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Moroccan King Cancels Annual Official Birthday Celebration Starting 2019

Moroccan King Cancels Annual Official Birthday Celebration Starting 2019
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Moroccan King Cancels Annual Official Birthday Celebration Starting 2019

Moroccan King Cancels Annual Official Birthday Celebration Starting 2019

The Ministry of the Royal Household has announced that King Mohammed VI will no longer celebrate his birthday with the official annual ceremony at the royal palace.

The celebration is traditionally held every August 21, which also marks the celebration of Youth Day, commemorating the youths’ contribution to Morocco’s liberation.

It also follows the celebration of the king and the people’s revolution on August 20, which commemorates the resistance of Moroccans to French colonialism and their uprising led by late King Mohammed V.

The decision comes a few months after the Ministry of the Royal Household called on institutions across Morocco to commemorate the Throne Day without undue extravagance on July 30, which marked this year two decades since King Mohammed VI’s reign.

Morocco first celebrated Youth Day in July 1956, four months after liberating the Kingdom. Crown Prince Moulay Hassan’s first birthday was chosen to mark this day.

“When Morocco first celebrated the Youth Day in the independence era in 1956, it was a great celebration that has become historic,” said Ahmad Bensouda, minister of youth in the Moroccan government of 1956.

“For the first time in Morocco’s freedom and independence, young people met from all over the Kingdom to celebrate their icon Prince Moulay Hassan’s birthday,” he added, noting that it marked a beginning to their determination and will to build their country and fight the greatest battle.

“I was then minister of youth, and the slogan chosen by late King Mohammed V for that day was (Youth Day).”

“The King gave the celebration of Morocco’s youth a symbol and content embodied in what the Crown Prince represented, including the ambition and will.”

He further noted that the celebration was a way to express creativity and the amount of production young people are capable of achieving.

When King Mohammed VI of Morocco took office in 1999, he maintained the tradition of celebrating Youth Day and changed its date from July 9 (King Hassan II’s birthday) to August 21, King Mohammed VI’s birthday.

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Arab World

Israeli Army Reaches Outskirts of Litani River in Southern Lebanon

An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)
An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)
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Israeli Army Reaches Outskirts of Litani River in Southern Lebanon

An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)
An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)

Israeli forces have launched their largest ground incursion into southern Lebanon since the conflict began, reaching the outskirts of the Litani River near Deirmimas.

They entered the town’s edges in an effort to separate Nabatieh from Marjayoun and prepare for an attack on the town of Taybeh from the west and north.

This move also aimed to neutralize Taybeh hill, which overlooks the Khiam plain, where Israel plans to extend its operations and capture the city of Khiam.

Lebanese media reported that Israel set up a checkpoint at the Deirmimas junction, cutting off Marjayoun from Nabatieh.

They also blocked the western entrance to Deirmimas near a fuel station using earth mounds, with Israeli military vehicles stationed there. Reports also said Israeli forces prevented UNIFIL and the Lebanese army from passing toward Marjayoun.

Lebanese sources following the battle in the south reported that Israeli forces advanced five kilometers west from the town of Kfar Kila, moving through olive groves. This advance took advantage of the absence of Hezbollah fighters in Christian areas like Qlayaa, Bir al-Muluk, and Deirmimas.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that this allowed Israeli forces to reach the outskirts of the Litani River for the first time since 2006, cutting off Nabatieh from Marjayoun. Israeli artillery had previously targeted this route several times, and drones had carried out strikes there.

Israel supported its ground advance with heavy artillery fire. Lebanese security sources said Israeli artillery targeted hills overlooking Deirmimas throughout Thursday night into Friday, hitting locations like Beaufort Castle, Arnoun, Yihmour, Wadi Zawtar, and Deir Siryan.

This fire typically provides cover for infantry advances. The sources also confirmed that Israeli ground movements were backed by airstrikes and drones for added security.

They speculated the advance followed a route from Kfar Kila through Tall al-Nahas and Bir al-Muluk toward Deirmimas, which is almost empty of residents and has no Hezbollah presence.

Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli forces in the area, with three statements confirming the targeting of Israeli positions and vehicles near Deirmimas.

Media reports mentioned multiple rocket strikes on Israeli targets in Khiam and near Tall al-Nahas, as well as a guided missile attack on Israeli movements near oil groves close to the Marqos station at Deirmimas’ edge.

A photo shared by Lebanese media showed an Israeli tank behind an exposed hill east of Qlayaa, protected from the west and north. To the south, Israeli forces entered the town of Deirmimas, which overlooks the position.

Military expert Mustafa Asaad said the image, showing a bulldozer behind a tank at the Qlayaa-Marjayoun-Deirmimas junction, suggests that infantry units secured the area—either on foot or in fast vehicles—before entering Deirmimas.

The town’s mayor confirmed to local media that Israeli forces made a “small incursion” into Deirmimas, advancing through olive groves from Kfar Kila.

Hezbollah has stated it does not have military positions in Christian or Druze areas in southern Lebanon, as these communities oppose its presence. Sources close to Hezbollah say this is due to political reasons and security concerns.