‘Crisis after crisis’ in Lebanon
There has been crisis after crisis in a country where the economy has all but collapsed and the currency has no value.
More than a million people have been displaced [in Lebanon] by the latest confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah. Many of them live out in the open, in parking lots, in tents. Some of them are sleeping in their cars. It’s cold and raining. They find anything that they can burn just to keep warm.
The government is really struggling. There are not enough shelters to house all these people. There’s not enough money to give them proper meals. These people didn’t just leave their homes; they also left their businesses and livelihoods. For many of them, this is the second time they’ve been displaced in two years. The last confrontation was in late 2024, and many people have still not recovered from that war.
The United Nations is struggling as well. They are not getting enough funds to meet the needs [of people in Lebanon]. There is a global shortfall in funding for humanitarian aid. The UN secretary-general was here last week, appealing for $300m. So far, only a third has been pledged.
So the situation is only worsening. There is a lot of suffering and uncertainty. People don’t know where this conflict is heading.
Syria’s al-Sharaa says seeking to shield country from conflict
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said he is working to keep his country away from the Middle East war, state media SANA reported.
In a speech delivered after the Eid al-Fitr prayer in the presidential palace in Damascus, al-Sharaa said: “It is important to remember that Syria has always been an arena of conflict and strife during the past 15 years and before that, but today it is in harmony with all neighbouring countries regionally and internationally.
“What is happening now is a major and rare event in history that we haven’t witnessed since World War II. We are carefully calculating our steps and working to keep Syria away from any conflict, so that it can maintain its path of development and reconstruction,” the president added.
