Rahi Doubts Loyalty of Lebanese Politicians towards their Country

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi met Wednesday with Caretaker Minister of Justice, Henry Khoury (NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi met Wednesday with Caretaker Minister of Justice, Henry Khoury (NNA)
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Rahi Doubts Loyalty of Lebanese Politicians towards their Country

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi met Wednesday with Caretaker Minister of Justice, Henry Khoury (NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi met Wednesday with Caretaker Minister of Justice, Henry Khoury (NNA)

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi expressed on Wednesday his doubts about the sincerity of Lebanon’s politicians toward their country, also accusing the ruling class of being “beholden to their own interests.”

The Patriarch was speaking on Wednesday at the launching ceremony of the document titled “A New Vision for Lebanon Tomorrow: A Secular, Decentralized, and Neutral State.”

Rahi reiterated his call for an international conference on Lebanon because “the Lebanese politicians escaped dialogue because they are beholden to their personal interests.”

He then expressed his doubts about the sincerity of politicians toward the country, saying “there is no salvation for Lebanon if we remain as we are. Lebanon is ill, and officials do not want to treat its illness or know its cause.”

Rahi added: “It is not the right of officials to devastate a country and its people by destroying the system and the constitution.”

For his part, Sheikh Sami Abdel Khalek representing Sheikh Akl of the Druze Community Sheikh Naim Hassan, said during the ceremony that the Lebanese must work for the interest of the country and not for the interest of the sect and the party.”

Meanwhile, Bishop Samir Mazloum expressed his regret that there are Lebanese politicians who assassinated the State in order to make profit.

Last November, Rahi urged to the United Nations to save Lebanon by holding an international conference – a call that was supported by the country’s opposition parties and rejected by Shiites.



7 People Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attacks on Israel

Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
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7 People Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attacks on Israel

Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Five people were killed, including four foreign workers and one Israeli farmer, in a Hezbollah attack on Israel's northern town of Metula on Thursday.

The Metula regional council reported the attack.

Israel’s rescue service said projectiles fired from Lebanon killed two more people in northern Israel.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s main emergency medical organization, said its medics confirmed the deaths of a 30-year-old man and 60-year-old woman in a suburb of the northern city of Haifa. They also treated two other people who suffered mild injuries and were hospitalized.

The Israeli military said that roughly 25 rockets crossed into Israel from Lebanon as part of the volley that struck an olive grove where people had gathered for the harvest. 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israel since Oct. 8, 2023, when it opened fire in solidarity with Hamas a day after its cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip.

All-out war erupted last month, when Israel carried out large waves of airstrikes and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground invasion at the start of October.

Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to government estimates. Lebanon’s Heath Ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 12,900 wounded since Oct. 8, 2023.