Latest news with #Amal
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Leaflets dropped by Israeli helicopter during funeral of Amal official
SOUTH LEBANON — An Israeli helicopter dropped leaflets during the funeral of a local official from the Amal movement held Sunday in the border town of Mais el-Jabal (Marjayoun). The funeral for the deceased, Mohammad Zeib Hamdan, who died of natural causes, took place in the presence of several other figures from the Shiite movement, including Hassan Kabalan, a member of Amal's political bureau, MP Achraf Beydoun, and prominent religious figures. During the ceremony, which was also attended by local villagers, an Israeli helicopter dropped pieces of paper resembling receipts and bank transfers from several years ago, bearing various names, according to our correspondent. The Lebanese security forces have opened an investigation to clarify the nature and origin of these documents. Meanwhile, on other leaflets dropped Sunday in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), an image shows an excavator working among the rubble of a destroyed building, with a yellow Hezbollah flag visible and a geographic location marked. "This tractor works for Hezbollah, which continues to threaten and endanger the region. There is no economic benefit to be gained from shady dealings with Hezbollah," the document reads. Additionally, the Israeli army claimed that the two Hezbollah fighters killed Saturday night in an airstrike on the village of Debaal (Sour) were members of the al-Radwan force, the pro-Iranian militia's elite unit. "The air force attacked the Dbaal area in southern Lebanon and killed Mohammad Haidar Abboud, operations officer of the al-Radwan force battalion, as well as an artillery member (Ali el-Ali, editor's note)," it said in a statement.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 days ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Khalil accuses Israel of imposing its will through daily attacks, Ezzeddine says resistance is the only answer
Amid heightened tensions along Lebanon's southern border, Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine on Saturday warned against ongoing Israeli violations, calling for strengthened local governance and renewed commitment to resistance. Speaking at a public meeting in Sour with municipal officials from Sour, Bint Jbeil, and Marjayoun, Khalil described Lebanon as facing 'one of the most complex stages' in decades, shaped by regional political, security and geopolitical challenges. He emphasized the critical role of municipalities in shaping public opinion and confronting threats, according to the state-run National News Agency. 'There are major issues unfolding regionally that will inevitably impact Lebanon's internal stability,' Khalil said. 'That's why municipal councils must be capable of responding and guiding local communities through these challenges.' He warned that Israel is escalating tensions on the border: 'We live in direct contact with the Israeli enemy, which is now trying to impose its will through daily aggressions. This puts us all in a position of responsibility.' Khalil also advocated for legislative reform to empower local governments, noting ongoing efforts to draft a Municipal Empowerment Law and criticizing the current Municipal Fund as insufficient and unsustainable. Turning to regional dynamics, he accused Israel of pursuing a broader project aimed at erasing Palestinian identity and geography. 'Syria has become, in practice, an Israeli protectorate,' he claimed, warning that Israel now seeks to expand that project into South Lebanon through 'fire, politics, and possibly occupation.' 'Resistance is more necessary than ever' In a similar tone, Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine condemned what he called Israel's 'continuous aggression' during the inauguration of a Qur'anic Institute and Martyrs' Hall in Ma'roub (Sour). 'What the Zionist enemy is doing now goes beyond mere violations — it is an ongoing war,' he said, accusing Israel of targeting homes and infrastructure under the pretext of disrupting resistance networks, despite public statements from the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL and international bodies that no such infrastructure exists south of the Litani. He further described Israel as a regional arm of U.S. power. 'When Israel can't act, America intervenes directly, as seen in the attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran.' 'Defending our land doesn't require anyone's permission — it is a natural right,' Ezzeddine continued. 'That is why resistance remains more necessary than ever. It protects us from being isolated and targeted.'Amal Movement MP Kabalan Kabalan, during a meeting in Sohmor with the Mufti of Rachaya, Wafic Hijazi, and several local officials on Saturday, called on the Lebanese to 'work hand in hand.' He said, 'Today, we see what is happening in Palestine, in terms of famine and destruction […] We need to be united and careful of the discord spreading across our regions, our countries, and our peoples.' Washington has called for a clear roadmap for Hezbollah's disarmament, including a timetable and enforcement mechanisms. But the party has firmly rejected any new agreement, insisting that Israel must first comply with existing ones. Hezbollah refuses to surrender its weapons or commit to a disarmament schedule.
