.
This dual approach allows Iran to project strength, pursue its geopolitical interests, and enhance its legitimacy both domestically and among its regional allies. The fact is that to Iran and Hezbollah, reaching an agreement, as things stand, is not a step toward a durable peace but a tactical recalibration. The convergence between Hezbollah's firm ideology which is backed by Iran, and the existential fears that have taken hold of Israel since October 7, sets the stage for seemingly inevitable wars.

Is Hochstein’s Lebanon-Israel peace mediation over?
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/March 12, 2024
In October 2022, Amos Hochstein, whose official title is deputy assistant to the president, senior energy and investment adviser and US special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, brokered a historic maritime boundary agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Negotiations took months and were almost derailed many times. Still, Amos, a dual US-Israeli citizen, managed to seal the deal, which many thought was impossible to achieve. And last September, less than a month before Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel’s southern settlements, he was again in Beirut, this time to undertake an even bigger task: the demarcation of a tricky and treacherous land border between Israel and Lebanon. His mission never took off. Instead, President Joe Biden dispatched Hochstein to see if his experience and contacts could be put to use to de-escalate tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border following Israel’s post-Oct. 7 military retaliation against the Gaza Strip. In response to Israel’s war on Gaza, Hezbollah decided to break the lull on the shared border and fire rockets at Israeli towns and settlements in northern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. Israel responded by shelling southern Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah assets within a 5-km strip of land under what are vaguely called the “rules of engagement.”
Biden was quick to send two US aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean in a stern message to Iran and its proxies not to open a new front. Hezbollah and Iran were defiant but also sent messages that they were not seeking a regional war. Still, Hezbollah and Israel continued to trade blows, resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from northern Israel and the displacement of tens of thousands of Lebanese in southern Lebanon. Last week, he ended his third trip to Lebanon in as many months without a deal. Israel could not meet Hezbollah’s terms
In a bid to contain the tensions between the two sides, Biden again dispatched Hochstein to Lebanon; this time, his mission was to reach a truce between Hezbollah and Israel. Last week, he ended his third trip to Lebanon in as many months without a deal. Israel could not meet Hezbollah’s terms. According to various sources, the Lebanese group insisted on two conditions: no truce until Israel’s war on Gaza ends and Hezbollah will not withdraw its forces from the border areas to an agreed-upon point to allow displaced Israelis to return to their homes.
Over the past few months, the two sides have broken the rules of engagement. In January, an Israeli strike killed a prominent Hamas military leader in a southern district of Beirut, Hezbollah’s political hub, while the Lebanese militant group struck Safed in the Upper Galilee a month later. It did so again a few weeks later in retaliation for a rare Israeli raid on Baalbek, another Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley. The two sides have traded threats. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel that the party’s fighters are ready for war and that its aim remains “to wipe Israel off the map.” Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel could turn Beirut into another Gaza. Hochstein’s meetings with top Lebanese officials could change little on the ground. Lebanon has a caretaker government with limited authority and very little influence over the main political broker, Hezbollah, and its allies in the government. And Hezbollah is beholden to Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has visited Beirut numerous times since Oct. 7 and met with Nasrallah, apparently to coordinate steps and deliver Tehran’s instructions.
Hezbollah’s engagement with the Israelis is not to be underestimated. While Israel has not disclosed its casualties in the north, Hezbollah has been posting photos of “martyred” young fighters almost on a daily basis. The number is in the hundreds, including senior field commanders and, according to Israeli sources, the grandson of Nasrallah.
Israeli analysts believe that only days separate us from a major Israeli military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon
Since Hochstein left Beirut, Hezbollah has increased its daily targeting of Israeli positions, firing hundreds of rockets and launching multiple drone attacks. This escalation coincided with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan and the collapse of ceasefire talks in Gaza.
Israeli officials had set the beginning of Ramadan as a deadline for a possible ground offensive on Lebanon. Israeli analysts believe that only days separate us from a major Israeli military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Washington and the Lebanese government want both sides to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Israel claims that Hezbollah is violating the resolution, while the Lebanese group wants to make sure that the UN peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, does not hinder its ability to deploy its forces south of the Litani River. However, it also wants UNIFIL to remain in the region as a possible buffer. Hochstein may no longer be able to get both sides to agree on a possible truce. For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war Cabinet, the situation in northern Israel is untenable. Even if the Gaza war comes to an end, Israel needs to neutralize future threats from Hezbollah. This will not happen through diplomacy and that is what the US special envoy has come to conclude. For Nasrallah and Iran, an inconclusive end to the current showdown is satisfactory.
The Biden administration does not want a flare-up on the Lebanese-Israeli border, not during an election year and not when ties between Biden and Netanyahu are strained over the high number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza.
Iran is using its proxies to put pressure on the West without giving it an excuse to confront Tehran directly. This is what is happening in Yemen through the Houthis, as well as through Hezbollah in Lebanon and southern Syria.
This has not happened without a cost. Israel has continued to target Iranian assets in Syria and the US retaliated as a result of the lethal strike that hit its base in Jordan in January, which was launched by an Iraqi pro-Iranian group. But it is a game that Tehran can still afford to play with patience.
Hochstein is unlikely to make a breakthrough or prevent a sudden Israeli decision to launch a major attack on Lebanon. Biden needs to make it clear to Netanyahu that the US opposes a war with Lebanon. Hezbollah is unlikely to risk losing credibility by delinking its war effort in solidarity with Gaza. And Netanyahu says he is ready to go into Rafah during Ramadan, regardless of Biden’s “red lines.” This is a recipe for a regional disaster and the US is the only party that has some leverage over the Israelis to wind down their war in Gaza and to take an Israel-Hezbollah war out of the equation.
No one wants to imagine what an Israeli war on Lebanon could lead to. The US knows that the solution to Lebanon’s complex problems lies in Tehran. Washington is trying to take over from the French, who have failed to tackle the Lebanese conundrum. But Hochstein will not be able to surmount that obstacle, not now. What the White House should focus on is ending the war on Gaza, sooner rather than later. It has to subdue Netanyahu, whose war has crossed all red lines and now endangers the entire region. However, that does not seem likely and the worst possible scenarios may soon come true.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X: @plato010

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 12-13/2024
Source confirms to LBCI: Hamas and Israel accept proposal, truce expected within 48 hours
LBCI/March 13, 2024
A source close to the mediation process has informed LBCI that Hamas has agreed to an American-Qatari proposal, abandoning its demand for the full return of northern Gaza's residents. In a parallel move, Israel has withdrawn its condition for receiving a list of prisoners' names. "I believe that a truce will occur within the next two days," the source added.

