English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 05/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.January05.25.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006 

Click On The Below Link To Join Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام لكروب Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group

Elias Bejjani/Click on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس بجاني/اضغط على الرابط في أسفل للإشتراك في موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw

Bible Quotations For today
The Sunday Of Finding Jesus Christ The Boy at the Temple
Luke 02/41-52/Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 04-05/2025
Elias Bejjani/Video and Text: "Astrologers Have Lied, Even If They Speak the Truth"
Presidential Elections and the Rare Opportunity/Etienne Sakr - Abu Arz/January 4, 2025
Lebanese Army Commander discusses military cooperation with French Chief of Defense Staff amid current challenges
Israeli army advances toward Borj El Mlouk in South Lebanon, sets up barbed wire barricade
Clashes between Lebanese Army and Syrian gunmen on Bekaa border leave four soldiers wounded
Lebanon PM, Syrian leader in talks to restore calm at border
UNIFIL accuses Israeli army of deliberately destroying property in southern Lebanon
The Fragile Israel-Hezbollah Truce is Holding so Far, Despite Violations
The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is holding so far, despite violations
The Saudi Delegation Visits Lebanese Officials
UN Accuses Israel of Ceasefire Breach as Hezbollah Says Losing Patience
Report: Israel to tell US it won't withdraw from Lebanon post 60-day period
The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is holding so far, despite violations
Scandal at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport
Mawlawi seeks to 'resolve' Syria entry restrictions as Mikati calls Sharaa
Hezbollah chief: 'Our patience may run out before the cease-fire ends'
Naim Qassem: Hezbollah's ‘Wish’ to Elect a President
Russia says downed 8 US-supplied ATACMS missiles
A Farewell to Arms/Fady Noun/This is Beirut/January 04/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 04-05/2025
German FM warns Syria leader Europe will not fund Islamist rule
Syria's historic Jewish community fades as ancient synagogue lies in ruins
Elaborate military tunnel complex linked to Assad’s palace
Syria Says International Flights to and from Damascus to Resume Tuesday
Israel Confirms Gaza Hostage Talks Have Resumed in Qatar
Biden Administration Announces $8 Billion Arms Sale to Israel
Russia Vows Response After Downing ATACMS Missiles Targeting Belgorod
1 Dead and 9 Injured in Israeli Raid on Refugee Camp in West Bank
Soldier who Blew Up Tesla at Trump Hotel Left Note Saying Blast Was to be a 'Wake Up Call' for US
Washington: A Final Warning to Tehran Before Military Action
Al-Qaeda has executed Yemeni journalist abducted 9 years ago, says media watchdog

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 04-05/2025
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: Defeat Iran's Oppressive Regime/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/January 04/2025
Good growth requires getting public-private partnerships right/Mariana Mazzucato/Arab News/January 04, 2025
Israel needs to know the truth about Oct. 7 catastrophe/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/January 04, 2025
India, GCC can offer the ‘healing touch’ the region needs/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 04, 2025
How the collapse of law and order in Gaza has impeded the humanitarian response/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/January 04, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 04-05/2025
Elias Bejjani/Video and Text: "Astrologers Have Lied, Even If They Speak the Truth"
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/138623/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeu7gwAElnw
/02 January 2025
Have those who practice astrology, prophecies, lies, and hypocrisy replaced Almighty God?
Have they truly become capable of reading the future and knowing the unseen?
There is no doubt that in Lebanon, almost all the owners of media facilities (TV stations, radio stations, YouTube channels, newspapers, and online websites) neither fear Almighty God nor the hour of His last reckoning. They brazenly promote infidelity, hoaxes, and lies through programs that epitomize spiritual decadence. These programs—whose stars are alleged astrologers claiming to know and predict the future—are mere swindlers and hypocrites. Some of them are even linked to regional and local intelligence groups that use misinformation to propagate various conspiracies.This heretical media status is deeply flawed, sad, disgusting, and frightening. Many Lebanese media institutions have sunk into a mire of faithlessness and immorality.
To those responsible for these outlets—who promote the lies and trivialities of heretics practicing magic, astrology, and false prophecies—we ask: Do you fear God?
Do you believe in the Holy Scriptures? Are you aware of the dire consequences awaiting those who engage in such satanic practices, condemned by Christian, Jewish, and Islamic teachings alike?
We also ask Lebanese religious authorities: Why do you not take a firm stand against every media outlet that promotes infidelity and Satanism through programs of predictions, prophecies, and claims of knowledge of the unseen? These programs blatantly defy all heavenly laws. Similarly, we question the inaction of MPs, ministers, and other state officials: Why have you not enacted laws to prevent these heresies, which are sinful according to all monotheistic religions?
For those who follow the heresies promoted by most Lebanese media during the New Year—whether in the homeland or the diaspora—this situation evokes memories of the sinful eras of Sodom, Gomorrah, Noah, and Nimrod's arrogance. Have astrologers, false prophets, and hypocrites replaced God Almighty, claiming to read the future and uncover the unseen? Do clerics, politicians, media professionals, and heretics not understand that only God knows the future? Even the prophets and messengers were not granted this grace. The holy books of monotheistic religions unequivocally condemn practices such as spirit preparation, sorcery, divination, astrology, and the reading of horoscopes. These are considered satanic acts, and believers are urged to reject and avoid anyone who engages in them. Such practices divert believers from God, leading them toward darkness and deception.
In Islam, astrology and all forms of fortune-telling are explicitly prohibited and forbidden (haram). As the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated in Sahih Muslim: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, his prayers will not be accepted for forty nights.” If merely consulting a fortune-teller results in such consequences, what fate awaits the fortune-tellers themselves?
Christianity and Judaism similarly denounce these practices. The Bible teaches that Satan often masquerades as good, using astrologers, magicians, and fortune-tellers to deceive people and lead them astray. Those who fall into these traps risk distancing themselves from God and embracing satanic deception.
Astrologers and fortune-tellers often become victims of their own delusions, unknowingly serving as tools of Satan. As humans created in God’s image, we are called to seek His will through prayer, faith, and adherence to His teachings, not through sorcery or astrology.
Anyone who believes in the false claims of astrologers and fortune-tellers commits a grave sin, as these acts defy the core tenets of all monotheistic religions. It is no wonder our country faces tribulations, hardships, and divine wrath. As our society mirrors the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, it should come as no surprise that we endure God’s righteous judgment.
In conclusion, all who practice astrology, divination, and similar acts stand in direct opposition to the teachings of heavenly religions. They defy God’s will, becoming tools of Satan and slaves to sin, infidelity, and ingratitude. Those who believe in or promote such practices are complicit in these acts and share in their guilt. We end with a verse from Leviticus 20:27 (Old Testament): "A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads."

Presidential Elections and the Rare Opportunity
Etienne Sakr - Abu Arz/January 4, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/138713/
In light of the tragic reality Lebanon has endured for more than half a century—marked by wars, tragedies, and foreign occupations that have driven the Lebanese people to the brink of despair—yet after proving their resilience in overcoming successive hardships despite the heavy toll, Lebanon today faces a rare historical opportunity to rise from its accumulated crises.
As the presidential elections draw near, the Lebanese people find themselves at a critical crossroads, yearning for an exceptional president capable of carrying the national trust and confronting the significant challenges hindering the nation's progress. Lebanon urgently needs a leader with the vision, willpower, and strength to achieve the following national priorities:
1-Restoring Sovereignty: Disarm all Lebanese and Palestinian militias, most notably Hezbollah, ensuring the state—through the Lebanese Army and security forces—becomes the sole authority to bear arms, impose security, and control all Lebanese territories and international borders.
2-Fighting Corruption and Recovering Stolen Funds: Launch a comprehensive anti-corruption campaign, starting with holding senior officials accountable and extending to all complicit parties. This effort requires lifting banking secrecy and recovering billions of dollars smuggled abroad, especially the stolen depositors' money, looted in a blatant and systematic manner.
3-Judicial Reform and Rule of Law: Ensure an independent judiciary, activate the rule of law, and enforce the separation of powers. Reopen unresolved crime and assassination cases since 1977 to achieve justice, regardless of how much time has passed, and restore public confidence in state institutions.
The Lebanese people, having paid a heavy price to defend their homeland and remain steadfast on their land, categorically reject the repetition of the so-called consensus presidents who serve only to appease the corrupt ruling class at the expense of the country's and citizens' interests. This critical phase demands a courageous president with a clear national vision who prioritizes Lebanon's supreme interest above all else, working to rebuild the state on the foundations of justice, sovereignty, and national dignity.
Lebanon deserves far better than its current state, and the Lebanese people deserve to live in a homeland worthy of their sacrifices, dreams, and the future of their rising generations.
Beloved Lebanon, I am at your service

Lebanese Army Commander discusses military cooperation with French Chief of Defense Staff amid current challenges
LBCI/January 04, 2025
Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun received French Chief of Defense Staff General Thierry Burkhard and an accompanying delegation at his office in Yarzeh.
The talks addressed the overall situation in Lebanon, strategies to enhance collaboration between the two countries' armies, and efforts to sustain support for the Lebanese Army during the ongoing crises.

Israeli army advances toward Borj El Mlouk in South Lebanon, sets up barbed wire barricade
LBCI/January 04, 2025
The Israeli army advanced toward the southern Lebanese town of Borj El Mlouk on Saturday, setting up barbed wire barricades to block the main road.

Clashes between Lebanese Army and Syrian gunmen on Bekaa border leave four soldiers wounded
LBCI/January 04, 2025
Clashes that erupted on Friday between the Lebanese Army and Syrian gunmen along the Bekaa border resulted in moderate injuries to four soldiers. The confrontation began on Friday morning and reignited in the evening hours before subsiding. The escalation ended after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham dispatched a force to the Syrian town of Serghaya, opposite the Lebanese town of Maaraboun, and engaged in necessary communications with the Lebanese side.

