Lebanon’s Security Authorities Adopt Strict Measures to Curb Violations Committed by Syrians

Notices to close stores in Nabatieh after a raid by the General Security (National News Agency)
Notices to close stores in Nabatieh after a raid by the General Security (National News Agency)
TT

Lebanon’s Security Authorities Adopt Strict Measures to Curb Violations Committed by Syrians

Notices to close stores in Nabatieh after a raid by the General Security (National News Agency)
Notices to close stores in Nabatieh after a raid by the General Security (National News Agency)

Members of the Lebanese General Security started implementing strict measures and procedures in various regions and villages, in implementation of instructions issued by the Acting Director General of the General Security, Major General Elias Al-Bisari, to address violations related to the Syrian presence in Lebanon.
Security personnel carried out massive campaigns in Beirut, and in various Lebanese regions, during which Syrians were arrested for violating the residency and work system and entering the country illegally, while a large number of illegal shops run by Syrian workers were closed.
The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, praised the General Security measures, saying in a post on X social media platform that more efforts should be done in this regard.
Al-Nashra website reported that patrols conducted by the General Security Information Division in the South and the Investigation Division of the Qana General Security Center in the Tyre District carried out a campaign in the region’s villages and towns to “address violations and monitor Syrian workers.”
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army announced on Friday that during an attempt by its unit, supported by a patrol from the Intelligence Directorate, to arrest a number of smugglers in the Deir Al-Ashayer area in the Bekaa (east of the country), a Syrian national tried to stab one of the unit’s members. The army opened fire at the man, who later succumbed to his injuries after being rushed to a nearby hospital.
The National News Agency (NNA) reported that night guards in the municipality of Jbeil arrested a Syrian gang at dawn on Saturday for smuggling Syrians into Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, stressed the role of municipalities in addressing the displacement crisis.
Speaking during a conference of municipalities in the Batroun region (northern Lebanon), Bassil pointed to a lack of political decision to deal with the presence of Syrians, due to an “external desire to keep the displaced on our land.”



Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People In Gaza, Nearly all of Them Women or Kids

Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
TT

Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People In Gaza, Nearly all of Them Women or Kids

Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza killed at least 17 people late Tuesday, nearly all of them women or children, the territory’s Health Ministry and hospital officials said.
Five kids were killed as they sheltered together in the same tent, said Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children's ward at nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Their bodies were among the eight children and five women brought to the hospital after strikes on tents, homes and a vehicle. Two bodies were unidentifiable, The Associated Press said.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants who had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, without providing evidence. Israel said it took steps to lessen the risk of hurting civilians and blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties.
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is raging with no end in sight, although there has reportedly been recent progress in long-running talks aimed at a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Some Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still have hope the war will end soon. Issam Saqr, a displaced man from Khan Younis, told The Associated Press he hopes the ceasefire “will happen today — before tomorrow!”