View from a US military aid flight shows Gaza desolation
REUTERS/March 13, 2024
OVER GAZA: As a USC-130 aircraft flew over the Gaza Strip to drop food to people facing famine, there were few visible signs of life in the jumbled rubble of what was a bustling urban jungle before the Israel-Hamas war.The plane descended to 3,000 feet over the Mediterranean Sea and northern Gaza. A US Air Force crew cut ropes on aid pallets packed in Jordan and released a dozen large bundles with parachutes from the C-130’s open rear doors. The food aid was targeted for north Gaza, where the need is most desperate, and brought the total air-dropped by the US military in cooperation with Western and Arab countries since March 3 to 1 million pounds, the military said. The view of Gaza from above revealed many flattened buildings, others in stages of collapsing or entirely turned to charred rubble from an Israeli offensive that started after a Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Plumes of smoke rose from the ruins.
A United Nations analysis of satellite imagery found 30 percent of buildings have been destroyed or damaged in the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people. Many roads have been bulldozed and are impassable. According to Gaza health authorities, more than 31,000 people have been killed, and the UN says one-quarter of the population is a step away from famine. Aid agencies and governments are trying to increase the flow of food and other vital supplies to Gaza via road and sea because air drops are expensive and limited in capacity. The White House is pressing Israel to allow greater access by land. Israel denies restricting humanitarian aid and says poor UN management of distribution is to blame. The war began after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel retaliated with an air and ground assault.

Israel blocks aid trucks from entering Gaza over medical kit scissors
ARAB NEWS/March 13, 2024
LONDON: A truck loaded with humanitarian supplies destined for Gaza was turned away by Israeli authorities because of scissors packed inside medical kits, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency, accused Israel of withholding essential medical supplies. He said the army has imposed restrictions on items such as anesthesia medications and water-purification tablets, on the grounds that they are potentially “dual-use” items that might be repurposed for military use. Aid organizations have voiced similar concerns about the refusal of Israeli authorities to allow dates, traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during Ramadan, into the territory. “The clearance of humanitarian supplies and the delivery of basic and critical items need to be facilitated and accelerated,” Lazzarini said. “The lives of 2 million people depend on that. There is no time to waste.”Israeli authorities denied the incident involving the medical scissors took place. In a message posted on social media, they said: “Lying is a sign of desperation.” Meanwhile, a ship belonging to the Spanish charity Open Arms set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday bound for the Gaza Strip, carrying 200 tonnes of food aid. The shipment, expected to arrive at the territory in two to three days, is the first test of a newly established maritime aid-delivery mechanism.

First Gaza aid ship leaves Cyprus with Palestinians on brink of famine
REUTERS/March 12, 2024
LARNACA: A ship carrying 200 tons of aid for Gaza left Cyprus on Tuesday in a pilot project to open a sea corridor to deliver supplies to a population that aid agencies say is on the verge of famine after five months of war. While welcoming the project, however, senior UN officials said it could not replace the delivery of humanitarian aid by land from Egypt and Jordan. Separately, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday it had managed to get the first aid convoy into Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip since Feb. 20. The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein. The mission was funded mostly by the United Arab Emirates and organized by US-based charity World Central Kitchen. The voyage to Gaza takes about 15 hours but a heavy tow barge could considerably lengthen the trip, possibly up to two days. Cyprus, the European Union state closest to the Israel-Hamas war, is just over 200 miles (320 km) northwest of Gaza. The US military said one of its vessels, the General Frank S. Besson, was also en route to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza by sea. Separately, the US military said it airdropped aid into northern Gaza on Tuesday along with Jordan’s airforce. With aid agencies saying deliveries into Gaza by land have been held up by bureaucratic obstacles and security concerns since the start of the war on Oct. 7, attention has shifted toward alternative routes including sea and air drops.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday that negotiators seeking a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, were not close to a deal.
Landing jetty
Given the lack of port infrastructure in Gaza, WCK said it was building a landing jetty with material from destroyed buildings and rubble, an initiative separate to a plan announced by US President Joe Biden last week to build a temporary pier. Construction of the jetty is “well underway,” WCK founder Jose Andres said in a post on X accompanied by a picture of bulldozers apparently levelling out ground close to the sea. WCK Activation Manager Juan Camilo Jimenez told Reuters a second vessel would depart from Cyprus within the next few days. Aid agencies say such efforts can provide only limited relief as long as most land crossings to the coastal Palestinian enclave are completely sealed off by Israel. Some Gazans also struck a skeptical note about aid deliveries by sea, worrying it could become an alternative to overland shipments. “I am not a political analyst but I think (the jetty idea) has political objectives which are not known to us, as Palestinian citizens,” said Jehad Assad, a displaced Palestinian from Khan Younis in central Gaza. “I think the land crossings are enough for aid to enter the Gaza Strip.”
Israel says it is not to blame for Gaza’s hunger, as it is allowing aid through two crossings at the southern edge of the territory. Aid agencies say that is not enough to get sufficient supplies through, particularly to the northern part of the enclave that is effectively cut off. Commenting on Tuesday’s aid delivery to the north of the Gaza Strip, WFP spokesperson Shaza Moghraby said: “We were finally able to deliver enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City in the early hours of this morning. This... proves that moving food by road is possible.”Gaza’s health ministry said the number of Palestinians who have died of dehydration and malnutrition in the last two weeks had reached 27, after the deaths of two people on Tuesday. The UN estimates a quarter of the 2.3 million population in the small coastal enclave is now at risk of starvation.
“We are being starved in two ways: food is scarce, and the little that is available is so expensive as to be beyond imagination,” said Yamen, a father of four, whose family took shelter in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.
Gunfire
The conflict has displaced most of Gaza’s population and there have been chaotic scenes and deadly incidents at aid distributions as desperately hungry people scramble for food.On Tuesday, Palestinian health officials reported that nine Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli gunfire as crowds awaited aid trucks on Kuwait Square in Gaza City. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the incident. The war erupted after fighters from Hamas killed 1,200 people in a lightning Oct. 7 attack on Israel and took 253 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 31,184 Palestinians and injured 72,889, according to Gaza authorities. Israel says it is interested only in a temporary truce to free hostages. Hamas says it will let them go only as part of a deal to permanently end the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday that Israel would press its military campaign into Rafah at the southern end of Gaza where 1.5 million people have sought shelter. “We will finish the job in Rafah while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm’s way,” he said in a video address to a conference of the pro-Israel AIPAC organization in Washington. He did not say where the civilians might go. Cautioning Israel against any such move, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden believed the path to peace in the region “does not lie in smashing into Rafah...in the absence of a credible plan to deal with the population there.”

