Latest news with #Tyre
LBCI
3 days ago
- General
- LBCI
Israeli airstrike targets road near southern Lebanese town of Al-Abbassiyah
On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike targeted the road near the town of Al-Abbassiyah, located to the east of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
The National
4 days ago
- General
- The National
Lebanon's Palestinian militias were born of Israel's occupation. It's time to resolve both
For a country trying to write a new chapter in its history, Lebanon faces an array of formidable challenges. While Israel continues to carry out air strikes and occupy Lebanese territory in the south, the new government in Beirut is trying to exert its authority nationwide – including in areas where its writ does not currently run. This difficult process is an important part of the country's efforts to recover and prosper. As Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a keynote address to the Arab Media Summit in Dubai yesterday: 'Our country, exhausted by divisions, wars and patronage systems, has decided to regain itself, to regain its word, to regain its state'. A prime example of this challenge to the state is to be found inside Lebanon's 12 official Palestinian refugee camps. Located from Tripoli in the north to Tyre in the south, these poverty-stricken communities are home to more than 200,000 Palestinians displaced or born in exile owing to their expulsion from their homeland in previous decades by Israeli forces. Outside state control, these areas have been ruled by an array of armed factions since the 1969 Cairo Agreement, which ceded responsibility for their security to the Palestine Liberation Organisation. An informal understanding prohibits Lebanese security forces from even entering the camps. Generations later, this arrangement has added to instability within Lebanon. Some camps have become victims of outlaws, drug traffickers and extremists deciding to hide in plain sight there. Rival groups have clashed repeatedly; in September 2023, more than 2,000 people were displaced in Ain Al Hilweh – Lebanon's largest refugee camp – as Palestinian factions and armed extremists fought with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. This would be an intolerable situation for any country, especially one as volatile as Lebanon. On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced that a process to disarm Palestinian refugee camps will begin in mid-June. It will be a difficult task, and may not proceed on that time table. Lebanon's underfunded armed forces have a matter of weeks to bring the situation under control and reverse decades of entrenched support for armed groups with their own political agendas and, in some cases, foreign support. There are also deeper issues to be reckoned with. The broken situation in the camps is born out of Israel's continuing occupation of Palestinian land. Palestinians in Lebanon want to go to their homeland, not live a shadow existence on the fringes of Lebanese society. At the same time, Israel's bombardment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza provides a difficult and sensitive context for Beirut's attempt to bring Palestinian weapons under control. Palestinians in Lebanon want to go home, not live a shadow existence on the fringes of Lebanese society The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, met Mr Aoun in Beirut last week, and is seeking to co-ordinate the disarmament. But for the plan to have the greatest chance of success, it must be made clear that it is not about disempowering Palestinians or enabling one faction to dominate other – it is about restoring Lebanese sovereignty and stability. There will be those who will regard this process as a litmus test for how to handle another armed organisation outside state in control in Lebanon, namely Hezbollah. But the situation regarding the Iran-backed group has a different dynamic that does not allow for a one-size-fits-all solution. Nevertheless, the principle behind disarming Lebanon's many militias is key: that a country's legitimate government holds the monopoly over armed force. As Serhan Serhan, a member of the PA's Legislative Council and deputy secretary of Mr Abbas's Fatah faction in Lebanon said recently: "We are all under the ceiling of Lebanese law." If this is true, then there should be no room for any one faction to bring the house down.
LBCI
4 days ago
- Health
- LBCI
Blaze erupts for second day at Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, prompting swift firefighting response
For the second consecutive day, a fire broke out in the scientific zone of the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, consuming large areas of vegetation and threatening one of Lebanon's most important coastal ecosystems. Firefighting units from the Lebanese Civil Defense, along with teams from the Risala Association for Health and Emergency Services, the Islamic Health Authority, and the Tyre Municipality, rushed to the scene and worked to contain and extinguish the flames despite strong winds. Dr. Ali Badreddine, director of the reserve, said the cause of the fire remains unknown and that an investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. He extended deep gratitude to all the teams involved in extinguishing the blaze and praised their coordinated efforts in protecting the natural environment. The Tyre Coast Nature Reserve is one of Lebanon's most vital environmental sites, known for its rich biodiversity and sensitive coastal habitats, making its protection a national ecological priority.
LBCI
6 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Lebanon's Interior Ministry releases 2025 municipal election results in Tyre
Lebanon's Ministry of Interior and Municipalities has released the results of the 2025 municipal and mukhtar elections in the Tyre district. To view the full municipal election results, click here.
LBCI
7 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Voter turnout in South Lebanon exceeds 36% by 6 p.m. in municipal elections
Voter turnout in Lebanon's municipal and mukhtar elections reached 36.42% in the South Governorate and 31.41% in the Nabatieh Governorate as of 6 p.m., according to figures released by the Interior and Municipalities Ministry. The breakdown by district was as follows: Hasbaya recorded a turnout of 32.44%, Jezzine led with 39.53%, Marjayoun saw 28.59%, Bint Jbeil 25.31%, Nabatieh 38.26%, Tyre 33.79%, and Saida 38.10%.
