Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 30-31/2024
Holy Saturday: Hope in the face of despair, love in the face of hatred, and forgiveness in the face of hatred/Elias Bejjani/March 30/2024
Resurrection: Life, Faith And Death…Halleluiah, Jesus Has Risen, Indeed He Has Risen/Elias Bejjani/March 31/2023
Holy Saturday: Hope in the face of despair, love in the face of hatred, and forgiveness in the face of hatred/Elias Bejjani/March 30/2024
Resurrection of Christ and the New Adam/Charles Elias Chartouni//March 31/2024
UNIFIL's statement after the injury of three observers in southern Lebanon
Israeli military spokesman denies targeting UNIFIL vehicle
Lebanon-Israel border: Details on Israeli attack on UNIFIL in the south
Foreign Ministry condemns attack on UNIFIL patrol, urges swift action
Mikati condemns the 'targeting' of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon
Rai: The Parliament Deprives State of President
Bkerke Meetings: What About Hezbollah’s Arsenal?
Israel's Defence Minister says strikes will increase againt Hezbollah
Al-Rahi urges Hezbollah to declare instant end of war in south
Quintet Committee to Meet With Hezbollah in April
Hezbollah to Respond to National Moderation Bloc Initiative
Gallant says Israel to keep up operations against Hezbollah
Nasrallah says Hezbollah and allies are seeking victory over Israel
UN observers hurt in 'blast' in south, Lebanon blames Israel
Southern Front Reignites on Saturday
Israeli strikes foe Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon
Israel says killed Hezbollah rocket unit leader in Lebanon
Owner of “Waynyeh el Dawleh” Page Arrested for Accusing State of Negligence

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 30-31/2024
Egyptian TV: Truce talks between Israel, Hamas to resume Sunday in Cairo
Netanyahu approves new Gaza ceasefire talks
Truce talks between Israel and Hamas to resume Sunday in Cairo, Egyptian television station says
Charting a course for Gaza: The debate over a multinational peacekeeping force
Heavy clashes, more deadly aid chaos in war-ravaged Gaza
US welcomes new Palestinian government following repeated calls for political reform
Thousands in Israel call for end to Gaza war on Palestinian Land Day
Second Gaza-Bound Aid Ship Departs Cyprus
Despite Tensions, United States Delivers New Weapons to Israel
The rise of drones: Shaping conflict dynamics in the Middle East
Iran-backed Palestinian leader vows victory over Israel in the war in Gaza
Man arrested on suspicion of terror-related offence at pro-Palestinian protest
Israel top court says govt. must stop funding seminaries. Could that topple Netanyahu?
US-Israel weapons deal: Israel balances Gaza negotiations and military buildup
Moscow slams 'unacceptable Israeli' strikes on Syria
Death toll in Israeli strikes on Syria climbs to 52: monitor

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 30-31/2024
Pope to Christians of the Holy Land: It Is Good for You to Stay/Fady Noun/This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
Under Biden Administration, Iran's Mullahs Enjoying Green Light to Go Nuclear/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 30, 2024
Israel’s global isolation is caused by antisemitism, not bad policies/Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS/March 30/2024
At last, a UN Security Council Resolution over Gaza, but what’s next?/Yossi Mekelberg /Arab News/March 30, 2024
The shifting contours of a multipolar Middle East/Ehtesham Shahid/Arab News/March 30, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 30-31/2024
Resurrection: Life, Faith And Death…Halleluiah, Jesus Has Risen, Indeed He Has Risen.
Elias Bejjani/March 31/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/38553/elias-bejjani-resurrection-life-faith-and-death/
Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here (Mark 16/05)
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood, tolerance and repentance. Religiously and consciously we are not supposed to participate by any means in any of the feast prayers or make any offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we are genuinely did replace hatred with love, grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with righteousness.
Do not be afraid, “Don’t be amazed”, with these reassuring and soothing words The Angel spoke to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They had came to the tomb on Sunday morning to mummify and anoint Jesus’ Body as the Jewish tradition required. They thought death had defeated Jesus and ended His life as it does to every human being. On their way, they were sadly thinking and wondering who will roll for them the stone away from the tomb’s entrance so they can get in and perform the mummifying and anointing process. While halfway from the tomb, they saw that the enormous stone had been rolled away. When they entered the tomb they found that Jesus’ body was not there. They found only the shrouds that His body was wrapped with on His burial after the crucifixion.
Saint Mark’s (16/01-13) Gospel describes thoroughly what has happened with these three loyal and faithful women: “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’” They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved. After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.”
Lord Jesus who died on the cross, had risen from the dead on the third day just as He has said while proclaiming His message. He triumphed over death, defeated the forces of darkness, overcame pain, abolished anguish and brought despair to an end. He rose from the tomb to be constantly with those faithful to Him throughout their lives, and to never abandon them. He shall empower forever those who believe in His message and observe His commandments with the spirit of truth, knowledge, wisdom and solidarity with His Father, Almighty God.
Christ is the Way, Christ is the Truth, and Christ is the actual eternal life that we long for. We strongly believe with full conviction that Christ dwells in His Holy Church, and exists in its Mysteries (Sacraments). He is always present in the Holy Eucharist that we receive during every mass. Christ at all times is ready, willing and delighted to help us in our burdens when we call on Him and ask for His mercy. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew11:28)
The miracle of resurrection is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. This pivotal liturgical fact was strongly stressed by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, (15/12-26): ” Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain. Yes, we are found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised. For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death”.
Through Crucifixion and resurrection, Christ has overcome death, broke its thorn, and granted us His eternal forgiveness from the original sin. With His death and resurrection, death in its traditional earthly human concept has been abolished forever and Sin since then has become the actual death that leads the sinners to Gahanna into the unquenchable fire.
When our bodies die, we sleep in the hope of resurrection. On Jesus’ return on the Day of Judgment, the dead will be the first to rise and escort Him. “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed”, (Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 15 / 51-52).
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood, tolerance and repentance. Religiously we are not to participate in any of these feast prayers or make any offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we replace hatred with love, grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with righteousness.
If we do not learn how to tame our selfishness, anger, hatred and forgive others for whatever evil deeds they commit against us and reconcile with them, than we do not qualify to be called Jesus’ followers. Our prayers will not be heard or responded to, if we do not practice the grace of forgiveness as did He who was crucified for our salvation.
“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”. (Matthew 5/23-24).
Meanwhile our true faith in Jesus and in His Sacrifices won’t be complete unless we adopt in our thinking, deeds and language the pure components of sacrifice, honesty, truth, self respect, meekness and decency. “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4/29-32)
For our prayers to be looked upon and heard by Almighty God, we are required to reconcile with ourselves and with all others on whom we have inflicted pain and injustice, and treated with an evil manner. To please the Lord we are required to genuinely, heartily and overtly perform all required acts of repentance for all our mischievous conducts and wrongdoings. Mark 11/24-26: “Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions”
Almighty God has endowed us with His love talent, (minas) and expects us to faithfully invest it in helping others who are in need. He expect us to observe all the teaching of His Bible so that He will reward us on the Day of Judgment and put us on His Right Side.
On this Holy Day of Resurrection, we are ought to be aware that Jesus’ Holy blood was shed on the Cross for our sake. Remembrance of His death and resurrection is a Godly consignment that we are entrusted with. It’s up to us either to honour this trust or betray it. In regards to what is committed to us, Saint Paul conveyed to his disciple Timothy the following advice (6/20-21): “Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; which some professing have erred concerning the faith”.
Halleluiah! Jesus has risen! Indeed He has risen.

Holy Saturday: Hope in the face of despair, love in the face of hatred, and forgiveness in the face of hatred
Elias Bejjani/March 30/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/128278/128278/
On the sacred day of the Sabbath of Light, our hearts are drawn to a momentous occasion in the annals of humanity, when Jesus Christ emerged from His tomb, bathed in the radiance of divine resurrection, as the angel rolled away the stone from the entrance, illuminating the world with the triumphant glow of hope amidst darkness. This event stands as a testament to the ultimate victory of love over hatred, life over death, and light over the encompassing darkness.
As the women approached the tomb that fateful day, their hearts heavy with sorrow, they were met with the sight of an empty sepulcher. Their intent was to anoint the body of Jesus with fragrant spices, yet instead, they encountered a void. However, within that emptiness, they discovered an unwavering faith, a beacon of hope that transcended earthly disappointment. In the resurrection of Christ, we witness the eternal struggle against death conquered, and the glorious triumph of life. This is not merely a historical event but a living truth that permeates our existence each passing day.
In this profound narrative, hope becomes an indomitable flame within our souls, even amidst the darkest of trials. The resurrection of Christ signifies the abiding presence of God amidst our struggles, assuring us that goodness and luminosity will inevitably prevail over despair and obscurity. Thus, we are compelled to never succumb to despair, but rather to entrust ourselves to the unwavering providence of God, even in the face of adversity.
Let us rejoice in the resurrection of Christ with exultant hearts and grateful spirits, embracing our identity as children of light. May we steadfastly anticipate the boundless hope and rejuvenating life bestowed upon us by the grace of Christ, guiding our path through the ever-encroaching shadows of doubt and fear.

Resurrection of Christ and the New Adam
Charles Elias Chartouni//March 31/2024
Paul in his letters to the Romans ( 5/12-20, 6/4 ) and to the Corinthians ( 15/ 45-49 ) talks about the resurrected Christ as the “New Adam” “ ... we were buried... with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead ..., we too might walk in newness of life “. By establishing a correlation between the Kerygma of the Resurrected Christ and Jesus the Christ as the “ New Adam “, Paul invites us during this celebration of Easter, tainted with anxiety and doubts insofar as the derailments of our contemporary humanity, to rethink our contemporary humanism on the very basis of the “ New Adam “ premiss. Happy Easter to all of you, the kerygma of resurrected Christ calls on the profound recesses of our consciousness, and invites us to redefine and restructure the conditions of a convivial humanity based on the predicates of Cosmic Spirituality, justice, peace, compassion, biotic community (geological, vegetal, animal) and a rational and ethical management of our economic and social resources.

UNIFIL's statement after the injury of three observers in southern Lebanon
LBCI/March 30, 2024
The UNIFIL announced in a statement on Saturday, "This morning, three military observers and one Lebanese language assistant on a foot patrol along the Blue Line were injured when an explosion occurred near their location. They have now been evacuated for medical treatment.""We are investigating the origin of the explosion," it added. The statement mentioned, "Safety and security of UN personnel must be granted. All actors have a responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure protection for non-combatants, including peacekeepers, journalists, medical personnel, and civilians. We repeat our call for all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt."
Lebanon News

Israeli military spokesman denies targeting UNIFIL vehicle
LBCI/March 30, 2024
The Israeli military's spokesman, Avichay Adraee, denied in a tweet on X on Saturday that Israeli forces hit a vehicle belonging to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Rmeich.

