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Decrying civilian deaths in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Annan urges parties to talk

9 August 2006


Cautioning that the media’s focus on Lebanon should not detract attention from the need to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today spoke out against the killing of civilians on both sides, noting that Israeli attacks have caused hundreds of deaths, and called for the parties to resume dialogue. “The Secretary-General is greatly concerned that the tragic events in Lebanon and northern Israel should not distract from the urgent need to work towards a solution to the current crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement. 

UN Human Rights Council to hold special session on Friday to discuss Lebanon

8 August 2006


With a quarter of Lebanon’s population forced to flee their homes and violence claiming lives daily in the conflict between Hizbollah and Israel, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday to discuss the worsening situation in the war-ravaged country. The President of the Council decided to convene the special session in response to a request from Tunisia on behalf of the Group of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which was supported in total by 16 Member States, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a press release today. 

Crisis worsens Gaza's already severe water shortage

Sabine Dolan 8 August 2006


The water point in the southern Gaza town of Joret al Lout is the only place to get drinkable water for the more than 10,000 people who live there. Half of those in the poor and densely populated community are children. Many can be seen at the water point, filling bottles and jerry cans. Children like Mahmoud Abdullah, 13, help as best they can with the severe shortage of safe water. “We are filling water bottles because we have no drinkable water at home, and if water is available it is salty,” says Mahmoud. People in Joret al Lout have not had drinkable running water in their homes since 28 June, when the region’s only power plant was bombed. 

UN agencies rush aid to help Lebanese and others who have fled to Syria

9 August 2006


Seeking to help ease the plight of thousands of civilians who have fled fighting in Lebanon for Syria, United Nations agencies are rushing aid to the country as part of the overall effort to assist civilians caught in the crossfire of the Middle East conflict. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has focused its attention on the youngest victims, organizing immunization campaigns to protect them from diseases such as polio, mumps, measles, rubella and meningitis. The agency has also provided 150,000 capsules of vitamin A to be distributed to all affected children in a bid to boost their immune system. 

UNIFIL's work hampered as Israel denies consent for convoy to move

9 August 2006


Exchanges of fire continued in the past 24 hours with high intensity throughout the UNIFIL area of operations. Hezbollah fired rockets from various locations. The IDF intensified shelling and aerial bombardment across the south, especially in the areas of: Labouneh - south east of Naqoura; At Tiri in the central sector; and Khiyam in the eastern sector. The IDF has maintained their presence and continued to operate inside Lebanese territory in different areas. It seems that the IDF attempted to make limited advances towards Labouneh, in the area west of Bint Jubayl, towards Qantarah, and in the direction of Khiyam. In Mays al Jabal the IDF demolished ten homes. 

Support for Hezbollah strengthens with every bombed Beirut building

Daniel McGrory 9 August 2006


With most nightclubs, bars, shops and cinemas closed and with few other distractions left to them, increasing numbers are turning to the internet to express their misery, hopes and worries. Contributors work by candlelight, their computers powered by batteries because much of the city is fortunate if it gets two hours of electricity. One site, called Electronic Lebanon, has had 2.5 million hits. Antiwar petitions and cartoons are exchanged by e-mail, along with photographs of Lebanon’s dead and injured. The bloggers also swap their black humour about how it feels to be Beiruti today. 

Hypocrisy and the clamor against Hizbullah

Jonathan Cook 9 August 2006


On Tuesday, the BBC’s Katya Adler reported from the northern community of Kiryat Shmona, which has taken the heaviest pounding from Hizbullah rockets and from which many of the local residents have fled over the past month. As she stood on a central street describing the difficult conditions under which the remaining families were living, she had to shout over the rythmic bark of what sounded like an Israeli tank close by firing into Lebanon. She made no mention of what was doing the firing — and given the censorship laws, my assumption is she cannot. But it does raise the question of how much of a civilian target Kiryat Shmona really is. 

Behind the media's Gazan blind spot

Nigel Parry 9 August 2006


As the Israeli war on Lebanon continues to dominate world headlines, Israel’s nearly one-sided war against Gaza seems to be taking place in a relative media blind spot. United Nations humanitarian agencies estimated on August 3rd that 1,050 Israeli artillery shells were fired into Gaza in the preceding week and “…since 28 June, 175 Palestinians have been killed, including approximately 40 children and eight women, and over 620 injured in the Gaza Strip… Palestinians have fired on average between 8-9 homemade rockets per day towards Israel (319 in total) and the Israeli military has fired on average 200-250 artillery shells per day into the Gaza Strip and conducted at least 220 aerial bombings.” 

Rhythms of Resistance: A Benefit Concert for the Sanayeh Relief Center

9 August 2006


Tadamon! Montreal, in collaboration with local musicians and artists, presents a benefit concert in solidarity with the people of Lebanon. All proceeds will be donated to the Sanayeh Relief Center, which operates in central Beirut, providing frontline humanitarian aid to thousands of internally displaced Lebanese. The all-volunteer center also provides essential information through its newsfeed, bombardment maps and independent media, and organises political action against the complicity of the “international community” in the aggression. 

Arab Journalists demonstrate against the Israeli mass media coverage of the war on Lebanon

9 August 2006


Following an initiative by the I’lam Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel, dozens of Arab journalists demonstrated on, Monday, 7 August 2006, at 18:30, addressing the Israeli, Arab and international broadcasting stations regarding their coverage of the war on Lebanon. The demand made was for the Israeli mass media to maintain their ethical compass and refrain from blindly follow the war drums. It was felt that there has been a blatant disregard by the Israeli media of their ethical responsibility as journalistic professionals to provide the necessary information to encourage enlightened public opinion.