Lebanon: Mikati's Gov't Presents Exceptional Social, Financial Measures

 President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)
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Lebanon: Mikati's Gov't Presents Exceptional Social, Financial Measures

 President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati presented his cabinet’s ministerial statement, promising exceptional economic, social and financial measures with an emphasis on national constants and adherence to the constitution.

Lebanon’s new government won a vote of confidence on Monday for a policy program that aims to remedy the economic crisis.

Addressing the deputies, Mikati said: “Our government is present here today to gain confidence, in a circumstance that necessitates exceptional approaches amid a stifling economic, social, financial and living crisis…”

The prime minister highlighted the national constants that will govern the government’s work, citing “commitment to the provisions of the Constitution and the National Accord Document, respect for international laws and covenants and all resolutions of international legitimacy, commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and continued support for the United Nations forces operating in the South.”

He also emphasized Lebanon’s call on the international community to put an end to the permanent Israeli violations and threats to Lebanese sovereignty, by land, sea and air.

Mikati affirmed “absolute support of the army and all security forces in controlling security along the borders and at home.”

Regarding Hezbollah, Mikati’s government reiterated “adherence to the truce agreement, the complete liberation of the occupied Lebanese territories… and the right of Lebanese citizens to resist the Israeli occupation.”

On the issue of Palestinian and Syrian refugees, the ministerial statement underlined “the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland” and “the safe return of displaced Syrians,” while expressing rejection of any integration or resettlement plans.

The statement pointed to “strengthening Lebanon’s relations with the brotherly Arab countries…calling on the Arab brothers to stand by Lebanon.” It also stressed the importance of activating the “engagement with the international community and its European partner in a way that serves the higher interests of the country.”

The government affirmed its “commitment to holding the parliamentary elections on time.”

Regarding the economic and financial situation, the government pledged to “immediately resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reach an agreement on a support plan, and to adopt a short and medium-term rescue program...”

It also vowed to develop a plan to reform and restructure the banking and revitalize the economic cycle, giving priority to ensuring the rights and funds of depositors and seeking to pass a law on capital control.

On the social level, Mikati’s government stressed the need “to secure an economic-social-health safety net to restore the purchasing power, activate the relevant social institutions, put the financing card project into effect... and reactivate the loans provided by the Public Housing Corporation.”



Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
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Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded enclave, Israeli force pushed into the city on Gaza's southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war, reported Reuters.

Gaza's health ministry reported at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 killed in an airstrike around dawn in Shejaia suburb of Gaza City.

Rafah "is gone, it is being wiped out," a father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighboring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.

"They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property," said the man who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.

After a strike killed several people in Khan Younis, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the damage to his tent.

"Is anything left for us? There’s nothing left for us. We’re being killed while asleep," he said.

The assault to capture Rafah is a major escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.

GAZANS FEAR PERMANENT DEPOPULATION

Israel has not spelled out its longterm aims for the security zone its troops are now seizing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu said troops were taking an area he called the "Morag Axis", a reference to an abandoned former Israeli settlement once located between Rafah on Gaza's southern edge and the adjacent main southern city Khan Younis.

Gazans who had returned to homes in the ruins during the ceasefire have now been ordered to flee communities on the northern and southern edges of the strip.

They fear that Israel's intention is to depopulate those areas indefinitely, leaving many hundreds of thousands of people permanently homeless in one of the poorest and most crowded territories on earth. The security zone includes some of Gaza's last agricultural land and critical water infrastructure.

Since the first phase of the ceasefire expired at the start of March with no agreement to prolong it, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods reaching Gaza's 2.3 million residents, recreating what international organizations describe as a humanitarian catastrophe after weeks of relative calm.

Israel's stated goal since the start of the war has been the destruction of the Hamas group which ran Gaza for nearly two decades and led the attack on Israeli communities in October 2023 that precipitated the war.

But with no effort made to establish an alternative administration, Hamas-led police returned to the streets during the ceasefire. Fighters still hold 59 dead and living hostages which Israel says must be handed over to extend the truce; Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that ends the war.

Israeli leaders say they have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, with hundreds of people demonstrating in north Gaza's Beit Lahiya on Wednesday opposing the war and demanding Hamas quit power. Hamas calls the protesters collaborators and says Israel is behind them.

The war began with a Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.

Rafah residents said most of the local population had followed Israel's order to leave, as Israeli strikes toppled buildings there. But a strike on the main road between Khan Younis and Rafah stopped most movement between the two cities.

Movement of people and traffic along the western coastal road near Morag was also limited by bombardment, said residents.

"Others stayed because they don't know where to go, or got fed up of being displaced several times. We are afraid they might be killed or at best detained," said Basem, a resident of Rafah who declined to give a second name.

Markets have emptied and prices for basic necessities have soared under Israel's total blockade of food, medicine and fuel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has nominal authority over hospitals in Gaza, said Gaza's entire healthcare system was at risk of collapse.