Lebanon PM, Syrian leader in talks to restore calm at border
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/January 04, 2025
BEIRUT: Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa has invited Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to visit his country to boost bilateral ties. In a phone call on Friday with Al-Sharaa, Mikati discussed relations between the two countries, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Al-Sharaa also said that Syrian authorities had taken “necessary measures” to restore calm on the border between the two countries, according to the statement. The call between Mikati and Al-Sharaa addressed an attack on the Lebanese army by Syrian gunmen on Friday. Calm was restored on Saturday as political negotiations intensified to prevent any escalation. The gunmen, from the Syrian region of Sarghaya, attacked the Lebanese soldiers to try and prevent them closing an illegal border crossing in Maarboun–Baalbek. Four soldiers were injured in the clashes. The Lebanese Army Command said the troops “repelled Syrian gunmen after they targeted a military unit with medium weapons, causing moderate injuries to four soldiers.” The Presidency of the Council of Ministers said on Saturday that Al-Sharaa “confirmed that the concerned Syrian agencies took all necessary measures to restore calm to the border and prevent the recurrence of such incidents.”A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held for over a month, even though its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. Under the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on Nov. 27, the Israeli forces that penetrated the border area to depths ranging from three to 9 km have 21 days left to withdraw completely. But Israeli forces continue to violate the agreement extensively, both by air and by land, infiltrating towns they had not entered during the ground war launched on Oct. 1. On Saturday morning, the Israeli army carried out excavation and leveling operations near cemeteries in Markaba town.
Security reports from the area said that “Israeli army patrols moved from Odaisseh toward Taybeh, conducting intensive sweeps with machine guns, while war drones flew at low altitudes in the western sector, particularly over the Tyre district.” For the first time since the ceasefire, drones violated airspace over the towns of Doueir, Jibchit, Harouf, Ebba, Zebdine, and Choukine in the Nabatieh district. Residents reported “dozens of drones flying overhead at low altitudes.”Israeli forces also conducted a sweep from the Maroun Al-Ras area toward the city of Bint Jbeil, using machine guns. The force included five tanks and a bulldozer and targeted a house with a shell fired from a Merkava tank before moving on to the building. The garrisons of two Israeli army positions in Al-Ramtha and Al-Samaqa carried out wide-ranging sweeps with heavy machine guns targeting the surrounding valleys. Israeli forces also carried out a demolition operation between the towns of Taybeh and Rab Al-Thalathin in the Marjayoun district. Images captured by activists and shared on social media from the border area, particularly in Mays Al-Jabal, reveal unprecedented destruction of the town, affecting residential and commercial buildings, as well as places of worship. The Israeli military also targeted the Imam Sadr Sports Complex west of Mays Al-Jabal with artillery on Saturday. Israeli media reported that the current Israeli approach “aims to effectively restrict Hezbollah’s capabilities, preventing the group from conducting large-scale operations or controlling strategic areas in Lebanon.”Strategic and military affairs researcher Ali Abbas Hamieh told Arab News that “Israeli forces, during their incursion into the border area over the past 38 days, have succeeded in targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure; however, these were general structures and did not include the strategic weapons possessed by the group.”Hamieh said Israeli operations had sometimes destroyed the entrances to Hezbollah’s tunnels, but they had not eliminated what was inside them. “Consequently, the Israelis are attempting to extend the ceasefire period further.” Hamieh said that Hezbollah “is currently reorganizing its military position despite the other siege being imposed on Hezbollah on the economic level, aimed at undermining it militarily.”Hamieh expressed his concern that “extending the deadline for the presence of Israeli forces in the border area for an additional three months, as rumored, could serve as a pretext for the resumption of hostilities.”The analyst said: “It is important to note that the formula used to persuade both parties to cease fire was that if the war continued, it would be a loss for both sides, whereas if it stopped, it would be a victory for both.”Also on Saturday, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said the government would “inform Washington that it will not withdraw from Lebanon after the current deadline expires and will convey a message to the US that it will not allow residents of Lebanese villages near the border to return to their homes.”But Israeli media reported later that “no decision has been made yet regarding extending the Israeli army’s presence in southern Lebanon.”

UNIFIL accuses Israeli army of deliberately destroying property in southern Lebanon
Arab News/January 04, 2025
LONDON: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Saturday accused the Israeli army of deliberately destroying its property and critical infrastructure in southern Lebanon, marking a serious escalation in tensions along the border.In a statement issued on Saturday, UNIFIL said: “This morning, peacekeepers witnessed an Israeli army bulldozer destroying a blue barrel marking the withdrawal line between Lebanon and Israel in Al-Labbouneh, as well as a watchtower belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces adjacent to a UNIFIL site in the area.”
The blue barrels, which serve as markers for the withdrawal line — commonly referred to as the Blue Line — are crucial in delineating the boundary established following Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. UNIFIL condemned the actions, describing them as a “deliberate and direct destruction” of its property and infrastructure clearly identifiable as belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The statement further characterized the incident as “a blatant violation of (UN Security Council) Resolution 1701 and international law.”Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War, calls for respect for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and the cessation of all aggressive actions in the area. UNIFIL also urged all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any actions that could jeopardize the fragile cessation of hostilities.“We urge all parties to refrain from any actions, including the destruction of property and civilian infrastructure, that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities,” the statement added. The incident comes amid heightened tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, with several exchanges of fire reported in recent weeks. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period. Hezbollah is to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River — some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. In late December, the UN peacekeeping force expressed concern at the “continuing” damage being done by the Israeli military in south Lebanon. Detailing its latest air strikes in Lebanon on Thursday, the Israeli military said it was acting to remove any threat to Israel “in accordance with the ceasefire understandings.”

The Fragile Israel-Hezbollah Truce is Holding so Far, Despite Violations
Asharq Al Awsat/January 4, 2025
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanon's Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed, The AP reported. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home. “The ceasefire agreement is rather opaque and open to interpretation,” said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington. That flexibility, he said, may give it a better chance of holding in the face of changing circumstances, including the ouster of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar Assad, just days after the ceasefire took effect. With Assad gone, Hezbollah lost a vital route for smuggling weapons from Iran. While that further weakened Hezbollah’s hand, Israel had already agreed to the US-brokered ceasefire. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Israeli air and ground assaults have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced. Hezbollah rockets forced some 60,000 from their homes in northern Israel, and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon. Here’s a look at the terms of the ceasefire and its prospects for ending hostilities over the long-term. What does the ceasefire agreement say? The agreement says that both Hezbollah and Israel will halt “offensive” military actions, but that they can act in self-defense, although it is not entirely clear how that term may be interpreted.
The Lebanese army is tasked with preventing Hezbollah and other militant groups from launching attacks into Israel. It is also required to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and weapons in southern Lebanon — activities that might eventually be expanded to the rest of Lebanon, although it is not explicit in the ceasefire agreement.The United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are responsible for overseeing implementation of the agreement. “The key question is not whether the deal will hold, but what version of it will be implemented,” Maksad, the analyst, said.
Is the ceasefire being implemented? Hezbollah has for the most part halted its rocket and drone fire into Israel, and Israel has stopped attacking Hezbollah in most areas of Lebanon. But Israel has launched regular airstrikes on what it says are militant sites in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley.
Israeli forces have so far withdrawn from two towns in southern Lebanon - Khiam and Shamaa. They remain in some 60 others, according to the International Organization for Migration, and around 160,000 Lebanese remain displaced. Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement and last week submitted a complaint to the UN Security Council that says Israel launched some 816 “ground and air attacks” between the start of the ceasefire and Dec. 22, 2024. The complaint said the attacks have hindered the Lebanese army's efforts to deploy in the south and uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement. Until Israel hands over control of more towns to the Lebanese army, Israeli troops have been destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, including weapons warehouses and underground tunnels. Lebanese authorities say Israel has also destroyed civilian houses and infrastructure.
What happens after the ceasefire has been in place for 60 days? Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese towns has been slower than anticipated because of a lack of Lebanese army troops ready to take over, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesman. Lebanon disputes this, and says it is waiting for Israel to withdraw before entering the towns. Shoshani said Israel is satisfied with the Lebanese army's control of the areas it has already withdrawn from, and that while it would prefer a faster transfer of power, security is its most important objective.
Israel does not consider the 60-day timetable for withdrawal to be “sacred,” said Harel Chorev, an expert on Israel-Lebanon relations at Tel Aviv University who estimates that Lebanon will need to recruit and deploy thousands more troops before Israel will be ready to hand over control. Hezbollah officials have said that if Israeli forces remain in Lebanon 60 days past the start of the ceasefire, the militant group might return to attacking them. But Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem said Wednesday that, for now, the group is holding off to give the Lebanese state a chance to "take responsibility” for enforcing the agreement. Over the final two months of the war, Hezbollah suffered major blows to its leadership, weapons and forces from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes, and a ground invasion that led to fierce battles in southern Lebanon. The fall of Assad was another big setback. “The power imbalance suggests Israel may want to ensure greater freedom of action after the 60-day period,” Maksad, the analyst, said. And Hezbollah, in its weakened position, now has a “strong interest” in making sure the deal doesn't fall apart altogether “despite Israeli violations,” he said.
While Hezbollah may not be in a position to return to open war with Israel, it or other groups could mount guerilla attacks using light weaponry if Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, said former Lebanese army Gen. Hassan Jouni. And even if Israel does withdraw all of its ground forces, Jouni said, the Israeli military could could continue to carry out sporadic airstrikes in Lebanon, much as it has done in Syria for years.

The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is holding so far, despite violations
Abby Sewell And Melanie Lidman/The Associated Press/January 4, 2025
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home. “The ceasefire agreement is rather opaque and open to interpretation,” said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington. That flexibility, he said, may give it a better chance of holding in the face of changing circumstances, including the ouster of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar Assad, just days after the ceasefire took effect. With Assad gone, Hezbollah lost a vital route for smuggling weapons from Iran. While that further weakened Hezbollah’s hand, Israel had already agreed to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Israeli air and ground assaults have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced. Hezbollah rockets forced some 60,000 from their homes in northern Israel, and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon. Here’s a look at the terms of the ceasefire and its prospects for ending hostilities over the long-term.
What does the ceasefire agreement say?
The agreement says that both Hezbollah and Israel will halt “offensive” military actions, but that they can act in self-defense, although it is not entirely clear how that term may be interpreted.
The Lebanese army is tasked with preventing Hezbollah and other militant groups from launching attacks into Israel. It is also required to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and weapons in southern Lebanon — activities that might eventually be expanded to the rest of Lebanon, although it is not explicit in the ceasefire agreement. The United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are responsible for overseeing implementation of the agreement. “The key question is not whether the deal will hold, but what version of it will be implemented,” Maksad, the analyst, said.
Is the ceasefire being implemented?
Hezbollah has for the most part halted its rocket and drone fire into Israel, and Israel has stopped attacking Hezbollah in most areas of Lebanon. But Israel has launched regular airstrikes on what it says are militant sites in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley. Israeli forces have so far withdrawn from two towns in southern Lebanon - Khiam and Shamaa. They remain in some 60 others, according to the International Organization for Migration, and around 160,000 Lebanese remain displaced. Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement and last week submitted a complaint to the U.N. Security Council that says Israel launched some 816 “ground and air attacks” between the start of the ceasefire and Dec. 22, 2024. The complaint said the attacks have hindered the Lebanese army's efforts to deploy in the south and uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement. Israel says Hezbollah has violated the ceasefire hundreds of times and has also complained to the Security Council. It accused Hezbollah militants of moving ammunition, attempting to attack Israeli soldiers, and preparing and launching rockets towards northern Israel, among other things. Until it hands over control of more towns to the Lebanese army, Israeli troops have been destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, including weapons warehouses and underground tunnels. Lebanese authorities say Israel has also destroyed civilian houses and infrastructure. What happens after the ceasefire has been in place for 60 days?
Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese towns has been slower than anticipated because of a lack of Lebanese army troops ready to take over, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesman. Lebanon disputes this, and says it is waiting for Israel to withdraw before entering the towns.
Shoshani said Israel is satisfied with the Lebanese army's control of the areas it has already withdrawn from, and that while it would prefer a faster transfer of power, security is its most important objective. Israel does not consider the 60-day timetable for withdrawal to be “sacred,” said Harel Chorev, an expert on Israel-Lebanon relations at Tel Aviv University who estimates that Lebanon will need to recruit and deploy thousands more troops before Israel will be ready to hand over control. Hezbollah officials have said that if Israeli forces remain in Lebanon 60 days past the start of the ceasefire, the militant group might return to attacking them. But Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem said Wednesday that, for now, the group is holding off to give the Lebanese state a chance to "take responsibility” for enforcing the agreement. In a speech Saturday, he took a more threatening tone.
“Our patience may run out before or after the 60 days," he said. "When we decide to do something you will see it directly."Over the final two months of the war, Hezbollah suffered major blows to its leadership, weapons and forces from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes, and a ground invasion that led to fierce battles in southern Lebanon. The fall of Assad was another big setback. “The power imbalance suggests Israel may want to ensure greater freedom of action after the 60-day period,” Maksad, the analyst, said. And Hezbollah, in its weakened position, now has a “strong interest” in making sure the deal doesn't fall apart altogether “despite Israeli violations,” he said. While Hezbollah may not be in a position to return to open war with Israel, it or other groups could mount guerilla attacks using light weaponry if Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, said former Lebanese army Gen. Hassan Jouni. And even if Israel does withdraw all of its ground forces, Jouni said, the Israeli military could could continue to carry out sporadic airstrikes in Lebanon, much as it has done in Syria for years.

