Thousands of People Mourn Slain Lebanese Forces Official

Mourners carry the coffin of Pascal Sleiman, an official of the Lebanese Forces party, during his funeral in Jbeil, Lebanon, 12 April 2024. (EPA)
Mourners carry the coffin of Pascal Sleiman, an official of the Lebanese Forces party, during his funeral in Jbeil, Lebanon, 12 April 2024. (EPA)
TT

Thousands of People Mourn Slain Lebanese Forces Official

Mourners carry the coffin of Pascal Sleiman, an official of the Lebanese Forces party, during his funeral in Jbeil, Lebanon, 12 April 2024. (EPA)
Mourners carry the coffin of Pascal Sleiman, an official of the Lebanese Forces party, during his funeral in Jbeil, Lebanon, 12 April 2024. (EPA)

Thousands of Lebanese on Friday mourned a slain Lebanese Forces official authorities said was killed by a Syrian gang, with supporters pointing the finger at Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

Pascal Sleiman was a coordinator in the Jbeil area north of Beirut for the Lebanese Forces (LF) Christian party, which opposes the government in neighboring Syria and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

On Monday, the army said that Sleiman, who had gone missing the day before, was killed in a carjacking by Syrian gang members who then took his body across the border.

His party said it would consider Sleiman's death a "political assassination until proven otherwise".

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has denied that his party was involved.

Speaking after Sleiman's funeral, LF leader Samir Geagea called for the "failed, corrupt" authorities in Lebanon to be changed.

Geagea blamed their failure, among other things, on "illegal weapons" -- a barely veiled reference to Hezbollah.

The Iran-backed group is the only party in Lebanon that has kept its weapons arsenal after the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, and it wields great influence on the country's political life.

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, Hezbollah has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in actions opposed by the LF and other parties.

"We don't want to wake up one day, as we did now, and find ourselves involved in a never-ending war," Geagea said Friday.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, spiritual leader of Lebanon's largest Christian sect, held back tears as he presided over Sleiman's funeral in Jbeil.

Outside the St Georges church, LF supporters waved the party's white flag with its cedar tree -- the symbol of Lebanon -- circled in red.

Mourners told AFP they were unconvinced by the army's version that car thieves killed Sleiman.

"This story never convinced me. It is not coherent at all," said Jean Habshi, 50, who came to pay his respects.

"Enough with Hezbollah, enough with the illegal weapons," Roba Hajal, 24, told AFP outside the church.

"If they (Hezbollah) did not kill him, at the very least they allowed the Syrians in. We are all at risk of meeting Pascal's fate," she said.

Lebanon has a long history of political assassinations that have taken place with impunity.

Years of economic meltdown have further strained a weak judiciary that has been widely accused of succumbing to political interference.

Ziad Hawat, an LF lawmaker from Jbeil, on Friday called for a "serious, transparent" probe into Sleiman's murder, adding that the party had concerns "based on past experiences".

"We do not want the killer to be known to all," he added, while "remaining unknown to the judiciary".

On Tuesday, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi vowed to get tough on Syrians after several were arrested on suspicion of involvement in Sleiman's killing.



At Least 23 People Killed by Israeli Strikes in Gaza as Israel Lets Minimal Aid in

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
TT

At Least 23 People Killed by Israeli Strikes in Gaza as Israel Lets Minimal Aid in

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. (Reuters)

At least 23 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight Thursday, as Israel pressed ahead with its military offensive and let in minimal aid to the strip. 

Ten people were killed by strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis, four in the central town of Deir al-Balah and nine in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought. 

Israel is facing mounting international criticism for its latest offensive, and pressure to let aid into Gaza amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months, according to the United Nations. Experts have warned that many of Gaza’s 2 million residents are at high risk of famine. 

Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis. 

The strikes come a day after two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot while leaving a reception for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum, in Washington, DC. The suspect told police he “did it for Palestine,” according to court documents filed Thursday as he was charged with murder. He didn’t enter a plea. 

On Thursday night, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killings in Washington horrific and blasted France, the UK and Canada for proposing to establish a Palestinian state. 

“Because by issuing their demand, replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel — against Israel, not Hamas — these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power,” he said. 

Earlier this week the three leaders issued one of the most significant criticisms by close allies of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the West Bank, threatening to take “concrete actions” if the government did not cease its renewed military offensive and significantly lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. 

Amid pressure, Israel started letting in aid. Israeli officials said Friday they let in more than 100 trucks of aid, including flour, food, medical equipment and drugs. The trucks came in through the Kerem Shalom crossing. 

But UN agencies say the amount is woefully insufficient, compared with around 600 trucks a day that entered during a recent ceasefire and that are necessary to meet basic needs. UN agencies say Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza make it difficult to retrieve and distribute the aid. As a result, little of it has so far reached those in need. 

Attack on hospital 

The strikes that lasted into Friday morning came a day after Israeli tanks and drones attacked a hospital in northern Gaza, igniting fires and causing extensive damage, Palestinian hospital officials said on Thursday. Videos taken by a health official at Al-Awda Hospital show walls blown away and thick black smoke billowing wreckage. 

Israel said it will continue to strike Hamas until all of the 58 Israeli hostages are released — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive, according to Israel — and until Hamas disarms. 

Earlier this week, Netanyahu said he was recalling his high-level negotiating team from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain. 

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said a “fundamental gap” remained between the two parties and that none of the proposals was able to bridge their differences. 

Hamas said no real ceasefire talks have taken place since last week in Doha. The group accused Netanyahu of “falsely portraying participation” and attempting to “mislead global public opinion” by keeping Israel’s delegation there without engaging in serious negotiations. 

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The gunmen are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals. 

Israel’s retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.