Activists in Beirut Protest Killing of Hezbollah Critic Lokman Slim

Activists gather two days after the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim demanding a transparent investigation into the crime, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon February 6, 2021. (Reuters)
Activists gather two days after the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim demanding a transparent investigation into the crime, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon February 6, 2021. (Reuters)
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Activists in Beirut Protest Killing of Hezbollah Critic Lokman Slim

Activists gather two days after the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim demanding a transparent investigation into the crime, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon February 6, 2021. (Reuters)
Activists gather two days after the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim demanding a transparent investigation into the crime, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon February 6, 2021. (Reuters)

Around a hundred activists rallied in downtown Beirut on Saturday to protest the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim and to demand a transparent investigation.

Slim, a Shiite publisher in his late fifties, ran a research center, made documentaries with his wife and led efforts to build an archive on Lebanon’s 1975-1990 sectarian civil war.

He was a vocal critic of what he described as armed group Hezbollah’s intimidation tactics and attempts to monopolize Lebanese politics.

He was shot dead and found in his car on Thursday in south Lebanon - the first killing of a high-profile activist in years.

Slim had gone missing the night before. He had four bullets in his head and one in his back.

On Saturday morning Slim’s wife, Monika Borgmann, tweeted for the first time since his death, sharing a two-word banner with a black background that said “zero fear” in Arabic.

The same two words appeared on a banner at the protest where activists blamed the Iranian-backed Hezbollah for the killing.

“If Hezbollah is really innocent of this crime or refuses it and condemns it, then they have to help the security apparatus and Lebanese judicial authorities especially that Lokman Slim was killed in their area of security influence,” said one of the protesters, Youssef Diab.

“If that doesn’t happen then they are still suspects.”

Hezbollah condemned the killing on Thursday, which Lebanese officials, including the president, called an assassination.

“We will not kill him again with our silence,” said one demonstrator who gave her name as Nelly. “My one fear is that people will be scared and remain silent, then Lebanon will be in danger.”



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.