Hezbollah Ties Lebanon’s Political Stability to Resignation of Beirut Blast Probe Judge

A man cleans up shattered glass a day after the Tayyouneh clashes, October 15, 2021. (Reuters)
A man cleans up shattered glass a day after the Tayyouneh clashes, October 15, 2021. (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Ties Lebanon’s Political Stability to Resignation of Beirut Blast Probe Judge

A man cleans up shattered glass a day after the Tayyouneh clashes, October 15, 2021. (Reuters)
A man cleans up shattered glass a day after the Tayyouneh clashes, October 15, 2021. (Reuters)

Hezbollah tied on Saturday Lebanon’s political stability to the resignation of lead judge in the investigation of the Beirut port blast, Tarek Bitar.

Deputy leader of the Iran-backed party, Naim Qassem said Bitar “has become a real problem in Lebanon.”

The dispute has obstructed the work of the government for ten days now.

Parliamentary sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are no signs that it will be convening any time soon given that the dispute is not close to being resolved.

Qassem said: “We wanted a real investigator to reveal what happened at the port so that justice can prevail.”

He accused Bitar of “flagrantly politicizing the probe”, alleging that the relatives of the victims have grown suspicious of him and that he had almost caused strife in the Tayyouneh area in Beirut.

Some ten days ago, Hezbollah and its ally Amal had staged a protest against Bitar in Tayyouneh. Tensions between them and the Lebanese Forces (LF) boiled over, leading to armed clashes in the area reminiscent of the 1975-90 civil war. Seven people were killed in the fighting.

“What sort of investigator is this? He has brought us problems and crises. There can be no hope in justice coming from him,” declared Qassem.

“He is better off resigning so that stability can be restored and so people can have their justice,” he added.

He also slammed the LF over the Tayyouneh fighting, accusing it of planning the clashes beforehand as it had snipers ready to attack the peaceful protest.

“We succeeded in this confrontation because we snuffed out strife through patience and rationality,” he said, stressing that Hezbollah will follow through with the probe into the fighting so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Former LF MP Fadi Karam expressed his concern that the “security apparatus” could be used to suppress the opposition.

He explained that Hezbollah was using the Tayyouneh incident to divert attention from the Beirut port blast probe so that it could shirk blame from that crime.

Former President Michel Suleiman expressed concern that the judiciary was coming under pressure over the Beirut blast probe and Tayyouneh clashes.

He echoed Karam’s remarks in that the clashes were being used to divert attention from the blast investigation.



Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Amnesty International issued a report Thursday claiming a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza uses starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas.

The UK-based human rights group condemned Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the US and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations.

Israel’s foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has “joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.

The Amnesty report said Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians” through GHF's militarized hubs. The conditions have created "a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”

“This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

Israel rejects claims

The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously.

The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals.

Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment.

The World Food Program says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began.

“The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,” the WFP said in a June report.

GHF hubs are close to Israeli military positions

Amnesty’s report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organizations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective.

It’s the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the US government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known US donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.

GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.

Palestinian witnesses have described scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites.

In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians.

“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” GHF said.

GHF has called for Israel’s military to investigate the allegations from Gaza’s Health Ministry, but last month the organization said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire.

Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The UN and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.

Amnesty's allegations of genocide Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.