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- General
- New Straits Times
Gaza families recount two years of war, displacement and hunger
THE Bakrons and al-Bareems, two families from opposite ends of Gaza, have criss-crossed the rubble-strewn territory many times during 21 months of war, in search of food and shelter from Israeli attacks. They've sought refuge in the homes of friends and relatives, in school classrooms and in tents, moving frequently as the Israeli military has ordered civilians from one zone to another. The Bareems, from southern Gaza, have a disabled child who they have pushed in his wheelchair. The Bakrons, from the north, stopped wandering in May after two children of their children were killed in an airstrike. "Our story is one of displacement, loss of loved ones, hunger, humiliation and loss of hope," said Nizar Bakron, 38, who lost his daughter Olina, 10, and son Rebhi, 8. The families' experiences illustrate the plight of the 1.9 million Gaza residents — 90 per cent of the population — that the United Nations says have been displaced during the conflict. Israel's war in Gaza has left much of the enclave in ruins and its people desperate from hunger. Before the war, Nizar and his wife Amal, four years his junior, had a happy life in Shejaia, a teeming district in the east of Gaza City. Their eldest Adam is 12, the youngest, Youssef, a baby. Photographs, seen by Reuters, show family parties at home and days at the beach. "When the Oct 7 attack happened, I knew it wouldn't be something good for us," Nizar said. They left home the next day for Amal's mother's house further south in Zahra, he said. Palestinians accuse Israel of using the evacuation orders to uproot the population. The family left for Nuseirat, an old refugee camp in central Gaza, where they crammed into an apartment owned by Amal's relatives for five months. Israel's bombardment was heaviest in the first months of the war. The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll reached 32,845 by the end of March 2024. It has now passed 59,000 people, the ministry says. In April, Israel issued an evacuation order and the Bakrons went further south to Rafah on the border with Egypt where there was more to eat. In Rafah, they squeezed into a classroom of a UN school which they shared with Nizar's two brothers and their families — about 20 people. Their savings were quickly disappearing. On May 25, as most of the family slept, Nizar was sitting outside, talking on the phone, when an airstrike hit and the building collapsed. He pulled away the debris but Olina and Rebhi were dead. His wife Amal and eldest Adam were injured, and the baby Youssef's leg was broken. Nizar does not know how they can move again. The family is in mourning and their car was damaged in the strike, he said. The UN estimates nearly 90 per cent of Gaza's territory is covered by Israeli evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, leaving the population squeezed into two swathes of land where food is increasingly scarce. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday Gaza is suffering from man-made starvation. Majed al-Bareem, 32, was a teacher before the war in Bani Suheila, a town east of Khan Younis. He and his wife Samia, 27, have a 2-year-old son, Samir. During Israel's initial offensive, which was focused on northern Gaza, the family stayed put. But early in 2024, Israeli forces pushed into Khan Younis and the Bareems fled. They learned afterwards their home had been destroyed. They went to Rafah with Majed's mother, Alyah, 62 and his three sisters. The youngest, Rafah, 19, has Down Syndrome. Days before they left Khan Younis, his eldest sister's husband was shot dead. Her son, Joud, 9, is in a wheelchair. The family is currently in a tent in Mawasi. They can only rarely afford extra rations to supplement the little they get from charitable kitchens. Last week, Majed went to Bani Suheila hoping to buy some flour. A shell landed nearby, wounding him in the torso with a shrapnel fragment, he said. "I don't think anyone can bear what we are bearing," he said. "It has been two years of the war, hunger, killing, destruction and displacement."
