Lebanon Records New Coronavirus Infection High

Health workers and members of internal security forces stand inside Beirut international airport on its reopening day following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beirut, Lebanon July 1, 2020. (Reuters)
Health workers and members of internal security forces stand inside Beirut international airport on its reopening day following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beirut, Lebanon July 1, 2020. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Records New Coronavirus Infection High

Health workers and members of internal security forces stand inside Beirut international airport on its reopening day following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beirut, Lebanon July 1, 2020. (Reuters)
Health workers and members of internal security forces stand inside Beirut international airport on its reopening day following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beirut, Lebanon July 1, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s number of new coronavirus infections increased for a third consecutive day to a record 86, the government said on Saturday.

Lebanon has recorded 2,168 infections and 36 deaths since February.

Health Minister Hamad Hassan told Reuters on Friday the spike was partly due to expatriates who came after the airport was reopened on July 1. One infected 12 people at a wedding and another infected 12 at a funeral, he said.

A second cluster of infections had appeared among nurses and doctors and a third among refuse collectors, he said.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.