Muhsin Melhem will never forget the tragedy of 12 August. Just two days before a United Nations-brokered ceasefire brought hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah to an end, Israeli jets fired on Al-Haikha Bridge in Akkar, 40 km north-east of Beirut. Melhem’s son Ali, 18, was instantly killed in the air strike. His other two sons, Mohammad, 13, and Ghassan, 27, were severely wounded. “I don’t know how can we survive and overcome this tragedy,” said Melhem when IRIN first spoke to him on 17 August. Melhem is a poor farmer from the village of Akkar, around 40 km north-east of the capital. He depended on his working sons to support the family. Read more about Muhsin's voice is heard 

The United Nations is sending four independent human rights experts to Lebanon and Israel to gather facts about abuses during the recent conflict there. “The independent human rights experts will gather first-hand information, establish facts and conduct an impartial legal analysis of the persistent allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law during the recent conflict in order to make specific recommendations to the concerned authorities,” the UN said in a news release. In Lebanon from 7 to 10 September and in Israel the following three days, the experts will meet with government officials. Read more about UN human rights experts head to Lebanon, Israel to probe violations 

A newly-published assessment of health facilities in Lebanon shows that a quarter of those examined are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility, and that water and fuel shortages remain a serious concern. At the same time, demands on the health system are growing given the numbers of people injured during the conflict, and people returning to their communities requiring health care. The assessment, by the Lebanon Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, looked at more than 400 health facilities in Lebanon in the areas most affected by the conflict. Read more about Lebanon health facilities have suffered considerable damage 

The crises and problems of the Middle East will be at the forefront of a busy Security Council programme this month, Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece, which holds the Council presidency for September, said today as he outlined the 15-member body’s schedule. The situation in Lebanon following the cessation of hostilities last month between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah, events in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the question of Iran’s nuclear ambitions are among the issues likely to be discussed. Secretary-General Kofi Annan may brief the Council on his current trip to the Middle East after he returns to UN Headquarters in New York. Read more about Middle East crisis expected to top Security Council agenda in September 

Now that war is over, farmers are returning to their land in southern Lebanon only to find their crops destroyed and their livelihoods ruined while unexploded bombs are hampering recovery. Wafi Al-Khishin fled his banana plantation in Ras Al-Ain, outside Tyre in southern Lebanon, when Isreali air-strikes began in July to stay with relatives some 80 km away in the capital Beirut. “When we came back, we found much of our land and crops burnt,” said Al-Khishin. “And what was not destroyed directly has died because of a lack of irrigation throughout the war.” Read more about Unexploded bombs hamper rural recovery 

Thirty-four days of Israeli bombardment have left many residential areas in south Lebanon without power. Towns and villages, particularly those nearest the border with Israel, are strewn with damaged power lines along the roads. “This is what remains of our electricity lines,” said 12-year-old Ali, resident of Qantara village, pointing to lines a few feet away from him. “Nothing.” Qantara is about 70 km south of Beirut and just a few kilometres north of the Israeli border. South Lebanon bore the brunt of Israel’s military offensive against the armed wing of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party. Read more about Power shortages could last months in south 

In spite of damage caused to Lebanon’s health sector by a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, its primary health care sector is coping, according to aid agencies. “People now have access to primary health services in most affected areas,” said Dr Sarmad Suleiman, World Health Organisation (WHO) team leader in Tyre, 80 km south of the capital Beirut. With a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in place since 14 August, humanitarian assistance from the Lebanese government and international aid agencies has been reaching the majority of areas most affected by the conflict with vastly greater ease. Read more about Despite war damage, hospitals meet patients' needs 

Lebanese troops today moved into more areas of the south of the country after Israeli forces withdrew, the United Nations said, as it continued to coordinate the deployment and stepped up its work to clear the masses of deadly unexploded ordnance that litter the countryside. “The Lebanese Army has started the deployment in the general area of Bastra and the area south of the Kafr Shuba and Shaba villages in the Eastern part of South Lebanon where the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) withdrew on 30 August,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a press release. Read more about Lebanese army deploys in more areas of the south; UN helps clear deadly ordnance