Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the killing of the historic leader of the "Party of God" in an Israeli raid. Defying the prime minister and government directives, the Shia movement projected his face onto the Raouche Rock in front of thousands of supporters. A cabinet crisis is looming while Hezbollah might enjoy again impunity.
Speaking at the General Assembly, the president defended the value of ‘coexistence’ in the face of the “malignant” crises affecting it. The appeal for an ‘immediate cessation’ of Israeli aggression and the protection of borders and territorial integrity. The issue of Hezbollah's disarmament and the danger of a ‘new civil war’.
Five kilometres from the border with Israel, the institute founded under the Ottoman Empire in 1881 for Christian girls is fighting for survival. Fr Youssef Nasr: Catholic schools welcome around 190,000 students, 20% of the total and 30% of private schools. Non-Christians account for 30%, although in some areas the figure exceeds 60%. The economic challenge for survival and post-war ethnic tensions.
According to UNHCR, in just under nine months, over 200,000 have chosen to return. Some for the first time since 2011. For the authorities in Beirut, the departures “lighten” the Land of the Cedars from a “substantial demographic burden”. But there is also a counter-exodus: from Alawites fleeing the coast to Christians who dream of leaving after the attack on the church in Damascus.
The UN Security Council has extended UNIFIL’s mandate for one final year, until 31 December 2026, after the United States rejected further extensions. Present in Lebanon since 1978, UN peacekeepers now number 10,800. President Joseph Aoun was grateful towards the UN mission, while Israel reiterated its misgivings.
The Maronite patriarch said that the pontiff is expected by “December”. This visit could be part of the trip to Nicaea, in the footsteps of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. The Holy See has not provided any official information. A cautious approach prevails due to tensions in the southern Lebanon (one death today) and the controversy over Hezbollah's demilitarisation.
