Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday said ‘no one should drag our country into war, killing, destruction, displacement and homelessness, for no use and for issues that the Lebanese in general and our people in the Lebanese south have nothing to do with.’
Al-Rahi’s remarks, in his Sunday Mass sermon, were an apparent jab at Hezbollah, which had activated Lebanon’s southern front against Israel a day after Hamas launched its unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on south Israel.
‘Lebanon’s message is to be a land of peace and a pioneer of peace, due to its composition, cultural and religious diversity, history, political system and coexistence pact,’ the patriarch added.
Al-Rahi also strongly condemned Israel’s ‘horrible and shameful crimes in the Gaza Strip,’ lamenting that ‘dozens were deliberately killed while starving and waiting for food aid.’
At least 289 people have been killed in Lebanon since the beginning of clashes, mostly Hezbollah fighters and their allies, along with 44 civilians. On the Israeli
side, the army says 10 soldiers and six civilians have been killed, while tens of thousands of residents on both sides have been displaced.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon
The UN Security Council (UNSC) has approved a statement prepared by Algeria on Israel’s attack on civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip.
The document expresses “deep concern regarding reports stating that over 100 individuals lost their lives with several hundred others sustaining injuries, including people with gunshot wounds as observed by UN-OCHA, in an incident involving Israeli forces at a large gathering surrounding a humanitarian assistance convoy southwest of Gaza City.”
Additionally, the statement stresses “the need to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure,” as well as urges “to refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance indispensable to their survival.”
According to the Health Ministry of the embattled enclave, the number of victims of the Israeli attack on the line of people waiting for humanitarian aid in the southwestern part of Gaza City has climbed to 112. Ac
cording to the agency, 760 people were wounded.
Many Western countries, including France, Canada and Spain, condemned the attack. The Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) denied any involvement while the permanent observer of the state of Palestine to the UN noted that, according to existing information, several dozen victims died of gunshot wounds to the head.
Source: Oman News Agency