Will the Streets Drown in Garbage?
MTV has learned that the streets of Beirut and its suburbs could be overwhelmed with garbage during Eid al-Adha, due to the Finance Minister's refusal to approve payments owed to waste collection and sorting companies.
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MTV Lebanon
an hour ago
- MTV Lebanon
Media Office Walid Fayad: Minister Saddi could have canceled the tender had he not been convinced of its suitability
Despite the accusatory tone adopted by the media office of the current Minister of Energy and Water, Mr. Joe Saddi, the substance of the statement issued on June 6 confirms the position previously expressed by former Minister Dr. Walid Fayad during his interview with MTV. Specifically, it affirms that the current minister was indeed the one who signed the fuel supply agreement with Iraq for the fourth consecutive year and also signed the $200 million contract with the supplying company. It is worth noting that he could have canceled the tender initiated by Minister Fayad had he not deemed it appropriate. This amount will be added to the debt owed to Iraq. As of June 2025—four months after Minister Fayad left office and the ministry was handed over to Minister Saddi—the total amount owed to Iraq has reached $750 million. At the time of the ministerial handover, the outstanding amount was lower, standing at $600 million, precisely as Dr. Fayad had stated. Dr. Fayad concluded by reaffirming that the severe conditions Lebanon has endured—and continues to endure—alongside the lack of viable alternatives to ensure the minimum required level of electricity supply at the lowest possible cost, necessitated recourse to Iraqi fuel and the acceptance of Iraq's generous and appreciated initiative. Accordingly, based on the principle of continuity in government and Minister Saddi's conviction of the soundness of the decisions made in this regard—and until more suitable fuel supply alternatives, especially natural gas, become available—Minister Saddi found no viable course of action other than to renew the Iraqi agreement and proceed with awarding the first fuel delivery contract.
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Israel army announces 4 soldiers killed in Gaza, thousands more troops needed
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 hours Israel's military has announced the deaths of four soldiers in Gaza, saying it needed thousands more troops to press its offensive, just as the premier's coalition faces the prospect of collapse over ultra-Orthodox conscription. News of the soldiers' deaths came as Gaza's civil defense agency reported 38 killed Friday in Israeli attacks across the territory, where Palestinians observed the Eid al-Adha holiday under the shadow of war for a second consecutive year. Military spokesman Effie Defrin said the four soldiers were killed as they "were operating in the Khan Yunis area, in a compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization." "Around six in the morning, an explosive device detonated, causing part of the structure to collapse," he said, adding that five other soldiers were wounded, one of them severely. "The losses suffered today by the occupation in Khan Younis... illustrate what the occupation forces will face wherever they are present," said a statement attributed to Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, while urging the Israeli public to "force its leaders to end the war of extermination or prepare to receive more of its sons in coffins". The deaths bring to 429 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the ground offensive in late October 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences to the soldiers' families, saying they "sacrificed their lives for the safety of all of us". Israel recently stepped up its Gaza campaign in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack sparked the war. - Conscription row - Asked by a reporter about the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, which has emerged as a thorn in the side of Netanyahu's government, Defrin said "this is the need of the moment, an operational necessity". The army was short around 10,000 soldiers, he added, including about 6,000 in combat roles, adding that "tens of thousands more notices will be issued in the upcoming draft cycle". The conscription issue has threatened to sink Netanyahu's government, with ultra-Orthodox religious parties warning they will pull out of his coalition if Netanyahu fails to make good on a promise to codify the military exemption for their community in law. At the same time, much of the public has turned against the exemption amid the increasing strain put on reservists' families by repeated call-up orders during the war. In April, a military representative told a parliamentary committee that of 18,000 draft notices sent to ultra-Orthodox individuals, only 232 received a positive response. Netanyahu's office announced shortly after 1:00 am on Friday that he had met with a lawmaker from his Likud party who has recently pushed for a bill aimed at increasing the ultra-Orthodox enlistment and toughening sanctions on those who refuse. The premier's office said "significant progress was made", with "unresolved issues" to be ironed out later. Netanyahu also faced scrutiny after he admitted to supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas. Knesset member and ex-defense minister Avigdor Liberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes the group a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". - 'He wears a white shroud' - The humanitarian situation in Gaza, meanwhile, has reached dire lows, with residents enduring severe shortages of food and other essentials, even after a more than two-month Israeli blockade on aid was recently eased. The shortages have made it all but impossible for many Gazans to celebrate Eid al-Adha, which fell on Friday and is traditionally marked with huge family meals and gifts of new clothes. Suad al-Qarra told AFP from Nasser Hospital on Friday that her son never got a chance to wear his new clothes. "He went to get dressed and there was an explosion," she said, her soft voice breaking. "I took him to the hospital and (they) found him dead." "They took the children from us," she continued. "I bought him Eid clothes yesterday and he didn't wear them, instead he wears a white shroud." In the Muslim faith, Eid commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim -- known to Christians and Jews as Abraham -- was about to make by killing his son, before the angel Gabriel intervened and offered him a sheep to sacrifice instead. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on Friday's strikes. Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after a brief truce, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians.
Al Manar
5 hours ago
- Al Manar
Israeli Violations of Lebanese Sovereignty Persist as Beirut's Dahiyeh Steadfastly Clears Attack Aftermath
The Israeli occupation forces continued on the second day of Eid Al-Adha to violate Lebanese sovereignty and breach the ceasefire agreement in effect along the southern border. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, an Israeli glider dropped on Saturday a bomb near civilians in the town of Houla, wounding two individuals. Meanwhile, Israeli reconnaissance drones maintained low-altitude flights over Beirut's southern suburbs and the southern towns of Al-Zahrani, Aaqbiyeh, and Bisariyeh areas. In the aftermath of the Israeli enemy strike on multiple residential buildings in Beirut's Dahiyeh, municipal teams, civil defense units, and local organizations, including Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts, continued clearing debris and assessing damage across residential areas. According to the local Reconstruction Committee, the attack completely destroyed nine buildings, damaged 71 others, and caused destruction to 50 vehicles and 177 commercial establishments. In a televised interview with the Saudi Al Hadath TV, Information Minister Paul Morcos stated that the Lebanese Army had inspected the alleged weapons storage sites in Beirut's southern suburbs and found no evidence of any arms. 'The ceasefire monitoring committee informed Israel that no weapons were present before the strike,' Morcos added, adding that the Israeli enemy deliberately keeps Lebanon in a constant state of conflict and obstructs the army's deployment to the southern region. Separately, on Saturday, the Lebanese Army reported that, in coordination with UNIFIL, it had removed Israeli-placed earthen berms and reopened several roads in the outskirts of Mais Al-Jabal in the Marjayoun district that had been blocked by Israeli occupation forces.
