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Confusion in Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel Benefits Hezbollah, Amal

A picture taken on March 9, 2018 along a highway in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows electoral billboards for the upcoming 2018 May parliamentary elections in Lebanon by Amal movement. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
A picture taken on March 9, 2018 along a highway in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows electoral billboards for the upcoming 2018 May parliamentary elections in Lebanon by Amal movement. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
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Confusion in Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel Benefits Hezbollah, Amal

A picture taken on March 9, 2018 along a highway in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows electoral billboards for the upcoming 2018 May parliamentary elections in Lebanon by Amal movement. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
A picture taken on March 9, 2018 along a highway in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre shows electoral billboards for the upcoming 2018 May parliamentary elections in Lebanon by Amal movement. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP

The decision of former Speaker Hussein Husseini to withdraw his candidacy from the May 6 parliamentary race in Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel district came to serve the so-called Shi’ite duo, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, and embarrassed the Free Patriotic Movement, which ended up striking an alliance with ex-regional secretary-general of the Baath party in Lebanon Fayez Shokr.

Husseini’s withdrawal on Sunday came a day before the final deadline for registration of lists.

His previous “Civil Resistance” list included Ali Zoaiter, Mohammad Haidar, Abbas Yaghi, Ali Sabri Hamadeh, Ghada Assaf, Massoud Al-Hujjeiri, Abdullah al-Shall, Free Patriotic Movement candidate Michel Daher and Shawki Fakhri.

Currently, there are five lists competing in the Baalbek-Hermel electoral district, mainly the list of the Shi’ite duo and another one supported by both the Mustaqbal Movement and the Lebanese Forces.

Candidates Daher and Ghada Assaf, who were both representing the FPM party in the Civil Resistance list, announced on Monday they are running on the list of Shokr, and said that their dispute with “Hezbollah” was not based on political grounds.

“Hezbollah is an ally, and therefore, we are not running against the party. We just want to change the same figures that have been elected as deputies in the past years,” Daher told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said he hopes to break the list of the Shi’ite duo by winning two seats, one Shi’ite and one Christian.

The list supported by Mustaqbal and the LF was on Monday optimistic that it would win seats after the withdrawal of Husseini from the race.

However, Researcher at Information International Mohammed Shamseddine told Asharq Al-Awsat that Husseini’s withdrawal would serve the Shi’ite duo and not the other competing lists.

Other sources in Baalbek echoed Shamseddine’s view and said Husseini’s decision would definitely serve Hezbollah and Amal.

His withdrawal angered Abdullah al-Shall, a candidate running on Husseini’s list.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the former speaker’s move confused the list, particularly that it came immediately before the expiry of the deadline for the registration of tickets.

“Despite Husseini’s improper step, we will remain in the race,” he said, expressing confidence in the ability to win the Sunni seat in the district.

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Arab World

Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Germany's military has "temporarily" moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of "escalating tensions in the Middle East," a German defense ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

Dozens of German soldiers had been relocated away from the base in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

"Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not specify the source of the tensions, but US President Donald Trump has ordered a major build-up of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.

German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.

The spokesman said the German redeployment away from Erbil was "closely coordinated with our multinational partners".

Arab World

UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
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UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)

A drone strike on a displacement camp in Sudan killed at least 15 children earlier this week, the United Nations reported late on Wednesday.

"On Monday 16 February, at least 15 children were reportedly killed and 10 wounded after a drone strike on a displacement camp in Al Sunut, West Kordofan," the UN children's agency said in a statement.

Across the Kordofan region, currently the Sudan war's fiercest battlefield, "we are seeing the same disturbing patterns from Darfur -- children killed, injured, displaced and cut off from the services they need to survive," UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

Arab World

MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.

In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can," Filipe Ribeiro told AFP in Amman, but said operations were already facing challenges.

"Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank," he said.

Ribeiro added that MSF's ability to bring medical supplies into Gaza had also been impacted.

"They're not allowed for now, but we have some stocks in our pharmacies that will allow us to keep running operations for the time being," he said.

"We do have teams in Gaza that are still working, both national and international, and we have stocks."

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

It had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

MSF says it did not provide the names of its Palestinian staff because Israeli authorities offered no assurances regarding their safety.

Ribeiro warned of the massive impact the termination of MSF's operations would have for healthcare in war-shattered Gaza.

"MSF is one of the biggest actors when it comes to the health provision in Gaza and the West Bank, and if we are obliged to leave, then we will create a huge void in Gaza," he said.

The charity says it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in the territory and operates around 20 health centers.

In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations, treated more than 100,000 trauma cases and assisted more than 10,000 infant deliveries.