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UN refugee chief urges rapid response for Lebanon displaced

24 July 2006


UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said Monday that his agency is positioning more than 500 tonnes of relief supplies along the Syria-Lebanon border but urgently needs assurances of safe passage to deliver the supplies to tens of thousands of displaced people. “The plight of the displaced in Lebanon is growing more difficult by the hour and it’s crucial that we get the humanitarian pipeline flowing now,” said Guterres. “UNHCR is trucking some 40 trailers loaded with over 500 tonnes of aid supplies from our regional warehouse in Jordan to Syria. It’s frustrating that we can’t deliver this aid, particularly when there are thousands of uprooted civilians in Lebanon who desperately need it.” 

Who condemns the victimizer?

Maarten Jan Hijmans and Fadi Hirzalla 25 July 2006


With regard to Israel’s “defense” rhetoric, one should pose some key questions and consider the obvious irrefutability of their answers. Does Israel’s violence safeguard the life of the three kidnapped soldiers? No; rather it jeopardizes their safety. Does Israel’s policy of throwing bombs bring about peace? No; on a structural level Israel’s policy exacerbates the grass root level anti-Israel sentiments fundamental to Hezbollah’s existence. It also explains why Hezbollah is now shooting its missiles on Israel. Is Israel’s violence legitimate? No; Israel’s violence is, first and foremost, to the detriment of innocent civilians, not Hezbollah or Hamas. 

Annan heads to Rome conference in search of concrete measures on Lebanon

24 July 2006


With violence continuing to tear through Lebanon for a twelfth day, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan leaves for Rome today for an international meeting aimed at resolving the crisis, expressing hope that concrete measures will emerge from discussions there.”“What is important is that we leave Rome with a concrete strategy as to how we are going to deal with this and we do not walk away empty-handed and once again dash the hopes of those who are caught in this conflict,” Mr. Annan told reporters at UN headquarters in New York before his departure. 

"Live blogging" from the warzone

Rhys Blakely 22 July 2006


“LIVE blogging” from the warzone emerged as the key weapon in the “electronic intifada” that erupted in Lebanon as Israel bombarded the country. In Beirut, residents were counting down the clock until today -the point at which Lebanese bloggers such as Hanady figured the last foreigners would have been evacuated. “By Saturday, there will only be those who have nowhere else to go,” he wrote. Beirut blogger Mazen Kerbaj created a more surreal piece of reportage: a music track using samples of Israeli attacks. “I recorded two hours of bombs + trumpet from my balcony yesterday night,” he wrote. 

A War Between Neighbors, Seen From Their Back Yard

Howard Kurtz 24 July 2006


Even stories about the evacuation of Westerners from Lebanon have drawn partisan fire. Electronic Intifada, a Web site that “strives to bring the Palestinian narrative front and center,” says: “On Tuesday, when at least 35 Lebanese were killed … we had the BBC’s Ben Brown in Beirut giving a blow-by-blow account of every facet of the evacuation of foreign nationals in general and British nationals in particular. If anyone doubted the racism of our Western media, here it was proudly on display. Lebanese and Palestinian civilians die unnoticed by the Western media while we learn of onboard sleeping arrangements on the ship bound for Cyprus.” 

Protests against Israeli aggression all over Europe

Adri Nieuwhof 24 July 2006


In Europe, we are seeing the emergence of a strong movement against the Israeli occupation and against its war with Lebanon. Since Israel’s aggression began a couple of weeks ago, people have raised their voice in at least fifty-seven cities1 all over Europe, not only to denounce the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, but also to ask the United Nations and European governments to take action to stop this. The Bush administration was harshly criticised for its unbending support of Israel and for human rights abuses in its so called “war on terrorism”. In this article, Adri Nieuwhof assesses how far the movement has come. 

Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon

24 July 2006


Israel has used artillery-fired cluster munitions in populated areas of Lebanon, Human Rights Watch said today. Researchers on the ground in Lebanon confirmed that a cluster munitions attack on the village of Blida on July 19 killed one and wounded at least 12 civilians, including seven children. Human Rights Watch researchers also photographed cluster munitions in the arsenal of Israeli artillery teams on the Israel-Lebanon border. “Cluster munitions are unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “They should never be used in populated areas.” 

ICRC: Food stocks and medical supplies running low in Lebanon

24 July 2006


Food stocks in many parts of Lebanon are running low. Water shortages are already affecting several villages in southern Lebanon owing to a lack of electricity and fuel. In certain areas, shortages of medical supplies in health-care facilities are feared in the near future. In the Tyre district, an estimated 110,000 people (20,000 families), both displaced people and residents, may soon run out of water and food. In many southern villages, dead bodies remain buried under rubble. In the city of Tyre, the number of internally displaced people is fluctuating greatly as people flee northwards. 

Lebanon: Heavy exchanges of fire continue

22 July 2006


Heavy exchanges of fire continued along the length of the Blue Line in the last 24 hours, with somewhat reduced intensity. A smaller number of Hezbollah rockets were fired from various locations. The IDF continued the shelling and aerial bombardment of the south, but also on a comparatively lower scale. Early this morning, the IDF withdrew to the Israeli side from the Lebanese territory in the area of Marwahin in the western sector. The IDF is still present on the ground inside Lebanese territory in the area of Marun Al Ras in the central sector. There were reports of limited reinforcements in their presence in that area. 

Lebanon: Heavy exchanges of fire continue

23 July 2006


Heavy exchanges of fire continued with the same intensity along the length of the Blue Line in the last 24 hours. Hezbollah fired rockets from various locations, and the IDF continued the shelling and aerial bombardment. The IDF is still present on the ground inside Lebanese territory in the area of Marun Al Ras in the central sector, including inside the village itself. There were seven incidents of firing close to UN positions from the Israeli side during the past 24 hours, mainly due to aerial bombardment in the area of the patrol base of the Observer Group Lebanon in Khiam.