Algeria Imposes Vaccine Pass To Boost Low Inoculation Rate

People wait to receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Algiers, Algeria January 31, 2021. (Reuters)
People wait to receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Algiers, Algeria January 31, 2021. (Reuters)
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Algeria Imposes Vaccine Pass To Boost Low Inoculation Rate

People wait to receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Algiers, Algeria January 31, 2021. (Reuters)
People wait to receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Algiers, Algeria January 31, 2021. (Reuters)

Algeria started requiring a “vaccine passport” Sunday to enter a broad range of public venues, in a bid to boost the country's low inoculation rate and overcome vaccine hesitancy that has left millions of vaccines unused.

The pass is now required for anyone entering or leaving Algeria, as well as for sports facilities, cinemas, theaters, museums, town halls and some other sites. It also applies to hammams — the bath houses that are popular across the region.

Less than a quarter of Algeria's population has had even one vaccine dose, so the rule will be difficult to enforce. It was announced in a government statement Saturday night and came into effect Sunday, leaving Algerians and businesses no time to prepare.

The government said the measure was aimed primarily at dealing with a rebound in infections from the delta variant. Only two cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed in Algeria but authorities are bracing for more. The government said other measures could be taken in the coming days depending on the evolution of the epidemic.

Official figures show Algeria has seen 6,230 COVID-related deaths including seven in the past week, and 217,000 cases overall. But even members of the government's scientific committee admit the real figures are much higher. Out of fears of being blamed for getting the virus or other stigma, some Algerians keep their infections secret — which then puts others at risk.

Meanwhile vaccine hesitancy remains high, despite sufficient supply.

“More than 13 million vaccines risk being out of date if they do not quickly find takers,” Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid warned earlier this month.

According to figures released last week by a member of the government scientific committee, professor Ryadh Mahyaoui, only 10 million Algerians have had a first dose of the vaccine out of a population of 45 million.



Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
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Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 

South Lebanon is witnessing an escalating series of military operations, marked by repeated Israeli ground incursions and extensive bulldozing along the border.

The latest incidents have unfolded in the Marjayoun district and around the Wadi Hunin area, where Israeli military vehicles advanced more than 800 meters into Lebanese territory. According to analysts, these moves signal an effort to entrench a security presence that reflects “an advanced strategy to impose a new status quo along the frontier.”

On Friday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli army bulldozers, protected by tanks stationed nearby, crossed the boundary at Wadi Hunin and moved towards a landfill south of the town of Adaisseh. The forces sealed off a road and erected earthen barriers, prompting heightened alert from the Lebanese side.

Separately, an Israeli patrol breached the withdrawal line in the outskirts of Kfar Shouba - penetrating 400 meters into Lebanese territory - and fired shots at shepherds without causing injuries.

The incursions did not stop there. Residents of Blida also reported a fresh advance of over 800 meters. Meanwhile, Israeli troops detonated a civilian structure in the Ghassouna area east of Adaisseh, using incendiary and stun grenades that sowed panic among local families.

In parallel, Israeli aerial attacks have intensified. On Friday, an Israeli drone struck a car traveling on the Nmeiriyeh–Sharqiyyeh road in Nabatieh district, killing one person and injuring five others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed. The attack underscores the widening scope of targets, reaching deeper into southern Lebanon and extending beyond military sites to include civilian vehicles.

Another drone dropped a bomb on a small transport truck in the border town of Kfar Kila, causing material damage but no casualties. Such incidents have become a recurring pattern in the ongoing escalation.

Adding to the strain on civilians, an entire house in Kfar Kila was blown up after being rigged with explosives. In Meiss El Jabal, Israeli forces destroyed a newly renovated tile factory last week, as part of what Israeli spokesmen described as “special operations” targeting weapons depots and infrastructure allegedly tied to Hezbollah in locations including Labouneh and Jabal Balat.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on Wednesday that the operations were based on intelligence gathering and surveillance of “Hezbollah’s combat means and terrorist infrastructure.” He added that special units were working to dismantle these networks to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its positions along the border. Adraee also released nighttime video footage showing Israeli infantry operating deep inside southern Lebanon.

A Systematic Effort to Empty the Border

Military analyst Brigadier General Naji Malaeb described these incursions as “part of a systematic plan to reshape the situation on the border.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli ground advances typically coincide with major diplomatic developments - whether a US envoy arriving in Beirut or Israeli delegations traveling to Washington.

“Every time there is a significant diplomatic event, we see coordinated maneuvers - airstrikes, artillery shelling, or limited ground incursions targeting civilian or logistical sites,” Malaeb noted.

He argued that Israel’s consistent pattern of targeting rebuilt homes and small businesses reveals a clear message: preventing displaced residents from returning. “Whenever villagers attempt to repair their homes or revive their livelihoods, the response is immediate,” he said, citing a recent case in Aitaroun where Israeli troops demolished a factory that had been reconstructed inside a residence.

“This is no longer just a violation of Lebanese sovereignty or UN Resolution 1701,” Malaeb concluded. “It has evolved into a deliberate strategy to depopulate the border strip and impose new facts on the ground, creating, in effect, a buffer zone through indirect means.”