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Iraq Receives 7,000 Lebanese, Ministry of Migration Denies Settlement Allegations

The Immigration Department in Salah al-Din registers the arrival of Lebanese in the governorate. (Government media)
The Immigration Department in Salah al-Din registers the arrival of Lebanese in the governorate. (Government media)
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Iraq Receives 7,000 Lebanese, Ministry of Migration Denies Settlement Allegations

The Immigration Department in Salah al-Din registers the arrival of Lebanese in the governorate. (Government media)
The Immigration Department in Salah al-Din registers the arrival of Lebanese in the governorate. (Government media)

The Iraqi Ministry of Migration has estimated that around 7,000 Lebanese citizens have arrived in Iraq, fleeing the ongoing war and the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, particularly in predominantly Shiite areas.

Meanwhile, the head of Najaf’s Provincial Council has urged the parliament to take advantage of the expertise among the displaced by contracting them to work in governmental institutions.

Ali Abbas Jahangir, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Migration, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the total number of Lebanese arrivals in Iraq is still not precise, as full statistics from land and air crossings, such as the Al-Qaim border crossing and Najaf and Baghdad airports, have not yet been provided.

He added: “The data we have indicate there are 4,600 displaced persons, and we estimate there may be around 7,000 based on initial figures from religious offices and border crossings.”

Jahangir denied rumors of a plan to resettle Lebanese refugees in Iraq, stating: “This is not about resettlement. There are cities and hotels in Karbala and Najaf that have accommodated them, but some families preferred to go to relatives and friends in other Iraqi provinces.”

Iraqi activists had discussed political efforts to resettle the Lebanese in various Iraqi cities, with some even circulating unverified recordings suggesting that Diyala province was being considered as a potential location for them.

The ministry’s spokesperson explained: “We have a few Lebanese families in Diyala, also in Salah al-Din province, and about five families went to the southern city of Samawah to stay with acquaintances and friends, as per their own preference.”

On Monday, the Ministry of Migration issued an urgent call to Lebanese citizens in Iraq, asking them to contact the ministry via provided phone numbers to “register them in the ministry’s database, secure their essential needs, and provide all possible assistance until the current crisis ends.”

The head of Najaf’s Provincial Council, Ghaith Raad al-Kilabi, submitted to the Iraqi Parliament a proposal to take advantage of the medical expertise of Lebanese professionals among the displaced population.

In his proposal to the federal parliament, Kilabi stated: “Given the arrival of a number of skilled professionals, including those in specialized medical fields, we suggest taking advantage of these scientific competencies according to their expertise and the needs of the country.”

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Arab World

Aid Groups Petition Israel’s Top Court to Halt Ban on Gaza, West Bank Operations 

Palestinian Red Crescent workers load medical supplies to be transported to Gaza, at the launch of a joint logistical operation with the European Union and the Red Cross, in the West Bank city of Beitunia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP)
Palestinian Red Crescent workers load medical supplies to be transported to Gaza, at the launch of a joint logistical operation with the European Union and the Red Cross, in the West Bank city of Beitunia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP)
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Aid Groups Petition Israel’s Top Court to Halt Ban on Gaza, West Bank Operations 

Palestinian Red Crescent workers load medical supplies to be transported to Gaza, at the launch of a joint logistical operation with the European Union and the Red Cross, in the West Bank city of Beitunia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP)
Palestinian Red Crescent workers load medical supplies to be transported to Gaza, at the launch of a joint logistical operation with the European Union and the Red Cross, in the West Bank city of Beitunia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP)

Around 17 international humanitarian organizations have petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to block an imminent order that would force 37 NGOs to cease operations in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, warning of catastrophic consequences for civilians.

Organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE, were notified on December 30 that their Israeli registrations had expired and that they had 60 days to renew them by providing lists of their Palestinian staff.

If they fail to do so, they will have to cease operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, from March 1.

The petitioners said enforcement has already begun in practice, with supplies blocked and visas denied to foreign staff.

“We haven't been able to get international staff inside Gaza since the beginning of January. Israeli authorities denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank,” MSF head of mission in the Palestinian territories Filipe Ribeiro told AFP last week.

The petition, described as unprecedented in its scale, seeks an urgent interim injunction from Israel's top court to suspend the closures pending full judicial review.

The 17 petitioners, which include some of the NGOs hit by the ban, argued the Israeli measures are incompatible with an occupying power's obligations under international humanitarian law.

The NGOs said compliance would expose local employees to potential retaliation, undermine the principle of humanitarian neutrality and violate European data protection law.

“Turning humanitarian organizations into an information-gathering arm for a party to the conflict stands in total contradiction to the principle of neutrality,” the petition stated.

The petitioners said they have proposed practical alternatives to handing over staff lists to Israel, including “independent sanctions screening” and “donor-audited vetting systems.”

The organizations noted that they collectively support or implement more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, 60% of field hospital operations and all inpatient treatment for children suffering severe acute malnutrition.

