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Morocco to Impose Night Curfew during Ramadan

FILE PHOTO: Police officers patrol streets, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
FILE PHOTO: Police officers patrol streets, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
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Morocco to Impose Night Curfew during Ramadan

FILE PHOTO: Police officers patrol streets, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
FILE PHOTO: Police officers patrol streets, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

Moroccan authorities decided Wednesday to impose a night-time curfew during the holy month of Ramadan as a precautionary measure following the recent rise in COVID-19 cases

According to a government statement, the nationwide night curfew will be implemented from 8 pm to 6 am, starting from the first day of Ramadan.

Moroccans voiced anger over the decision, which sparked a debate over canceling the Tarawih prayers. The government did not make a final decision regarding the issue since the Supreme Scientific Council, the country’s official religious body, is responsible for such decisions.

According to sources, the government called on the council to issue a Fatwa to cancel Tarawih prayers, given the recent developments of the country's epidemiological situation. The council is expected to issue a final decision soon.

However, all current indicators point that evening mosque prayers will be banned again this year to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Moroccan Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani said earlier that the epidemiological situation in Morocco has seen some worrying new developments, including an increase in the number of cases of the new Covid-19 strain, an increase in the number of critical cases, as well as “the challenge of obtaining new vaccine doses.”

Also, Minister of Health Khalid Ait Taleb said that there has been “an increase in the number of new infections, especially in the Casablanca-Settat region,” with the number of cases there constituting 50 percent of the total cases currently recorded at the national level.

The number of cases of the new Covid-19 strain also witnessed a significant increase, reaching 73 cases, according to the latest figures disclosed by the Ministry of Health.

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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.