Morocco inaugurates Gaza aid route via Israel
AFP/March 12, 2024
RABAT: Morocco has sent 40 tons of humanitarian supplies for Gaza via an Israeli airport, a diplomatic source said Tuesday, the latest bid to diversify aid routes into the war-battered territory. The food aid has arrived at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv before being transferred to the Palestinian Red Crescent at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, the Moroccan diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Rabat’s foreign ministry said in a statement that “Morocco is the first country to transport its humanitarian aid via this unprecedented land route.”Since the war began on October 7, aid trucks have generally entered the Gaza Strip via Egypt. Israeli officials were unable to immediately confirm whether the Moroccan initiative was the first such land route for foreign aid through Israeli territory. The diplomatic source said Morocco’s ties with Israel, formalized in a US-brokered normalization pact in 2020, helped the operation go ahead. “Morocco has always said that its relationship with Israel is intended to serve peace in the region and the interests of the Palestinians,” the source said. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine in Gaza, under an Israeli siege imposed in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered the war, now in its sixth month. Most aid enters through Rafah, on the Hamas-ruled territory’s southern border with Egypt, but UN and other relief agencies say only a fraction of the supplies needed to sustain Gaza’s population of 2.4 million people has made it in. A Spanish charity boat carrying 200 tons of food aid to Gaza set sail on Tuesday from Cyprus in hopes of opening a maritime corridor to alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis. Also on Tuesday, four US Army vessels left the United States, carrying equipment to build a temporary port on Gaza’s shores for aid deliveries. The war started with the October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures. Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive have killed 31,184 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Israel to deploy thousands of police in Jerusalem for Friday prayers
AFP/March 12, 2024
JERUSALEM: Israel’s police force said it will deploy thousands of officers across Jerusalem’s Old City for Ramadan’s first Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque, with tensions high amid the Gaza war. “We are prepared for Friday prayers with more police officers. Thousands of them will be in the area of Temple Mount,” police spokeswoman Mirit ben Mayor told reporters, using the Jewish name for the Al-Aqsa mosque site. Hundreds of police officers had already been deployed in the Old City in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem since Ramadan began on Monday, she said.
Ben Mayor said up to 25,000 worshippers had already visited the mosque for prayers during the Muslim fasting month of fasting without any incidents. “We will do everything to enable this Ramadan to be quiet,” she told a news conference. Asked about clashes that reportedly occurred between police and worshippers on Sunday, government spokeswoman Tal Heinrich said: “We are on high alert.” “It’s no secret that extremists, terrorist organizations like Hamas and (Palestinian) Islamic Jihad are trying to inflame the region,” she told the news conference. Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Muslim worshippers would be allowed to access Al-Aqsa mosque in the same numbers as in previous years during the first week of Ramadan. “Every week there will be a situation assessment in terms of security and safety and a decision will be made accordingly,” it said.
Palestinians coming to Al-Aqsa from the occupied West Bank were expected to face some restrictions, police said in a statement. Only men aged 55 and older and women over 50 from the territory would be allowed to enter the mosque compound “for security reasons,” government spokesperson Ofir Gendelman said. Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had recently called for stricter restrictions on Palestinian residents of the West Bank, saying they “should not be allowed” entry to Jerusalem to pray during Ramadan. The Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest site in Islam, and although its management technically falls under Jordan’s authority, Israel imposes restrictions in and around the complex. Clashes often erupt at the site between Muslim worshippers and Israeli security forces. This year Ramadan comes with Israel engaged in a devastating war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The war broke out after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that resulted in the death of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has since then killed at least 31,184 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.

International community divided on resumption of UNRWA funding, says UK minister
ARAB NEWS/March 13, 2024
LONDON: The US, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, and Australia will not lift their suspension of funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees pending the evaluation of two forthcoming reports, UK Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell has said. In contrast, Sweden, Canada, and the European Commission have all decided to resume financial support to the agency. The awaited reports are from an internal UN investigation and Catherine Colonna, a former French foreign minister, who was in Israel in March to gather evidence from the government over its allegations that at least 12 UNRWA staff had been involved in the Oct. 7 attack. UNRWA has said some employees released in Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been put under pressure by Israeli authorities into falsely saying the agency had links with Hamas and that staff had taken part in the attacks on Israel.
The document said several Palestinian UNRWA staffers had been detained by the Israeli army, adding that the ill-treatment and abuse they claimed they had experienced included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members. The report added: “Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the agency, including that the agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the Oct. 7 atrocities.”
Colonna is expected to deliver her preliminary findings in late March, followed by a final report a month later. The validity of the evidence presented by Israel is under scrutiny. Mitchell acknowledged a division within the international community regarding UNRWA funding. He addressed calls to prohibit arms exports to Israel, saying: “The current judgment of the British government is that Israel has the capacity and intent to comply with international humanitarian law.” Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has advocated for Israel to permit the entry of 500 trucks into Gaza daily. Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, has called on the UK to encourage Israel to increase aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, following a proposition by Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy to enhance aid by 100 trucks daily.