Kuwait Times
5 days ago
- General
- Kuwait Times
How two families crossed the rubble of Gaza, fleeing war and hunger
WHO chief warns of man-made starvation in Gaza GAZA/CAIRO: The Bakrons and Al-Bareems, two families from opposite ends of Gaza, have criss-crossed the rubble-strewn territory many times during 21 months of war, in search of food and shelter from Zionist attacks. They've sought refuge in the homes of friends and relatives, in school classrooms and in tents, moving frequently as the Zionist military has ordered civilians from one zone to another. The Bareems, from southern Gaza, have a disabled child who they have pushed in his wheelchair. The Bakrons, from the north, stopped wandering in May after two children of their children were killed in an airstrike. 'Our story is one of displacement, loss of loved ones, hunger, humiliation and loss of hope,' said Nizar Bakron, 38, who lost his daughter Olina, 10, and son Rebhi, eight. The families' experiences illustrate the plight of the 1.9 million Gaza residents - 90 percent of the population - that the United Nations says have been displaced during the conflict. Zionist's war in Gaza has left much of the enclave in ruins and its people desperate from hunger. Before the war, Nizar and his wife Amal, four years his junior, had a happy life in Shejaia, a teeming district in the east of Gaza City. Their eldest Adam is 12; the youngest, Youssef, a baby. Photographs, seen by Reuters, show family parties at home and days at the beach. 'When the October 7 attack happened, I knew it wouldn't be something good for us,' Nizar said. They left home the next day for Amal's mother's house further south in Zahra, he said. Five days later the Zionist entity began ordering civilians in northern Gaza to move south and, on October 27, it launched a ground invasion. Throughout the war the Zionist entity has issued evacuation orders in areas where it plans to conduct operations - though it has also struck elsewhere during those periods. The Zionist entity says the orders protect civilians but it strikes wherever it locates Hamas fighters, who hide among the population. Hamas denies using civilians as shields. GAZA: People make their way along Al-Rashid street in western Jabalia on July 23, 2025, after receiving humanitarian aid from an aid distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip.--AFP Palestinians accuse the Zionist entity of using the evacuation orders to uproot the population, which it denies. The family left for Nuseirat, an old refugee camp in central Gaza, where they crammed into an apartment owned by Amal's relatives for five months. Zionist's bombardment was heaviest in the first months of the war. The Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, said the death toll reached 32,845 by the end of March 2024. It has now passed 59,000 people, the ministry says. Food and fuel were becoming very expensive, with little aid arriving. In April, Zionist issued an evacuation order and the Bakrons went further south to Rafah on the border with Egypt where there was more to eat. They loaded the car and a trailer with mattresses, clothes, kitchen equipment and a solar panel and drove 15 miles along roads lined with ruins. In Rafah, they squeezed into a classroom of a UN school which they shared with Nizar's two brothers and their families - about 20 people. Their savings were quickly disappearing. Weeks later, a new Zionist evacuation order moved them to Khan Younis, a few kilometers away, and another crowded classroom. In January, a ceasefire allowed them to move back north to Nuseirat, where the family had land. They cleared a room in a damaged building to live in. 'We thought things would get better,' Nizar said. But, after less than two months, the ceasefire collapsed on March 18. Two days later, Bakron's sister, her husband and two daughters were killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis, he said. As Zionist operations escalated, the family fled to Gaza City. They pitched a tent - the first time they had to live in one - against a building on Wehda Street, a central district. On May 25, as most of the family slept, Nizar was sitting outside, talking on the phone, when an airstrike hit and the building collapsed. He pulled away the debris but Olina and Rebhi were dead. His wife Amal and eldest Adam were injured, and the baby Youssef's leg was broken. Nizar does not know how they can move again. The family is in mourning and their car was damaged in the strike, he said. The UN estimates nearly 90% of Gaza's territory is covered by Zionist evacuation orders or within Zionist militarized zones, leaving the population squeezed into two swathes of land where food is increasingly scarce. The Zionist entity says restrictions on aid are needed to prevent it being diverted to Hamas. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday Gaza is suffering from man-made starvation. Amal, who still has bruising on her face and wears a brace upon her arm after the attack, grieves for her two children: 'My life changed, from having everything to having nothing, after being displaced.' 