The Saudi Delegation Visits Lebanese Officials
This is Beirut/January 04/2025
The Saudi delegation, led by Prince Yazeed bin Farhan, who oversees the Saudi committee handling the Lebanon file, arrived in Beirut on Friday evening. The delegation has been meeting with political officials and is scheduled to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri today in Ain al-Tineh. The delegation is expected to hold discussions with various political blocs and forces, keeping their meetings mostly out of the spotlight. The primary focus of these talks is the presidential file, ahead of the January 9 electoral session.

UN Accuses Israel of Ceasefire Breach as Hezbollah Says Losing Patience
This is Beirut/With AFP/January 04/2025
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon accused Israel Saturday of a "flagrant violation" of the 2006 Security Council resolution that forms the basis of its November ceasefire with Hezbollah. The statement from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) came as Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned the militant group's patience with Israeli violations could run out before the end of the ceasefire's 60-day implementation timeframe. The fragile truce, which took effect on November 27, has been marked by mutual accusations of violations from both sides. "This morning, peacekeepers observed an (Israeli military) bulldozer destroying a blue barrel marking the line of withdrawal between Lebanon and Israel in Labbouneh, as well as an observation tower belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces immediately beside a UNIFIL position there," the peacekeeping force said. "The (military's) deliberate and direct destruction of both clearly identifiable UNIFIL property and infrastructure belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces is a flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 and international law." The force, which is represented on the panel overseeing the ceasefire's implementation, called on "all actors to avoid any actions, including the destruction of civilian property and infrastructure, that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities." Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period. Hezbollah is to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River —some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border— and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. In late December, the UN peacekeeping force expressed concern at the "continuing" damage being done by the Israeli military in southern Lebanon. Detailing its latest airstrikes in Lebanon on Thursday, the Israeli military said it was acting to remove any threat to Israel "in accordance with the ceasefire understandings." Qassem said Hezbollah had decided to show patience but warned that it would not last indefinitely. "We have said that we are giving an opportunity to prevent Israeli violations and to implement the agreement, and we will exercise patience," he said, stressing, "This does not mean that we will wait for 60 days. "The leadership of the resistance determines when to exercise patience, when to take initiative, and when to respond," he said.

Report: Israel to tell US it won't withdraw from Lebanon post 60-day period
This is Beirut/January 04/2025
Israel is not expected to withdraw its army from south Lebanon when the 60-day period stipulated in the ceasefire agreement expires, Israel's state-run Public Broadcasting Corporation has reported. "Israel will inform Washington that it will not pull out because the Lebanese Army is not abiding by the agreement and Hezbollah is reorganizing its ranks," the report said. "Israel is also expected to tell the United States that it will not allow the residents of the Lebanese towns near the border to return to their homes," the report added. Lebanon's pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile reported that some Lenanese Army officials received "serious signals" from the co-chair of the truce monitoring committee, U.S. general Jasper Jeffers, that "Israel intends to extend the 60-day deadline to 90 days, which might also be extended to April." "The matter hinges on Israel's realization of its goals as to guaranteeing the elimination of the resistance's abilities to launch an attack," the daily quoted Jeffers as telling the officials.

The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is holding so far, despite violations
Associated Press/January 04/2025
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home.
"The ceasefire agreement is rather opaque and open to interpretation," said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington. That flexibility, he said, may give it a better chance of holding in the face of changing circumstances, including the ouster of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar Assad, just days after the ceasefire took effect. With Assad gone, Hezbollah lost a vital route for smuggling weapons from Iran. While that further weakened Hezbollah's hand, Israel had already agreed to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Israeli air and ground assaults have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced. Hezbollah rockets forced some 60,000 from their homes in northern Israel, and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon. Here's a look at the terms of the ceasefire and its prospects for ending hostilities over the long-term.
- What does the ceasefire agreement say? -
The agreement says that both Hezbollah and Israel will halt "offensive" military actions, but that they can act in self-defense, although it is not entirely clear how that term may be interpreted. The Lebanese Army is tasked with preventing Hezbollah and other militant groups from launching attacks into Israel. It is also required to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and weapons in southern Lebanon — activities that might eventually be expanded to the rest of Lebanon, although it is not explicit in the ceasefire agreement. The United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are responsible for overseeing implementation of the agreement. "The key question is not whether the deal will hold, but what version of it will be implemented," Maksad, the analyst, said.
- Is the ceasefire being implemented? -
Hezbollah has for the most part halted its rocket and drone fire into Israel, and Israel has stopped attacking Hezbollah in most areas of Lebanon. But Israel has launched regular airstrikes on what it says are militant sites in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley. Israeli forces have so far withdrawn from two towns in southern Lebanon -- Khiam and Shamaa. They remain in some 60 others, according to the International Organization for Migration, and around 160,000 Lebanese remain displaced.
Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement and last week submitted a complaint to the U.N. Security Council that says Israel launched some 816 "ground and air attacks" between the start of the ceasefire and Dec. 22, 2024. The complaint said the attacks have hindered the Lebanese Army's efforts to deploy in the south and uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel says Hezbollah has violated the ceasefire hundreds of times and has also complained to the Security Council. It accused Hezbollah militants of moving ammunition, attempting to attack Israeli soldiers, and preparing and launching rockets towards northern Israel, among other things. Until it hands over control of more towns to the Lebanese Army, Israeli troops have been destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, including weapons warehouses and underground tunnels. Lebanese authorities say Israel has also destroyed civilian houses and infrastructure.
- What happens after the ceasefire has been in place for 60 days? -
Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese towns has been slower than anticipated because of a lack of Lebanese Army troops ready to take over, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman. Lebanon disputes this, and says it is waiting for Israel to withdraw before entering the towns. Shoshani said Israel is satisfied with the Lebanese Army's control of the areas it has already withdrawn from, and that while it would prefer a faster transfer of power, security is its most important objective. Israel does not consider the 60-day timetable for withdrawal to be "sacred," said Harel Chorev, an expert on Israel-Lebanon relations at Tel Aviv University who estimates that Lebanon will need to recruit and deploy thousands more troops before Israel will be ready to hand over control. Hezbollah officials have said that if Israeli forces remain in Lebanon 60 days past the start of the ceasefire, the militant group might return to attacking them. But Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said Wednesday that, for now, the group is holding off to give the Lebanese state a chance to "take responsibility" for enforcing the agreement. Over the final two months of the war, Hezbollah suffered major blows to its leadership, weapons and forces from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes, and a ground invasion that led to fierce battles in southern Lebanon. The fall of Assad was another big setback. "The power imbalance suggests Israel may want to ensure greater freedom of action after the 60-day period," Maksad, the analyst, said. And Hezbollah, in its weakened position, now has a "strong interest" in making sure the deal doesn't fall apart altogether "despite Israeli violations," he said. While Hezbollah may not be in a position to return to open war with Israel, it or other groups could mount guerilla attacks using light weaponry if Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, said former Lebanese Army Gen. Hassan Jouni. And even if Israel does withdraw all of its ground forces, Jouni said, the Israeli military could continue to carry out sporadic airstrikes in Lebanon, much as it has done in Syria for years.

Scandal at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport
This is Beirut/January 04/2025
According to local TV channel MTV, the arrival of an Iranian plane unveiled years of smuggling at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Three customs control teams operate at Beirut Airport. While these teams are traditionally sectarian, one team, composed entirely of three Shiite controllers, has allegedly been facilitating the smuggling of goods and bags linked to Hezbollah and its officials for years. Under the protection of Hezbollah officials, this team has reportedly resisted any attempts at replacement. According to MTV, The controllers are accused of enabling the passage of smuggled phones, quantities of gold — primarily from Turkey and Dubai — and other goods and bags of money, claiming these items are related to Hezbollah. In return, they reportedly receive financial rewards, allowing them to accumulate significant wealth. Two team members, Hussein Haider Ahmad and Ali Zain Abdeen, are said to have purchased multiple properties in Greece.Reports suggest that Hezbollah officials and smugglers strategically schedule their arrivals in Lebanon during the shifts of this monitoring team. Additionally, Hezbollah officials are alleged to have frequent access to restricted airport areas. Most recently, Ali Khalifa visited Beirut Airport on Thursday, coinciding with the arrival of an Iranian plane.