Lebanon-Israel border: Details on Israeli attack on UNIFIL in the south
LBCI/March 30, 2024
For the third time, international emergency forces operating in the south, or any of their affiliated bodies, have been deliberately or inadvertently attacked during the ongoing confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel. Days after the southern front confrontations started, the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura was targeted with a rocket on October 15. Additionally, a UNIFIL-affiliated tower was shelled in Abil al-Qamh on December 9. In the latest of these attacks, three military observers affiliated with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), accompanied by a Lebanese translator, were injured during a patrol in the Wadi Qatmoun area on the outskirts of the town of Rmeish along the Blue Line. According to reports, the patrol came under fire from artillery as its members got off and conducted their mission on foot. They sustained injuries when the shell exploded near them, causing shrapnel wounds. The patrol consisted of an Australian, a Chilean, and a Norwegian officer. One of them is in critical condition. They were evacuated by helicopter to Beirut for medical treatment. Following the attack, UNIFIL issued a statement confirming an investigation into the incident, calling for the safety and security of UN personnel. It emphasized that all parties are obligated under international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of non-combatants. UNIFIL reiterated its call for all conflict parties to cease the current violent exchanges of fire before more people suffer harm unnecessarily.

Foreign Ministry condemns attack on UNIFIL patrol, urges swift action
LBCI/March 30, 2024
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Saturday the “recent attack on a patrol operated by the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).” “The attack resulted in the injury of four individuals, some of whom are in critical condition," according to an official statement. The ministry underscored the gravity of the incident, highlighting its infringement upon international law and international humanitarian law. Of particular concern is the deliberate targeting of United Nations peacekeepers. Abdallah Bou Habib, the Foreign Minister, personally contacted General Aroldo Lázaro, the Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL in the south, to express their condemnation of the attack. In response to this alarming escalation, the ministry called upon nations committed to peace and regional security to take swift action, ensure the safety and security of UN personnel, and safeguard civilians. Additionally, the ministry urged them to intervene promptly to enforce the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

Mikati condemns the 'targeting' of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon
Reuters/March 30, 2024
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned on Saturday the 'targeting' of United Nations forces in southern Lebanon, which resulted in the injury of three military observers. Mikati expressed his solidarity with the international forces after the targeting that hit a UNIFIL vehicle, resulting in several injuries.

Rai: The Parliament Deprives State of President
This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai accused the parliament, with its president and members, of “depriving Lebanon deliberately and without legal justification of a president.” Thus, violating the constitution in its preamble, which declares Lebanon a democratic parliamentary republic. It also violates the election process in Article 49, according to al-Rai and the loss of its legislative competence, reducing it to merely an electoral body according to Article 75. During his annual Easter address for 2024 on Saturday in Bkerke, he regretted the lack of an authority that would bring back the council to order according to the Constitution, highlighting the disintegration of the state institutions as a result, and the suffering of the people. The Maronite Patriarch emphasized that it is “our responsibility to voice the people’s concerns, which are numerous, and relay them to officials and the public.”Al-Rai tackled the education sector by saying that it is still grappling with the economic crisis that has shaken its entity and bankrupted its institutions, placing school administrations facing two challenges: improving living conditions for teachers and the inability of many parents to pay what is required of them. He pointed out that the emigration of competent and experienced teachers is a serious matter that negatively affects the quality of education, calling for enacting new legislations to protect teachers.

Bkerke Meetings: What About Hezbollah’s Arsenal?
This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
According to one of the participants, the inter-Christian meetings at Bkerkeh will resume after Easter. These discussions are expected to yield a final document outlining the fundamental principles of a national policy rooted in Lebanese values. The Christian parties of the Lebanese Forces (LF), Kataeb, the National Liberal Party (PNL), and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), alongside the Renewal parliamentary bloc led by MP Michel Mouawad, as well as independent representatives, are currently deliberating on a proposed roadmap from Bkerke. This roadmap is poised to form the cornerstone of an upcoming document. Once completed, this document will be disseminated among various Lebanese components, facilitating a national dialogue addressing critical issues including the presidential election impasse, the economic crisis, challenges concerning migrants and displaced Syrians, and the problematic issues associated with Hezbollah, particularly the role of the latter as a mini-state within the state and its arsenal. No date has been set yet for the resumption of these meetings, which, it is worth noting, are held away from the spotlight. Furthermore, according to the same source, Bkerke is awaiting the completion of a document by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), led by Gebran Bassil, specifically addressing Hezbollah’s weaponry, before convening another session. Two more documents are also set for examination, one put forth by the LF and the other by the Kataeb. However, given their shared similarities on several points, there is a possibility of merging them into one coherent document. The Lebanese Forces, in particular, are poised to review their document with a bishop mandated by the patriarchate before the party’s leader, Samir Geagea, discusses it with the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai. In his most recent televised interview, the leader of the Lebanese Forces voiced strong skepticism regarding the outcomes of the discussions at Bkerke. He particularly questioned the intentions of Gebran Bassil, citing a lack of trust in him due to the belief that “his positions are dictated by his very personal interests.”
The final document expected to emerge from the Bkerke meetings is anticipated to be a synthesis of those presented by the three Christian parties. However, the question remains whether these three parties, alongside the Renewal Bloc, can come to an agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) concerning the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons. While Christian parties are intransigent regarding the urgent need to address the challenge posed by Hezbollah’s arms, Gebran Bassil maintains a more nuanced position.
This is because the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, who signed an agreement with the pro-Iranian group in 2006, referred to as the Mar Mikhael Agreement, upholds a basic level of relations with Hezbollah despite their divergent stances on several matters. This underscores the mutual dependence between them, shaped by their respective interests. It is important to remember that the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) owes much of its success in electing certain MPs to Hezbollah’s support. Furthermore, it was through Michel Aoun, the former president and founder of the FPM, that the pro-Iranian group gained official recognition and a Christian umbrella.
Additionally, Gebran Bassil aims to approach the issue of arms with more nuance than the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb, PNL, and the Renewal Bloc, all of whom are fiercely opposed to Hezbollah’s practices that undermine Lebanon’s state foundations and harm the country. Bassil is currently endeavoring to reconcile his alignment with the opposition regarding the candidacy of former minister Jihad Azour for the presidency while maintaining ties with Hezbollah. In his recent statements, the FPM leader criticized the opening of the southern front and cautioned against Lebanon’s implication in a destructive war. He also called for a national defense strategy while highlighting his allegiance to the “resistance,” as he believes the LAF alone cannot adequately protect Lebanon. In other words, he once again endorsed the use of illicit arms. It is worth noting that during the Bkerke meetings, representatives of the Free Patriotic Movement did not object to discussing the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons in the final document. However, they asked for the formulation related to this issue to be carefully crafted so as not to offend Hezbollah.

Israel's Defence Minister says strikes will increase againt Hezbollah
Euronews/March 30, 2024
Hinting at Israel’s alleged overnight airstrike in Syria, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the military will “expand the campaign and increase the rate of attacks in the north” following an assessment at the IDF Northern Command in Safed. “Israel is turning from defending to pursuing Hezbollah, we will reach wherever the organization operates, in Beirut, Damascus and in more distant places,” Gallant added. His comments come days after a top Hezbollah commander was killed in an IDF drone strike in southern Lebanon, and five other Hezbollah terrorists were killed in a strike in Aleppo, Syria. According to Syrian sources about 40 people were killed in the strike. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said 36 Syrian troops, seven Hezbollah fighters and a Syrian member of an Iran-backed group died, and dozens of people were wounded, calling it the deadliest such attack in years. Talks resume about bringing top Israeli officials to Washington. Discussions have restarted aimed at bringing top Israeli officials to Washington to discuss potential military operations in Gaza, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned visit this week because he was angry about the U.S vote on a UN cease-fire resolution, the White House said Wednesday. “So we’re now working with them to find a convenient date that’s obviously going to work for both sides," said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. No date has been finalized yet. One US official said strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi would be among the delegation to come to Washington. The official was not authorised to speak publicly about the sensitive discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. An Israeli official said the White House had reached out to set a new meeting. The official was not authorised to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister “did not authorise the departure of the delegation to Washington.” The delegation to the US was meant to discuss a promised ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is overflowing with displaced civilians. Israel has so far rejected American appeals to call off the planned operation. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was already in Washington by the time Netanyahu cancelled the trip by other officials. Gallant met with Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Gaza operation was one of many topics they discussed. Netanyahu on Wednesday said his decision to cancel was meant to deliver a message to Hamas that international pressure against Israel will not prompt it to end the war without concessions from the militant group, an apparent attempt to smooth over the clash between the allies.

Al-Rahi urges Hezbollah to declare instant end of war in south
Naharnet/March 30, 2024
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Saturday stressed that “the south is the heart of Lebanon and is going through the severest and most difficult suffering.”In his Easter message, al-Rahi saluted “the southerners who are resilient in their towns and villages under the bombardment” and “all those who lost dear ones, whose homes were destroyed or who were displaced to other regions.”“The south and its land and people should not be turned into a card used by some to serve the causes and wars of others, seeing as Lebanon and its south are for all Lebanese, who should decide together the future, safety and security of their country, as well as when it fights and for whom it fights,” al-Rahi added. “We call on the Lebanese to come together in declaring an immediate end of the war without any delay as well as commitment to U.N. resolutions and to sparing the south its plight that is coming from the Israeli killing machine,” the patriarch urged

Quintet Committee to Meet With Hezbollah in April
This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
According to MTV’s sources, the Quintet Committee is scheduled to meet with Hezbollah’s delegation on April 13, with a subsequent meeting with the National Moderation Bloc on April 17. This comes after months of presidential deadlock, with Hezbollah and Amal blocking multiple election sessions in Parliament due to disagreements over possible candidates. In their last tour of mediations, from March 18 till March 20, the Committee met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, former President Michel Aoun, as well as Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, with all statements indicating that the meetings were fruitful and moving in the right direction, with no specific details on names for candidacy. The proposal from the National Moderation Bloc entails assembling Members of Parliament from various blocs in Parliament. Subsequently, they would advocate for an unrestricted parliamentary session with consecutive rounds until the election of a new president. Since March 4, the Bloc has been awaiting a response from Hezbollah on their advances.

Hezbollah to Respond to National Moderation Bloc Initiative
This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
According to MTV, Hezbollah will state its response to the National Moderation Bloc Initiative “within days,” including its approval under conditions set by Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri. This comes after a visit conducted by the bloc with Hezbollah representatives on March 4, with no reactions or information divulged by the pro-Iranian faction since then. According to MTV’s sources, this could be a step forward to unlocking the presidential deadlock, though no new presidential names have been suggested from either side. As a reminder, the National Moderation bloc’s initiative would involve bringing together MPs from different blocs in Parliament, then calling for an open parliamentary session with successive rounds until a new president is elected.

Gallant says Israel to keep up operations against Hezbollah
Agence France Presse/March 30, 2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant toured the Israeli army's northern command on Friday "to closely examine another successful termination like the one that was executed this morning," he said in a post referring to Israel's drone assassination of a Hezbollah rocket unit commander earlier on Friday. Gallant said the Israeli army would keep up its operations against Hezbollah, and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was to blame for the consequences, including members killed and wounded. "We will make them pay a price for every attack that comes out from Lebanon," he said. Recent days have seen an uptick in deadly exchanges, and the White House has called on both Israel and Lebanon to put a high priority on restoring calm.