Starvation being used as a weapon of war in Gaza, says top EU diplomat
EPHREM KOSSAIFY/Arab News/March 13, 2024
NEW YORK CITY: The EU’s foreign affairs chief on Tuesday condemned the lack of aid entering Gaza as “man-made” disaster in which starvation is being used as a weapon of war. “When we condemn this happening in Ukraine, we have to use the same words for what’s happening in Gaza,” Josep Borrell told the UN Security Council. “This humanitarian crisis (is) not a natural disaster, is not a flood, is not an earthquake, it is man-made.” More than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed during the war in Gaza, and more than 100,000 injured. Many more bodies are believed to be buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the Israeli military onslaught. “The situation in Gaza is unbearable,” said Borrell. “The very survival of the Palestinian population is at stake. It is a wide-scale destruction. Everything that makes society has been destroyed, systematically.”
As Israeli authorities continue to severely control and restrict deliveries of humanitarian aid that are allowed to enter Gaza, the territory is in the grip of a catastrophic-level food crisis. Senior UN officials have warned of the imminent threat of famine if urgent action is not taken to avert a humanitarian disaster. More than 25 Palestinians have already died of starvation, most of them children. Given the difficulties of delivering aid by road, some foreign governments have resorted to airdrops in an attempt to ensure life-saving humanitarian supplies reach people in Gaza. A mechanism for the delivery of aid by sea is also being set up.“I don’t want to teach any one of you about what is happening in Gaza,” Borrell told council members. “When we look for alternative ways of providing support, by sea or by air, we have to remember that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support, through roads, is being closed, artificially closed, and starvation is being used as a war arm.”Asked by Arab News to comment on whether some EU member states are enabling the war in Gaza, including Germany, which has increased approvals of arms exports to Israel almost tenfold since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, Borrell said: “I am representing the European Union as a whole. And sometime (this) is difficult because there are different sensitivities and different positions. “And there are some members on stage who are completely reluctant to take any position that could represent the slightest criticism toward Israel, and others are very much pushing in order to get a ceasefire.” In light of the escalating humanitarian crisis during the war in Gaza, EU members Ireland and Spain have asked the European Commission to “undertake an urgent review” of the cooperation agreement between the EU and Israel, which regulates trade relations and is bound by the condition that human rights are respected.
Borrell told Arab News “an orientation debate on this important issue” will take place on Monday during a meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council. Borrell was at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday to take part in a Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and the EU.
“We live in a very, very, very complex, difficult and challenging world,” he told reporters. “But without the United Nations, the world will be still more challenging, more dangerous. “The world is becoming darker and darker. The UN is a light in the darkness, (a) landmark in the middle of the turmoil, (a) lantern in the thick fog through which we search our way, every day, trying to look for a solution. It is a ray of light, a sign of hope.” He expressed “strong support” for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in light of “the unjustified attacks that he has been suffering.” In the latest example of such attacks by the Israeli government, Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Monday sent Guterres a letter accusing him of turning the UN into an “epicenter of antisemitism and anti-Israel incitement.”Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general, told Arab News: “We will not be responding to this letter, which in my mind is not a reflection of reality and is not a reflection of who Antonio Guterres is or everything he’s done as secretary-general on this issue.”Borrell described UN agencies, such as the Relief and Works Agency, the main mechanism for providing assistance to Palestinians, as the “last lifelines” for many people. “Yes, UNRWA is facing allegations but allegations have to be proved. That is why they are allegations,” he said. Israeli authorities have alleged that several UNRWA workers participated in the Oct. 7 attacks. Borrell said the EU is awaiting the findings of an investigation into the allegations. “But let me remind (you of) something: UNRWA exists because there are Palestinian refugees,” he said. “It is not a present to the Palestinians, it is an answer to their needs.” Nobody can make the refugees disappear by making UNRWA disappear, he said. A two-state solution is the only way the UNRWA will disappear, he added, by making those refugees citizens of a Palestinian state that coexists with Israel.

Health Ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 31,184
AFP/March 13, 2024
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that at least 31,184 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The latest toll includes at least 72 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 72,889 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7. --

Turkish President Erdogan urges to pressure Israel to allow more aid into Gaza
Reuters/March 13, 2024
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for increased international pressure on Israel to ensure more humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza, and said Ankara will increase its support during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Turkey, which has harshly criticised Israel for its military offensive in Gaza and backed steps to have the Israeli leadership tried for genocide at the World Court, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, while sending more than 40,000 tons of humanitarian aid via Egypt. Speaking at a fast-breaking dinner during Ramadan with foreign ambassadors in Ankara, Erdogan criticised Western countries for backing Israel, saying they had given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the opportunity to carry out "savage attacks" on the enclave due to their "indecisive stance". "No matter what the Israeli leadership does, it cannot hide the reality that it is a murdering, cruel, criminal, lying, and fascist (government)," Erdogan said, adding remarks calling for calm were meaningless while support for Israel continued. "We all know very well that as long as attacks on Gaza and the siege continues, the amount of aid is not enough. The most urgent need is for the number of trucks passing the Rafah gate to be increased. Of course, pressure needs to be put on Israel for this," he added, referring to Egypt's border crossing with Gaza. Last week, Turkey's Kizilay (Red Crescent) sent its biggest aid shipment yet to Gaza, dispatching a ship carrying some 3,000 tons of food, medicine and equipment.
Erdogan said on Tuesday that humanitarian support for Gazans would increasingly continue during Ramadan, which began this week, through state institutions, associations and other channels. Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would press forward with its military campaign into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel says it is not to blame for Gaza's hunger, as it is allowing aid through two crossings at the southern edge of the territory. Aid agencies say that is not enough to get sufficient supplies through, particularly to the northern part of the enclave that is effectively cut off.

Sudan’s army claims control of national broadcast building
REUTERS/March 12, 2024
DUBAI: Sudan’s army said it had taken control of the state broadcast headquarters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday in what would be its most significant advance against its paramilitary rival in nearly 11 months of war. The broadcast building lies in Omdurman, a city across the River Nile from Khartoum that forms part of Sudan’s wider capital and has seen heavy fighting around military bases, bridges and supply routes. Battles have continued despite a call by the United Nations Security Council for a truce to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid into Sudan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began on Monday. The truce call was welcomed by the RSF but rejected by a senior general in the army, which has claimed some recent gains in Omdurman after being on the back foot militarily through much of the war. The capture of the state broadcast building would extend its control from the north across “old Omdurman,” though the RSF retains southern and western areas of the city.Witnesses say the army, which has depended on air power and heavy artillery to try to counter the RSF’s infantry advantage, has deployed drones in Omdurman to regain ground.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF. The RSF seized the state broadcast building as fighting broke out in mid-April 2023, and used it along with other public facilities for military operations. National TV and radio have been broadcasting from Port Sudan, the Red Sea coastal city from which officials aligned with the army have operated since the RSF occupied large swathes of the capital early in the war.
’VOICE OF THE NATION’
A video posted by the army on Tuesday, the location of which was verified by Reuters, showed some of its troops within a kilometer of the radio and TV building cheering after they had seized vehicles and weapons. On social media, supporters of the army cheered what they called the liberation of the “voice of the nation.” “Today the army achieved a great victory, but what’s important is to get back security, health services and education,” said Safaa Ali, a 39-year old government employee from Omdurman who fled to Port Sudan in May. “Our question is who will compensate us for the loss of all their property that was looted and their homes that were destroyed by this war,” she told Reuters by phone. War between Sudan’s army and the RSF erupted in mid-April 2023 amid dispute over a plan for transition to civilian rule. The two factions had staged a coup in 2021 that derailed a previous transition following the 2019 overthrow of autocratic former leader Omar Al-Bashir, before falling out. The war has devastated the capital, led to waves of ethnically driven killings in the western region of Darfur and created the world’s biggest displacement crisis. More than 8 million people have fled their homes and hunger is rising. The conflict has also drawn in regional powers. Analysts say the United Arab Emirates has backed the RSF, while Egypt, Eritrea and Iran are aligned with the army.

White House announces new US aid to Ukraine valued at $300 million
AFP/March 12, 2024
The White House announced on Tuesday a new military aid package worth $300 million to meet Ukraine's "urgent" needs in its war against Russia. Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to President Biden, stated that this aid "addresses some of Ukraine's urgent needs," but it does not substitute for approval from the US Congress for new funds requested by Joe Biden.

