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Conflict With Hezbollah in Lebanon

Irish UN Peacekeeper Killed in Lebanon

  • Pte Sean Rooney was killed and three other UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) were injured after a mob surrounded their armored vehicle and began firing while traveling to Beirut (BBC)

Two Lawmaker’s Elections to Lebanese Parliament Overturned

  • The Lebanese Constitutional Council revoked the seats of two newly elected lawmakers who unseated opponents from Lebanon’s traditional parties following an appeal claiming the initial voting counts were inaccurate (AP)

World Bank: Lebanese Economy is Contracting at Slower Rate

  • A World Bank report estimated that Lebanon’s economy will contract by 5.4 percent in 2022 after experiencing a 7 percent economic contraction in 2021 and 21.4 percent contraction in 2020 (Reuters)
  • The release of this report followed the World Food Program’s announcement that it agreed to provide $5.4 billion in aid to Lebanon over the next three years, allowing the country to feed about one-third of its population (AP; Reuters)

French Oil Company to Launch Sea Exploration Following Lebanon-Israel Deal

  • TotalEnergies and its partner ENI said they would soon launch exploration activities off Lebanon’s coast in the Mediterranean Sea after signing a framework agreement with Israel to implement the maritime agreement between Lebanon and Israel (ABC News)

U.S. Announces $80.5 Billion in Aid for Lebanon

  • Administrator of USAID Samantha Power made the announcement during a trip to Lebanon ahead of the COP27 climate conference; the aid was specified to be for food assistance and solar-powered water pumping stations (ABC News)
  • Meanwhile, a bullet hit a Middle East Airlines plane as it was landing in Beirut; no passengers or crew were hurt (AP)

Israel, Lebanon Agree to Cooperate on Climate Change

  • In a regional forum during COP27, Israel and Lebanon made an agreement, alongside other regional partners in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, to coordinate efforts to combat climate change; this came after Israel and Lebanon recently signed a landmark maritime agreement brokered by the U.S. (AP)

U.S. Guarantees Protection of Lebanon’s Border Deal With Israel

  • The United States agreed to remain a guarantor of the border deal after Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to end the agreement upon his election as Israel’s Prime Minister (Reuters)

Lebanon’s President Leaves Without Replacement

  • President Michel Aoun ended his six-year term over the weekend, leaving the country under a caretaker government after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati failed to establish a new cabinet during the parliamentary elections held in May (AP)

Israel Approves Start to Gas Exploration in Area Previously Contested With Lebanon

  • Tomorrow, Israel and Lebanon are set to sign a UN-brokered deal ending their longtime dispute over maritime borders and offshore natural gas rights (Al Jazeera)

Lebanese Health Official Warns Cholera Is ‘Spreading Rapidly’

  • A cholera outbreak that spread from neighboring Syria has killed five people in Lebanon (AFP) . The World Health Organization is temporarily recommending a one-dose vaccine regimen instead of a two-dose one while outbreaks in twenty-nine countries strain global vaccine supplies (Axios)

Depositors Storm Four Banks in Lebanon

  • At least four banks were stormed by depositors seeking to forcefully withdraw their savings at the end of weeklong closure due to currency shortages (AP)

Lebanese Parliament Fails to Elect New President

  • A majority of legislators cast blank ballots in today’s vote to choose a successor for President Michel Aoun, whose term ends next month (AFP)

Hezbollah Airs Footage of Israeli Ships in Disputed Area

  • Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV aired footage of Israeli ships in a disputed maritime area weeks after Israel shot down Hezbollah drones; Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister criticized the move as provocative as officials from the United States, Lebanon, and Israel say a final agreement to resolve a dispute over the Karish gas field is near (Al Jazeera)

Lebanese Parliament Votes to Spend World Bank Loan on Wheat

  • Lebanon’s parliament has voted to use a $150 million World Bank loan to finance wheat imports and stabilize wheat prices amid its food security crisis (ABC)

Maronite Leader’s Detention Sparks Outcry in Lebanon

  • A Maronite Christian bishop bringing donations from Israeli coreligionists was detained upon re-entry into Lebanon, leading Maronite leaders to call for the suspension of the responsible judge; the incident has stoked sectarian political tensions amid looming changes in Lebanese government (Haaretz)

Lebanese Security Forces Raid Central Bank

  • Lebanese security forces raided the Central Bank of Lebanon, accompanied by an investigative judge; the bank’s governor, Riad Salameh, had been charged with illicit enrichment and money laundering and is under investigation by several European countries amid Lebanon’s economic crisis (ABC)

Israel Shoots Down Hezbollah Drones En Route to Gas Rigs

  • Israel shot down three Hezbollah drones heading towards its Karish gas field in a disputed maritime zone in the Mediterranean; Hezbollah’s leader had threatened last week to use force to prevent Israel’s operation of the rig (BBC)
  • Israel’s minister of energy has appealed to France to pressure Lebanon as the extracted fuel is destined to fulfill an EU-Israeli deal and mitigate the European energy supply shortage amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Wall Street Journal)

Lebanon Reelects Longtime Parliament Speaker

  • The country’s Parliament reelected Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, as speaker for a seventh term (Agence France-Presse)

Pro-Hezbollah Bloc Loses Majority in Lebanon’s Parliament

  • The bloc lost at least ten seats and sixteen antiestablishment independent candidates were elected in parliamentary elections (Al Jazeera)

Early Lebanese Election Results Show Losses for Hezbollah’s Allies

  • Hezbollah and its allies risk losing their majority in Parliament after yesterday’s elections, Lebanon’s first since its economy collapsed in 2019 and an explosion decimated Beirut’s port in 2020 (Reuters)

Lebanon Receives $150 Million Food Security Loan

  • The World Bank approved a $150 million loan to the Lebanese government to help stabilize bread prices in the coming months (Associated Press)

France, Saudi Arabia Pledge $32 Million in Aid to Lebanon

  • The aid will go toward Lebanon’s security forces and multiple humanitarian projects, including those that provide cash assistance, baby formula to families, and financial support to hospitals (Al Jazeera)

Lebanon Disperses Funds to Resolve Bread Shortages

  • The Lebanese government disbursed $15 million to address growing bread shortages; the funds are expected to last a few weeks (Reuters)

EU To Deploy Election Observers in Lebanon

  • Following a six-day visit to Lebanon by the European Union (EU) election mission, mission head Gyorgy Holvenyi announced they would start deploying thirty observers later this week with plans to deploy more than 150 by the May 15 elections (Associated Press)

Lebanon, IMF Reach Agreement on $3 Billion Loan

  • Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a preliminary agreement on a $3 billion loan facility to address the country’s economic crisis (Bloomberg)