Nasrallah says Hezbollah and allies are seeking victory over Israel
Naharnet/March 30, 2024 
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has stressed that the anti-Israel resistance movements in Lebanon and the region are not in “a position of weakness” in the ongoing conflict. “What we are seeking is victory and not to end the matter in any way. Had we wanted that, we would not have treaded this path,” Nasrallah said in a Ramadan televised speech focusing on religious matters. “There are no signs of weakness in our front,” Nasrallah added.

UN observers hurt in 'blast' in south, Lebanon blames Israel
Agence France Presse/March 30, 2024
UNIFIL said three military observers and a translator were wounded Saturday in a blast in southern Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah trade frequent cross-border fire. Peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the so-called Blue Line, the border demarcated by the U.N. in 2000 when Israeli troops pulled out of southern Lebanon. The U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) supports the peacekeeping mission. Three UNTSO "military observers and one Lebanese language assistant on a foot patrol along the Blue Line were injured when an explosion occurred near their location," UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in a statement. The wounded were "evacuated for medical treatment" and UNIFIL is "investigating the origin of the explosion," Tenenti added. "Safety and security of U.N. personnel must be guaranteed," the statement said, urging "all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of fire before more people are unnecessarily hurt." Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire since Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza.
Hezbollah, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles, says its attacks on Israel are in support of the embattled residents in Gaza and Hamas. Norway's defense ministry said a Norwegian U.N. observer was "lightly injured" and had been admitted to hospital. "The circumstances surrounding the attack are unclear," defense ministry spokesperson Hanne Olafsen told Norwegian news agency NTB. UNIFIL's Tenenti told AFP that the other two observers were from Australia and Chile, adding that all four wounded were in "stable" condition.
'Dangerous incident'
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said an "enemy (Israeli) drone" raided the Rmeish area of southern Lebanon where the UNTSO observers were wounded. The Israeli army told AFP in a statement: "We did not strike in the area." Tenenti emphasized: "All actors have a responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure protection to non-combatants, including peacekeepers, journalists, medical personnel and civilians."Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned what he called a "dangerous incident."Lebanon's foreign ministry said the attack was "in violation of international law." Cross-border fire since October has killed at least 347 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed. An uptick in deadly exchanges in recent days has fuelled concerns of an all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, who last fought a war in 2006. UNTSO was set up after the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation to monitor armistice agreements reached with its Arab neighbors. It also assists other U.N. peacekeeping operations in the region, including UNIFIL, which was established after Israel's 1978 invasion of south Lebanon and expanded following the 2006 war.

Southern Front Reignites on Saturday
This Is Beirut/ 30 Mar 2024
Following the attack on United Nations Military Observers near Rmeich on Saturday morning, the southern front has once again ignited. An Israeli drone targeted a Lebanese army base near Aita al-Shaab, without causing any injuries. Israeli airstrikes targeted the villages of Hanine (in the Bint Jbeil district), Taybeh, Chihine and Jebbayn. Israeli artillery bombardments also struck residential neighborhoods in Dhayra, as well as Yarine, Tayr Harfa, Hamames, and Khiam. Additionally, Hezbollah announced targeting Israeli positions in Kherbet Maer, Al-Raheb, and Roueissat al-Alam, as well as a building housing Israeli soldiers in the Admit settlement. Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for attacking a radar post in the Shebaa Farms and a drone strike against the headquarters of the Western Brigade in Yaara. According to Israeli media, two anti-tank missiles were launched from Lebanon towards the village of Admit in the Upper Galilee, causing damage.

Israeli strikes foe Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon
Agence France Presse/March 30, 2024
Israel launched deadly cross-border strikes Friday on Hezbollah targets in Syria and Lebanon, doubling down on Iran-backed foes and Hamas allies, and fuelling concerns the violence could spark a major regional conflagration. The Israeli army said it killed the deputy head of Hezbollah's rocket unit, Ali Naim, in one of the attacks on southern Lebanon. In Syria, Israeli strikes targeted a Hezbollah "rockets depot" in Aleppo province, killing 36 Syrian soldiers, seven Hezbollah members and another pro-Iran fighter, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said. It was the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, said the monitor, which also reported raids on "defense factories" controlled by pro-Iran groups elsewhere in the province. Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war erupted there in 2011, targeting mostly army positions as well as Iran-backed combatants including Hezbollah fighters entrenched there for years in support of the Damascus government. It rarely comments on individual strikes but the raids have increased since the Gaza war began. In Lebanon, Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli army across the country's southern border since October, saying it is in support of Gazans and Hamas militants. Hezbollah said Friday seven of its fighters were killed by Israeli fire, without specifying where or when they died. It said one was Naim, but did not specify his role.
'Supply route' -
"Syria and Lebanon have become one extended battleground from the Israeli perspective," Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, told AFP. "Israel warplanes hit targets in both countries almost daily in a sustained effort to destroy Hezbollah military infrastructure and to also tarnish the group's image," he said. "Israeli strikes have clearly escalated in size and depth" in Lebanon, he added. Syria's foreign ministry condemned the Aleppo raids, which it said killed and wounded "a number of civilians and soldiers." Damascus allies Russia and Iran also slammed the Israeli strikes. Moscow said they were "categorically unacceptable" while Iran said they were a "violation of Syria's sovereignty" and "a serious threat to regional and international peace and security." According to Kahwaji, "Syria is the main supply route linking Iran with Hezbollah in Lebanon.""Israel has been hitting this supply line and destroying arms depots and eliminating IRGC leaders in Syria," he said, referring to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Friday's strikes were the second on Syria in 24 hours. Syrian state media said "two civilians" were killed in an "Israeli air attack that targeted a residential building" on Thursday. The Britain-based Observatory said the target was the Sayyida Zeinab area, a stronghold of pro-Iran armed groups including Hezbollah, south of the capital.
'Changing Israel's calculations' -
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media he visited northern Israel on Friday "to get an overview on the actions being carried out in preparation for more eliminations and actions -- in Lebanon, Syria and further afield."Hezbollah claimed several attacks on Israeli targets on Friday, including two it said came "in response to the Israeli enemy attacks on Damascus and Aleppo."The group, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles, last went to war with Israel in 2006. On March 12, the Israeli army said it had hit some 4,500 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and Syria over the past five months.
In Lebanon, cross-border fire since October has killed at least 347 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters, including at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed. Analyst Lina Khatib said "Israel is increasing the pressure on Hezbollah, the Syrian army, and other Iran-backed groups in Syria and in Lebanon, knowing that it is not in their interest to escalate the fight." "Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel are changing Israel's calculations," said Khatib, associate fellow with Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa program. Israel "is likely to further increase its strikes in Syria to significantly weaken the pro-Iran front in both Syria and Lebanon," she added.

Israel says killed Hezbollah rocket unit leader in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/March 30, 2024
An Israeli strike killed the deputy head of Hezbollah's rocket unit in south Lebanon on Friday, the Israeli military said, the latest deadly cross-border violence since the Israel-Hamas war erupted. Hezbollah, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles, has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli army since its ally, Palestinian militant group Hamas, carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza. The hostilities have raised fears of all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war in 2006.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said "a raid by an enemy drone targeted a car" in Bazouriyeh in the southern district of Tyre, leaving at least one person dead. A Lebanese military source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the person killed was "a Hezbollah official." The Israeli army said the Bazouriyeh strike killed the deputy head of Hezbollah's rocket unit, identifying him as Ali Abdel Hassan Naim, describing him as "one of the leaders for heavy-warhead rocket fire and responsible for conducting and planning attacks against Israeli civilians."Hezbollah said seven of its fighters, including one it identified as Naim, had been killed by Israeli fire, without specifying when or where they died. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant toured the Israeli army's northern command on Friday "to closely examine another successful termination like the one that was executed this morning," he said in a post. Gallant said the Israeli army would keep up its operations against Hezbollah, and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was to blame for the consequences, including members killed and wounded. "We will make them pay a price for every attack that comes out from Lebanon," he said. Seven Hezbollah fighters were killed by an Israeli strike in Syria on Friday, a Britain-based war monitor said earlier. An AFP correspondent reported the vehicle targeted in Bazouriyeh was destroyed and debris scattered nearby. The Iran-backed Hezbollah says it is acting in support of Hamas and the embattled Palestinian people with its attacks. Israel has targeted Hezbollah and Hamas officials inside Lebanon in response. Recent days have seen an uptick in deadly exchanges, and the White House called on both Israel and Lebanon Thursday to put a high priority on restoring calm. The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon said it was "deeply disturbed" by attacks on health care facilities, after several strikes blamed on Israel killed rescue workers in southern Lebanon this week. Cross-border fire since October has killed at least 347 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also including at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.

Owner of “Waynyeh el Dawleh” Page Arrested for Accusing State of Negligence
This Is Beirut/ 30 Mar 2024 At 16:45
The owner of the social media page “Waynyeh el Dawleh” (Where is the state), was arrested for accusing the State of not pursuing criminals. On Friday, residents of the Doha Aramoun area apprehended a woman who was attempting to rob a taxi driver in the neighborhood. According to the “Waynyeh el Dawleh” page, the police station refused to detain her and file a report on the incident. Therefore, a number of residents detained her in front of an electricity pole in the town square, especially since she had previously robbed several homes in the area. The owner of the page “T.M.”, who’s a judicial assistant, was arrested upon an order from Judge Raed Abu Shaqra, following the publication of the report on the incident in Aramoun and accusing the state of not pursuing criminals and holding them accountable. According to This is Beirut information, the police contacted T.M. and lured him: they asked him to give a statement, and when he arrived at the Aramoun police station, they arrested him. On the other hand, a security source denied to This is Beirut what is being circulated about the incident and confirmed that the security forces intervened and interrogated the woman accused of theft under the supervision of the competent judiciary. However, the source did not deny the arrest of the “Waynyeh el Dawleh” page’s owner.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 30-31/2024
Egyptian TV: Truce talks between Israel, Hamas to resume Sunday in Cairo
Reuters/March 30, 2024
Truce talks between Israel and Hamas will resume on Sunday in Cairo, Egypt's Al Qahera News TV reported on Saturday, citing a security source.

