US Senior Envoy in Beirut Says Gaza Truce May Not Necessarily Lead to Calm on Lebanon-Israel Border

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon March 4, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon March 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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US Senior Envoy in Beirut Says Gaza Truce May Not Necessarily Lead to Calm on Lebanon-Israel Border

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon March 4, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon March 4, 2024. (Reuters)

A senior US envoy visiting Beirut Monday said if a truce is reached in the Gaza Strip it would not automatically translate to calm along the volatile Lebanon-Israel border which has witnessed a rise in tensions.

Since the Israel-Hamas war started, Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel almost daily, displacing thousands of people and spiking fear the conflict may spread in the region.

Amos Hochstein ’s comments came hours after Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Qassem, reiterated that the only way to stop the war along the Lebanon-Israel border is to end the war in Gaza.

Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, began his talks by meeting Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally. He later met caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and is scheduled to meet other officials and politicians during his visit.

“The United States remains committed to advancing lasting security solutions achieved through diplomatic process,” Hochstein told reporters after he met Berri. He said such a move would allow tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israelis who were displaced by the conflict “to safely return” to their homes.

Hochstein’s visit came as the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for weeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and to convince the Palestinian group to release some of the scores of hostages it is still holding since the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

It also comes as Israeli rescuers said Monday a foreign worker was killed and several others wounded by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon. The Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including two in serious condition.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters aborted two infiltration attempts the night before by Israeli troops into a border area in southern Lebanon.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began, more than 215 Hezbollah fighters and nearly 40 civilians were killed on the Lebanese side while in Israel, nine soldiers and 10 civilians were left dead in the attacks.

“I’m mindful that my arrival comes on the heels of a tense few weeks on both sides of the border,” Hochstein said.

“An escalation will certainly not help Lebanon rebuild and advance forward at this critical time in Lebanon’s history,” he added in an apparent reference to Lebanon’s historic economic crisis that has been ongoing since 2019.

“A temporary ceasefire is not enough. A limited war is not containable and the security paradigm along the Blue Line has to change in order to guarantee everyone’s security,” Hochstein said referring to the Lebanon-Israel border.

Asked if a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will include Lebanon, he said it is not necessary “that when you have a ceasefire in Gaza, it automatically extends. That is why we are here today to be able to have a conversation and discussions” on the situation in Lebanon.

Israeli officials have threatened a wider war in Lebanon if Hezbollah does not withdraw its elite fighters north of the Litani River as stipulated in a 2006 truce that ended a 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war.

Western diplomats have brought forward a series of proposals for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, most of which would hinge on Hezbollah moving its forces 7-10 kilometers (about 4-6 miles) away from the border.

Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, blasted the United States in a speech Monday during a conference held in the group’s stronghold south of Beirut attended by Muslim clerics from several regional states. He blamed Washington for using its veto power three times to prevent resolutions at the UN Security Council to end the war in Gaza.

“We have said it clearly that whoever wants to be a mediator should mediate to stop the aggression,” Qassem said in his speech. He added that those who don’t want the war to expand in the region should deal with the cause “which is the brutal and criminal aggression by America and Israel against Gaza.”

“Stop the aggression on Gaza and the war will stop in the region,” he said.



UN: Half of Yemeni Population Relies on Humanitarian Aid to Survive

The Houthi-ignited war has destroyed the country's economy, its health system and its infrastructure (local media) 
The Houthi-ignited war has destroyed the country's economy, its health system and its infrastructure (local media) 
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UN: Half of Yemeni Population Relies on Humanitarian Aid to Survive

The Houthi-ignited war has destroyed the country's economy, its health system and its infrastructure (local media) 
The Houthi-ignited war has destroyed the country's economy, its health system and its infrastructure (local media) 

More than half of the population in Yemen, one of the world’s worst protracted humanitarian crises, relies on humanitarian aid to survive, the UN said on Wednesday, warning that an entire generation is fighting to survive as food prices have soared by 300% since 2015.

“The conflict in Yemen has reached a tragic milestone – over one decade of largely unrelenting conflict, with only brief and fragile periods of reduced hostilities, that has stolen childhoods, shattered futures, and left an entire generation fighting to survive,” said UNICEF Yemen Representative Peter Hawkins at a press briefing in Geneva.

“Today, I stand before you not only to share numbers but to amplify the voices of millions of children trapped in one of the world’s worst protracted humanitarian crises—a crisis defined by hunger, deprivation, and now, a worrying escalation,” he said.

According to Hawkins, one in two children under five are acutely malnourished.

Among them, he said, over 537,000 suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM)—a condition that is agonizing, life-threatening, and entirely preventable.

“Malnutrition weakens immune systems, stunts growth, and robs children of their potential. In Yemen, it is not just a health crisis—it is a death sentence for thousands,” he noted.

Hawkins said that equally alarming, 1.4 million pregnant and lactating women are malnourished, perpetuating a vicious cycle of intergenerational suffering.

UNICEF says the catastrophe in Yemen is not natural, but man-made.

It explained that over a decade of conflict has decimated Yemen’s economy, healthcare system, and infrastructure. Even during periods of reduced violence, the structural consequences of the conflict—especially for children—have remained severe.

“More than half of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive. Food prices have soared by 300 per cent since 2015. Critical ports and roads—lifelines for food and medicine—are damaged or blockaded,” the UNICEF representative said.

“Despite these incredibly difficult and often dangerous operating conditions, UNICEF remains on the ground, delivering for children,” he added.

In 2025, the UN agency continues to support 3,200 health facilities, the treatment of 600,000 malnourished children, 70 mobile teams, 42,000 community health workers and 27 therapeutic feeding centers.

“For this to continue, we need sustained funding. Otherwise, 7.6 million people in Yemen risk not having access to primary health care,” Hawkins said.

UNICEF’s 2025 appeal is only 25% funded.

Hawkins said without urgent resources, the agency cannot sustain even the minimal services we are able to provide in the face of growing needs.

He affirmed that UNICEF needs an additional $157 million for its response in 2025.

“We need sustained investment in fighting all forms of malnutrition, and the diseases, lack of education and other forms of suffering children in Yemen are forced to endure,” he said.

Also, the agency asked all parties to the conflict in Yemen must allow unimpeded delivery of aid and allow humanitarians to do what they do best; save lives.

It then called for the release of detained UN staff and other humanitarian workers. And, importantly, for the conflict to cease.”

“Yemen’s children cannot wait another decade. They need peace. They need justice. But above all, they need us to act—now. Let us not fail them,” he added.

And while global rates of stunting are decreasing globally, the prolonged conflict and economic collapse in Yemen made it difficult for families to cope, UNICEF said.

Statistics reveal that nearly half of Yemen’s children under five are chronically malnourished, with stunting rates stagnant over the past decade, it noted.

Also, stunting prevents children from reaching their physical and cognitive potential, the UN agency warned.

Thus, stunted children in Yemen will have delayed cognitive development with the following symptoms: delays in rolling over, sitting up, crawling, and walking, trouble with fine motor skills, problems understanding what others say, trouble with problem-solving, issues with social skills, problems talking or talking late.

Therefore, UNICEF said preventive nutrition efforts need to be enhanced – to stop malnutrition before it starts.

Additionally, it noted that many women and children lack access to health care, highlighting the need for strengthened outreach and community-based services.