Mawlawi seeks to 'resolve' Syria entry restrictions as Mikati calls Sharaa
Agence France Presse/January 04/2025
Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that Lebanon was working to find a solution with Syria, after two security officials said Damascus had imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens. "Work is underway to resolve the issue of Lebanese citizens being prevented from entering Syria," Mawlawi told AFP.He said Lebanon's General Security agency was in touch with "the Syrian side" to resolve the issue. The developments appeared to be the first instance of friction between the two neighbors, who share a fraught history, since Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month. Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID. But a Lebanese General Security official told AFP on Friday that they were "surprised to see the border had been closed" to Lebanese citizens "from the Syrian side."
The official, who like other sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that no new border measures had been communicated to them yet. A security source at Masnaa, the main land border crossing between the two countries, said Syrian authorities had implemented "new procedures" since Thursday night, only allowing in Lebanese with residency permits or official permission. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati's office later said he had a phone call with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, during which they discussed bilateral relations as well as border skirmishes with the Lebanese Army. Sharaa also invited Mikati for an official visit to Syria.The statement said Sharaa "confirmed that Syria's relevant agencies have done all that is necessary to restore calm at the border and prevent the recurrence of what happened."Lebanon had imposed similar restrictions on Syrians entering the country after the civil war erupted more than a decade ago. The Lebanese Army said in a statement on X that its soldiers had clashed with armed Syrians at the border after the armed forces tried to "close an illegal crossing." It said five soldiers were wounded. Lebanon's eastern border is porous and known for smuggling. It was unclear who the armed Syrians were. "Syrians attempted to open the crossing using a bulldozer, so army personnel fired warning shots into the air. The Syrians opened fire on army personnel, injuring one of them and provoking a clash," the army said. Last month, Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told visiting Lebanese Druze leaders that his country would not negatively interfere in Lebanon and would respect its sovereignty. For three decades, Syria was a dominant military and political force in Lebanon after intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war. Syria eventually withdrew its troops in 2005 under international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Hezbollah chief: 'Our patience may run out before the cease-fire ends'
Niv Shaiovich/Ynetnews/January 04/2025
Terror group's Secretary-General Naim Qassem warns in speech organization is ready to resume hostilities if cease-fire conditions aren't upheld including IDF withdrawal from Lebanon
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem claimed on Saturday that his terror organization successfully repelled Israel's actions in Lebanon during the war. "For 64 days, Israel tried to advance into our territory but only managed to move hundreds of meters," Qassem said.  "Israel failed to penetrate deeper into our land thanks to the strength of the resistance. The resistance is powerful, deterrent and effective, disrupting the enemy's objectives despite the extensive destruction and Israeli aggression,” he added. Regarding the fragile cease-fire, Qassem said, "The resistance wielded significant power during the cease-fire. Israel was forced to request a cease-fire due to the resistance's capabilities. We faced unprecedented aggression, stood firm and broke Israel's strength. Sacrifice is the path to dignity and the resistance will continue.""There’s no specific timeline dictating the resistance’s actions — not in the agreement, nor with the 60-day timeframe,” he added. “Our patience may run out before the 60 days, or it might last longer. The resistance's leadership will decide. Our patience hinges on our judgment about the right timing to confront aggression and its violations.” “The cease-fire agreement obligates Israel to withdraw south of the Litani River. The Lebanese state is responsible for implementing the cease-fire agreement with Israel."Qassem compared the current scenario to the 1982 Lebanon War. He noted that Israel reached Beirut easily back then, but "during the 2024 aggression, Israel paid a heavy price without managing to advance more than a few hundred meters south of the Litani. This serves as a deterrent." Talking about the fall of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria, Qassem said, "What happened in Syria could have happened in Lebanon and I believe the Syrian people will play a role in the future confrontation with Israel. Resistance is our choice — to liberate the land, defend sovereignty, support Palestine and confront the spread of Israeli occupation. The resistance's leadership decides when and how to resist, using its methods and weapons of choice."
At the end of the month, the 60 days stipulated in the cease-fire agreement for the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon will expire. The IDF has already declared that the date wasn’t “set in stone.” Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, cited a "source," on Saturday saying that the Lebanese army’s leadership claimed Israel is "gradually imposing new rules of engagement and trying to establish its freedom of movement which will remain even after the cease-fire ends."According to the source, Lebanese army officials received signals from General Jesper Jeffers, head of the U.S.-led cease-fire monitoring mechanism in Lebanon, during his visit to the country, about "Israel’s intention to extend the cease-fire from 60 to 90 days." The Lebanese outlet claimed this depended on Israel achieving its goals — ensuring that Hezbollah can’t initiate and launch attacks against the country.
IDF officials have recently been considering staying in Lebanon beyond the period set in the cease-fire agreement. However, no decision has been made according to official sources and the matter remains undecided. The IDF is preparing for this possibility, explaining that the decision will depend on the Lebanese side, their conduct and whether their army achieves full control over southern Lebanon.Israel has made it clear that its decisions will be based on developments in Lebanon. If, at the end of the 60 days, the other side fails to uphold the agreement, there would be no reason not to remain deployed in the area.
Israeli officials hope the Americans will understand their stance that a timely withdrawal, without Lebanon fulfilling its part, would be problematic. It’s likely the U.S. won’t allow this initiative to collapse. Two key questions are on the table as the cease-fire deadline approaches: whether the IDF will extend its stay in southern Lebanon and whether residents will be allowed to return to their homes in the south. These issues will also be discussed by U.S. Middle East envoy Amos Hochstein, who is set to arrive in Beirut on Monday. His visit is partly driven by U.S. interest in ensuring Lebanon's presidential elections and supporting the continuation of the cease-fire.

Naim Qassem: Hezbollah's ‘Wish’ to Elect a President
This is Beirut/January 04/2025
On the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force (Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unit), and his Iraqi lieutenant, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem reiterated the slogan of “the resistance’s victory over Israel,” emphasizing that the former “has not been defeated.”Qassem highlighted Hezbollah’s “wish” to “elect a president of the Republic through consensus among parliamentary blocs in open sessions to pave the way for a new chapter in Lebanon.” He stressed that the election of a new president would herald “a positive era of stability, strengthened national unity and internal cooperation to rebuild the country.”However, the entirety of his speech opposed this stance, as he remained anchored in a subjective evaluation of the situation stemming from the war between Hezbollah and Israel. The contradiction was glaring: despite Hezbollah’s so-called victory, Qassem called for state intervention to preserve the status quo established by the ceasefire agreement with Israel, signed on November 27, 2024. Still, adhering to his familiar and unchanging rhetorical question – “Isn’t the resistance strong and deterrent?” – Qassem provided a subjective assessment of the ceasefire Hezbollah had agreed to. “Despite the massive destruction and Israel’s criminal aggression, an agreement was reached: the enemy requested a ceasefire, and we accepted it,” he asserted. He further stressed, “Thanks to the resistance, its strength and its resolve, the enemy was compelled to request a ceasefire.” In the same spirit, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah repeatedly underscored the enduring strength of the resistance. “The resistance will persist,” he confirmed, rejecting the idea that Lebanon should face a fate similar to Syria's. “Israel has occupied a part of the Golan Heights that is one and a half times the size of Gaza, moving through it freely… Without the resistance, Lebanon would have faced the same fate as Syria.”Qassem dismissed the idea that Hezbollah was bound by the terms of the ceasefire agreement, whether it pertained to the sixty-day duration or the party's operational zone: “The decision on when, how and with what weapons to retaliate lies with the resistance leadership... We are under no obligation to wait beyond the sixty days outlined in the ceasefire agreement.”Once again, Qassem addressed the criticism directed at Hezbollah, particularly regarding its military shortcomings and the disastrous aftermath of its unilateral decision to confront Israel. He countered this criticism with tendentious arguments: “The resistance is a matter of faith, not weapons;” “Material damage can be compensated;” “This war represents a rebirth for Lebanon.”

Russia says downed 8 US-supplied ATACMS missiles
Agence France Presse/January 04/2025
Russia said on Saturday it had shot down eight U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles, whose use Moscow has warned could spark a hypersonic ballistic missile attack on central Kyiv.ATACMS missiles have a maximum range of 190 miles (300 kilometers) according to publicly available data. "Air defense systems downed eight ATACMS U.S.-made missiles and 72 drones," the Russian defense forces told news agencies without specifying whether there were any casualties or damage. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has supplied long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine which can penetrate inside Russia, provoking retaliation from Moscow which has responded with its new hypersonic missile.

A Farewell to Arms
Fady Noun/This is Beirut/January 04/2025
A farewell to arms is the essential condition for a return to normal political life in Lebanon, whether or not a new president is elected on January 9. Hezbollah must reinvent itself and relinquish all military autonomy. After everything that has happened, a return to the status quo ante is out of the question, and the Speaker of Parliament must come to terms with this. The next President of the Republic should state unequivocally: what Hezbollah has done to Lebanon must never happen again. To achieve this, it is imperative to strip this group of all military autonomy, in accordance with UN Resolution 1701 and the Taif Agreement. In fact, Hezbollah was never authorized to use Lebanon as a “front.” In a true state, it would have no right to do so. That said, those who have read the book written by Naim Qassem, the current Secretary-General of Hezbollah, about the formation of this group, understand how difficult it will be to reform an ideology of warfare closely tied to eschatological beliefs, which would take too long to detail. Moreover, Hezbollah has never hidden that it carries not only a political agenda but also a social project that it has refrained from discussing further. To grasp the incompatibility of Hezbollah “as is” with Lebanon’s parliamentary democracy, it is worth noting that Article 11 of the Iranian Constitution – to which this group adheres – states that “all Muslims form one nation, and the government of the Islamic Republic must base its policy on the alliance and unity of Islamic nations. It must constantly strive to achieve the political, economic, and cultural unity of the Islamic world.”Obviously, in such a transnational entity, Lebanon would cease to exist, reduced to being merely a “province.” This recalls the case of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), an ally of the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, whose anachronistic dream envisions Lebanon’s dissolution into a greater Syria.
Another example: as in any parliamentary democracy, Lebanon’s political system rests on the fundamental principle of the separation of powers. Yet this principle has no place in the system of Wilayat al-Faqih, to which Hezbollah has pledged allegiance. Article 57 of the Iranian Constitution places the judicial, legislative, and executive powers “under the absolute authority of the Supreme Leader.”Suspicious efforts were made to obscure this reality in the early 1990s. For example, the Taif Agreement mentions the principle of “separation of powers,” but adds the phrase “their balance and cooperation” (Preamble E). These two unnecessary clarifications seem to have been added solely to weaken the independence of the judiciary and expose it to interference from the other two powers. This is exactly what the triumphant Hezbollah, acting as a substitute state, has practiced. One hopes these times are gone forever. Fortunately, Hezbollah’s project does not enjoy unanimous support within the Shiite community. In particular, it is at odds with the Lebanese orientation championed by Imam Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine (1936–2001), who was long the president of the Higher Shiite Council.
A leading political and religious figure, Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine urged his community not to embark on Hezbollah’s transnational Shiite project but to fight within their respective societies to defend their legitimate rights. Today, Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq, the supreme reference for Arab Shiites, as well as numerous Shiite dignitaries within Iran itself, support the same orientation.
The Cause of Lebanon
One of the primary motivations that could lead Hezbollah to reinvent itself is recognizing the extraordinary importance of Lebanon’s “cause” compared to all other Middle Eastern causes. This cause, which has the potential to shape all regional realities, is the primacy of spirit over the letter of religious commandments, one of the first “theological loci” of interreligious dialogue. It is thanks to this primacy that Lebanon is the beating heart of the Arab East, as its national anthem declares. This richness stems from its Christian roots, which enable it to embrace modernity while avoiding any rupture between faith and reason. For a religion that, according to the Christian philosopher Paul Valadier, suffers from a “tormented relationship between revelation and reason, unfavorable to a critical reading of its own sources and traditions” (Lueurs dans l’histoire – Salvator), Lebanon is an academically vital environment. The primacy of spirit should particularly manifest in the transition from sectarian affiliation to civic belonging (a note for the new power in Syria). Defended by the Joint Declaration on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi between the Pope and Imam Ahmad al-Tayeb, Rector of Al-Azhar (February 2019), this transition – which Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian Islam embraces – aims to put an end, once and for all, to extremism and the division of people into believers and dhimmis. The implementation of the Taif Agreement and the lifting of resistance to civil marriage – the central obstacle to change – should serve as milestones in this fundamental process. Finally, if Lebanon must hold primacy in our eyes over the rest of the Arab world, it is also because its geographical size protects it from imperial dreams that tempt some. These natural limits grant Lebanon the possibility to use conceptual tools more freely than any other nation, enabling it to inspire durable and peaceful solutions to all Arab world causes, starting with Jerusalem. But this can only happen if reason and dialogue are not excluded from international relations, and Lebanon remains faithful to the historical vocation assigned to it by its geographic location at the strategic crossroads of the Mediterranean and the Arab hinterland, its religious roots in its national identity, and its pluralistic foundation.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 04-05/2025
German FM warns Syria leader Europe will not fund Islamist rule
Agence France Presse/January 04/2025
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had warned Syria's new leaders not to establish an Islamist government after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month. "Europe will support" Syria in its transition "but Europe will not finance new Islamist structures," Baerbock told reporters at the end of a visit to Syria. "This is not only in our own security interests but also what I have heard time and again from very many Syrians in Germany... and here in the region," she added. Baerbock was visiting the Syrian capital Damascus together with her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in the highest-level visit by major Western powers since Islamist-led rebels seized power last month. After talks with Sharaa and other officials, Baerbock said she had made clear to them that "women's rights are a yardstick" for progress towards improvements in human rights. She also called for all Syria's neighbors to "respect its territorial integrity and sovereignty" and said "the security of the Kurds is also essential for a peaceful Syria." "This requires an end to the fighting in the north and the integration of the Kurdish forces... in the Syrian security architecture."The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a key Western ally against the Islamic State jihadist group, has been under renewed attack by Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria since late last year. In the latest clashes around the battleground town of Manbij, at least 24 fighters were killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said on Thursday, despite U.S.-led efforts to establish a truce in area.