Iran, Russia and China show off their ships in a joint naval drill in the Gulf of Oman
AP/March 13, 2024
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: China, Iran and Russia have begun a joint naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, a crucial waterway near the mouth of the Arabian Gulf, officials said Tuesday. Footage aired by Chinese state television and a video released by the Russian navy showed the ongoing drill, known as “Marine Security Belt 2024.” China sent the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi and the guided-missile frigate Linyi to the exercise. Russia’s forces are being led by the Varyag, a Slava-class cruiser. More than 20 ships, support vessels and combat boats from the three countries, as well as naval helicopters, are involved in the exercise. A report by Iranian state television quoted the drill’s spokesperson, Adm. Mostafa Tajaddini, as saying the drill will take place in 17,000 square kilometers (6,600 square miles) of water. Tajaddini added that the three nations’ drill — their fourth since 2019 — was also meant to improve trade, confront “piracy and terrorism, support to humanitarian activities and the exchange of information in the field of rescue,” among other goals. Iran has stepped up its military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow in response to regional tensions with the United States, including due to supplying military drones to Russia now being used in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan and South Africa are observers of the drill. The Gulf of Oman has seen a series of attacks since 2019 that the US has blamed on Iran, as well as ship seizures by Tehran, since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers. A fifth of all oil traded passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the Arabian Gulf’s narrow mouth.

Houthis warn Red Sea attacks will intensify during Ramadan
SAEED AL-BATATI/Arab News/March 12, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: US Central Command said it carried out six strikes on Yemen on Monday, destroying an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles that the Yemeni Houthi militia had prepared to launch at US and international ships in the Red Sea, as the group warned it was prepared to step up attacks in the region during Ramadan. The Houthis launched two missiles at the Pinocchio, a Singaporean-owned and Liberian-flagged ship, between 8:50 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Sanaa time on Monday, according to CENTCOM. The missiles failed to impact the ship and caused no injuries or damage. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea claimed the Pinocchio is owned by the US and that their missiles “precisely” targeted the ship, pledging to intensify their assaults on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden during Ramadan. “The Yemeni Armed Forces declare that, with God’s help, their military actions would expand throughout Ramadan, the month of jihad in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and our mujahideen brothers in Gaza,” Sarea said in a televised statement. Houthi media also said that the US and UK carried out five strikes on the northern province of Saada on Monday, but did not provide specific targets. Since November, the Iran-backed Houthis have attacked commercial and military ships in international waters off Yemen, claiming to be acting in support of Palestinians and attempting to force Israel to end its campaign in Gaza.
Last week, Houthi militia leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said the group has launched over 400 drones and missiles against more than 60 ships since the start of their operations. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani praised social media platform X for removing verification badges from Houthi media outlet and militia commanders’ accounts. According to the ministry, X has withdrawn the blue verification mark from Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah Channel as well as accounts belonging to Sarea, Al-Houthi and others, and is preparing to shut those accounts at the request of the government.
“We commend this step that we have repeatedly called for as part of government efforts to dry up the Houthi militia (financial, political and media) resources, and we renew our demand for social media applications and satellite companies to ban the content of the Houthi militia,” Al-Eryani said on X. Days after the US decision to reclassify the Houthis as terrorists in January, the Yemeni government sent official letters to major social media platforms such as Meta and X, demanding that they close Houthi media accounts as well as those belonging to the militia’s officials and sympathizers, accusing the Houthis of using social media platforms to incite hatred, recruit children for terrorism, and call for attacks on maritime traffic. The Houthis criticized X for removing their verification, accusing it of attempting to silence them. “Restricting Ansar Allah’s accounts on the X platform will not affect our position even if they close them permanently,” Houthi leader Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti said on X, using the official name of their group.

US targets Iran-backed group in Bahrain with sanctions on affiliates, Treasury says Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) /March 12, 2024
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four individuals in Iran for aiding the Bahrain-based, U.S.-designated terrorist group al-Ashtar Brigades, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
CONTEXT
The sanctions were imposed in coordination with Bahrain's government and allege that the targeted individuals "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of" al-Ashtar Brigades.
KEY QUOTES
The U.S. action "underscores our collective commitment to disrupting Iran's destabilizing forces and threats, particularly those which threaten our partners in the region and around the world," Brian Nelson, U.S. under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
WHY IT MATTERS
The United States has been taking action against Iran-backed groups in the Middle East to reduce Tehran's influence in the region and to isolate its affiliates. It designated al-Ashtar Brigades a foreign terrorist organization in 2018.
In recent weeks, Washington and Tehran have also been at odds over the conflict in Gaza and its implications in the region with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the U.S. carrying out strikes against them.

