Lebanon’s Municipalities: First Defense Line in Times of Crisis

Lebanon’s Municipalities: First Defense Line in Times of Crisis
TT
20

Lebanon’s Municipalities: First Defense Line in Times of Crisis

Lebanon’s Municipalities: First Defense Line in Times of Crisis

Lebanon’s municipalities are striving to be the defense line in the face of the coronavirus epidemic despite their limited capabilities and budgets. They are also making remarkable efforts that go beyond implementing the government’s decisions, through special voluntary initiatives.

The government entrusted the municipal councils with several tasks, including monitoring residents’ commitment to social distancing, preventing gatherings and regulating the work of institutions that are exempted from shutting down, in addition to distributing aid to underprivileged families.

“Municipalities are the only form of administrative decentralization in Lebanon, and they enjoy financial and administrative independence… but the problem lies in their limited financial capabilities, with the exception of some cities such as Beirut,” former Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Based on the recent state of emergency declared by the government, the municipalities have a role to play because they are in contact with the people… There is no doubt that the effectiveness of their work lies on their capabilities and the number of staff,” he continued.

While stressing the need to support the municipalities and raise their budgets, Baroud noted that Lebanon allocates between 5 and 7 percent of the total domestic spending to municipalities, while in other countries the budget reaches 27 percent.

Tripoli, where a large number of stores did not adhere to the government’s “general mobilization” decision to fight the COVID-19 disease, is an example of the difficult task assumed by the municipalities.

Riad Yamak, the head of Tripoli’s municipality, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We have a great responsibility and our capabilities are limited, especially in light of the widespread poverty in the city, as more than 40 percent of its residents are below the poverty line.

“This has put pressure on our task to close the shops and markets, which led to the intervention of the army,” he explained.

“A city lockdown and preparing for the next stage in the event of an outbreak of the virus needs great financial capabilities,” Yamak stressed.

Despite all, some municipalities have launched special and distinctive initiatives that are not limited to financial, social and health support but go as far as providing entertainment activities to urge families to stay home.

Some municipalities anticipated the government’s plans by helping poor families through special initiatives, while others chose to resort to different methods to motivate people to stay home. The municipality of Aley, for example, circulated vehicles broadcasting music and recruited volunteer musicians, who toured the neighborhoods, raising cheers from people standing on their balconies.



Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
TT
20

Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli troops moved into an area of northern Gaza to expand what they call a security zone around the edge of the enclave, the military said on Friday, days after the government announced plans to seize large areas with an operation in the south.

Soldiers carrying out the operation in Shejaia, a suburb east of Gaza City in the north, were letting civilians out via organized routes, the military said in a statement.

Israel issued evacuation warnings in the area on Thursday, and hundreds of residents streamed out, some carrying their belongings as they walked, others on donkey carts and bikes or in vans, reported Reuters.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces killed at least 27 people, including women and children, in an airstrike on a school building in Gaza City where displaced families were sheltering.

The military said the Dar Al-Arqam school building in Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City had been used a command and control center by Hamas militants and accused the fighters of deliberately using civilian infrastructure as bases. Hamas denies that it operates among civilians.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing their homes in recent days in one of the biggest mass exoduses of the war, as Israeli forces have moved to expand the territory under their control.

On the southern edge of Gaza, Israeli troops have been consolidating around the ruins of the city of Rafah.

Israel has not fully explained its long-term aim for the areas it is now seizing as a security zone. Gaza residents say they believe the aim is to permanently depopulate swathes of land, including some of Gaza's last farmland and water infrastructure.

The military said it had killed numerous militants and dismantled infrastructure, including what it said was a Hamas command and control center.

Palestinians say Israel's ultimate aim is to displace Gaza's population permanently, in line with a plan announced by US President Donald Trump to turn the enclave into a waterfront resort under US control. Israel says it would encourage Palestinians who wish to leave voluntarily.

Israeli troops resumed their operation in Gaza on March 18, following a two-month truce. Ministers have said the operation will continue until 59 hostages still held in Gaza are returned. Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that brings a permanent end to the war.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has reduced much of Gaza to ruins and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health authorities.