UN Peacekeepers Say Troops Attacked by Individuals in South Lebanonhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5152856-un-peacekeepers-say-troops-attacked-individuals-south-lebanon
UN Peacekeepers Say Troops Attacked by Individuals in South Lebanon
A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
United Nations peacekeepers said rock-throwing individuals confronted them during a patrol on Tuesday in south Lebanon, calling repeated targeting of their troops "unacceptable".
The UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed since 1978 to separate Lebanon and Israel, sits on a five-member committee to supervise the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In a statement, UNIFIL said peacekeepers conducting "a planned patrol" coordinated with the Lebanese army were "confronted by a group of individuals in civilian clothing in the vicinity of Hallusiyat al-Tahta, in southern Lebanon".
"The group attempted to obstruct the patrol using aggressive means, including throwing stones at the peacekeepers," the statement read, adding that "one peacekeeper was struck" but no injuries were reported, AFP reported.
The situation was defused when the Lebanese army intervened, allowing the peacekeeping force to continue its patrol.
"It is unacceptable that UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to be targeted," the statement added.
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP a Finnish soldier was slapped during the confrontation.
A witness, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said an altercation ensued between locals and the Lebanese army, who were searching for the man who slapped the peacekeeper.
One man opposing the army was injured and hospitalized, the witness said.
In a statement, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he "strongly condemns the repeated attacks" on UNIFIL forces and called for the attackers to be stopped and held accountable.
There have been several confrontations between people in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, and UN peacekeepers in recent weeks.
Confrontations are typically defused by the Lebanese army and rarely escalate.
In December 2022, an Irish peacekeeper was killed in a shooting at a UN armoured vehicle in the south. Hezbollah surrendered a man accused of the crime, but he was released around a year later.
The November ceasefire agreement, which sought to end over a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, states that only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers may be deployed in the country's south.
Israel is supposed to have fully withdrawn its troops from Lebanon according to the deal, but has remained in five positions it deems strategic and has repeatedly bombed the country.
International Airlines Resume Beirut Flights with US Assuranceshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5262514-international-airlines-resume-beirut-flights-us-assurances
International Airlines Resume Beirut Flights with US Assurances
Middle East Airlines aircraft sit on the tarmac at Beirut's Rafic Hariri airport on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport began recovering on Tuesday from the fallout of the Iran war, as international airlines resumed flights to the Lebanese capital after a roughly 40-day suspension caused by ongoing war, amid US pressure on Israel to spare the airport.
The airport schedule showed the arrival of a Qatar Airways aircraft and another operated by Iraq’s UR Airlines, for the first time since the outbreak of the war. The conflict had disrupted airport operations in Lebanon and several Arab countries and prompted European carriers to cancel services to Beirut.
Qatar Airways had previously announced it would operate one daily commercial flight to Beirut.
Mohammad Aziz, head of Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority, said the airport “was not closed; airlines themselves suspended flights to Beirut due to risks posed by military operations to aviation safety.”
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Aziz said he hoped all other carriers would soon resume flights, aiding the airport’s recovery. He added that airlines that halted services due to recent developments were likely to return.
A Qatar Airways plane carrying humanitarian aid landed in Beirut last Friday, before the airline resumed commercial flights on Tuesday alongside UR Airlines.
Their services join those of Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, which maintained operations throughout the war, as well as regular flights by Royal Jordanian and intermittent services by other carriers.
Aziz said no new guarantees or procedures had been introduced.
“The security assurances are the same ones the Lebanese state received through the United States to spare the airport any bombardment,” he said.
He added that agreements between the Civil Aviation Authority and airlines operating in Beirut remain in force. The airport stayed open, while canceled flights listed on schedules reflected airline decisions rather than any change in agreements.
Lebanon received assurances from the United States at the start of the war that Washington was pressing Israel not to target Beirut airport, the country’s only functioning airport.
Aziz said there had been no changes to takeoff and landing procedures, adding that security measures remain strict and in line with international safety standards to ensure the safety of passengers, facilities and flights.