Arab World

Baghdad Airport Closed Due to 'Technical Problem'

A passenger takes his belongings after inspection at the departure hall of Baghdad's International airport on March 14, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
A passenger takes his belongings after inspection at the departure hall of Baghdad's International airport on March 14, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Baghdad Airport Closed Due to 'Technical Problem'

A passenger takes his belongings after inspection at the departure hall of Baghdad's International airport on March 14, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
A passenger takes his belongings after inspection at the departure hall of Baghdad's International airport on March 14, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Iraq's transport ministry said Wednesday a temporary shutdown of Baghdad International Airport was caused by an "emergency technical problem,” denying reports of any security threat.

The closure prompted speculation on social media, but officials stressed that the halt in operations was purely technical and repairs were already underway.

Ministry spokesman Maytham Alsafi said the fault required "immediate precautionary action,” adding that technical teams had begun assessments and repairs, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported.

He said the airport would reopen "within hours" once maintenance work and final checks were completed.

Alsafi rejected claims of domestic or foreign security risks behind the closure, calling the reports baseless and urging media outlets to verify information through official channels.

Arab World

Johnson: Ukraine War Result of West’s Failure to Punish Assad for Using Chemical Weapons 

20 August 2023, Syria, Idlib: Children play next to a destroyed building with a mural painted on it during a commemoration event for the 10th anniversary of the Ghouta chemical attack. (Anas Alkharboutli/dpa)
20 August 2023, Syria, Idlib: Children play next to a destroyed building with a mural painted on it during a commemoration event for the 10th anniversary of the Ghouta chemical attack. (Anas Alkharboutli/dpa)
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Johnson: Ukraine War Result of West’s Failure to Punish Assad for Using Chemical Weapons 

20 August 2023, Syria, Idlib: Children play next to a destroyed building with a mural painted on it during a commemoration event for the 10th anniversary of the Ghouta chemical attack. (Anas Alkharboutli/dpa)
20 August 2023, Syria, Idlib: Children play next to a destroyed building with a mural painted on it during a commemoration event for the 10th anniversary of the Ghouta chemical attack. (Anas Alkharboutli/dpa)

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the war in Ukraine was the result of the West's failure to support Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, as well as its inability to punish Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons against his own people in Syria and the debacle of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Speaking on Sunday ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Johnson told the BBC: “I think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin was emboldened by a Western failure in Syria to punish Assad for using chemical weapons.”

“Putin was further emboldened in February 2022 by what he'd seen in Afghanistan, and a sort of general sense that the West was on the back foot. He'd seen those appalling pictures of Americans being forced to flee Afghanistan and the UK pulling out as well, and that really did embolden him,” he added.

Last November, Syria’s permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Dr. Mohammed Katoub, warned that remnants of chemical weapons across the country pose a direct threat to civilians in more than 100 suspected locations.

28 April 2022, United Kingdom, London: UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis (not pictured) during their meeting at 10 Downing Street. (Rob Pinney/PA Wire/dpa)

Katoub said that toxic remnants remain in areas previously struck or used for weapons production and that many of these locations are close to population centers, raising fears of accidental exposure.

Speaking on the first working day of the restored Syrian mission in The Hague, Katoub told the state-run channel Al-Ikhbariah that the Assad regime continued to use chemical weapons for 12 years.

He said the most recent documented incident occurred on December 5, 2024, in the village of Khattab, in the Hama countryside.

Based on reports from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the Assad regime is responsible for the sarin gas attack on Damascus' Ghouta district on August 21, 2013.

Assad regime forces launched four simultaneous chemical attacks on populated areas in eastern and western Ghouta, including the town of Muadamiyat al-Sham, using at least ten rockets loaded with sarin gas, with a total estimated quantity of approximately 200 liters.

The rockets were launched from designated launchers after midnight, taking advantage of weather conditions that kept the toxic gases close to the ground, resulting in the largest possible number of victims while they slept, a clear indication of a premeditated intent to target civilians demanding political change.

A man breathes through an oxygen mask while another receives treatment after a gas attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Syria's Idlib province on April 4, 2017. (Reuters)

This was compounded by a stifling regime blockade imposed since the end of 2012, which prevented the entry of fuel, medicine, and medical supplies needed to treat the wounded, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.

On the morning of April 4, 2017, at approximately 06:49 am, fixed-wing Syrian regime warplanes targeted Khan Sheikoun city in Idlib’s southern suburbs using a missile loaded with poison gas which is believed was a nerve gas.

SNHR documented the deaths of 91 civilians, including 32 children and 23 women, who were asphyxiated by poison gas, which caused cardiac arrest and respiratory muscle paralysis in victims. Additionally, about 520 others suffered from suffocation symptoms, including 12 Civil Defense personnel and six media activists.

On April 7, 2018, the regime launched a chemical attack on Douma city in the Damascus suburbs. SNHR documented that 43 civilians, including 19 children and 17 women died of suffocation, while nearly 550 others were injured.