Syria's historic Jewish community fades as ancient synagogue lies in ruins
LBCI/January 04/2025
Few are aware that Jewish communities once had a significant presence in Arab countries, including Syria, where they numbered in the tens of thousands at the end of the 19th century. Today, only nine remain. The decline began with World War I and escalated after the establishment of Israel in 1948. Thousands of Syrian Jews migrated to Palestine, while others relocated to the United States and Latin America. In Damascus, the neighborhood of Jobar stood as a testament to this history, home to one of the world's oldest synagogues, the Eliyahu Hanavi (Elijah the Prophet) Synagogue, believed to date back to 720 BCE. According to biblical tradition, the prophet Elisha was anointed in a cave beneath the synagogue by Elijah, his mentor. The synagogue suffered significant damage during the Syrian war. Militants reportedly looted and vandalized its contents, including Torah scrolls written on deer skin, chandeliers, and religious artifacts. Airstrikes later destroyed it during the government's efforts to expel opposition forces from the area. Today, the synagogue lies in ruins. However, the leader of Syria's Jewish community has received promises from expatriate Jews to fund its reconstruction. Before the war, the synagogue accommodated religious practices for the dwindling Jewish population in Syria. By 2000, only about 120 Jews remained in the country, following the emigration of hundreds after 1992, when the Syrian government lifted restrictions on their migration. While it is unlikely that Jews will return to Syria in significant numbers, rebuilding the historic synagogue could transform it into a cultural and historical landmark, symbolizing the region's rich diversity of civilizations and religions.

Elaborate military tunnel complex linked to Assad’s palace
AFP/January 04, 2025
DAMASCUS: On the slopes of Mount Qasyun which overlooks Damascus, a network of tunnels links a military complex, tasked with defending the Syrian capital, to the presidential palace facing it. The tunnels, seen by an AFP correspondent, are among secrets of president Bashar Assad’s rule exposed since rebels toppled him on December 8. “We entered this enormous barracks of the Republican Guard after the liberation” of Damascus sent Assad fleeing to Moscow, said Mohammad Abu Salim, a military official from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the dominant Islamist group in the alliance that overthrew Assad. “We found a vast network of tunnels which lead to the presidential palace” on a neighboring hill, Salim said. During Assad’s rule, Qasyun was off limits to the people of Damascus because it was an ideal location for snipers — the great view includes the presidential palaces and other government buildings.
It was also from this mountain that artillery units for years pounded rebel-held areas at the gates of the capital. An AFP correspondent entered the Guard complex of two bunkers containing vast rooms reserved for its soldiers. The bunkers were equipped with telecommunications gear, electricity, a ventilation system and weapons supplies.Other simpler tunnels were dug out of the rock to hold ammunition. Despite such elaborate facilities, Syria’s army collapsed, with troops abandoning tanks and other gear as rebels advanced from their northern stronghold to the capital in less than two weeks,. On the grounds of the Guard complex a statue of the president’s brother Bassel Assad, atop a horse, has been toppled and Bassel’s head severed.Bassel Assad died in a 1994 road accident. He had been the presumed successor to his father Hafez Assad who set up the paranoid, secretive, repressive system of government that Bashar inherited when his father died in 2000. In the immense Guard camp now, former rebel fighters use pictures of Bashar Assad and his father for target practice. Tanks and heavy weapons still sit under arched stone shelters. Resembling a macabre outdoor art installation, large empty rusted barrels with attached fins pointing skyward are lined up on the ground, their explosives further away. “The regime used these barrels to bomb civilians in the north of Syria,” Abu Salim said.The United Nations denounced Bashar’s use of such weapons dropped from helicopters or airplanes against civilian areas held by Assad’s opponents during Syria’s years-long civil war that began in 2011.

Syria Says International Flights to and from Damascus to Resume Tuesday
This is Beirut/January 04/2025
Syria said on Saturday the country's main airport in Damascus would resume international flights starting next week after such commercial trips were halted following last month's ousting of president Bashar al-Assad. "We announce we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus International Airport from" Tuesday, state news agency SANA said, quoting Ashhad al-Salibi, who heads the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport. "We reassure Arab and international airlines that we have begun the phase of rehabilitating the Aleppo and Damascus airports with our partners' help, so that they can welcome flights from all over the world," he said. International aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations have already been landing in Syria. Domestic flights have also resumed. Syrian Airlines will resume flights from Damascus to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, starting on Tuesday, an employee told AFP requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. On Thursday, Qatar Airways announced it would resume flights to the Syrian capital after nearly 13 years, starting with three weekly flights from Tuesday. A Qatari official told AFP last month that Doha had offered the new Syrian authorities help in resuming operations at Damascus airport. On December 18, the first flight since Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad on December 8 took off from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country's north, AFP journalists saw.

Israel Confirms Gaza Hostage Talks Have Resumed in Qatar
This is Beirut/With AFP/January 04/2025
Israeli Defense Minister Israël Katz confirmed on Saturday the resumption of indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar for the release of hostages held in Gaza since the Palestinian movement's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The minister informed the relatives of hostage Liri Albag, whose video showing signs of life was released by Hamas on Saturday, about "ongoing efforts to free the hostages, including the Israeli delegation that left on Friday for talks in Qatar," his office stated in a press release. He also mentioned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued "specific directives to continue the negotiations." On Friday, Hamas announced the resumption of negotiations in Doha aimed at securing a truce in Gaza, which would include a "complete cessation of hostilities" between Hamas and Israel and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the region. Netanyahu also spoke with the parents of Liri Albag, a 19-year-old soldier abducted from the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel. "The prime Minister assured the family that Israel continues to work tirelessly for Liri's return home, along with all other hostages, and that efforts are ongoing, even now," his office noted in a statement. Despite intensive diplomacy led by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, no truce has been reached since a week-long ceasefire in late November 2023, during which hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Negotiations held in December in Doha ended in stalemates, with both Hamas and Israel blaming each other for the impasse.

Biden Administration Announces $8 Billion Arms Sale to Israel
This is Beirut/With AFP/January 04/2025
The administration of US President Joe Biden has notified Congress of a planned $8 billion arms sale to Israel, a source familiar with the plan said on Saturday. The State Department "has informally notified Congress of an $8 billion proposed sale of munitions to support Israel's long-term security by resupplying stocks of critical munitions and air defense capabilities," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The preliminary notification gives congressional committees an opportunity to scrutinize the proposed sale ahead of a formal notification to Congress. The weapons package includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to defend against aerial threats; Hellfire AGM-114 missiles; 155mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting; and 500-pound warheads, the official said. The Biden administration has provided Israel with billions in arms aid since Israeli forces launched a massive attack on Hamas militants in Gaza in response to their deadly October 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. The outgoing US president has repeatedly vowed "ironclad" support for Israel. But against the backdrop of a rising Palestinian death toll—now over 45,700, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza—and the increasingly dire conditions facing civilians, the US support has become a sensitive political issue. Many Arab and Muslim Americans, joined by some progressives, vowed not to vote for Biden in the November presidential election unless he halted the weapons aid to Israel. Students on dozens of US campuses protested the aid.
But the official said Saturday that "the president has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its proxy organizations. We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel's defense." Donald Trump, an outspoken supporter of Israel, said during the US presidential campaign that if elected, he would quickly end the Gaza war, although he did not explain how. United Nations officials say as many as 70 percent of those killed in the Gaza hostilities have been women or children, and aid agencies have described harrowing conditions facing civilians. The Biden administration has urged Israel to increase humanitarian aid, but after threatening to curb arms shipments if the aid situation did not improve, it declined in November to do so. Recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed several dozen people, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Russia Vows Response After Downing ATACMS Missiles Targeting Belgorod
This is Beirut/With AFP/January 04/2025
Russia vowed on Saturday to retaliate after it accused Ukraine of firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the border region of Belgorod the previous day. Outgoing US President Joe Biden authorised Kyiv to use the long-range weapons against Russia last year, in a move the Kremlin denounced as a grave escalation of the nearly three-year conflict. "On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile strike against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles," the Russian defence ministry said. "These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation," it added, saying all the missiles were shot down. The ministry said earlier that air defences downed eight ATACMS missiles in total, without saying when or where. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened last year to strike central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued hitting Russian territory with long-range Western weapons. US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview last month he was "very vehemently" opposed to Ukraine using the arms, which he said were "escalating" the conflict. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of fatal attacks on civilians since the year began. A Russian strike on a village in Ukraine's northeast Kharkiv region earlier on Saturday killed a 74-year-old man, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said. Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday it had captured the Ukrainian village of Nadiia, one of the few settlements in the eastern Lugansk region still under Kyiv's control. Moscow advanced by almost 4,000 square kilometres (1,540 square miles) in Ukraine in 2024, according to an AFP analysis, as Kyiv's army struggled with chronic manpower shortages and exhaustion.