Three Egyptian Coptic monks killed in S.Africa, Coptic Orthodox Church says
REUTERS/March 13, 2024
CAIRO: Three Egyptian Coptic monks were killed in a “criminal assault” inside a Coptic monastery in South Africa, the Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt said on Tuesday, and South African police said they were investigating a triple murder.“Three monks were subjected to a criminal assault inside our Coptic monastery,” the spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church said in statement posted on Facebook, without elaborating. A South African police spokesperson said that authorities were investigating the murder of three priests at a church in Cullinan, a town near Pretoria. All three victims were found with stab wounds while a fourth who survived alleged that he was hit by an iron rod before fleeing and hiding, said police spokesperson Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi in a statement. “The motive (for the) murders is unknown at this stage,” he said, adding that the suspects “reportedly left the scene without taking any valuable item(s).”South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and armed robbery is common. One of the three monks killed was a representative of the Coptic Diocese of South Africa, said the church statement. An internal investigation has been launched, it added, and the Egyptian ambassador to Johannesburg has been informed.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 12-13/2024
Palestinians: 'Revitalized' Means Unity with Hamas Terrorists...Would the Biden administration like to stop the war this week?
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/March 12, 2024
For [Palestinian] leaders, revamping the Palestinian Authority means forging an alliance with Hamas by inviting the terror group to be part of a new governing body that would rule the Gaza Strip in the post-war era.
From Biden's perspective, it is as though Netanyahu and the Israelis are responsible for the devastation in the Middle East since Hamas's October 7 carnage, and not Iran, and Hamas's main sponsor, Qatar, whose "protection money" evidently came "without protection." As such, it would be no surprise if the Biden administration were to welcome a "Palestinian unity" agreement between Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas – a deal that would be no doubt presented to the world as the US-made revitalization plan; in reality, just a tee-up for the next war.
Would the Biden administration like to stop the war this week?
All the US would have to do is to inform Qatar that it was cancelling the agreement the Biden administration signed in January — in return for nothing -– to extend for another ten years America's use of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the forward headquarters of CENTCOM, and move it to a Middle Eastern country that does not, as Qatar does, have record of supporting Islamic State (ISIS/Da'esh), Hezbollah, al Shabab, the Taliban in Afghanistan and al Qaeda as well as Hamas.
In addition, the United States could simply tell Qatar that, regrettably, the US has no choice but officially to change Qatar's designation from "major non-NATO ally," which it is not, to State Sponsor of Terrorism, which it is. The US could have the war over and all the hostages -- not just the Americans -- released in a minute. The Biden administration -- or simply concerned citizens -- could also demonstrate with placards advertising Qatar's support for terrorism, a public relations campaign it might not relish.
By stationing its forces at Al Udeid Air Base, the US is doing Qatar a monumental favor, not the other way around. Without the US airbase, Qatar is just a rich, extremely vulnerable sandbar, as its rulers are undoubtedly aware.
For Palestinian leaders, revamping the Palestinian Authority means forging an alliance with Hamas by inviting the terror group to be part of a new governing body that would rule the Gaza Strip in the post-war era.
The US administration believes that the Palestinian Authority (PA) should be "revitalized" before it is handed control over the Gaza Strip after the Iran-backed Hamas terror group is removed from power. The US administration, however, has not clarified what it means when it talks about the "revitalization" of the PA. It can be assumed that it implies implementing -- and enforcing -- comprehensive reforms and ending the rampant financial and administrative corruption in Palestinian governing institutions.
PA leaders, meanwhile, seem to have a different interpretation of the "revitalization" proposal. For these leaders, revamping the PA means forging an alliance with Hamas by inviting the terror group to be part of a new governing body that would rule the Gaza Strip in the post-war era.
Instead of distancing themselves from Hamas, especially in the aftermath of the massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023, the PA leaders in the West Bank continue to view the terror group as a key and legitimate actor in the Palestinian political landscape. This assumption is why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas never condemned the massacre, which resulted in the murder of 1,200 Israelis and the wounding of more than 5,000, in addition to the abduction of 240 others as hostages. That is also why senior PA officials continue to view Hamas as central to Palestinian society and politics.
According to Hussam Zomlot, the PA envoy to Britain:
"We see that the Hamas organization plays an integral part in the national, political, and social issues of Palestinian citizens. They [Hamas] are part of us. We refuse to describe any Palestinian party as a terrorist organization. We refuse to describe the Palestinian struggle as terrorism. We refuse to describe any Palestinian activity as terrorism."
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that the PA was ready to work with Hamas. "We need Palestinian unity," he said. "Hamas is part of the Palestinian political arena."
Jibril Rajoub, Secretary-General of the PA's ruling Fatah faction, revealed that he recently met with senior Hamas officials and offered them the idea of forming a Palestinian unity government. "National unity requires a common political approach for Fatah and Hamas," Rajoub said.
"We consider Hamas to be part of the Palestinian national fabric. We need to reach agreement with Hamas on everything related to forming a [new] government and the political situation. Our priority is to reform the Palestinian political system."
Earlier, Rajoub had also said that the PA leadership's contacts with "our brothers in Hamas" never stopped. "We are seeking ways to achieve a common political strategy," he stated. Rajoub dismissed the US administration's demand for revamping the PA:
"We the Palestinians do not accept meddling in our internal affairs.... We know what is good for us and how to resolve our problems, including the implementation of reforms."
In late February, representatives of Fatah and Hamas met in Moscow to discuss ways of achieving "national unity." Hussein Hamayel, a senior Fatah official, said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the formation of a new Palestinian unity government.
On the eve of the Fatah-Hamas talks at the end of February, several Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip urged the two sides to agree on the formation of a Palestinian "national unity government." The groups also called on Fatah and Hamas to reach agreement on a "unified strategy for comprehensive resistance" against Israel. The PA has so far shown no signs that it is serious about embarking on any plan to reform its political, economic and security institutions. All that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has done so far is to ask his prime minister, Shtayyeh, to resign. Abbas is reportedly planning to replace the outgoing prime minister with another one of his loyalists, indistinguishable from Shtayyeh: Mohammad Mustafa.
If Abbas does not appoint Mustafa, he will undoubtedly select another one of his loyalists for the job. Replacing one crony with another is certainly not what the Palestinians need.
The Palestinians need new, young leaders with a vision of Palestinian-Israeli peace and coexistence. The PA needs an institutional overhaul, starting from the top to the bottom. Palestinians want to see those responsible for financial and administrative corruption removed from power.
The 88-year-old Abbas, however, seems convinced that reforms include a unity deal with an Islamist terror group, Hamas, whose charter calls for Jihad (holy war) and the elimination of Israel. "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it," Hamas's charter states, calling on Muslims to raise the banner of Jihad.
Attempts by the PA leadership to forge unity with Hamas are not new. Three months before the October 7 massacre, Fatah and Hamas leaders met in Egypt to discuss establishing a Palestinian unity government. Since then, representatives of the two parties have met on a regular basis to pursue the idea of unity.
One would think that Abbas would not only have condemned Hamas after its horrific atrocities against Israelis, but that he would at least hold the terror group responsible for the catastrophe it has brought on the residents of the Gaza Strip as a result of its October 7 attack. Instead, Abbas and his cohorts are chasing Hamas and begging its leaders to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian unity government.
All this is happening under the watchful eye of the US administration, which does not appear to oppose the idea of unity between Fatah and Hamas. Instead of pressing Abbas to "revitalize" the Palestinian Authority, the US administration is trying to stop Israel from eliminating the remaining Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip. Instead of denouncing Abbas for playing the Americans for fools, US President Joe Biden is accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "hurting Israel more than helping."
From Biden's perspective, it is as though Netanyahu and the Israelis are responsible for the devastation in the Middle East since Hamas's October 7 carnage, and not Iran, and Hamas's main sponsor, Qatar, whose "protection money" evidently came "without protection." As such, it would be no surprise if the Biden administration were to welcome a "Palestinian unity" agreement between Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas – a deal that would be no doubt presented to the world as the US-made revitalization plan; in reality, just a tee-up for the next war.
Only this week, Qatar, presumably at the insistence of the US, reportedly told its Hamas guests to release the hostages or leave Qatar. Since the collapse of negotiations, however, this deal, if it was ever even real and not a "wink-wink," may have fallen by the wayside. The problem could have been the lack of an "incentive" for Qatar. All the US would have to do is to inform Qatar that it was cancelling the agreement the Biden administration signed in January — in return for nothing -– to extend for another ten years America's use of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the forward headquarters of CENTCOM, and move it to a Middle Eastern country that does not, as Qatar does, have record of supporting Islamic State (ISIS/Da'esh), Hezbollah, al Shabab, the Taliban in Afghanistan and al Qaeda as well as Hamas.
In addition, the United States could simply tell Qatar that, regrettably, the US has no choice but officially to change Qatar's designation from "major non-NATO ally," which it is not, to State Sponsor of Terrorism, which it is (see here, here, here, here and here). The US could have the war over and all the hostages -- not just the Americans -- released in a minute. The Biden administration -- or simply concerned citizens -- could also demonstrate with placards advertising Qatar's support for terrorism, a public relations campaign it might not relish.
Claiming that Qatar is an ally because it is supposedly helping to negotiate the release of the hostages is as hare-brained as having Russia negotiate on behalf of the United States for the "Iran nuclear deal" in Vienna while Putin was invading Ukraine. Qatar does not want the hostages released and does not want Hamas defeated: Hamas is Qatar's pet. The US should just leave Al Udeid Air Base -- or seriously threaten to, not a "wink-wink." By stationing its forces there, the US is doing Qatar a monumental favor, not the other way around. Without the US airbase, Qatar is just a rich, extremely vulnerable sandbar, as its rulers are undoubtedly aware.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 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.