Netanyahu approves new Gaza ceasefire talks
Agence France Presse/March 30, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the go-ahead for a new round of talks on a Gaza ceasefire, a day after the world's top court ordered Israel to ensure aid reaches desperate civilians. But despite a binding U.N. Security Council resolution earlier this week demanding an "immediate ceasefire," fighting raged on unabated in Gaza Friday, including around its few functioning hospitals. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said dozens of people were killed overnight. Among them were 12 people killed in their home in the southern city of Rafah, which has been bombed repeatedly ahead of a threatened Israeli ground operation. Men worked under the light of mobile phones to free people trapped under the debris, AFPTV images showed. Netanyahu's office said new talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release will take place in Doha and Cairo "in the coming days... with guidelines for moving forward in the negotiations." Those talks had appeared deadlocked in recent days despite a major push by the United States and fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to secure a truce in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, now more than half way through.
Famine 'setting in' -
In its ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague said it had accepted South Africa's argument that the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza required Israel to do more. "Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but... famine is setting in," it said. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said the ruling was "a stark reminder that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is man-made (and) worsening."A U.N.-backed report released last week warned that half of Gazans are feeling "catastrophic" hunger and projected imminent famine in the territory's north. The Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs (COGAT) hit back on Friday, alleging the assessment contained inaccuracies and questionable sources. The ICJ had ruled in January that Israel must facilitate "urgently needed" humanitarian aid to Gaza. The latest binding ruling by the court, which has little means of enforcement, came as Israel's military said it was continuing operations in Gaza's largest hospital Al-Shifa for a 12th day.
Fighting around Gaza hospitals -
The United Nations says Gaza's health system is collapsing "due to ongoing hostilities and access constraints."Israel's military accuses Hamas and the Islamic Jihad of hiding inside medical facilities, using patients, staff and displaced people for cover -- charges the militants have denied. On Friday the army said it was "continuing precise operation activities in Shifa Hospital" where it began a raid early last week. Troops first raided Al-Shifa in November, but the army says Palestinian militants have since returned. About 200 militants have been killed during the latest Al-Shifa operation, it said. In north Gaza's Shati refugee camp, Amany, a 44-year-old mother of seven, described how it felt to live under relentless Israeli bombardment. "Explosions and air strikes go on throughout the night, it's petrifying," she said. "I feel like I'm living a continuous nightmare that doesn't want to end." Netanyahu said on Thursday that troops "are holding the northern Gaza Strip" and also the southern city of Khan Yunis, amid heavy fighting. Near Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, troops carried out "targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure," killing dozens in combat backed by air support, the army said on Thursday. Israeli tanks have also surrounded another Khan Yunis health facility, the Nasser Hospital, the Gaza health ministry said. The war began with Hamas' October 7 attack that allegedly resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 32,623 people, mostly women and children, according to health ministry figures. Palestinian militants also seized about 250 hostages. Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.

Truce talks between Israel and Hamas to resume Sunday in Cairo, Egyptian television station says
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Enas Alashray/CAIRO (Reuters)/March 30, 2024
Truce talks between Israel and Hamas will resume on Sunday in Cairo, the latest attempt to bring about a pause after nearly six months of war in the Gaza Strip, Egypt's Al Qahera News TV reported on Saturday, citing a security source. An Israeli official told Reuters that Israel will send a delegation to Cairo on Sunday. A Hamas official however told Reuters the group would wait to hear from Cairo mediators on the outcome of their talks with Israel first. The warring sides have stepped up negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, on a six-week suspension of Israel's offensive in return for the proposed release of 40 of the 130 hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza. Hamas has sought to parlay any deal into an end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled this out, saying it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.
Hamas also wants hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled Gaza City and surrounding areas southward during the first stage of the war to be allowed back north. One Israeli official said his country was open to discussing allowing back only "some" of the displaced. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, according to health authorities in the territory. The war erupted after Hamas militants broke through the border and rampaged through communities in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel kept up its aerial and ground bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing 82 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said as fighting raged around Gaza City's main Al Shifa hospital. The ministry added that Israeli forces in control of the hospital had blockaded 107 patients in the human resources department without water, electricity, or medication for several days, refusing all calls to evacuate them. Armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said their fighters continued to battle Israeli forces around the medical facility, the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital before the war, which had been one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in north Gaza before the latest fighting. The Israeli military said forces operating in Al Shifa killed three armed Hamas commanders inside two buildings of the medical facility. Forces located sniper rifles, AK-47s, magazines, and grenades during the activity, the military said. Israel said it killed and detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen at Al Shifa during its raid there. Hamas and medical staffers deny any armed presence inside medical facilities, accusing Israel of killing and arresting civilians.

Charting a course for Gaza: The debate over a multinational peacekeeping force
LBCI/March 30, 2024
What will happen after the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip? According to POLITICO, discussions are underway concerning the establishment of a multinational or a Palestinian peacekeeping force. Axios reported that this force aims to uphold the rule of law and order in Gaza while accompanying humanitarian aid convoys. Additionally, it will be responsible for securing the temporary port established by Washington off the Gaza coast. However, the participating countries in this force remain unclear at the moment. While the United States may not directly join, it may provide financial support, as reported by POLITICO. Arab nations have conveyed to the Biden administration that they will only engage in such a force with a serious plan for a two-state solution. As per Axios, Arab countries are not currently prepared to deploy troops to secure aid convoys but may consider participating in peacekeeping forces post-war. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant raised the idea of forming a multinational military force during his recent visit to Washington. Secretary Blinken also discussed it during his talks with several Arab foreign ministers in Cairo last week. Axios revealed that Israeli officials have discussed this matter with three Arab countries, including Egypt, without disclosing the names of the others. However, according to LBCI, Jordan will not be part of this military force, refuting any proposal to establish a multinational force in Gaza, although this proposal is not new. Bloomberg previously mentioned that the United States and Israel were exploring plans for Gaza's future after Hamas' rule, specifically regarding the presence of multinational forces. Despite reports of progress in the proposal for deploying a multinational force in Gaza, some observers believe the project's success remains low due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to a two-state solution.

Heavy clashes, more deadly aid chaos in war-ravaged Gaza
AFP/March 30, 2024
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Heavy clashes and explosions shook Gaza, witnesses said on Saturday, as the Red Crescent reported several people killed during the latest chaotic aid distribution in the territory’s north, where famine looms. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a new round of talks on a Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas militants, after a binding UN Security Council resolution last Monday demanded an “immediate ceasefire.”A subsequent ruling by the world’s top court ordered Israel to ensure aid reaches civilians, whose desperation was again laid bare Saturday.
The Palestine Red Crescent said five people were killed and dozens injured by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery in Gaza’s north. Eyewitnesses told AFP that Gazans overseeing the aid delivery shot in the air, but Israeli troops in the area also opened fire and some moving trucks hit people trying to get the food. The Israeli military told AFP it “has no record of the incident described.”Fighting has not eased — including around the territory’s largest hospital — and the latest toll from the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said at least 82 more people were killed in the previous 24 hours.
The Hamas press office reported more than 50 Israeli air strikes over the past day, with “civilian houses” targeted across the coastal territory, as well as tank fire in the Gaza City area and southern Gaza.
Israel’s military on Saturday said it had struck dozens of targets, including militants and their compounds in central and northern Gaza. The war began with Hamas’s October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 32,705 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry. Netanyahu’s office said new talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release will take place in Doha and Cairo “in the coming days... with guidelines for moving forward in the negotiations.” Talks had appeared deadlocked despite a push by the United States — which provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel — and fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to secure a truce for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, now more than halfway through.
In its ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague said it had accepted South Africa’s argument that the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza required Israel to do more, with famine now “setting in.” Saturday’s aid delivery chaos is the latest incident of its kind in north Gaza, where a UN-backed report has projected famine by May unless urgent intervention occurs. The report released on March 19 warned that half of Gazans are feeling “catastrophic” hunger. The Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, COGAT, said the assessment contained inaccuracies and questionable sources. Israel’s allies, and the UN, have blamed Israel for limitations on the aid flow but COGAT accused United Nations agencies of being unable to handle the quantity of assistance arriving daily. With limited ground access, several nations have begun aid airdrops, and a ship was expected to depart Saturday from Cyprus with the second cargo of food assistance.
ICJ rulings are binding but it has little means of enforcement.
On Saturday Israel’s military said it was continuing operations around Gaza’s largest hospital Al-Shifa for a 13th day. Most of the Palestinian territory’s hospitals are not functioning and its health system is “barely surviving,” the United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.
Israel’s military accuses Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group of hiding inside medical facilities, using patients, staff and displaced people for cover — charges the militants have denied. Troops first raided Al-Shifa in November, but the army says Palestinian fighters have since returned. The army said it “continued to eliminate” militants and locate weapons in the area, adding to a toll of around 200 it earlier reported killed in the Al-Shifa operation. On Saturday Hamas said that in addition to the ongoing Al-Shifa operation, Israeli troops continued “aggression” against Nasser Hospital and “besiege” Al-Amal Hospital in the same city. The army said troops continue to operate in the Al-Amal area of Khan Yunis. Gaza’s Christian minority are marking Easter weekend, but in Jerusalem fewer pilgrims were visible. “There is a deep sadness you can feel in the air,” John Timmons, of Australia, said on Good Friday, when Christians in the walled Old City follow the path they believe Christ took to his crucifixion. Fears of a wider regional conflagration intensified on Friday as Israel struck targets of Lebanon’s Hamas-allied Hezbollah movement in Syria and Lebanon. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, Israel’s arch enemy. The Israeli military said it killed the deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket unit in south Lebanon in an air strike. In a new toll issued Saturday, a war monitor said the Israeli strikes in Syria on Friday killed seven Hezbollah members, seven Syrian pro-Iran fighters and 38 Syrian soldiers, the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Gaza war began. “We have turned from the ones who are repelling Hezbollah to the ones who are chasing them. We reach all the places that Hezbollah is present,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on a visit to Northern Command, vowing to “speed up the pace.” The United Nations said four of its military observers were wounded Saturday when a shell exploded near them in southern Lebanon. In their October attack, Palestinian militants also seized about 250 hostages. Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead. Netanyahu is under domestic pressure, facing regular demonstrations, over his failure to bring home all of the captives.

US welcomes new Palestinian government following repeated calls for political reform
AP/March 30, 2024
JERUSALEM: The United States has welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian autonomy government, signaling it is accepting the revised Cabinet lineup as a step toward Palestinian political reform. The Biden administration has called for “revitalizing” the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in hopes that it can also administer the Gaza Strip once the Israel-Hamas war ends. The war erupted nearly six months ago, triggered by an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. In a statement late Friday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States looks forward to working with the new group of ministers “to deliver on credible reforms.” “A revitalized PA is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability in the broader region,” Miller said. The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has not faced an election in almost two decades. The United States sees the Palestinian Authority as a key part of its preferred plans for post-war Gaza. But the authority has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians, with many viewing it as a subcontractor of the occupation because of its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank. Earlier this month, Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a US-educated economist, as prime minister. On Thursday, Mustafa named his new lineup. It includes relatively unknown technocrats, but also Abbas’ interior minister and several members of the secular Fatah movement he leads. Several of the ministers are from Gaza, but it’s not clear if they are currently living there. The Islamic militant group Hamas, a rival of Abbas, drove his security forces from Gaza in a 2007 takeover. The United States wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to return and administer Gaza, an idea that has been rejected by both Israel and Hamas. A major challenge for the Palestinian Authority, should it be given a role in administering Gaza, will be reconstruction. Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid. Airstrikes and Israel’s ground offensive have left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. The fighting has displaced over 80 percent of Gaza’s population and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine, the UN and international aid agencies say. Israel has said it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. It’s unclear who in Gaza would be willing to take on such a role.
Hamas has warned Palestinians in Gaza against cooperating with Israel to administer the territory, saying anyone who does will be treated as a collaborator, which is understood as a death threat. Hamas has rejected the formation of the new Palestinian government as illegitimate, calling instead for all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, to form a power-sharing government ahead of national elections, which have not taken place in 18 years.

