King Abdullah II Receives Mikati: Jordan Doing its Utmost to Stop War on Lebanon

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (C) and his son Crown Prince Hussein (R) receiving Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (L) at Husseiniya Palace in Amman on October 14, 2024. (Jordanian Royal Hashemite Court / AFP)

Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat

06:43-15 October 2024 AD ـ 12 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1446 AH

Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat

06:43-15 October 2024 AD ـ 12 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1446 AH

King Abdullah II Receives Mikati: Jordan Doing its Utmost to Stop War on Lebanon

Jordan’s King Abdullah II stressed on Monday that his country was “doing its utmost, in coordination with Arab brothers and influential countries, to stop the Israeli war on Lebanon.”

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati was in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah. The leaders discussed the developments in Lebanon amid the Israeli assault on the South, said Mikati’s office.

King Abdullah said Jordan firmly stands by Lebanon and its brotherly people. It supports its sovereignty, security and stability, he stated.

The kingdom is prepared to offer aid to the Lebanese brothers to ease their suffering during the war, he went on to say.

Moreover, King Abdullah warned against “the expansion of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, which may lead the whole region to war.”

For his part, Mikati expressed his appreciation for the monarch and Jordan’s support for Lebanon on numerous occasions.

He hailed the humanitarian air bridge between Amman and Beirut to aid the people who have been displaced in the war.

Mikati also met with his Jordanian counterpart Jaafar Hassan for talks on the Israeli war on Lebanon.

Hassan stressed the need for the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

The Israeli assault on Lebanon has displaced around 1.2 million people. So far, Lebanon’s international contacts have yielded little progress in reaching a ceasefire, said Lebanese sources, revealing that Israel has rejected all proposals.

Meanwhile, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert held talks with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on the latest developments.

The UN is doing everything it can to reach a diplomatic solution to the problem, she said.

She stressed the need for the full implementation of resolution 1701 by both parties to reach a solution.

She warned that the situation cannot tolerate failure to implement the resolution.

Discussions with Berri focused on the resolution and a mechanism for its implementation, she added, saying that all parties are keen on avoiding history repeating itself when it comes to the resolution.

A ceasefire is a necessary first step ahead of implementing it, she remarked.

Berri also received a telephone call from Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassem Al Thani for talks on the developments in Lebanon and the need for an immediate ceasefire, said the parliament office.

Berri held telephone talks with UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL) commander Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro to thank him for his “reasonable and brave” stance in remaining firm in their position and maintaining their duties in the South amid the Israeli assault.

Such a stance keeps resolution 1701 alive, he added.

Arab World

UN Says over 400,000 Children in Lebanon Have Been Displaced in 3 Weeks by War

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban (R) visits a shelter for displaced people in Sidon, Lebanon, 12 October 2024. (EPA)

08:07-15 October 2024 AD ـ 12 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1446 AH

UN Says over 400,000 Children in Lebanon Have Been Displaced in 3 Weeks by War

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban (R) visits a shelter for displaced people in Sidon, Lebanon, 12 October 2024. (EPA)

More than 400,000 children in Lebanon have been displaced in the past three weeks, a top official with the UN children’s agency said Monday, warning of a “lost generation” in the small country grappling with multiple crises and now in the middle of war.

Israel has escalated its campaign against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah armed group, including launching a ground invasion, after a year of exchanges of fire during its war with Hamas in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, most of them fleeing to Beirut and elsewhere in the north over the past three weeks since the escalation.

Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's deputy executive director for humanitarian actions, has visited schools that have been turned into shelters to host displaced families.

“What struck me is that this war is three weeks old and so many children have been affected,” Chaiban told The Associated Press in Beirut.

“Their public schools have either been rendered inaccessible, have been damaged by the war or are being used as shelters. The last thing this country needs, in addition to everything else it has gone through, is the risk of a lost generation.”

While some Lebanese private schools are still operating, the public school system has been badly affected by the war, along with the country's most vulnerable people such as Palestinian and Syrian refugees.

″What I’m worried about is that we have hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian children that are at risk of losing their learning," Chaiban said.

More than 2,300 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes, nearly 75% of them over the last month, according to the Health Ministry. In the last three weeks, more than 100 children were killed and over 800 were wounded, Chaiban said.

He said displaced children are crammed into overcrowded shelters where three or four families can live in a classroom separated by a plastic sheet, and where 1,000 people can share 12 toilets. Not all of them work.

Many displaced families have set up tents along roads or on public beaches.

Most displaced children have experienced so much violence, including the sounds of shelling or gunshots, that they cower at any loud noise, Chaiban said.

Then there is “evacuation orders upon evacuation orders. We’re at the beginning, and already there’s been a profound impact,” he said.

The escalation has also put over 100 primary health care facilities out of service, while 12 hospitals are either no longer working or partially functional.

Water infrastructure has also come under attack. In the last three weeks, 26 water stations providing water to almost 350,000 people have been damaged, Chaiban said. UNICEF is working with local authorities to repair them.

He called for civilian infrastructure to be protected. And he appealed for a ceasefire in Lebanon and in Gaza, saying there needs to be political will and a realization that the conflict cannot be resolved through military means.

“What we must do is make sure that this stops, that this madness stops, that there’s a ceasefire before we get to the kind of destruction and pain and suffering and death that we’ve seen in Gaza,” Chaiban said.

With so many needs, he said, the emergency response appeal for $108 million in Lebanon has only been 8% funded three weeks into the escalation.

King Abdullah II Receives Mikati: Jordan Doing its Utmost to Stop War on Lebanon

King Abdullah II Receives Mikati: Jordan Doing its Utmost to Stop War on Lebanon

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UN Says over 400,000 Children in Lebanon Have Been Displaced in 3 Weeks by War

UN Says over 400,000 Children in Lebanon Have Been Displaced in 3 Weeks by War

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