1 Dead and 9 Injured in Israeli Raid on Refugee Camp in West Bank
This is Beirut/With AFP/January 04/2025
The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists". An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition". According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings". In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces". "The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Soldier who Blew Up Tesla at Trump Hotel Left Note Saying Blast Was to be a 'Wake Up Call' for US
Asharq Al Awsat/January 04/2025
A highly decorated Army soldier who fatally shot himself in a Tesla Cybertruck just before it blew up outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left notes saying the New Year's Day explosion was a stunt to serve as a “wake up call” for the country’s ills, investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in notes he left on his cellphone that he needed to “cleanse” his mind “of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.” Livelsberger served in the Army since 2006 and deployed twice to Afghanistan. “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives,” Livelsberger wrote in one letter found by authorities and released Friday. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the Trump International Hotel. According to The Associated Press, authorities said that Livelsberger acted alone.
Livelsberger's letters covered a range of topics including political grievances, societal problems and both domestic and international issues, including the war in Ukraine. He said in one letter that the US was “terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”Tesla engineers, meanwhile, helped extract data from the Cybertruck for investigators, including Livelsberger’s path between charging stations from Colorado through New Mexico and Arizona and on to Las Vegas, according to Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren. “We still have a large volume of data to go through,” Koren said Friday. “There’s thousands if not millions of videos and photos and documents and web history and all of those things that need to be analyzed.” The new details came as investigators were still trying to determine whether Livelsberger sought to make a political point with the Tesla and the hotel bearing the president-elect’s name.
Livelsberger harbored no ill will toward President-elect Donald Trump, law enforcement officials said. In one of the notes he left, he said the country needed to “rally around” Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the day of the explosion. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate. “Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues,” Spencer Evans, the FBI special agent in charge in Las Vegas, said Friday. Livelsberger died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Investigators have not yet explained how Livelsberger shot himself inside the Cybertruck while simultaneously igniting fireworks and camp fuel packed inside, causing the explosion. Among the charred items found inside were a handgun at Livelsberger’s feet, another firearm, fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.In recent years Livelsberger confided to Alicia Arritt, a former girlfriend who had served as an Army nurse, that he faced significant pain and exhaustion she attributed to traumatic brain injury. He opened up to Arritt, 39, whom he met and began dating in Colorado in 2018, about exhaustion, pain that kept him up at night, and reliving violence from his deployment in Afghanistan, Arritt said. “My life has been a personal hell for the last year,” he told Arritt in text messages during their early days of dating that she shared with The Associated Press.
The Green Berets are highly trained US Army special forces who specialize in guerrilla warfare and unconventional fighting tactics. Livelsberger rose through the ranks and deployed twice to Afghanistan and served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, according to the Army. He recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died. He was awarded five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Authorities searched a townhouse in Livelsberger's hometown of Colorado Springs Thursday as part of the investigation. Neighbors said the man who lived there had a wife and a baby. Across-the-street neighbor Cindy Helwig said she last saw him when he asked to borrow a tool to fix an SUV.
“He was a normal guy,” said Helwig.The explosion came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 14 people before being shot to death by police. The FBI says they believe Jabbar acted alone and that it is being investigated as a terrorist attack.

Washington: A Final Warning to Tehran Before Military Action
Washington: Elie Youssef/Asharq Al Awsat/January 4, 2025
In a strikingly timed development, leaks and writings have emerged about discussions in the White House regarding potential military options to hit Iran’s nuclear facilities. These deliberations were reportedly in preparation for the scenario where Tehran moves toward producing a nuclear weapon before January 20, the date President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume office. According to Axios, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan presented President Joe Biden with a range of options and scenarios in a confidential meeting several weeks ago. While no new intelligence prompted the meeting and no definitive decision was made, it was part of a contingency planning process in case Iran enriches uranium to 90% purity before Trump’s inauguration. Despite the lack of active discussions on military action, some of Biden’s senior advisors believe the potential acceleration of Iran’s nuclear program, especially following Iran and its proxies’ weakened state in the ongoing conflict with Israel, could compel the US to act. Biden’s advisors, including Sullivan, reportedly view the degradation of Iran’s air defenses and missile capabilities, coupled with the diminished strength of its regional proxies, as factors that improve the chances of a successful strike while minimizing the risks of Iranian retaliation or regional escalation. An American official clarified that Sullivan did not recommend a strike, and Biden has not approved any military action. This leak has been interpreted as a stern warning from Washington to Tehran, particularly to its hardline factions, which dominate the domestic power struggle and push for confrontation, including potential shifts in Iran’s nuclear doctrine. Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, stated that the Biden administration has been concerned about Tehran exploiting the final days of Biden’s term to advance its nuclear weapons program. To address these fears, a contingency plan was developed, Levitt told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The US Military Stands Ready
Richard Nephew, former deputy special envoy for Iran during the Biden administration, argued that while diplomacy might still offer hope, the US must prepare to use military force if negotiations fail. Nephew warned that a maximum pressure strategy to weaken Iran and force it into talks might provoke Tehran to conceal its nuclear materials, build a bomb, or withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Nephew emphasized that striking Iran’s nuclear program could yield strategic benefits beyond simply preventing a dangerous adversary from acquiring nuclear weapons. Such an action could deplete Tehran’s already limited resources, further strain its ability to threaten US interests, and force it to balance rebuilding its nuclear program with replenishing Hezbollah, restoring its missile stockpiles, and addressing its crippling economic challenges—all under continued sanctions. However, Nephew cautioned that a single strike might not be sufficient to significantly weaken Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Achieving this objective could require multiple rounds of strikes, a prolonged US military presence, and an expanded scope of attacks targeting Iranian decision-makers beyond nuclear facilities.

Al-Qaeda has executed Yemeni journalist abducted 9 years ago, says media watchdog
Arab News/January 04/2025
LONDON: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has executed Yemeni journalist Mohamed Al-Maqri after holding him captive for nine years, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Thursday. Al-Maqri, a correspondent for the television channel Yemen Today, was abducted in 2015 while covering an anti-AQAP protest in Al-Mukalla, the capital of the southern governorate of Hadhramaut. He was executed along with 10 other individuals after years of enforced disappearance. “The killing of Mohamed Al-Maqri highlights the extreme dangers Yemeni journalists face while reporting from one of the world’s perilous conflict zones,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim MENA (Middle East and North Africa) program coordinator. “Enforced disappearances continue to endanger their lives.”Rezaian condemned the act and called for accountability, urging all factions in Yemen to abandon such “abhorrent practices.”The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate also condemned the execution, saying it was working with “the relevant authorities to investigate the crime, prosecute the perpetrators, recover the journalist’s body, and deliver it to his family.” Al-Maqri had been held incommunicado by AQAP since Oct. 12, 2015, following his abduction during the protest. The group accused the individuals of “spying against the mujahedeen,” a label the group uses for its fighters. His death underscores the increasing dangers for journalists operating in Yemen, where armed groups have targeted media professionals as part of broader efforts to suppress dissent and control narratives. At least two other Yemeni journalists remain subjected to enforced disappearances, a practice characterized by abduction and the refusal to disclose a person’s fate or whereabouts. Waheed Al-Sufi, the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Al-Arabiya, has been missing since April 2015 and is thought to be being held by the Houthi movement. Naseh Shaker, who was last heard from on Nov. 19, 2024, is believed to be being held by the Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist organization in southern Yemen. Yemen continues to rank among the deadliest countries for journalists, with armed conflict and factional violence leaving media workers vulnerable to abductions, disappearances, and killings.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 04-05/2025
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: Defeat Iran's Oppressive Regime
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/January 04/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/01/138718/
Iran's mullahs would surely love nothing more than to cut a deal with the incoming Trump administration that would enable them to stay in power, build their nuclear weapons and unleash them at a later date.Bribing adversaries to stop only provides funding, which finances their military so they can attack us later with bigger weapons. That is how North Korea and Iran built their nuclear weapons programs. China's was built by direct investment: a gift to kill us from Uncle Sam. Let us please ensure that Iran's brutal theocratic tyranny will be gone for good. So long as it holds power, there will never be a peaceful future for the Middle East. Bribing adversaries to stop only provides funding, which finances their military so they can attack us later with bigger weapons. That is how North Korea and Iran built their nuclear weapons programs. So long as Iran's brutal theocratic tyranny holds power, there will never be a peaceful future for the Middle East. Pictured: John Kerry, then US Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, meets with Iran's then Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on May 17, 2016 in Vienna, Austria. (Image source: US State Department). Rarely in history does an opportunity arise to confront a brutal regime that has not only oppressed its own population but also destabilized the world by support for terrorism and terrorist allies.
The Iranian regime is such a dictatorship. For more than four decades, this regime has systematically crushed the rights and freedoms of its citizens, and silenced dissent through violence, imprisonment and execution.
Beyond its borders, Iran's regime has acted as a malignant force, spreading instability by funding and arming proxy groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, while forming alliances with regimes hostile to the US and the West in regions as far-flung as China and Latin America. The regime's actions have sown chaos and bloodshed across the globe, leaving a trail of destruction and despair. Now, for the first time in decades, the Iranian regime is at its weakest point, presenting a rare moment of unity for its adversaries to strike decisively to ensure a long-term future of stability and peace.
The consequences of missing this opportunity cannot be overstated. History provides a clear warning of what happens when bellicose regimes are given the chance to recover. A prime example is the 2015 "nuclear deal" brokered under President Obama. Just as Iran's economy was collapsing under the weight of international sanctions, Obama's deal allowed the regime to have an unlimited number of nuclear weapons after about a decade. The deal also provided Iran with significant economic relief and global legitimacy. This lifeline not only rejuvenated the regime but also enabled it to expand its hegemonic activities. Billions of dollars flowed into Iran's coffers, fueling the growth of terror organizations much as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, all of which carried out devastating attacks across the Middle East.
Iran also strengthened its ties with Russia by providing arms, which exacerbated the war in Ukraine.
The resurgence of Iran's power, while neglecting to help its own people – 653 of whom it executed in just one year, 2023 -- culminated in acts of violence. These include Hamas's massacres in Israel when the terrorist organization murdered more than 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, and took 251 more people as hostages -- and in direct Iranian aggression against the Jewish state.This trajectory mirrors that of Hitler's Germany, which, after being allowed to rearm, unleashed devastation on an unprecedented scale. It would have been so much less expensive in life and treasure to have stopped Hitler before he crossed the Rhine. The lesson is clear: offering concessions to such regimes only delays the inevitable conflict while giving one's adversary more time to build and strengthen his military capabilities. Today, thanks to Israel's strategic defense, Iran finds itself in its most vulnerable position since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The regime and its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, have suffered devastating losses. Israeli military campaigns have significantly reduced the regime's capacity to project power and destabilize the region. Last month, Iran's strongest ally in the region, the Assad regime in Syria, also collapsed, partly due to the weakened state of Hezbollah, which could no longer prop up Assad's government. With its proxies and allies in disarray, Iran's regional influence has eroded. This geopolitical shift creates a window of opportunity that must not be wasted.
Domestically, Iran also faces unparalleled challenges that threaten its grip on power. Public discontent has reached unprecedented levels, with many citizens from all walks of life calling for regime change. From young women to workers, the Iranian people are united in their call for freedom and justice.
The economy, plagued by hyperinflation, widespread unemployment and recent energy shortages, is in a free-fall that has forced the government to shut down critical industries. The regime's inability to provide basic services has only increased the anger of its population, thereby offering a historic chance to dismantle the regime's oppressive machinery.
The question now is whether the West will seize this moment or allow it to slip away. Iran's mullahs would surely love nothing more than to cut a deal with the incoming Trump administration that would enable them to stay in power, build their nuclear weapons and unleash them at a later date.
Iran's nuclear infrastructure and research facilities must be dismantled or destroyed, to prevent it from becoming a nuclear-armed state capable of threatening global security. Its oil and gas extraction infrastructure, which serves as the primary source of funding for its terrorist activities and internal repression, must be incapacitated to cut off its financial lifelines. Simultaneously, the West must stand firmly with the Iranian people in offering loud, unequivocal support for their aspirations for regime change. Leaders in the West need to follow the example of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has courageously voiced his support for the oppressed Iranian population, perhaps galvanizing a movement that may finally bring an end to decades of tyranny. Appeasement and inaction in the face of tyranny only help to escalate a conflict. Bribing adversaries to stop only provides funding, which finances their military so they can attack us later with bigger weapons. That is how North Korea and Iran built their nuclear weapons programs. China's was built by direct investment: a gift to kill us from Uncle Sam.
Let us please ensure that Iran's brutal theocratic tyranny will be gone for good. So long as it holds power, there will never be a peaceful future for the Middle East.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu.
*Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 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.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21273/defeat-iran-regime