Thousands in Israel call for end to Gaza war on Palestinian Land Day
AFP/March 30, 2024
DEIRA HANNA, Israel: Thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel rallied Friday for an end to the Gaza war as they marked Land Day, an annual commemoration of a deadly 1976 crackdown on protests against Israeli land seizures. The protesters, led by Arab members of the Israeli parliament, marched through the northern town of Deir Hanna waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners reading: “Stop the war on Gaza.”Most of the demonstrators were Arab citizens of Israel — Palestinians who evaded displacement during the 1948 war that led to Israel’s creation and who, with their descendants, now constitute around 21 percent of its population.A smaller contingent of Jewish Israelis joined the rally, some carrying signs reading: “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.”Land Day commemorates protests and a strike on March 30, 1976 against a decision by the Israeli authorities to seize large swathes of land in the northern Galilee region.Israeli police fired at demonstrators, killing six people, and the government plan was subsequently dropped. “On this day 48 years ago, our people thwarted the project to confiscate our lands with their protests... and they embodied an important and prominent milestone in history,” Deir Hanna town council chief Saeed Hussein said in a speech in its main square.“48 years have passed, yet the machine of death and displacement persists... the attempt to erase our national identity and seize our lands continues.” Israel’s Arab citizens suffer higher rates of unemployment, poverty and crime than Jewish Israelis.
Community leader and former lawmaker Mohammed Barakeh said Israeli Arabs were still facing “displacement and repression.”“This flesh that burns in Gaza is ours and the women murdered in Gaza are our sisters,” he said, denouncing what he described as a “genocide” in the Palestinian territory.
Since war broke out nearly six months ago, Israel’s Arab citizens say they have experienced growing hostility from the government and from other Israelis. The war began with Hamas’s October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,705 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Eyal, a 33-year-old Jewish Israeli activist, said he joined the rally in solidarity with Arabs.“We demand an end to the massacres by the Israeli government in Gaza and an end to the war on Gaza,” he said, asking to be identified by his first name only.

Second Gaza-Bound Aid Ship Departs Cyprus
AFP/This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
A second vessel carrying aid to war-torn Gaza set sail from Cyprus on Saturday, an AFP correspondent said, more than two weeks after the last shipment arrived by sea. Almost 400 tons of aid is being carried to Gaza on a flotilla organized by two charities — the US-based World Central Kitchen and the Spanish Open Arms. The barge and two salvage vessels left the port of Larnaca following diplomacy by Cyprus to try to open a maritime corridor to the territory, under siege by Israeli forces since last October. The flotilla will take around 65 hours to reach Gaza, according to the state-funded Cyprus News Agency. World Central Kitchen said the shipment contains items like rice, pasta, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins. The United Arab Emirates provided a special cargo of dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the charity said.A makeshift dock has been constructed for unloading humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Despite Tensions, United States Delivers New Weapons to Israel
This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
Despite the growing tensions between the Israeli government and the Biden administration, the United States authorized the transfer of several weapons, including bombs and fighter jets, worth billions of dollars a few days ago, according to information reported by The Washington Post. The delivery reportedly includes over 1,800 MK84 bombs and 500 MK82 bombs, citing officials from the Pentagon and the State Department familiar with the matter. This decision demonstrates that Washington does not intend to pressure the Israeli government by limiting arms deliveries, unlike Canada, for example. "We have continued to support Israel’s right to defend itself," said a White House official quoted by The Washington Post. "Conditioning aid has not been our policy." However, within the Democratic Party, this decision is not unanimous. Many Democrats believe that President Joe Biden should receive assurances, particularly regarding the Israeli plan for an offensive on Rafah, before authorizing the arms delivery. The United States, in fact, fears the humanitarian and political consequences of such an operation. According to The Washington Post, the US State Department authorized the transfer of 25 F-35A fighter jets and engines worth approximately $2.5 billion last week, citing US officials. Since Congress approved this transfer in 2008, the State Department was not required to notify lawmakers again. The MK84 and MK82 bombs, whose transfer was authorized this week, were also approved by Congress several years ago but had not yet been delivered. This delivery follows a visit to Washington by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during which he asked the United States to expedite arms deliveries.

The rise of drones: Shaping conflict dynamics in the Middle East
LBCI/March 30, 2024
Drones have emerged as a dominant force reshaping warfare in the Middle East, where these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) serve both surveillance and offensive purposes. What solidifies their significance today in the region is that they are no longer just imported weapons. Israel, known for its aerial capabilities, is one of the major producers and exporters of drones. In 2022, drones constituted 25% of Israel's total exports, with notable examples like the IAI Harop, which played a decisive role alongside Turkish drones in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict alongside Azerbaijan. Their importance lies in their ability to operate autonomously and evade radar detection. Israel's technological prowess extends from Gaza to Lebanon, demonstrated by the targeted elimination of fighters from Hezbollah and Hamas since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. However, Israel and Turkey, who collaborated during the Azerbaijan conflict, are now in competition in the drone industry. Turkey's flagship drone, the Bayraktar, can remain airborne for 24 hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet. The Bayraktar has seen significant deployment in Ukraine and other countries, with exports totaling around $1.8 billion in 2022.
While conflict in the Middle East is deeply entrenched, drone manufacturing has become a pivotal aspect. For instance, Iran began drone production in the 1980s and has since developed local capabilities since it has faced sanctions. Notably, models like the "Shahed" is known for its affordability and combat effectiveness, and the "Mohajer 10" can conduct operations up to two thousand kilometers away. Iran, confronting Israel through Hezbollah, stands as a significant arms supplier to the group.
What about other Arab countries?
The evolving landscape suggests that drones now pose a formidable challenge even to sophisticated air defense systems, altering the dynamics of conflict in the region.

Iran-backed Palestinian leader vows victory over Israel in the war in Gaza
TEHRAN , Iran (AP)/Sat, March 30, 2024
The leader of the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad vowed victory over Israel in the war in Gaza as he met Iran's foreign minister for talks in Tehran Saturday. “I promise you that we will be the victors in the war,” Ziad al-Nakhalah told reporters, according to the official IRNA news agency. He called his meeting with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian “important” and thanked Iran for its support for the Palestinians. Iran hasn’t directly intervened in the Israel-Hamas war, despite long describing Israel as its archenemy. However, experts say Iran provides both financial and political support to Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza and that launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which more than 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage. “Active diplomacy by Islamic Republic of Iran has had a great role in defining the stance of Palestinian resistance,” al-Nakhalah was quoted as saying.The two sides discussed the latest development in the war, and Israel’s “war crimes and genocide," IRNA reported. Also in Tehran was the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who met with al-Nakhalah, as well as holding separate talks with the Iranian leadership over the past few days. Iranian media reported that al-Nakhalah and Haniyeh, during their bilateral meeting Friday in Tehran said the success of any indirect negotiation with Israel depends on the end of Israel's war on Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory, the return of displaced people and the continued delivery of humanitarian aid. They also stressed the need for “intensifying resistance in all fields" and thanked Yemen's Houthis for their support, as well as Iraqi and Lebanese anti-Israeli militant groups.Earlier in the week, the U.N Security Council adopted a resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate cease-fire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure in Gaza, including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid. Airstrikes and Israel’s ground offensive have left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. The fighting has displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine, the U.N. and international aid agencies say.

Man arrested on suspicion of terror-related offence at pro-Palestinian protest
Ellie Ng and Harry Stedman, PA/Media: UK News/March 30, 2024
“It is your military support that is causing so much of the problems.”
He addressed a raucous crowd in Trafalgar Square, with people waving Palestinian flags and signs that read Stop Gaza Genocide, Stop The Massacre and Free Palestine. Abdalla, 43, who played Dodi Fayed in the Netflix series The Crown, said he attended a pro-Palestinian protest when he was three and took his children with him on Saturday. The British-Egyptian actor said: “While it fills me with pride to have them here, and stand in front of them demanding a free Palestine, I dream of a world in which this is not the legacy we pass on to them.
“I do not dream of a world in which in 20 let alone 40 years, my children stand here in Trafalgar Square demanding justice for the Palestinians, demanding an end to the occupation.”Abdalla added: “We cannot allow this to continue for another generation.”He called pro-Palestinian demonstrations “love marches”. The crowd chanted in between speeches. Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, accused British politicians of “paying lip service” to a ceasefire. She told the crowd: “We’ve heard British politicians talking about a ceasefire, but I would say if you really want a ceasefire now, call for a ceasefire in Parliament, vote for it. “Vote to end arms sales to Israel, stop bombing Yemen, re-fund UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and join in action in the international courts for the prosecution of war crimes. “That is what British politicians would do if they weren’t just paying lip service to a ceasefire.”Labour MP for Leeds East Richard Burgon made reference in his speech to investigations he has been conducting with colleagues and experts into reports of Israeli war crimes. He said: “We will soon be presenting that war crime evidence to the international criminal courts.” The protest was held on the anniversary of Land Day, which organisers said commemorates the events that took place on March 30 1976 in which six Palestinians were killed protesting against Israeli land policies.

Israel top court says govt. must stop funding seminaries. Could that topple Netanyahu?
Associated Press/March 30, 2024
Israel's Supreme Court ruling curtailing subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men has rattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition and raised questions about its viability as the country presses on with the war in Gaza. Netanyahu has until Monday to present the court with a plan to dismantle what the justices called a system that privileges the ultra-Orthodox at the expense of the secular Jewish public. If that plan alienates the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers on whose support he depends, his coalition could disintegrate and the country could be forced to hold new elections. Here's a breakdown of the decision and what it might spell for the future of Israeli politics.
WHAT DOES THE DECISION SAY?
Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years in the military, followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years. But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society, have traditionally received exemptions while studying full time in religious seminaries, or yeshivas. This years-old system has bred widespread resentment among the broader public — a feeling that has deepened during nearly six months of war. More than 500 soldiers have been killed in fighting, and tens of thousands of Israelis have had their careers, studies and family lives disrupted because of reserve duty. The Supreme Court ruled that the current system is discriminatory and gave the government until Monday to present a new plan, and until June 30 to pass one. Netanyahu asked the court Thursday for a 30-day extension to find a compromise. The court did not immediately respond to his request. But it issued an interim order barring the government from funding the monthly subsidies for religious students of enlistment age who have not received a deferral from the army. Those funds will be frozen starting Monday. While the loss of state subsidies is certainly a blow, it appears the yeshivas can continue to function. Israel's Channel 12 reported Friday that the state provides only 7.5% of all funding for the institutions. Netanyahu's coalition could also search for discretionary funds to cover the gaps.
HOW IS THE DECISION BEING RECEIVED?
Many Israelis are celebrating the court's decision, believing it spells an end to a system that takes for granted their military service and economic contributions while advantaging the ultra-Orthodox, or "Haredim" as they are called in Israel. The religious exemption dates back to Israel's founding, a compromise that the country's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, made with ultra-orthodox leaders to allow some 400 yeshiva students to devote themselves fully to Torah study. But what was once a fringe Haredi population has grown precipitously, making the exemption a hugely divisive issue to Israeli society. Many ultra-Orthodox continue to receive government stipends into adulthood, eschewing getting paying jobs to instead continue full-time religious studies. Economists have long warned the system is unsustainable. "The next government will have to hold a long overdue conversation about the future of the Haredi relationship to the state," commentator Anshel Pfeffer wrote in Israel's left-leaning daily, Haaretz. "Now, the Haredim will have no choice but to take part in it. It won't be just about the national service of its young men, it will also have to address fundamental questions about education and employment," he said. Ultra-Orthodox leaders have reacted angrily. Aryeh Deri, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, called the court's decision "unprecedented bullying of Torah students in the Jewish state." The ultra-Orthodox say that integrating into the army will threaten their generations-old way of life, and that their devout lifestyle and dedication to upholding the Jewish commandments protect Israel as much as a strong army. Although a small number have opted to serve in the military, many have vowed to fight any attempt to compel Haredim to do so. "Without the Torah, we have no right to exist," said Yitzchak Goldknopf, leader of the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism. "We will fight in every way over the right of every Jew to study Torah and we won't compromise on that."
WHY DOES IT THREATEN NETANYAHU?
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is known as a master political survivor. But his room for maneuver is limited. Vowing to press forward with a war that has harmed the Israeli economy and asked much of its soldiers and reservists, Netanyahu could lose the support of the more centrist elements of his fragile national unity government if he tries to preserve the exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox. The two centrists in his fragile War Cabinet, both former generals, have insisted that all sectors of Israeli society contribute equally. One, Benny Gantz, has threatened to quit — a step that would destabilize a key decision-making body at a sensitive time in the war. But the powerful bloc of ultra-Orthodox parties — longtime partners of Netanyahu — want draft exemptions to continue. The ultra-Orthodox parties have not said what they will do if they lose their preferential status. But if they decide to leave the government, the coalition would almost certainly collapse and the country could be forced into new elections, with Netanyahu trailing significantly in the polls amid the war.

