War Diary: Day 155
Hala Abdallah 2024-03-09 22:57 - Reading : less than a minute
This is Beirut brings you a daily recap of the situation in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Here are the main highlights for March 9th, 2024.
War in the Middle East
Gaza: Mossad Chief Meets CIA Counterpart for Hostage Release
This Is Beirut 2024-03-09 20:26 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Israel said on Saturday its spy chief had met with his US counterpart as part of efforts to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza. "The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, met yesterday (Friday) with the head of the CIA, Bill Burns, as part of the ceaseless efforts to advance another hostage release deal," Prime Minister Benjamin ...
South Lebanon: Five Dead and Over Nine Injured in Nighttime Raid
This Is Beirut 2024-03-09 19:57 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Five people were killed and more than nine injured in a raid on Saturday night carried out by the Israeli army on a house in Khirbet Selm, in southern Lebanon, as artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah intensified in the evening. Earlier today, two other people were injured in a raid on Dhayra, with Israel conducting several raids on ...
US Official Urges Lebanon to Take Measures Against Hamas Funding Flow
This Is Beirut 2024-03-09 17:34 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Jesse Baker, deputy assistant secretary of the US Treasury for Asia and the Middle East in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, pressed the Lebanese authorities to take “proactive measures” to prevent funds from being channeled to Hamas through Lebanon, according to a US Treasury official, who spoke with AP on condition of ...
Aid Boat Prepared to Sail from Cyprus to Gaza
This Is Beirut 2024-03-09 13:34 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
A boat carrying desperately needed aid for war-ravaged Gaza, where the UN has repeatedly warned of famine, was prepared to sail from Cyprus as deadly fighting raged on Saturday between Israeli troops and Hamas militants ahead of Ramadan. The sea route aims to counter access restrictions, which humanitarians and Western governments have blamed on ...
Southern Lebanon: Violent Wildfires on Jabal el-Labbouneh
This Is Beirut 2024-03-09 11:13 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
A precarious calm prevailed on Saturday morning in southern Lebanon after a long night marked by violent bombardments on the Jabal el-Labbouneh forests, one of the largest in the region, igniting wildfires within these woods. Since the start of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on October 8, the Hebrew state has ...
Canada and Sweden Resume Funding UNRWA
This Is Beirut 2024-03-09 11:09 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Canada and Sweden resumed their funding to UNRWA, more than one month after suspending it. Canada and Sweden announced that they will resume funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), more than a month after suspending it in line with about 15 other countries. On Saturday, Sweden said it was resuming aid to the cash-strapped UN ...
Building an Aid Port Off Gaza is "Cynical", Criticized a UN expert
This Is Beirut 2024-03-08 21:32 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
A UN expert described US President Joe Biden's statement on the construction of a port in Gaza to facilitate food aid, as "cynical". The announcement was made during his annual State of the Union address on Thursday. US President pleaded with Israel to let more aid into the blockaded territory. "A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in ...
War Diary: Day 154
Chelsea Al Arif 2024-03-08 21:32 - Reading : less than a minute
This Is Beirut brings you a daily recap of the situation in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Here are the main highlights for March 8th, 2024.
Blinken Says 'Ball in Court' of Hamas on Ceasefire
This Is Beirut 2024-03-08 21:26 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Antony Blinken Palestine Hamas
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that it remained up to Hamas to accept a ceasefire with Israel, as hopes dimmed for a new truce in the five-month-old war. "The issue is Hamas," Blinken said, a day after President Joe Biden called in his State of the Union address for an "immediate" six-week truce that would allow humanitarian aid ...
The Armed Wing of Hamas Declares 'No Compromise' on the Truce
This Is Beirut 2024-03-08 21:24 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Hamas's armed wing said Friday there would be no compromise on the movement's demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza to secure the release of hostages seized in the October 7 attack. "Our top priority to reach a prisoner exchange deal is the complete commitment for the halt of aggression and an enemy withdrawal. There is no compromise on this," ...
Gaza Airdrop Reportedly Kills 5 and Wounds 10
This Is Beirut 2024-03-08 19:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
A medic at Gaza's largest hospital said Friday a humanitarian airdrop in the north of the Palestinian territory killed five people and wounded ten. The casualties were taken to Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital, the emergency room's head nurse, Mohammed al-Sheikh, told AFP. Sheikh said the deadly airdrop occurred north of the coastal Al-Shati ...