Good growth requires getting public-private partnerships right
Mariana Mazzucato/Arab News/January 04, 2025
The UK’s Labour government has given serious thought to the public investment needed to get the economy back on track after 14 years of austerity, neglect of social infrastructure and capital flight triggered by Brexit and uncertain economic conditions. It understands that the situation demands a new strategy to tackle big problems like child poverty, health inequities, a weak industrial base and struggling public infrastructure.
What should this look like? The UK Department for Business and Trade’s recent industrial strategy green paper, “Invest 2035,” is a promising start. However, in my own response during the public consultation period, I stressed that an industrial strategy should be oriented around key missions like achieving net-zero emissions, rather than around specific sectors, as the government appears to be doing. While the government has set itself five missions, they seem more like goals with some targets, rather than being central to the way government and industry work together.
For Labour to deliver on its agenda, it must get its public-private partnerships right. Historically, public-private collaborations in the UK have involved the state overpaying and the private sector underdelivering. Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, for example, the government secretly gave Nissan £61 million ($75 million) to build new cars in the UK. But Nissan still abandoned a planned expansion at its Sunderland plant and the promised jobs never materialized.
Likewise, under the failed private finance initiative schemes of the 1990s, the state would pay inflated sums to private contractors to operate public services such as prisons, schools and hospitals before handing them back to the state, often in poor condition and without any clear improvement to the service. This approach was widely used in the construction of National Health Service hospitals, with the first 15 contracts generating £45 million in fees — some 4 percent of the capital value of the deals — for advisers across the public and private sector. A UK Treasury analysis later showed that the general costs of the initiatives were double that of government borrowing.
Fortunately, many public-private partnerships globally have produced more positive results. Germany’s national development bank, KfW, offers low-interest loans to companies that agree to decarbonize. Similarly, the French government’s COVID-19 bailout of Air France was conditional on the carrier curbing emissions per passenger and reducing domestic flights; by contrast, the UK bailed out easyJet with no strings attached.
In the US, the CHIPS and Science Act required companies that benefit from public funds to commit to climate and workforce development plans, provide childcare and pay a living wage. Preference is also given to companies that reinvest profits instead of using share buybacks.The UK does have some experience in shaping markets around clear goals. In developing the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the government used a risk- and reward-sharing model in which it provided 95 percent of the funding in exchange for certain commitments from the company. AstraZeneca would provide the first 100 million doses to the UK and allow the government to donate and reassign surplus vaccines. Historically, public-private collaborations in the UK have involved the state overpaying and the private sector underdelivering.
Similarly, Octopus Energy’s acquisition of energy supplier Bulb allowed the UK government to reap £1.5 billion in profit, as Octopus repaid the public support it had received through an earlier profit-sharing deal. This agreement safeguarded jobs and prevented consumers from incurring any extra costs.
With a mission-oriented strategy, the Labour government could scale up and systematize this type of public-private engagement. Rather than being “unreservedly pro-business,” as it claims to be in its green paper, it should ensure that public investment targets clear objectives: to crowd in private capital, create new markets and increase long-term competitiveness.
Consider the UK’s net-zero emissions target, which is not only about clean power but also about how we eat, move and build. The state has a crucial role to play as a first-mover, shaping markets so that private incentives are aligned with public goals. Yet, judged by this standard, recent moves by the Labour government appear to fall short.
For example, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s deals with Macquarie (an investment bank), Blackstone (asset management) and others raised more than £60 billion without setting clear, outcomes-oriented expectations or ensuring that both risks and rewards are shared. Equally, the government’s support of carbon capture and storage (to the tune of £22 billion so far) allows funds to flow to incumbent oil giants without holding them accountable in the green transition.
These deals are structured to achieve growth at any cost, when what the UK really needs is growth that is inclusive and sustainable. That requires better corporate governance to prevent situations like Thames Water (a water and waste utility) being saddled with more than £2 billion in debt after Macquarie became a major shareholder in 2006. As I have said before, growth itself is not a mission; it is the result of public and private investment, and good growth is a result of directed investment. If the UK’s climate transition is going to deliver for people and planet over the long term, the government’s engagement with the private sector must reflect confidence, not capitulation. This can start by deploying tools that the government already has. The new National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy (a publicly owned clean-energy company that is expected to launch early this year) could make a huge difference, but only if policymakers get the implementation right.
For example, the National Wealth Fund should introduce conditionalities for public investments; provide public access to intellectual property and patents for research; create subsidies and other incentives for mission-aligned investments; and use loan guarantees and bailouts to move companies toward decarbonization, improved working conditions and fewer share buybacks. Procurement is also a strong lever, because it represents one-third of the government’s total spending and can direct investment toward strategically important goals.
Ultimately, the UK government must shift from a sectoral approach to a mission-oriented one that embraces a confident, outcomes-oriented form of public-private partnership, incentivizing the private sector to do its part. Labour understands the problem, but its proposed solution still needs some work.
*Mariana Mazzucato is professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London and author, most recently, of “Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism” (Penguin Books, 2022). ©Project Syndicate

Israel needs to know the truth about Oct. 7 catastrophe
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/January 04, 2025
Early last month, the Israeli High Court of Justice instructed the government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin to hold a Cabinet meeting within 60 days to discuss the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to investigate the events of Oct. 7, 2023. By any objective criteria, it beggars belief that 15 months after the worst single day in Israel’s history, and everything that has followed since, the government in office at that time is still at the helm and has not had the common decency and integrity — first and foremost among them Netanyahu — to resign and vacate the political stage. Admittedly, there is an element of naivete in mentioning Netanyahu and his entire Cabinet in the same breath as notions of “integrity” and “decency.” Such virtues are not usually associated with the prime minister and those who self-servingly continue to run the country. But on that disastrous October day they also demonstrated an abominable incompetence and lack of judgment that caused the needless deaths of 1,200 Israelis. That disastrous event exposed a lack of preparedness fueled by a poisonous cocktail of utter misunderstanding of the enemy, the volatility of the situation and Israel’s own contribution to it, and topped by sheer arrogance. But the calamity did not stop there.
The war in Gaza has turned into a multifront conflict costing even more lives, and Netanyahu and the Knesset that he controls are continuing to block the appointment of a state commission of inquiry, thereby betraying those who have lost their lives over the course of this war, those still held hostage by Hamas, and all those whose normal lives have been severely interrupted in the course of serving their country. To say nothing of their country’s plummeting reputation abroad and the risk of more international arrest warrants.
But Netanyahu’s blocking of an independent inquiry is hardly surprising. He has a longstanding record of never taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong on his watch, while taking all the credit for his governments’ few successes, including those he has had little to do with. In their audacity, he and his political allies would like to appoint their own committee to investigate the events of Oct. 7, just as he would have loved to appoint the prosecutors and judges in his corruption trial and thus ensure an outcome that would inevitably exonerate him and find that everyone else was to blame.
Worse, he would prefer an inquiry to conclude that he has been a victim of the “deep state” that deliberately hid crucial information and even misled him as part of a wider conspiracy to bring him down. The real victims, according to the prime minister, are not those killed, maimed, or traumatized for life as a consequence of Oct. 7; not the many thousands of Palestinians who have lost their lives or their homes or been displaced several times over; and not even Israel’s reputation or its crumbling society and crippled democracy. No, the real victims are Netanyahu, his wife, and children. This is the fantasy universe that the current Israeli government wants everyone to believe in.
Netanyahu fears an independent state investigation.
Netanyahu fears an independent state investigation led by a senior judge whose members are independent experts, because he knows that regardless of all that his toxic machinery is pumping out via pandering “journalists“’ and social media, ownership of the colossal failure of Oct. 7 is first and foremost his. How would he explain to them his strategy of allowing hundreds of millions of US dollars to be transferred to Hamas without realizing that this would enable them to build a military capable of badly hurting Israel?
Whatever the intelligence failures of the Israeli military, Shin Bet and Mossad, he was prime minister on that fateful day, and surely the buck must stop at the very top, especially with a top dog who for years has boasted that he is “Mr. Security” and the supreme defender of Israel and its people? Moreover, by polarizing Israeli society for years he has weakened that society, including the military, and this has been an open invitation to its enemies to attack. In his biggest security test, Israel’s leader has failed, and with the most tragic and catastrophic consequences.
The simple truth is that Israel as a nation will not be able to move on until the full truth about every single detail that led to the Oct. 7 massacre and the government’s response sees the light of day. The families of those murdered, captured or raped while serving their country, living in the communities bordering Gaza, or attending the Nova party so close to the border — with, it must be emphasized, the permission of the security forces — as much as those who survived and will probably suffer from trauma for the rest of their lives, have the right to know who failed them by failing to comply with the most basic duty the state has to its citizens: to protect their safety and wellbeing. Those who were taken hostage — and 100 are still in captivity — and their loved ones are entitled to know who abandoned them, and who continues to leave them to their fate, and exactly why the Netanyahu government has declined to reach a ceasefire deal that would see them return home.
An independent inquest into the war in Gaza should also look at the decision to set, as one of the aims of the war without clearly defining it, the total eradication of Hamas, while linking the release of the hostages with military pressure on that extremist organization. That decision, instead of bringing them home, has cost the lives of dozens of the remaining hostages, while the Israeli military is now embroiled in a never-ending war. Israel will not recover as a nation and its international credibility will remain tainted until there is a thorough investigation into why there has been no clear strategy to end the war in Gaza; and no end to the use of massive force also against its civilian population that has already been displaced several times over; to treating the mass deaths and destruction visited upon them as mere collateral damage; and to humanitarian aid being blocked from reaching them.
The investigation must also consider that several Israeli leaders have continued to blame the entire population of Gaza as perpetrators of the Oct. 7 massacre, and that this is one of the main reasons why Israel finds itself accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice and why the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Yoav Galant.
Those are some of the pertinent questions that a state inquest needs to provide answers to, through a meticulous investigation. If, after the last 15 months there remains any hope left for Israel’s recovery and renewal, and for the rebuilding of trust in the state’s institutions, the process must start with the truth of the tragic events on and since Oct. 7, and the holding to account of those responsible.
**Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg

India, GCC can offer the ‘healing touch’ the region needs
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 04, 2025
Over the last decade, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally imparted an unprecedented substance and dynamism to ties with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. This has been achieved through regular high-level interactions with regional leaders, establishment of new platforms for dialogue and monitoring of agreements, and promoting multilateral alignments to enhance economic ties and logistical connectivity. With his visit to Kuwait in December, Modi has now visited every GCC member state. The two sides have made up for lost time with a comprehensive strategic partnership that encompasses defense cooperation, infrastructure development and technology transfer. India’s ties with the GCC have traditionally been anchored on energy, trade, investment and joint ventures, and the presence of the Indian community. India-GCC bilateral trade is about 16 percent of India’s global trade, far ahead of its trade with the EU; the UAE and Saudi Arabia are its third and fourth-largest trade partners. The GCC meets over 50 percent of India’s oil needs, with Qatar being its principal gas supplier. Countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are major investors in India’s infrastructure and energy projects. The Indian community, numbering nearly 9 million, remains the largest expatriate group in every country of the GCC. The community has a presence across the entire economic gamut of every GCC country, from business tycoons to professionals to blue-collar workers. Indian enterprises in the GCC countries are valued at several billion dollars and employ millions of GCC citizens. India has also broadened its regional horizons by associating itself with extra-regional cooperation initiatives, such as the I2U2, that brings together the US, Israel, the UAE, and India, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that envisages logistical connectivity from India to the Arabian Peninsula and from there to Europe.
Reflecting the high level of mutual trust and substantial strategic convergence, India and the GCC have made considerable progress in security and defense cooperation, including India’s joint naval and army exercises with the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. India is also part of a trilateral India-France-UAE defense partnership, with the three countries engaging in maritime exercises in 2023 and an air force exercise in 2024. On the basis of these diverse bilateral engagements, India and the GCC have recently institutionalized dialogue between India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and the foreign ministers of the GCC countries. The first India-GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue took place in Riyadh in September last year. At this conclave, the Indian minister described the GCC as India’s “extended neighborhood” and affirmed that the partnership would be founded on “three Ps” — people, prosperity and progress.
India has supported Palestinian aspirations for a sovereign state for several decades.
The dialogue concluded with a four-year joint action plan that prioritized security cooperation in the areas of defense, industrial collaboration, and military exercises. The conclave also identified other areas of crucial importance for cooperation, such as food and energy security, strategic trade routes and maritime security, and cybersecurity. This joint action plan has emerged just six months after the GCC, for the first time in its 43-year history, has set out a shared strategic vision for regional stability founded on the “shared destiny” and “indivisible security” of its members.
The GCC vision has a common understanding of matters that impinge on regional stability which include economic development, the environment, stability of global energy markets, besides challenges relating to terrorism and extremism, maritime security, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The vision envisages joint efforts by the bloc to pursue dispute resolution through diplomacy. This sense of mutual understanding and camaraderie among GCC members was recently evident in the communique of the 45th GCC Summit that took place in Kuwait in December. The assembled heads of state took a tough position against the killing and destruction perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, and affirmed their support for Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
It is true that earlier, GCC members had on their own been playing an active role in promoting regional stability as mediators in major conflict situations, such as Oman’s role in facilitating US-Iran discussions; Qatar’s recent crucial role in handling the Israel-Hamas divide; the Saudi role in the Sudan conflict, and the UAE’s role in facilitating prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine. The GCC is now looking at making a joint effort to address regional security challenges, in association with appropriate international partners.
This opens a new opportunity for India-GCC cooperation. Given the substantial ties in the security area that have emerged between India and the GCC, India can now work closely with the GCC states to address regional security concerns. It is well-equipped for this challenge. Its millennia-old civilizational ties with the region have created a high level of cultural comfort and mutual respect. India also has crucial and abiding interests in regional stability and has cultivated the closest possible relations with the diverse states in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Iran, and Israel.
Above all, India has supported Palestinian aspirations for a sovereign state for several decades, and has excellent credentials to support the GCC’s commitment to realize these aspirations after the horrendous blood-letting the region has seen in recent months.
In association with its GCC partners, India can provide the healing touch that the Middle East desperately needs.
**Talmiz Ahmad is a former Indian diplomat.

How the collapse of law and order in Gaza has impeded the humanitarian response
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/January 04, 2025
LONDON: Lawlessness has become a grim feature of daily life in the Gaza Strip, where gangs now routinely attack aid convoys bringing much-needed assistance into the embattled territory, crippling the international relief effort.
Already struggling under the pressure of Israeli restrictions on aid entering the enclave, the theft of these deliveries has compounded the humanitarian crisis, leaving scores of civilians to die from cold, dehydration, and malnutrition.
Those convoys that avoid the gangs then run the gauntlet of air attacks as Israel pounds northern Gaza in its ongoing offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Men stand guard on the side of trucks carrying humanitarian aid as a convoy drives on the main Salah al-Din road in the Nuseirat refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 7, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (AFP)
Tom Fletcher, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, has sounded the alarm about the worsening humanitarian situation, describing the context for aid delivery as among “the most dangerous” in the world.
“We deal with tough places to deliver humanitarian support,” he said in a statement on Dec. 23. “But Gaza is currently the most dangerous, in a year when more humanitarians have been killed than any on record.”
As of late November, at least 333 humanitarian aid workers had been killed in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel sparked the conflict, according to UN figures. Most of the casualties are staff of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. UN and US officials have accused Israel of failing to prevent gangs from looting aid convoys in Gaza, despite an October pledge to act quickly to improve the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave.
Israel denies deliberately restricting aid to Gaza or ignoring the proliferation of gangs and organized crime. It also accuses Hamas of diverting aid.
Cold winter conditions have made matters even worse for Gaza’s children. On Dec. 26, at least three infants died from hypothermia in Al-Mawasi refugee camp as temperatures dropped, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Exacerbating the situation, the Israeli government voted in October to ban UNRWA — the sole provider of aid to more than 2 million people in Gaza — starting from January. The ban follows Israeli claims that nine UNRWA staff were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Robert Blecher, director of the Future of Conflict program at International Crisis Group, believes Israel is “within its rights to block UNRWA on, say, national security grounds, so long as that exclusion in and of itself does not deprive civilians of aid.”
He told Arab News that although international humanitarian law “requires the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid to those in need,” it “does not specify who must be permitted to deliver the aid.”Two Israeli officials told The Times of Israel newspaper that the government has considered hiring private contractors to secure and deliver relief in Gaza, preventing diversion by Hamas and other armed groups.
Blecher described the issue of private security contractors distributing food as a question of “feasibility,” saying: “Theoretically speaking, if the private security contractors were to be brought in as part of a political agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to solve a technical problem, then yes, their involvement could be feasible. “There would still be challenges of accountability and capacity, as well as a broader chipping away at the global humanitarian system, but in theory, it could work.”
Nevertheless, there are doubts about whether a state, whose prime minister and former minister of defense have been accused by the International Criminal Court of weaponizing starvation, would follow through with such a plan.
“If private security contractors are brought in without a political agreement as a replacement for Israeli soldiers, they will be seen as occupiers and treated as such,” said Blecher. “That’s the more likely scenario.”
Under international humanitarian law, Israel, classified as an occupying power in Gaza, is obligated to “take all the measures in its power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety.”In addition, Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention requires Israel to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies to the population, while Article 56 mandates the maintenance of medical and hospital services, as well as public health and hygiene, in the occupied territory.
“It seems pretty clear to everyone that Israel is the occupying power and therefore is responsible for the well-being of the civilian population,” Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Arab News.
“Obviously, almost everything that Israel is doing is contrary to that.”
He added: “It has heavily restricted food and humanitarian aid as a matter of policy. That was clear from day one in the pronouncements of Israeli leaders. And it’s been clear ever since. “Now, many different groups have concluded — including Oxfam, humanitarian organizations, human rights groups, and even agencies within the US government — that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.”
Tightening the noose on Gaza’s war-stricken population are the rising attacks on aid convoys. In October, $9.5 million worth of food and other goods were looted, representing nearly a quarter of all the humanitarian aid sent to Gaza that month, according to UN figures. Preliminary data indicates that looting in November was significantly worse. In one of the single worst incidents, in mid-November, a 109-truck convoy chartered by UN agencies was attacked shortly after it was permitted to pass through a southern Gaza border crossing at night, several hours earlier than previously scheduled, according to Reuters.
Although they were stationed nearby, Israeli troops reportedly did not intervene as gunmen from multiple gangs surrounded the convoy, forced the drivers out, and stole flour and other food items. Despite the deconfliction process, in which humanitarian groups share their coordinates and agree with Israeli authorities on when and how aid is delivered, relief convoys “are still being targeted,” making it “very difficult to deliver anything,” said Elgindy. “That’s why in many instances, we’ve seen groups like UNRWA, World Central Kitchen, and others have to suspend their aid operations in certain moments and certain places because they can’t guarantee the safety of those delivering the aid.”
Israeli forces have also been implicated in attacks on aid convoys, although they have denied deliberately targeting them. In one such attack in April, Israeli drone operators fired on three World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven aid workers and forcing the nongovernmental organization to pause operations in Gaza. In an effort to restore order after Israel began targeting police officers in early 2024, citing their role in Hamas governance, Hamas told the BBC in November it was working on a plan to restore security to 60 percent of Gaza within a month, up from less than 20 percent. And while some Gazans in the south welcomed the effort, others saw it as an attempt to take control of lucrative black markets.
Indeed, some Palestinians on social media have reported having to buy items that were originally intended for aid distribution. Israel “has not allowed Hamas — the governing authority in Gaza — to regroup even as a civilian force, as a police force,” said Elgindy. In the absence of law and order, he said Gaza has descended into a situation governed by “the law of the jungle. “Whoever has guns — gangs and armed groups — will commandeer aid,” he said. “There have also been cases where Israeli authorities are within eyesight of the looting and they do not intervene.”Israel is therefore “not meeting any of its obligations” under international humanitarian law, “not even in the most minimal sense of providing for the welfare of the civilian population.”