Protesters Block Lebanon Roads as Prices Spiral Out of Control

Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
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Protesters Block Lebanon Roads as Prices Spiral Out of Control

Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)

Protesters in Lebanon burned tires and closed several major roads on Thursday in a third day of demonstrations as the severe economic crisis gripping the country continued to spiral out of control.

The new wave of protests began on Tuesday after the Lebanese pound plunged to record lows on the black market, raising fears that the deterioration will only get worse. Prices have skyrocketed in recent months.

In a new low, a fistfight broke out inside a supermarket in the Hazmieh area near Beirut over the purchase of subsidized powdered milk. Some supermarkets and groceries have started setting restrictions on how much people can purchase amid limited supplies and as panicked residents stock up on food at home.

The supermarket issued a statement later saying the fistfight broke out when a shopper attacked a branch manager who told him he cannot buy large amounts of subsidized milk and oil without considering the restrictions.

While officially the US dollar costs only 1,520 Lebanese pounds, the black market price was around 9,950 pounds on Thursday — a day after briefly hitting a record high of 10,000. Just a few months earlier, dollars could be bought at a rate of about 7,000 pounds for $1.

On Thursday evening, protesters burnt tires to block roads leading out of Beirut in Jal el Dib and Furn al-Shebbak. The main road was also blocked in Zouk district to the north of the capital.

“They are humiliating people with a bag of milk,” shouted one protester at the rally in Zouk. “The ruling class must go.”



Netanyahu Says Israel Is Establishing a New Security Corridor across Gaza

An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Is Establishing a New Security Corridor across Gaza

An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Wednesday, he described it as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities.

His comments came as Palestinian officials at hospitals inside Gaza said Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday had killed more than 40 people, nearly a dozen of them children.

The Israeli government has long maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence and has greatly expanded since the war against Hamas began in 2023. Israel says the buffer zone is needed for its security, while Palestinians view it as a land grab that further shrinks the narrow coastal territory, home to around 2 million people.