Passenger traffic at Beirut airport has fallen by between 60 and 70 percent since the war began in late February, amid the closure of some regional airports and the suspension of European flights.
Aziz said traffic was “normal” in the sense that arrivals roughly matched departures. On Monday, 2,266 passengers departed Lebanon, compared with 2,241 arrivals, most traveling on Middle East Airlines.
Khartoum Streets Bear Deep Scars as Sudan War Enters Fourth Yearhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5262511-khartoum-streets-bear-deep-scars-sudan-war-enters-fourth-year
Khartoum Streets Bear Deep Scars as Sudan War Enters Fourth Year
A street in Khartoum. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Sudan’s war enters its fourth year on Wednesday after three years of bitter fighting that have reshaped life for millions, not only in casualty figures but in daily stories of loss, endurance, and shattered hopes for safety and stability.
The conflict, which erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023, and continues across large parts of the country, has upended daily life, leaving behind fear, grief, and deep social scars.
In Khartoum, streets that once bustled with life are now eerily quiet. Burned buildings, cracked facades, and abandoned, rusting cars line roads where only a few people pass.
Near total paralysis
Across the capital, daily life has been severely disrupted. Markets that once drove economic activity are largely paralyzed, while disease spreads, electricity cuts stretch for hours, and prices surge. Those who remain survive on the bare minimum.
Entire neighborhoods reflect the scale of the crisis. Many homes stand empty after residents fled, while others lie in ruins. Schools and hospitals have been damaged, triggering a sharp decline in education and health care services.
Yet amid the devastation, small signs of resilience persist. Volunteers clean streets, reopen modest shops, and assist those in need, reflecting a determination to reclaim what remains.
Deferred dream
Ali al-Tayeb, a university student, once had a clear path: studying chemical engineering. The war abruptly derailed those plans.
He said panic in the early months forced him and his family to flee from White Nile state to Talodi in South Kordofan.
“The suffering was not just a geographical move; it was the collapse of an entire educational path because of the harsh economic conditions,” he said.
“Now I work as a salesman in a small shop after my studies stopped, and I live day by day, hoping that one day I will return to university.”
Awatif Abdelrahman, a tea seller, carries a deeper loss. Her son disappeared in the chaos after leaving to buy bread.
Her home in Omdurman’s Wad Nubawi district was shelled, forcing her to flee north to al-Thawra. When she returned months later, she found only rubble, her house destroyed and looted.
“All I want is for the war to end, and for my son to return safely,” she said.
Public transport bus driver Magdi Khalifa, who lost loved ones during the war. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Resilience and hope
Khartoum stands at a crossroads between a past marked by destruction and an uncertain future. Despite deep wounds, the city endures.
Public bus driver Magdi Khalifa lost not only his livelihood but also relatives and friends, some killed in the war, others due to the collapse of health care.
“They are unforgettable days of cruelty, and they have left their mark on every detail of our lives,” he said.
Elsewhere, butcher Mohamed Darwish is trying to rebuild after heavy financial losses forced him to start from scratch.
“We live on hope, and we only want a safe life without fear,” he said.
Their stories converge on one point: war not only takes lives, it erases stability, security, and the future itself, while exposing a fragile but persistent hope.
Rising hunger and poverty
Poverty has surged during the war, with 70% of the population now living below the poverty line, according to Luca Renda, the United Nations Development Program’s resident representative in Sudan, speaking to AFP.
Before the war, about 38% of the population lived below the poverty line; now the UNDP estimates that figure has reached around 70%,” said Renda, adding that one in four Sudanese lives on less than $2 a day.
In conflict zones such as Darfur and Kordofan, poverty rises to around 75%.
The World Food Program recently described Sudan as facing the world’s largest hunger crisis, with more than 19 million people experiencing acute food insecurity.
A UNDP report released Tuesday said average income has fallen to levels not seen since 1992, while extreme poverty has exceeded levels recorded in the 1980s.
After three years of this conflict, it’s not just that Sudan is facing a crisis, but that the international community is witnessing the systematic erosion of the future of an entire country, according to Renda.