US-Israel weapons deal: Israel balances Gaza negotiations and military buildup
LBCI/March 30, 2024
Delegations set to negotiate in Egypt and Qatar have received a green light to resolve the dispute between Israel and Hamas regarding the return of Gazans to the northern region. The mini-security cabinet has entrusted Mossad Chief David Barnea with managing this file, aiming to reach an agreement. Additionally, it was agreed to send a technical delegation to contribute to devising plans for implementing any agreement. While Likud ministers have approved the decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ministers of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Bezalel Smotrich opposed it, considering it a dangerous concession to Hamas. Concurrently, amid talks on the prisoner exchange deal, discussions on the Rafah operation are expected between Washington and Tel Aviv next week. Washington has approved a significant arms shipment to Israel, which Israeli military officials claim is also sufficient in the event of a war with Lebanon. The US administration also approved the sale of new warplanes and thousands of unguided bombs worth $2.5 billion to Israel, in addition to missiles for the Iron Dome anti-missile system.
The new arms shipment to Israel includes:
- 25 F-35 fighter jets along with aircraft engines.
- 1,800 MK84 unguided bombs weighing 900 kilograms each
- 500 MK82 unguided bombs weighing 225 kilograms each.
Moreover, Washington has granted Tel Aviv financial support totaling $17.6 billion and $3.4 billion for military aid.
Alongside the arms deal, the deployment of a peacekeeping force in Gaza remains a crucial issue in discussions between Washington and Tel Aviv.

Moscow slams 'unacceptable Israeli' strikes on Syria
Agence France Presse/March 30, 2024
Moscow has condemned what it said were "completely unacceptable" Israeli strikes on Syria, after a war monitor said the latest air assault had killed more than 40 people. Russia is Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's key international backer and intervened on his behalf in a bloody civil war. "Such aggressive actions against the Syrian Arab Republic, which constitute a flagrant violation of the country's sovereignty and the basic norms of international law, are categorically unacceptable," Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. "We strongly condemn these provocative acts of force, which carry extremely dangerous consequences in terms of a sharp deterioration of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," she added. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources inside Syria, said Friday that Israeli air strikes on the country's north had killed 36 soldiers and six Hezbollah fighters. Contacted by AFP from Jerusalem, the Israeli military said it would "not comment on reports in the foreign media." Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war there broke out in 2011. It has targeted army positions as well as Iran-backed fighters including Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus and Palestinian militant group Hamas. The strikes have increased since Israel's war with Hamas began on October 7, and Friday's was the second such attack in 24 hours.

Death toll in Israeli strikes on Syria climbs to 52: monitor
AFP/March 30, 2024
BEIRUT: The death toll in Israeli air strikes on Syria has risen to 52, including 38 government soldiers and seven members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, a war monitor said Saturday. Friday’s strikes fueled concerns of a wider regional conflagration. They targeted “a rocket depot belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah” near the Aleppo airport in northern Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It was the latest deadly raid on Iran-backed forces in Syria, where Hezbollah has been backing the government in its fight against opponents since the 2011 Syria civil war erupted. Israeli strikes on targets in Syria have increased since Israel’s war against the Hezbollah-allied Hamas group in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7. Israeli raids also regularly target Hezbollah in Lebanon in retaliation for cross-border fire. Friday’s strikes killed 38 Syrian soldiers, seven Hezbollah members and seven Syrian pro-Iran fighters, the Observatory said, up from a total of 44 according to an earlier toll. The number of Syrian soldiers killed was the highest in Israeli strikes since the war with Hamas broke out, said the war monitor, which relies on a network of sources in Syria. Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, and has neither confirmed nor denied the raids on Syria. But Israel’s military has said it killed the deputy head of Hezbollah’s rocket unit in Lebanon, Ali Naim, whose death the Iran-backed group confirmed. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media that he visited northern Israel on Friday “to closely examine another successful termination like the one that was executed this morning,” in Lebanon and Syria. Israel’s army would keep up its operations against Hezbollah everywhere, he said, adding: “We will make them pay a price for every attack that comes out from Lebanon.” Hezbollah, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles, has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli military since Hamas’s unprecedented October attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. “Syria and Lebanon have become one extended battleground from the Israeli perspective,” Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, told AFP.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 30-31/2024
Pope to Christians of the Holy Land: It Is Good for You to Stay
Fady Noun/This Is Beirut/30 Mar 2024
On the occasion of Holy Week, Pope Francis addressed a letter to the Catholics of the Holy Land, encouraging them to remain in the land of Christ. “A land where you want to stay and where it is good for you to stay,” the Holy Father emphasized. It goes without saying that this advice is directed at Christians who are tempted to leave or forced to do so for various reasons, including economic ones. It particularly speaks to the youth. In a sense, Pope Francis could very well have addressed this invitation to stay in the East to Lebanese Christians as well, whose country is part of the Holy Land. They too are tempted to leave due to the ongoing crises shaking their country, from employment crises to housing shortages, from economic collapse to a lack of future prospects, from presidential crises to the decay of the judicial system.
“Lebanon is part of the Holy Land; going to Lebanon is a mission for all Christians,” said Pope John Paul II once, as cited by the Maronite Foundation in the World, a Maronite patriarchal institution. As the Gospels attest, Jesus walked and preached along our coasts, in Tyre, Sarepta (Sarafand), and Sidon. Mount Hermon, at the foot of which lie the Shebaa Farms, is believed by some to be the site of the Transfiguration, where Jesus, present on the mountain with his apostles Peter, James, and John, was seen surrounded by supernatural light, conversing with Moses and Elijah (Luke 29). There are also strong arguments for the presence in Lebanon of Cana from the Gospel, where Jesus performed his first miracle: changing water into wine. Furthermore, the first apostolic missions passed through our geographical space. Not far from Jbeil, one can still visit the cove from which Saint Paul set sail for Rome. But while Lebanon participates in the blessing of the Holy Land, history and geography dictate that it is also associated with the drama that this land has been experiencing since the UN decision to partition historic Palestine and create an Israeli state (1947). Today, we continue to pay the price for Israel’s geographical proximity and the struggle that the Palestinian people, in its various political components, continue to endure to achieve statehood. Paul VI, the first pope to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, mentioned as early as January 1964 “the persistence of tension in the Middle East, without conclusive steps towards peace, which poses a serious and constant danger not only to the tranquility and security of these populations — and to world peace — but also to certain extremely dear values, for various reasons, to a large part of humanity.”It is Pope Francis himself who has just reiterated these words in his plea for the Christians of Palestine, “irreplaceable witnesses to the mystery of the Lord’s Passion,” not to abandon their homeland. “In these dark times,” Pope Francis continues, “where the darkness of Good Friday seems to cover your land and too many regions of the world are disfigured by the useless madness of war, which is always and for everyone a bloody defeat, you are lit torches in the night; you are seeds of good in a land torn by conflicts.”
“You are not alone, and we will not leave you alone,” he promises.
Francis’ call echoes those of his predecessors, Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Both addressed the regional crisis, seemingly insoluble from a human standpoint, highlighting the direct and indirect connection between this endemic crisis and the presence of Christians in the East.
The most recent effort deployed in this regard by the Vatican is the Abu Dhabi meeting (2019) and the signing of the Declaration of Human Fraternity between Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayyeb of Al-Azhar. Replacing communal allegiance with citizenship allegiance is at the heart of this document, which aims to put an end once and for all to the “dhimmi” status of Christians and bring Islam into democratic modernity. It is true that in 2019, Shiite fundamentalism had not yet drawn Lebanon into the futility of a war without resolution that has already cost Lebanon some 300 lives, including 264 Hezbollah fighters, and which, according to the latest news, could have consequences…