'We fear for our lives' Majed Al-Bareem, 32, was a teacher before the war in Bani Suheila, a town east of Khan Younis. He and his wife Samia, 27, have a two-year-old son, Samir. They lived in a pretty two-storey house with an external staircase that had plants in pots running up the steps. During Zionist's initial offensive, which was focused on northern Gaza, the family stayed put. But early in 2024, Zionist forces pushed into Khan Younis and the Bareems fled their home. They learned afterwards it had been destroyed. 'I had a beautiful house which we built with our sweat and effort,' Majed said. He showed Reuters photos of the ruins. They went to Rafah with Majed's mother, Alyah, 62 and his three sisters. The youngest, Rafah, 19, has Down Syndrome. Days before they left Khan Younis, his eldest sister's husband was shot dead. Her son, Joud, nine, is in a wheelchair. At first, the family stayed in a tent provided by UN aid agencies in a district called Nasr in northern Rafah. Three months later, The Zionist entity ordered civilians to evacuate and the family left for Mawasi, a rural area nearby where displacement camps were growing, he said. Although Zionist's military had designated Mawasi a safe zone, it struck it throughout the summer, killing scores of people, according to local health authorities. The Zionist entity said it was targeting militants hiding in the area. Since the two-month ceasefire ended in March the family has moved repeatedly - so often that Majed said he lost count - between Bani Suheila, Khan Younis and Mawasi. 'We fear for our lives so, as soon as they order us to leave, we do so,' he said. Crossing Gaza's ruined streets with a wheelchair has added to the difficulty. During one journey in May, he and Joud were separated from the family. It took them four hours to travel the five miles to Mawasi along roads littered with debris. 'It was exhausting and scary because we could hear gunfire and bombing,' he said. The family is currently in a tent in Mawasi. Their savings are nearly gone and they can only rarely afford extra rations to supplement the little they get from charitable kitchens. 'We are tired of displacement. We are tired of lack of food,' said Majed's mother, Alyah. Last week, Majed went to Bani Suheila hoping to buy some flour. A shell landed nearby, wounding him in the torso with a shrapnel fragment, he said. It was removed in hospital but left him weak. With The Zionist entity and Hamas conducting ceasefire negotiations, the United States has voiced optimism about a deal. Majed says the renewed talks have given him some hope, but he fears they will fall apart, like previous attempts. 'I don't think anyone can bear what we are bearing,' he said. 'It has been two years of the war, hunger, killing, destruction and displacement.' — Reuters
Arab News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
How two families crossed the rubble of Gaza, fleeing war and hunger
GAZA/CAIRO: The Bakrons and Al-Bareems, two families from opposite ends of Gaza, have criss-crossed the rubble-strewn territory many times during 21 months of war, in search of food and shelter from Israeli attacks. They've sought refuge in the homes of friends and relatives, in school classrooms and in tents, moving frequently as the Israeli military has ordered civilians from one zone to another. The Bareems, from southern Gaza, have a disabled child who they have pushed in his wheelchair. The Bakrons, from the north, stopped wandering in May after two children of their children were killed in an airstrike. 'Our story is one of displacement, loss of loved ones, hunger, humiliation and loss of hope,' said Nizar Bakron, 38, who lost his daughter Olina, 10, and son Rebhi, eight. The families' experiences illustrate the plight of the 1.9 million Gaza residents — 90 percent of the population — that the United Nations says have been displaced during the conflict. Israel's war in Gaza has left much of the enclave in ruins and its people desperate from hunger. It was triggered by an attack by Islamist group Hamas — which governs the Strip — on Israeli border communities on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostage. Before the war, Nizar and his wife Amal, four years his junior, had a happy life in Shejaia, a teeming district in the east of Gaza City. Their eldest Adam is 12; the youngest, Youssef, a baby. Photographs, seen by Reuters, show family parties at home and days at the beach. 'When the October 7 attack happened, I knew it wouldn't be something good for us,' Nizar said. They left home the next day for Amal's mother's house further south in Zahra, he said. Five days later Israel began ordering civilians in northern Gaza to move south and, on October 27, it launched a ground invasion. Throughout the war Israel has issued evacuation orders in areas where it plans to conduct operations — though it has also struck elsewhere during those periods. Israel says the orders protect civilians but it strikes wherever it locates Hamas fighters, who hide among the population. Hamas denies using civilians as shields. Palestinians accuse Israel of using the evacuation orders to uproot the population, which it denies. The family left for Nuseirat, an old refugee camp in central Gaza, where they crammed into an apartment owned by Amal's relatives for five months. Israel's