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Hallucinations

Hanady Salman Beirut 8 August 2006


A man steps inside his house. It’s a nice house, overlooking the beach. The man, however, doesn’t even look towards the window. He rushes to the kitchen, hugs his wife, takes his daughter into his arms, and makes funny faces to his toddler, trying to make him smile. The man looks tired, he hasn’t shaved in a while, and he certainly needs a shower. He takes a shower, eats lunch with his family, hands his wife a sum of money and goes to bed. The wife calls the children to go with her to the supermarket: they’ll shop for food and toys from the husband’s wage. The dad is an Israeli soldier. He works hard, Marwa knows that. 

No escaping the consequences of this war

Hasan Abu Nimah 9 August 2006


When the orgy of destruction stops and the dust of battle settles, leaders in most countries of the region and worldwide will retreat behind safe doors to assess the outcome. Israel’s latest war has placed the region at the doorstep of a new, and a totally different era. Hardly any country will escape the consequences. Israel may have the most on its post-war menu. The war has shaken the foundations of matters once taken for granted. It has underlined that Israel’s security cannot be guaranteed by military superiority alone, even with unlimited support from a superpower. 

Beirut Streamtime: Global Webcast

9 August 2006


Outraged at Israel’s ongoing aggression on Lebanon - which since July 12 2006 has killed over 900 people (mostly civilians), displaced nearly one million people (1/4 of Lebanon’s entire population), and wrecked Lebanon’s infrastructure and economy - we say: khalas! enough! We call for an immediate end to the violence and destruction. We call on the international community to open its eyes - and on you to make your voice heard. With our fellow activists, artists and other bloggers in Lebanon - and input from Iraq - we will produce a collaborative global webcast on Saturday August 12, from 9 to 11 p.m. Central European Time/10-12 p.m. Lebanon time. 

Peace Between Hizbullah and Israel? It Almost Happened

Nicholas Noe 8 August 2006


While it is certainly true that Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, has long called for Israel’s “disappearance,” it is important to remember, especially now as the wheels of international diplomacy finally seem to turn, that Nasrallah and leading Hizbullah figures at one point accepted that a regional peace agreement involving Syria, Lebanon and Israel would end Hezbollah’s state of belligerency in the region. In 1997, Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Ayatollah Mohajerani had proclaimed in 1998 that, “if Israel withdraws from South Lebanon with guarantees for fixed and secure borders, there will be no further need for Hizbullah’s resistance operation there.” 

Reprisals against Civilians: Israeli violations in Gaza 25 June-31 July

7 August 2006


Since 25 June 2006, the Gaza Strip has been witnessing unprecedented deterioration in the humanitarian situation, the harshest such development since the unilateral disengagement plan in September 2005. The whole Gaza Strip is the subject of a wide scale IOF military operation. The IOF operation comes after the paramilitary operation conducted by three Palestinian resistance factions, including the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). The Palestinian operation was conducted on 25 June 2006 against an IOF outpost in the Karm Abu Salem area, southeast of Rafah. 

Tens of thousands call for immediate ceasefire

3 August 2006


An urgent petition signed by over 35,000 people and backed by 16 leading agencies was handed in today to Tony Blair, pressing him to call for an immediate ceasefire in the current Middle East crisis. The petition, signed following advertisements published in three national newspapers just four days ago, reflects public unease about the UK’s failure to seek an immediate ceasefire. War on Want’s Louise Richards said: “More innocent lives will be lost unless there is an immediate ceasefire. The longer violence continues the further political leaders will be from resolving not only the present crisis, but its fundamental cause, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” 

Hospitals in Gaza overwhelmed and running out of supplies

8 August 2006


Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have seen a significant increase in war casualties with severe injuries over the past month and are running out of medical supplies, Merlin said today. After a recent attack in Gaza City, 75 per cent of war-wounded patients admitted at one hospital needed amputations, Merlin’s emergency assessment team was told. In the past six weeks, doctors at this hospital have carried out amputations on more than 50 patients and have been forced to cancel 800 routine operations in order to deal with the rising number of emergency cases. 

South lacks medication for chronic diseases

8 August 2006


Aid agencies and doctors in south Lebanon say there is a growing shortage of medication for chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and AIDS. Unless Israeli-imposed travel restrictions ease, thousands of people receiving treatment will suffer. “Many people remain in the villages near the border, who have been taking treatments for years and now suddenly their supply is cut,” said Hakim Khalji, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) coordinator in the port city of Tyre. MSF is providing medical supplies to people in and around Tyre but is not making deliveries of chronic disease medication to outlying villages because of dangerous conditions created by the conflict. 

Hezbollah ballbearing rockets maximise injuries

8 August 2006


Doctors are concerned that Hezbollah’s use of ballbearings in many of the rockets fired into northern Israel is increasing the number of casualties: 36 civilians have been killed so far, according to Israeli authorities. “These bullets [ballbearings] cause damaging penetrative injuries,” said Dr Eran Tal-or, the attending physician at the trauma unit in Haifa’s Rambam Hospital. “If the bullet is lodged in the brain, for example, we wouldn’t even try to get it out because we would cause even more damage. And if it cuts a major artery, then you will be dead in no time.” 

Fuel shortages threaten hospital services

8 August 2006


Lebanese officials have said that hospitals are threatened with closure as a result of severe fuel shortages nationwide.”Hospitals are currently functioning properly, but their fuel reserve can [only] last for one week,” Lebanese Health Minister Mohammed Khalife told IRIN. Lebanon is tapping into its fuel reserves to supply some hospitals, but the real issue is the difficulty in transporting the fuel around the country, Khalife said. Bombed roads and bridges are making access to some areas of Lebanon almost impossible. With Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s threatening on Monday to escalate attacks on infrastructure, the situation has become more critical.