Under Biden Administration, Iran's Mullahs Enjoying Green Light to Go Nuclear
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 30, 2024
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20523/biden-iran-nuclear-program
The bleak reality is that time is rapidly running out for concerted action to stop Iran's march towards acquiring nuclear weapons capability. The Biden administration's response, however, has been marked by silence, massive funding of Iran and a conspicuous absence of intervention.
[T]he prospect of the world's "leading sponsor of state terrorism" armed with nuclear weapons demands serious and immediate action.
Iran now controls four countries in the region in addition to its own -- Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. With nuclear weapons, Iran will be able to "export the Revolution" with ease. It will not even have to use its nuclear arsenal; just the threat of a nuclear attack should be enough to deter push-back and secure capitulation. The regime is already establishing footholds in Latin America -- Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua -- from where it will be able to threaten "the Big Satan," the United States.
It is essential to confront the nuclear threat from Iran with haste.
The bleak reality is that time is rapidly running out for concerted action to stop Iran's march towards acquiring nuclear weapons capability. The prospect of the world's "leading sponsor of state terrorism" armed with nuclear weapons demands serious and immediate action.
The ascent of Iran's nuclear program under the watch of the Biden administration stands as a grim illustration of its failure and inadequacy. Iran's mullahs appear to have been tacitly handed an alarming green light to pursue their nuclear ambitions with impunity. The bleak reality is that time is rapidly running out for concerted action to stop Iran's march towards acquiring nuclear weapons capability. The Biden administration's response, however, has been marked by silence, massive funding of Iran and a conspicuous absence of intervention.
The latest reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) paint a chilling picture of Iran's unchecked nuclear advancement. Despite mounting concerns worldwide, Tehran has brazenly obstructed IAEA inspectors, thereby thwarting any meaningful oversight of its nuclear facilities. The agency's quarterly report underscores Iran's nightmarish progress, which include stockpiles of enriched uranium surging to levels of up to 84% purity, perilously close to the coveted weapons-grade threshold of 90%.
According to the latest data from the IAEA, Iran potentially possesses sufficient material to construct many atomic bombs. With each passing day, Iran edges closer to possessing the capability to produce nuclear weapons on a scale that could destabilize not just the region, but beyond.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, has sounded the alarm over the loss of vital intelligence regarding Iran's centrifuges:
"The Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to [the Iranian regime's] production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate."
The opacity surrounding Iran's nuclear program leaves the international community vulnerable and in the dark.
According to the Institute for Science and International Security, a long-standing observer of Iran's nuclear endeavors, the country possesses the capability to enrich uranium for the production of up to 13 nuclear weapons, with the potential for seven more to be manufactured within the initial month of a breakout. The Institute adds that recent findings indicate a disquieting escalation; they note that Iran's capacity for producing weapons-grade uranium has increased both in volume and speed just since the last IAEA report in November 2023, not even half a year ago.
The Institute also underscores that Iran's combined reserves of enriched uranium and centrifuge infrastructure are substantial enough to yield the equivalent of 25 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium, enabling the production of seven nuclear weapons within one month, nine within two months, eleven within three months, and ultimately reaching a maximum of 12-13 within four-to-five months.
Despite the glaring imperative for the robust enforcement of economic sanctions to choke off Iran's financial lifelines, the Biden administration's approach has been desperately misguided. Instead of wielding economic leverage to compel Iran to abandon its nuclear aspirations, the Biden administration has continued to inject billions of dollars into the regime's coffers, fueling the very program it was purportedly seeking to curtail.
The need for urgent measures to neutralize Iran's nuclear ambitions cannot be overstated. It is crucial to explore all available avenues -- yes, all -- such as targeted strikes on Iran's oil and nuclear infrastructure to forestall the emergence of an Iran armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons and the will -- at least -- to threaten with them. The window to halt the development of Iran's nuclear weapons arsenal is rapidly closing: the prospect of the world's "leading sponsor of state terrorism" armed with nuclear weapons demands serious and immediate action.
In the face of Iran's nuclear advancement and defiance of international norms, the Biden administration's policy of capitulation is not only misguided but also perilously reckless. The time for diplomatic platitudes and half-hearted gestures has long passed. What is required now is a resolute, united response that sends an unequivocal message to Tehran: the international community will not tolerate the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the hands of rogue regimes.
On the Biden administration's watch, Iran's mullahs appear to have been granted carte blanche to pursue nuclear capabilities. Despite Tehran's continued defiance of international oversight, and more than 150 Iran-backed attacks on US troops and assets in the region just since October, and the escalation of its nuclear program, the administration's silence is, to say the least, both disconcerting and dangerous.
The clock is ticking towards a nuclear tipping point. Iran now controls four countries in the region in addition to its own -- Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. With nuclear weapons, Iran will be able to "export the Revolution" with ease. It will not even have to use its nuclear arsenal; just the threat of a nuclear attack should be enough to deter push-back and secure capitulation. The regime is already establishing footholds in Latin America -- Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua -- from where it will be able to threaten "the Big Satan," the United States.
The specter of a nuclear-armed Iran threatens to shatter even further the stability of the Middle East, Europe and the United States. It is essential to confront the nuclear threat from Iran with haste.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Israel’s global isolation is caused by antisemitism, not bad policies
Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS/March 30/2024
The answer to the Jewish state’s diplomatic dilemma is victory. Heeding the world’s demands to stop the war and let Hamas win will only make it worse.
Israel’s critics and outright foes are right about one thing: Nearly six months after the Oct. 7 massacres, its isolation is growing. With each day that the war against Hamas continues, more allies of the Jewish state are turning into critics, and more critics are turning into outright enemies. And those enemies are increasingly open about their belief that the problem isn’t so much the supposedly brutal tactics of the Israel Defense Forces in pursuing the elimination of Hamas terrorists as it is their belief that the one Jewish state on this planet is illegitimate.
The sense of impending doom is accentuated by press coverage such as the recent cover story in The Economist titled “Israel Alone.” Such articles are practically a daily feature in The New York Times with the latest being a report claiming that Germany is gradually getting over its post-Holocaust guilt and starting to distance itself from its traditional diplomatic posture of support for Israel.
Israel’s critics and outright foes are right about one thing: Nearly six months after the Oct. 7 massacres, its isolation is growing. With each day that the war against Hamas continues, more allies of the Jewish state are turning into critics, and more critics are turning into outright enemies. And those enemies are increasingly open about their belief that the problem isn’t so much the supposedly brutal tactics of the Israel Defense Forces in pursuing the elimination of Hamas terrorists as it is their belief that the one Jewish state on this planet is illegitimate.
The sense of impending doom is accentuated by press coverage such as the recent cover story in The Economist titled “Israel Alone.” Such articles are practically a daily feature in The New York Times with the latest being a report claiming that Germany is gradually getting over its post-Holocaust guilt and starting to distance itself from its traditional diplomatic posture of support for Israel. That Israel is being judged by standards applied to no other nation on earth is obvious. Even if the Hamas casualty statistics that are accepted by the mainstream corporate press are utterly bogus—and they are—it’s true that the post-Oct. 7 war has taken a terrible toll on the Palestinians in Gaza. Still, the scale of the fighting is nothing when compared to other recent wars fought in Syria or the Congo. And although pro-Hamas propagandists and their fellow travelers call what is happening a “genocide,” the human cost of conflict is minuscule when measured against actual genocides, such as those that have occurred in recent decades in Africa or the ongoing campaign by China against its Muslim Uyghur population.
Suffice it to say that there was no international movement—let alone mass demonstrations—in the streets of the world’s cities about any of those conflicts and genocides. Even the reaction to the illegal and brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to the United States and Western Europe responding with a massive effort of military aid the cost of that dwarfs the assistance the Americans have given Israel over the years, has not been quite so uniform. (Russia has maintained the support of China and many Third World countries, as well as Iran.) It also hasn’t generated the same kind of intense passion in the form of public demonstrations from those who call themselves “progressives.” Nor has the cause of Ukraine lit a fire from students on college campuses in North America and elsewhere.
The near unanimity about the awfulness of Israeli conduct at the United Nations isn’t surprising since the world body has specialized in singling out the Jewish state for opprobrium almost from its inception. But that drumbeat of incitement in the international community and the support for lawfare aimed at further isolating Israel in agencies like the International Court of Justice in The Hague is increasing.
All of this points to the conclusion that there’s only one kind of fighting that international opinion considers truly beyond the pale—and that is the wars waged by Israel. It’s true even when they are in response to clear violations of international law, not to mention the sort of barbarism that deserves to be compared to the Holocaust, like the Oct. 7 atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on Jewish communities in southern Israel.
Illogical proposals
Of course, many who say they are for a ceasefire in Gaza claim to be supporters of Israel. The Biden administration and the increasing number of congressional Democrats who seek to limit military aid to Israel and force it to accept a Palestinian state when the war ends fall into this category. Yet there’s something particularly baffling about the illogic of a position that is predicated on support for Israel’s security but equally insistent that a Hamas state in Gaza, whose only purpose is to destroy the Jewish state and slaughter Jews en masse, be essentially reconstituted and allowed to take over the even larger areas of Judea and Samaria, something that would be made inevitable by a ceasefire.
It’s not quite so baffling, however, when this position is viewed as being impelled by a campaign of antisemitic incitement against Israel, rooted in misinformation about the war being conducted by progressives who have enormous influence over American journalism, popular culture and sway over the activist wing of the Democratic Party.
To the chattering classes who are pushing for Israel’s isolation, the answers to its dilemma are clear. They believe that Israel should end its war on Hamas, enabling those who planned and carried out the largest mass slaughter of Jews since World War II and the Holocaust amid a spree of rape, torture and kidnapping that occurred on Oct. 7 to get away with their crimes. They say this is the only way to end the suffering of the Palestinian people and to rebuild Gaza. And they believe that this must be followed up by a renewed push for peace that will be based on the idea of creating an independent Palestinian state in Gaza, as well as Judea, Samaria and part of Jerusalem.
Few Israelis are ready to buy into this scenario. While there was broad support in the Jewish state for the 1993 Oslo peace accords that were based on the “land for peace” formula, three decades of Palestinian terrorism and rejection of Israeli/U.S. offers of statehood have sobered Israelis up about the intentions of their Arab neighbors. The Second Intifada—five years of Palestinian suicide bombings of civilians on buses, and in restaurants and schools from 2000 to 2005—the creation of a Hamas state in Gaza after the total Israeli withdrawal from the Strip in the summer of 2005 and now the horror of Simchat Torah last fall have created a broad consensus mandating both the elimination of Hamas and opposition to Palestinian statehood for the foreseeable future.
But those carrying on about how isolated Israel is—in sanctimonious tones in which they claim to be speaking more in sorrow than anger—are not interested in any of that. Nor do they care about Palestinian culpability for the war or the fact that polls show that an overwhelming majority of them support Hamas, as well as the atrocities of Oct. 7. That the same is true of those cheering the spilling of Jewish blood on the streets of New York and college campuses is also not taken into account when discussing this anti-Israel consensus among the so-called enlightened left.
Concessions breed isolation not popularity
The problem with their formula is, however, not just that Israelis reject it. It’s that those who make these proposals either don’t understand or are deliberately ignoring the root cause of Israel’s problem. Its isolation is not caused by bad policies, a right-wing government or the inevitable suffering caused by even the most justified and moral war. If the outrage about its conduct would never be applied to any other country, then those most critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition must acknowledge that the problem is antisemitism.
In the heyday of Oslo optimism in the 1990s, the late Shimon Peres, who had ushered that foolish effort into existence while Israel’s foreign minister, used to preach that Israel didn’t need hasbara—good public relations or pro-Israel advocacy. What it needed was good policies that led to peace. Once that happened, he said, the Jewish state would be popular everywhere.
But he was wrong. Neither the territorial withdrawals of Oslo nor Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement from Gaza made Israel popular. The same was true of the offers of statehood made by Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert in 2000, 2001 and 2008. In fact, the opposite was true.
The more Israel took risks for peace by giving up its rights and endangering its security, the more despised it became around the world. Rather than convincing the international community of its good intentions, concessions to the Palestinians made Israel appear to be a thief returning stolen property to its rightful owners. By discarding arguments that insisted upon Jewish rights to the land of Israel—as guaranteed by international law, in addition to history and justice—the Israeli peace camp helped legitimize the anti-Zionist narrative of the Palestinian nakba, the “catastrophe” of the establishment of a modern-day Jewish state. Tragically, the spectacle of Jewish suffering, victimhood and humiliation on Oct. 7 had a similar impact on world opinion. Rather than demonstrating the barbaric nature and genocidal goals of Israel’s opponents, the anti-Zionists either denied the evidence of those crimes provided by the perpetrators or argued that the Jews—falsely labeled as “settler-colonialist” oppressors in the one country in the world where the Jews truly are the indigenous people—had it coming. The spilling of Jewish blood has, as it has so many times in the past, only incited more hatred against Jews.
Difficult though the task facing the Israel Defense Forces may be, if the current war ends in anything but total victory over Hamas, Israelis should expect no wave of sympathy or understanding. Not only will Hamas be able to declare itself vindicated—and by its commission of unspeakable crimes, assume primacy in Palestinian politics—but the international pressure on Israel to grant them more triumphs will only continue.
An ‘Iron Wall’ is still needed
Sadly, nothing will make Israel be loved by the world. The Jewish state cannot be “rebranded” to associate itself solely with its stellar economy, scientific accomplishments, or the beauty of its scenery or the genius of its people. The only formula for Jewish survival is the one that Zionist statesman and thinker Ze’ev Jabotinsky wrote about in his 1923 essay “The Iron Wall,” in which he preached that only when the Arab world realizes that it can’t defeat the Jews can peace be possible.
It should be remembered that the alliance with the United States, which is Israel’s greatest diplomatic asset, was not a gift given to the Jews by a benevolent American government in 1948. There was no alliance with Washington until after Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, when it demonstrated its military strength and acquired the strategic depth that made its survival not quite so precarious.
That belief in Israel’s dominance was also what impelled some Arab states to give up the fight leading to peace deals like the 2020 Abraham Accords. However, if Hamas is allowed to emerge from the war it started by breaching Israel’s defenses not only alive but crowned as the victor, antisemites will not merely be encouraged. They will think that for all of its strength and accomplishments, the Jewish state that Jabotinsky envisioned lacks that iron wall that it still needs.
Those who care about Israel must take these lessons to heart and realize that the only solution to its current situation is for Jerusalem to ignore its critics and push through to victory, no matter how difficult that might be in terms of its military and diplomatic challenges. Only by clearly beating the Hamas criminals, as well as their many supporters and enablers, can circumstances ease a little. Anything less and a nightmare scenario envisioned by antisemitic foes—in which Israel truly becomes a pariah state—will be the inevitable result.
**Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). Follow him: @jonathans_tobin.