Democrats’ painful Biden dilemma
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 12, 2024
It would not be a massive exaggeration to argue that America’s 2024 primaries, for both the Democratic and Republican parties, are predictable, uninspiring and, above all, the manifestation of a deep leadership crisis that reflects a fragmented American society. It is hard to remember a more uneventful Super Tuesday than last week’s, even though 15 states and one US territory chose a third of the delegates for the parties’ respective conventions, during which they will anoint their nominees. The only excitement was among Democrats when Joe Biden lost American Samoa, a US territory in the Pacific — his one and only loss — to a completely unknown entrepreneur named Jason Palmer, which has the potential to become a tricky question in pub quizzes for years to come.
Meanwhile, among the Republicans, Nikki Haley scored Vermont to add to her only previous success in the District of Columbia, just before announcing that she would be “suspending” her campaign. Given no act of nature or, in Donald Trump’s case, a judge, we are all bracing ourselves for a rerun of the 2020 presidential race, but this time with even more venom, especially from the Trump camp.
This will be an election campaign like no other, with the record-breaking combined age of the two candidates on election day being 159, with Biden leading by three years. This would not have been an issue as such, were it not for the voters themselves raising grave concerns about it, especially among the Democrats.
Only 33 percent of Americans approve of the president’s performance in office, while 65 percent disapprove.
Biden’s first term has had its highs and lows, but if the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” determines how the electorate votes, Biden should win the November election — and win big. The last quarter of 2023 witnessed strong growth and the economy is expected to grow this year by 2.2 percent, at the same time as the US labor market continues to be buoyant, helped by expectations of a first interest rate cut in some time, while inflation is being kept at bay.
Biden inherited a very chaotic situation from his predecessor, but still his administration managed to guide the economy out of the depths of the pandemic-related recession and later shield it from the economic shockwaves caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, within a short time, a list of accomplishments ensued, among them being a massive investment in infrastructure and the green economy. The Biden administration has also ensured aid for veterans, brought in the first major gun-control legislation in a generation and made significant investments in the country’s technological and scientific sectors to enable it to compete with China.
In the international arena, the US showed leadership in responding to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and renewed its commitment to NATO, which under Trump had reached its lowest ebb. Certainly, Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza and letting it rage for so long despite the mounting casualties and devastation among Palestinians is a stain on his presidency, but would Trump have behaved any differently?
For many observers of American politics, at home and abroad, a second Trump administration is a terrifying prospect. In the words of Haley, who was appointed ambassador to the UN by Trump, his reelection would bring “four more years of chaos” that the US “won’t survive.”
Considering Trump’s incoherent worldview, his long list of legal woes and his complete inability to think strategically, Biden should be on cruise control with victory in sight, but instead his approval ratings are abysmal. Only 33 percent of Americans approve of the president’s performance in office, while 65 percent disapprove. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, the only positive personal trait that a majority of respondents could agree on is that he is even-tempered, most certainly more so than his prospective rival.
Rarely are there easy decisions in politics, especially when the stakes are so high, but right now they could not be higher
The vast majority of Republican supporters see no positive traits in Biden, which suggests they are not ready to be convinced otherwise, come rain or shine. In a different poll, a majority of those who voted for him in 2020 now believe he is just too old to lead the country effectively.
When Biden was first nominated as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate and when he later won the 2020 election, the prevailing belief was that, considering his age and also what he represented, he would be a one-term president. It was thought he would try to stabilize and heal the nation after the four frenzied years of his predecessor, especially after the Jan. 6 insurrection, and then retire gracefully. But it quickly became apparent that there was at least one person in the White House who thought differently and, mysteriously, no one within the party is challenging him, while time is running out.
Yet, last week’s New York Times/Siena poll should alarm the Democratic Party from its leadership to its grassroots activists. Biden’s 43 percent support lagged behind Trump’s 48 percent in this national survey of registered voters and there is erosion among the segments of society that traditionally support Democratic candidates, including women, Blacks, Latinos and working-class voters.
There is little time and almost impossible constitutional hurdles for the party to deal with in order to replace Biden and choose another nominee to run for president. However, considering that not doing so might mean handing Trump a second presidency, Democrats are facing a genuine and painful dilemma. Do they replace Biden for the sake of winning the forthcoming election and, by that, save the country from what might make all of us nostalgic for Trump’s first term? Or do they show loyalty to a long-time and devoted servant of his party and country and, by that, risk losing the election and seeing the country take the path toward a dangerous and unpredictable future?
Rarely are there easy decisions in politics, especially when the stakes are so high, but right now they could not be higher for America. Hence, it is time, in the name of expediency and putting the country first, to say farewell to Biden, while expressing genuine gratitude for his services to both party and country. The easy way out would be to decide against this unusual course of action, but Democrats might rue such a choice for years to come if they lose this upcoming election because they did not treat the present turmoil in which their country finds itself as a crisis that calls for drastic measures.
*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. X: @YMekelberg

