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Lebanon Prepares Safe Shelters Ahead of Possible Conflict

A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership
A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership
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Lebanon Prepares Safe Shelters Ahead of Possible Conflict

A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership
A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership

Lebanon's government has completed its emergency plan to handle a possible conflict with Israel and has fully prepared its administrative, health, and logistical agencies.

The plan primarily involves converting public schools into shelters for displaced people and equipping them with necessary supplies.

Israel's military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have traded strikes since the current war in Gaza began, but tensions have escalated since an Israeli strike in a Beirut suburb killed Fouad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander, last month. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate.

In a recent ministerial meeting, Lebanese caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who heads the Emergency and Disaster Response Committee, said the goal was to “ensure the readiness of crisis cells across all provinces and strengthen them if needed.”

Yassin explained that discussions with governors focused on the shelters. A list of these has been created in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, which is working with a taskforce to prepare the schools.

He added that the committee and the Ministry of Education are preparing more schools for emergencies, verifying their readiness and ensuring they have essential supplies.

These shelters will be equipped with bedding, hygiene products, and food. Funding will come from the treasury and support from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other international organizations.

Yassin noted that if displacement reaches levels seen in 2006, with about one million displaced, the committee will need $100 million per month. This funding will be secured through emergency credits and support from international organizations.

The Committee is compiling a list of shelters and evaluating their capacities.

A committee source told Asharq Al-Awsat that shelters are selected based on several criteria: they must be located away from high-risk areas, have enough space and basic facilities, and be easily accessible from regions affected by Israeli airstrikes.

The shelters also need to allow easy entry and exit for relief teams. The source confirmed that all selected shelters meet these requirements.

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Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
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Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to kick off parliamentary consultations to form a new government.

He assured that it will “not exclude anyone”, but seek “unity and partnership.”

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that President Joseph Aoun is leading efforts to avert a Shiite boycott of the new government after the “Shiite duo” of the Hezbollah and Amal movement, which is led by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, refrained from naming Salam for the position of PM during Monday’s consultations.

Their abstention has raised fears that the new government will not be constitutional without the representation of the largest Shiite parties in the country.

Reports have said that the duo may boycott the parliamentary consultations to form a government that Salam will hold on Wednesday.

Sources said the duo may skip the first day of talks, which will conclude on Thursday, to demonstrate its “annoyance” with the developments.

Berri, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “situation is not that negative”. He did not elaborate on the duo’s next steps.

Moreover, Asharq Al-Awsat learned that French President Macron had even intervened to avoid a dispute over the government, holding telephone talks with Aoun and Berri.

Salam’s appointment as prime minister came as a major shock given the large number of votes he won from the parliamentary blocs, compared to his predecessor Najib Mikati and against the will of the Shiite duo. In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister.

Aoun stressed the need to “avoid placing obstacles in the government formation process.”

Aoun held a meeting with Salam at the presidential palace on Tuesday before later being joined by Berri, who left the palace without making a statement.

After the talks, Salam spoke before reporters to express his gratitude to parliament and the people for entrusting him with the “difficult task of serving Lebanon” and “achieving the people’s dreams.”

“It is time to open a new chapter that is rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunity, so that Lebanon can be a nation of free people who are equal under their rights,” he added.

On the possible boycott of the Shiite duo, he said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. “This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone,” he added.

The formation of a government in Lebanon often takes months due to political wrangling.

Aoun said on Tuesday that Lebanon has a “very major opportunity that we should all seize.”

He received a delegation from the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council.

“Obstacles must not be placed in the formation process,” he urged. “We must send positive signals to the international community that Lebanon can govern itself, carry out reconstruction transparently and build the state that we are all calling for.”

“If one segment of Lebanon is broken, then the whole country will break,” he stressed, saying Monday’s consultations to appoint Salam were a democratic process and that the public interest remains the top priority.

Aoun, who was elected last week, added that he has declined visits from well-wishers over his election “out of respect for the martyrs” who were killed during Israel’s war on Lebanon, which ended with a ceasefire in November.