At last, a UN Security Council Resolution over Gaza, but what’s next?
Yossi Mekelberg /Arab News/March 30, 2024
There was something beyond infuriating about the slowness, and even more so the cynical manner, with which discussions about a UN Security Council resolution calling for a truce in the war in Gaza were conducted.
It took five attempts before a draft resolution was passed, after four were vetoed, three of them by the US and one by Russia and China. Meanwhile, the direct victims of this big-power game were the entire Palestinian population of Gaza and the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
This situation made a mockery of the Security Council, a body that is assigned the task of maintaining international peace and security but which over the years has repeatedly failed to achieve this objective. Instead it has turned into a talking shop in which its five permanent members — the US, the UK, Russia, China and France — goad and cancel each other through endless rhetoric and their power to veto any decision.
Last Monday, a resolution finally passed, thanks to the US abstaining from the vote, that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan that is “respected by all parties, leading to a sustainable, lasting ceasefire.” It also demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
Yet the fighting continues to rage. The path to reach this resolution was excruciating but the bigger question remains how to make it count. In other words, is it enforceable?
Regardless of how one reads the text of the resolution, it could and should have been agreed and adopted weeks, if not months, ago. In the end, it might have helped that the successful resolution was drafted by the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council; at least it saved the blushes of China, Russia, and the US for their prior failures to reach an agreement on a resolution.
From the outset, there was no draft resolution that could possibly satisfy the requirements of the main antagonists in this war, Israel and Hamas, or the three major powers. Russia and China insisted on a resolution that demanded a permanent ceasefire, while the US was determined to include explicit condemnation of Hamas. The priority should always have been a focus on saving lives, ending the misery of those held captive by Hamas and its allies, and rescuing the entire population of Gaza from the brutality of the war.
Civilians should never be mere pawns caught in the crossfire between warring sides. When innocent people in their thousands are losing their lives, when hospitals and schools are becoming battlefields, when millions are facing famine with no adequate medical help available, a call for an immediate ceasefire is a moral imperative, as is the demand to free all hostages who are going through hell at the hands of their captors. Israel desperately needs the support of Washington as it becomes increasingly isolated in the international arena.
It is the duty of the international community, led by the Security Council, to ensure that a truce is called, hostages are returned home, and sufficient humanitarian aid gets through to those who need it so desperately, even before the pursuit of accountability for the ongoing killings and destruction.
A permanent ceasefire, and beyond that a horizon for lasting peace, should remain the ultimate target, one that ensures the atrocities of Oct. 7 and the disproportionate response by the Israeli army will never happen again.
Admittedly, this will require a gradual deescalation of the present situation, starting with the injection of some rational behavior after nearly six months during which death and destruction have reigned supreme.
Israel’s rejection of the resolution and Hamas’ support for it were diametrically opposed but neither reaction offered any sign they have eventual peace in their hearts. On top of this, the US immediately described the resolution as “nonbinding,” which implied that there was no legal obligation to abide by it, thereby undermining the efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed his rage at Washington anyway for abstaining from the vote, thereby allowing the resolution to pass. He canceled a planned visit by a senior delegation to the White House to discuss Israel’s plan to launch a ground assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, which the Biden administration strongly opposes, especially in the absence of any viable proposal for the evacuation of civilians sheltering there. Pulling the plug on discussions with the US over Rafah might have been a convenient way for Netanyahu to use the US abstention from the Security Council vote to avoid difficult conversations in Washington about the planned military incursion in Rafah. Yet it was a clear case of “cutting off your nose to spite your face,” because Israeli authorities desperately need the support of Washington as they become increasingly isolated in the international arena.
Despite Netanyahu subsequently rowing back on his decision to cancel the visit by the delegation, it was a clear indication of his incoherent state of mind, and the fact that his own domestic political calculations take precedence over Israel’s national interests, including efforts to bring home the hostages.
Hamas, meanwhile, is keen on a ceasefire but wants a permanent one. It is under severe military pressure and the support it has among Palestinians is on the decline compared with where it stood at the beginning of the war. However, some of its leaders are fully aware that a ceasefire will not be their savior, not politically and perhaps not militarily either. The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2728 this week was a small step forward, then, even if it was too little and, for many people who have lost their lives or loved ones, too late. Moreover, even if both sides fully comply with the requirements of the resolution, the month of Ramadan is more than halfway through. This means that at best it would be a two-week truce, and unless negotiations that are taking place outside of the UN system are successful, we will be back to square one, with the danger that Israel might feel it needs to rush to “finish the job.”
The resolution should therefore serve more as a springboard for accelerating negotiations on a longer-term truce that also includes agreements to exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, to allow a massive increase in deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to create the momentum needed for a transition to a permanent ceasefire, followed by the reconstruction of Gaza. It is left for those with influence on either or both of the combatants to apply pressure on them to comply with the Security Council resolution. In the final analysis, a worse outcome than no resolution at all would be to have one that is ignored — something that this international body is not without previous experience of.
**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

The shifting contours of a multipolar Middle East
Ehtesham Shahid/Arab News/March 30, 2024
Consensus is not always the natural outcome in discourse related to the Middle East. However, most theorists agree that the end of the Cold War profoundly reshaped the region’s geopolitics.
The transition reflected the broader global shift from a bipolar world during the Cold War to a more fragmented and diversified geopolitical landscape. This change left a vacuum that allowed the US to become the predominant power and set the stage for other nations to make their presence felt.
Around this time, countries in the Middle East began to assert more significant influence over regional politics, economies, and security matters. Their ambitions and actions contributed to a multipolar dynamic, in which several states wielded considerable power and pursued their interests, often independently or in competition. Moreover, emerging global players, particularly China and Russia, contributed to what academic Patricia Karam calls “a burgeoning multipolar order in the Middle East.” Fluctuations in US foreign policy, including moments of retreat or strategic “pivots” away from the Middle East, created opportunities for other powers to fill the gaps.
While there are counterarguments to this premise, the increasing US focus on the Asia-Pacific region and Washington’s adoption of a more isolationist stance under certain administrations have fueled this perception by reducing the American footprint in the Middle East and allowing other powers to step in.
Rapid economic and social changes within the region have also played a role. The push for economic diversification, technological advancement, and social reform in some countries has shifted internal dynamics and external relationships, influencing the region’s multipolar nature.
Many Middle Eastern countries are making significant efforts to diversify their economies beyond a reliance on oil, thereby altering the region’s internal dynamics and external economic relationships, and contributing to this multipolar landscape.
It is apparent, then, that this transition to a multipolar region is the result of internal developments and broader global geopolitical shifts. The region is characterized by a complex web of security pacts and military alliances that often cross traditional lines of alliance. Moreover, sociopolitical movements and changes, from the Arab Spring to the ongoing reforms across the region, are also reshaping the internal dynamics of Middle Eastern states. These movements can alter the power balance within and between countries, influencing the multipolar structure of the region.
A multipolar region would probably perform better in building bridges, fostering peace, and driving progress.
A recent paper published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute posited that certain situations have persisted in the region even amid these transformations. As a result, the US and regional actors have continued to doggedly pursue their interests, often at the expense of their rivals.
This paper suggests that the Chinese doctrine of a multipolar Middle East became tangible with the evolution of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye, and Israel into middle powers with local and global interests. As a result, they have all pursued their own strategic interests, foreign policy objectives, and spheres of influence. This regional transformation has led to a more complex and competitive landscape in which multiple powers vie for influence and collaborate in an ever-changing tapestry of relationships. However, multipolarity is neither exclusive nor new to the Middle East.
In contemporary geopolitics, identifying a strictly unipolar region, where a single state exercises dominant influence over all aspects of power (military, economic, and cultural) without any significant challenge from any other state, is increasingly rare, as a result of globalization, interdependence, and the rise of regional powers. Certain regions do however exhibit unipolar tendencies in specific aspects, or for a certain duration, due to the overwhelming influence of a particular country.
Notably, the Middle East also experienced multipolar dynamics even before the Cold War, with various powers exerting influence over the region throughout history. This multipolarity can be traced back to ancient times and continued through different epochs, including the medieval period, the Ottoman Empire, and the colonial era. In their unique ways, each of these periods turned the region into a theater for competition to expand control and influence over strategic territories, resources, and trade routes. The resulting rivalries shaped the political, cultural, and religious landscapes in the Middle East.
Following the First World War, the region experienced a new form of multipolarity through the establishment of mandates under British and French control, and the rise of independent states. The Second World War intensified the strategic importance of the Middle East due to its oil resources and strategic location. Throughout these periods, the Middle East was rarely dominated by a single power; instead, it often found itself at the intersection of competing interests and influences, both from within and outside the region.
This historical context underscores its long-standing multipolar characteristics, which have continued to evolve to the present day. Multipolarity perhaps suits the requirements of a region as complex as the Middle East, as middle and smaller powers can have significant influence in a multipolar world.
Bulgarian politician and diplomat Nickolay Mladenov appropriately describes middle powers as “the lynchpins of cooperation in the intricate tapestry of international relations, wielding their influence to build bridges, foster peace, and drive progress.”
He says they bring “diplomatic finesse and adaptability” to the fore. In the Middle East, this can be easier said than done. In these torrid times, however, a multipolar region would probably perform better in building bridges, fostering peace, and driving progress.
**Ehtesham Shahid is an Indian editor and researcher based in the UAE. X: @e2sham