Civil society key to future of Israeli-Palestinian peace-building
Alistair Burt/Arab News/March 12, 2024
The agony of Gaza goes on. No one should mistake the well-meaning efforts of delivering aid through airdrops or the proposed construction of a temporary port for Gaza as anything other than a dramatic failure of conventional, efficient delivery, due to restrictions placed upon its access.
The Gaza crisis represents a grotesque failure of political leadership. Of those in Hamas who organized the brutal raid on Israel on Oct. 7, indifferent to the likely response to the stealing of men, women and children as hostages. Of those in the Israeli government who devised an incoherent plan to save the hostages, while at the same time seeking to destroy Hamas at immense civilian cost. And of the international community, which cannot seemingly prevent or end what is happening, just as it cannot in Sudan or Somalia. The victims of these conflicts are rarely the leaders; it is the poorest and most defenseless, disproportionately women and children, who pay the heaviest price. It is not easy to see any light at present, but the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee took evidence recently on the post-conflict future as part of an inquiry into the country’s policy in the broader Middle East. It heard from Israeli and Palestinian voices based locally, with one useful theme emerging that highlighted a road less travelled at present — the role of civil society.
This time, a bottom-up process must accompany the top-down for there to be lasting peace, justice and security
Listening to these voices and others from the region, I believe the committee will recognize and agree that there is no going back to Oct. 6. There is a growing awareness that the trauma of Oct. 7 and the subsequent reprisals have been so severe that, while it is obvious a new Gaza must emerge, a new Israel must also emerge, such is the shock to an already fracturing political system. Both will require new leadership, as neither can ever be the same again. Emerging voices are making the case that the failure of political leadership means that a top-down resolution of affairs — the classic conclusions of high-level negotiations of local and international leaders determining the compromises needed for the future — will not be possible to achieve without the greater engagement of civil society. This time, a bottom-up process must accompany the top-down for there to be lasting peace, justice and security for those whose lives have been so cruelly violated not just recently, but for too long before as well. There are those who wish to build on the fact that one area of anticipated confrontation has not occurred. The fears that, post-Oct. 7, the intercommunal conflict in Israel that erupted in 2021 between the country’s Jewish and Palestinian populations would resurface have not come to pass. Over the last few months, it has been striking that, despite the deep pain both communities have experienced, those who had been patiently working for many years to build common ground between Israel’s different communities have so far seen their efforts contribute significantly to ensuring tensions have not spilled over and added to the catastrophe elsewhere. This deserves greater recognition.
Efforts to promote coexistence are delicate and require skilled handling to minimize pain or guilt
None of this is simple. Efforts to promote coexistence are delicate and require skilled handling to minimize pain or guilt. New directions will also be needed, for the societies for which such peace-building were intended have been ripped away. While the base of trust and confidence created this way is vital, more of the same sort of relationship-building is unlikely to be enough, post-Oct. 7. A new political horizon, dealing with the many component parts of the issues between Palestinians and Israel, will be essential to underpin such work in the future, which is where the political process and civil society come together.
While relationship-building must be locally led, the international community has a role to play. The UK has long championed the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, which has brought together Jewish and a variety of Arab partners. The Alliance for Middle East Peace, a coalition of more than 170 Israeli and Palestinian peace-building organizations, whose voices have been so prominent in the heart of tragedy, proposes an international contact group, integrating civil society peace-building, convened by the UK and drawn from G7, EU and Arab states. Such a group could be invited to the G7 Summit in June, in what we all hope will be a time when the conflict has ended and serious negotiations have begun. With the limitations of the existing political leaderships so apparent, it is not unreasonable to demand that civil society efforts be fed into the horizon of a revived peace process. Amid failure, their efforts have been a success. There are precious few other successes to which to point — they have earned their right to be heard.
*Alistair Burt is a former UK Member of Parliament who has twice held ministerial positions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office — as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State from 2010 to 2013 and as Minister of State for the Middle East from 2017 to 2019. X: @AlistairBurtUK

Why won’t Israel’s critics support a six-week humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza?
Gregory Wallance, Opinion Contributor/ The Hill./March 12, 2024
The demands for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza are everywhere. At the Oscars, celebrities such as Billie Eilish and Ramy Youssef wore red “Artists4Ceasefire” pins, which Youssef said meant an “immediate permanent cease-fire.”
During Biden’s State of the Union address, progressive Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) held up signs calling for a “Lasting Ceasefire.” Resolutions in the United Nations, countries around the world, and international refugee nongovernmental organizations all demand a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. But when it comes to a proposal to give immediate relief to Gazans, these voices have been conspicuously silent. The proposal is a six-week humanitarian cease-fire, mediated by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt, which Israel has accepted. The relief it would bring desperate Gazans — a respite from the war and a surge of food, water and medical supplies unhampered by intense fighting — has been rejected by Hamas in favor of continuing the war and even expanding it. Somehow, nobody is wearing Artists4SixWeekPause pins to protest this callous decision that will surely cause many civilian deaths in coming months.
A principal obstacle is Yehya Sinwar, the Hamas military leader in Gaza, who demands that Israel agree to a permanent cease-fire and commit to withdrawing from Gaza. He is reportedly pleased with how the war is going, but his strategy, if not his personal survival, depends on leveraging Gazan civilian casualties to generate international pressure on Israel to withdraw permanently. His bet is that the Ramadan holiday will ignite an uprising on the West Bank, leading to more Palestinian deaths, and more international pressure on Israel, including more “permanent cease-fire” pins and signs.
Apocalyptic thinking is what to expect from a terrorist leader who has been hiding for months underground, facing military pressure and an Israeli death sentence. Qatar apparently is more upset by Sinwar’s obstinance than the permanent cease-fire camp because it “threatened to expel Hamas officials” from their base in Doha if they failed to persuade Sinwar and the other Gaza-based leaders to accept the six-week humanitarian pause. This is a defining moment for the permanent cease-fire supporters. Their exclusive but futile focus on pressuring Israel to permanently stop its offensive suggests they would rather tilt at windmills than provide real, albeit temporary, relief to Gazans. Sinwar and his Hamas colleagues planned the Oct. 7 attack to be as bestial as possible, down to the body cameras that filmed children watching the murder of their parents. It left Israel a traumatized and enraged nation.
Whatever Israelis think of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — indeed, despite what some polls show to be a record low public opinion of him — they are united around the goal of eliminating Hamas, which has promised “a second, a third, and a fourth” attack on Israel. Sinwar and his colleagues wanted an existential, “it’s us or you” war with Israel, and they have gotten one. A six-week humanitarian cease-fire would involve the release of perhaps 40 or 50 Israeli hostages, and several times that number of Palestinians in Israeli jails. It could create a new diplomatic dynamic, conceivably with an endgame that includes the exile of the Hamas leaders in Gaza and an end to the war. Pressuring Hamas, which is sensitive to international opinion, to accept the six week cease-fire, would not require the permanent cease-fire camp to refrain from seeking an end to the war if it resumes. The permanent cease-fire camp has left the impression that Israel is the only actor in Gaza with agency, and that Hamas is a faceless, besieged, underground bystander. It has been a convenient way to blame Israel exclusively for Gazan suffering, but now that game is up. By not pressuring Hamas to accept the six week cease-fire, the permanent cease-fire camp, intentionally or not, has aligned itself with the goals of Hamas and against the immediate needs of the Gazan people.
**Gregory J. Wallance was a federal prosecutor in the Carter and Reagan administrations and a member of the ABSCAM prosecution team, which convicted a U.S. senator and six representatives of bribery. He is the author of “Into Siberia: George Kennan’s Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia.”