bombardment was heaviest in the first months of the war. The Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, said the death toll reached 32,845 by the end of March 2024. It has now passed 59,000 people, the ministry says. Food and fuel were becoming very expensive, with little aid arriving. In April, Israel issued an evacuation order and the Bakrons went further south to Rafah on the border with Egypt where there was more to eat. They loaded the car and a trailer with mattresses, clothes, kitchen equipment and a solar panel and drove 15 miles along roads lined with ruins. In Rafah, they squeezed into a classroom of a UN school which they shared with Nizar's two brothers and their families — about 20 people. Their savings were quickly disappearing. Weeks later, a new Israeli evacuation order moved them to Khan Younis, a few kilometers away, and another crowded classroom. In January, a ceasefire allowed them to move back north to Nuseirat, where the family had land. They cleared a room in a damaged building to live in. 'We thought things would get better,' Nizar said. But, after less than two months, the ceasefire collapsed on March 18. Two days later, Bakron's sister, her husband and two daughters were killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis, he said. As Israeli operations escalated, the family fled to Gaza City. They pitched a tent — the first time they had to live in one — against a building on Wehda Street, a central district. On May 25, as most of the family slept, Nizar was sitting outside, talking on the phone, when an airstrike hit and the building collapsed. He pulled away the debris but Olina and Rebhi were dead. His wife Amal and eldest Adam were injured, and the baby Youssef's leg was broken. Nizar does not know how they can move again. The family is in mourning and their car was damaged in the strike, he said. The UN estimates nearly 90 percent of Gaza's territory is covered by Israeli evacuation orders or within Israeli militarized zones, leaving the population squeezed into two swathes of land where food is increasingly scarce. Israel says restrictions on aid are needed to prevent it being diverted to Hamas. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday Gaza is suffering from man-made starvation . Amal, who still has bruising on her face and wears a brace upon her arm after the attack, grieves for her two children: 'My life changed, from having everything to having nothing, after being displaced.' 'We fear for our lives' Majed Al-Bareem, 32, was a teacher before the war in Bani Suheila, a town east of Khan Younis. He and his wife Samia, 27, have a two-year-old son, Samir. They lived in a pretty two-story house with an external staircase that had plants in pots running up the steps. During Israel's initial offensive, which was focused on northern Gaza, the family stayed put. But early in 2024, Israeli forces pushed into Khan Younis and the Bareems fled their home. They learned afterwards it had been destroyed. 'I had a beautiful house which we built with our sweat and effort,' Majed said. He showed Reuters photos of the ruins. They went to Rafah with Majed's mother, Alyah, 62 and his three sisters. The youngest, Rafah, 19, has Down Syndrome. Days before they left Khan Younis, his eldest sister's husband was shot dead. Her son, Joud, nine, is in a wheelchair. At first, the family stayed in a tent provided by UN aid agencies in a district called Nasr in northern Rafah. Three months later, Israel ordered civilians to evacuate and the family left for Mawasi, a rural area nearby where displacement camps were growing, he said. Although Israel's military had designated Mawasi a safe zone, it struck it throughout the summer, killing scores of people, according to local health authorities. Israel said it was targeting militants hiding in the area. Since the two-month ceasefire ended in March the family has moved repeatedly — so often that Majed said he lost count — between Bani Suheila, Khan Younis and Mawasi. 'We fear for our lives so, as soon as they order us to leave, we do so,' he said. Crossing Gaza's ruined streets with a wheelchair has added to the difficulty. During one journey in May, he and Joud were separated from the family. It took them four hours to travel the five miles to Mawasi along roads littered with debris. 'It was exhausting and scary because we could hear gunfire and bombing,' he said. The family is currently in a tent in Mawasi. Their savings are nearly gone and they can only rarely afford extra rations to supplement the little they get from charitable kitchens. 'We are tired of displacement. We are tired of lack of food,' said Majed's mother, Alyah. Last week, Majed went to Bani Suheila hoping to buy some flour. A shell landed nearby, wounding him in the torso with a shrapnel fragment, he said. It was removed in hospital but left him weak. With Israel and Hamas conducting ceasefire negotiations, the United States has voiced optimism about a deal. Majed says the renewed talks have given him some hope, but he fears they will fall apart, like previous attempts. 'I don't think anyone can bear what we are bearing,' he said. 'It has been two years of the war, hunger, killing, destruction and displacement.'