These figures reflect families torn apart, children out of school, and livelihoods lost.
The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced at least 11 million people, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.
An accurate death toll remains elusive due to limited information, communications blackouts, and restricted movement across a country where much of the infrastructure has been destroyed.
Engineering student Ali Al-Tayeb, whose education was disrupted by the war, now works as a salesman in a small shop. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The missing
The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 11,000 people have gone missing since the war began, highlighting deep psychological suffering among families.
The number of missing persons cases has risen by more than 40% over the past year alone.
These figures most likely represent only a fraction of the real number, and show the human cost of protracted conflicts, noted James Reynolds, the ICRC’s deputy director for Africa.
The ICRC added that 70 to 80% of health infrastructure in conflict areas is either out of service or severely lacking resources.
Berlin is hosting a donors conference on Wednesday aimed at making tangible progress toward ending the war and addressing urgent humanitarian needs, after similar meetings in London and Paris over the past two years failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough.
For First Time in Two Months, 323 Trucks Enter Gaza in One Dayhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5262503-first-time-two-months-323-trucks-enter-gaza-one-day
A convoy carrying wounded Palestinians from Gaza for treatment through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, after it was reopened by Israel on Sunday for a limited number of people, rides through Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, April 12, 2026. (Reuters)
For First Time in Two Months, 323 Trucks Enter Gaza in One Day
A convoy carrying wounded Palestinians from Gaza for treatment through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, after it was reopened by Israel on Sunday for a limited number of people, rides through Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, April 12, 2026. (Reuters)
For the first time in two months, the Gaza Strip has seen a sharp increase in trucks carrying aid and commercial goods, alongside a rise in travelers crossing through the Rafah land crossing in both directions.
A total of 323 trucks entered Gaza on Monday, including 220 commercial shipments for the private sector and 103 aid trucks from international organizations.
Of these, 234 trucks came through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the far south, and 89 through the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza, which reopened on Sunday after 44 days.
Workers in Gaza’s civil and charitable sectors expect the Kissufim crossing, between northern Khan Younis and southern Deir al-Balah, to open on Sunday to further increase the flow of trucks.
A source in Gaza’s economy ministry said most of the incoming shipments were commercial goods, including food supplies carried on more than 270 trucks, along with shelter materials, relief items, consumer goods, household supplies, fuel, and telecommunications equipment.
“For the first time in about two months, this number of trucks has been allowed in,” the source told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that fewer trucks had entered since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
The ceasefire deal stipulates the entry of 600 trucks per day, but Hamas and UN bodies have accused Israel of allowing only limited numbers.
The source said most trucks entering since the ceasefire have carried commercial goods, while aid shipments from Arab, Islamic, and international donors, including UN agencies, have been more limited.
Gaza officials have been told that more trucks and goods could be allowed in to help ease prices.
Israel on Tuesday allowed 126 Palestinians, including 41 patients and 85 companions, to travel after coordination by the World Health Organization. About 18 foreign passport holders also left through the crossing in coordination with their countries.
Israel partially reopened the Rafah crossing under the ceasefire at the start of February, shut it again when the war with Iran began later that month, and reopened it on March 19.
Since the ceasefire, the number of people allowed to pass through Rafah has remained limited, occasionally reaching 100, with expectations that it could rise to 150 a day.
A Palestinian source in Gaza said the recent easing in truck entries and movement through Rafah followed an agreement reached by Gaza’s representative at the Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, with Israel to push compliance with the ceasefire terms.
For now, only patients are allowed to travel through Rafah, but other categories, including students and stranded civilians, could be permitted within about two weeks.
Palestinian factions, led by Hamas, have called on Mladenov and mediators to press Israel to fully implement the first phase of the ceasefire before moving to the second. Contacts and meetings on the issue are ongoing in Cairo.
لم تشترك بعد
انشئ حساباً خاصاً بك لتحصل على أخبار مخصصة لك ولتتمتع بخاصية حفظ المقالات وتتلقى نشراتنا البريدية المتنوعة
