Nasrallah Threatening Geagea: We Have 100,000 Fighters

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)
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Nasrallah Threatening Geagea: We Have 100,000 Fighters

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)

Head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah threatened on Monday the Lebanese Forces, saying his party boasts 100,000 trained and armed fighters.

He warned any side in the country against thinking of “waging a civil war with the party,” stressing in a harsh tone: “Be reasonable.”

In a speech on Monday, Nasrallah attempted to assure Christians, days after the clashes in Beirut’s Tayyouneh area pitted supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and the Amal movement against the Christian LF.

Seven people were killed in the fighting and dozens injured.

The LF condemned Thursday’s events and blamed the violence on Hezbollah’s “incitement” against Tarek Bitar, the lead investigator in a probe into last year’s blast at Beirut port.

Amal and Hezbollah had called the demonstration to protest against Bitar.

Nasrallah alleged that his party helped preserve the presence of Christians in Syria and that it was defending Christian representation in Lebanon.

In his strongly-worded speech, he sharply criticized LF leader Samir Geagea, accusing him of seeking to divide Lebanon and ignite civil war.

He described the Tayyouneh developments as “fateful”, saying the victims were killed by LF supporters.

Addressing Geagea, he said: “With whom do want to wage a civil war? Don’t get your calculations wrong. You must know that Hezbollah boasts 100,000 fighters.”

“Don’t miscalculate and you should derive lessons from your wars and ours,” he said pointedly.

Moreover, Nasrallah addressed a footage of the fighting that showed a soldier firing at protesters.

He called for an investigation and for accountability, “otherwise we will see what will happen.”

“We do not leave the blood of our martyrs behind,” he stated.

On the Beirut port explosion probe, Nasrallah described Bitar as a “dictator”, claiming he is being backed by foreign embassies.



Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)

Egypt is continuing to strengthen its cooperation with African nations to confront the pressing challenges of water and food security.

“Water issues are a shared challenge that grows more severe due to climate change and resource scarcity, especially given Egypt’s near-total dependence on Nile water,” Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam said, according to an official statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister during a celebration at the Djibouti Embassy in Cairo marking Djibouti’s 48th independence anniversary, Sewilam emphasized that cross-border cooperation, rooted in principles of international law, is the optimal path to ensure sustainable water resources.

Egypt frequently raises the issue of water security, particularly amid the ongoing crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia has built on the main tributary of the Nile since 2011 to generate electricity. Egypt and Sudan fear it will impact their water shares.

Ambassador Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, stressed that water security is closely linked to river management and dam operations. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt consistently underscores the importance of respecting international laws and agreements on managing water resources and criticized Ethiopia’s unilateral actions to impose a de facto situation regarding the dam.

Halima added that achieving water security requires cooperation among states in managing water resources and constructing dams, noting that Egypt has valuable experience African nations can benefit from.

Egypt faces a water deficit estimated at 30 billion cubic meters annually. Its share of Nile water amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters per year, while consumption exceeds 85 billion cubic meters. The shortfall is covered by groundwater extraction, seawater desalination projects, and recycling agricultural drainage water, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

On Friday, Sewilam highlighted the longstanding ties between Egypt and Djibouti as an example of cooperation amid complex regional and global challenges requiring greater unity and shared vision. He noted that the regional and international context demands an understanding of the magnitude of challenges, ranging from security and peace to sustainable development and socio-economic stability, especially in the Arab and African regions.

Egypt is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate in fields such as integrated water resources management, desalination technologies, groundwater recharge, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and joint research.

In parallel, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to working with African countries to develop more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural value chains. Speaking during FAO meetings in Rome, he said that strengthening these chains is central to food security, economic growth, and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Farouk also discussed promoting Egyptian investment in Africa to boost agricultural development and food security across the continent.