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Lebanon: Hundreds Protest Measures Targeting Unvaccinated

A protester holds a placard during a rally to protest measures imposed against people who are not vaccinated, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A protester holds a placard during a rally to protest measures imposed against people who are not vaccinated, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanon: Hundreds Protest Measures Targeting Unvaccinated

A protester holds a placard during a rally to protest measures imposed against people who are not vaccinated, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A protester holds a placard during a rally to protest measures imposed against people who are not vaccinated, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Hundreds of people rallied in Beirut on Saturday to protest measures imposed against the unvaccinated, saying individuals should have the right to decide whether to be inoculated or not.

Vaccination is not compulsory in Lebanon, but in recent days authorities have cracked down on people who are not inoculated or don’t carry a negative PCR test, The Associated Press reported.

Saturday’s protest by nearly 300 people in downtown Beirut came a day after the daily number of new coronavirus cases hit a record 7,974.

The protest came days after authorities imposed fresh restrictions — including the requirement of a vaccination certificate or negative PCR test for entry into restaurants, hotels and similar venues.

As of Monday, civil servants must either be vaccinated or take regular PCR tests to be able to go to work. Many civil servants cannot afford to pay for regular PCR tests, given Lebanon’s severe economic crisis currency crash.

“No to the dictatorship of vaccination,” read one banner carried by protesters.

Lebanon, with has a population of six million including a million Syrian refugees, has registered more than 760,000 cases and 9,250 deaths since discovering its first COVID-19 case in February 2020.

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Arab World

Strike Blamed on US Kills Four Iran-backed Fighters in Iraq

Iraqi security forces stand guard during a funerary procession for a slain member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) -- an alliance of factions now integrated into the regular army that also includes powerful Iran-backed groups -- who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike in Mosul the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraqi security forces stand guard during a funerary procession for a slain member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) -- an alliance of factions now integrated into the regular army that also includes powerful Iran-backed groups -- who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike in Mosul the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Strike Blamed on US Kills Four Iran-backed Fighters in Iraq

Iraqi security forces stand guard during a funerary procession for a slain member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) -- an alliance of factions now integrated into the regular army that also includes powerful Iran-backed groups -- who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike in Mosul the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraqi security forces stand guard during a funerary procession for a slain member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) -- an alliance of factions now integrated into the regular army that also includes powerful Iran-backed groups -- who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike in Mosul the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Four fighters from the Tehran-backed Kataeb Imam Ali group were killed on Tuesday in air strikes blamed on the US in northern Iraq, the armed faction announced.

The group said its fighters were killed in an "American aggression" on their position in the Debs district in Kirkuk province, Reuters said.

Arab World

Israeli Strikes Hit South and East Lebanon

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Hit South and East Lebanon

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)

Israeli strikes hit southern and eastern Lebanon overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, as Israel targets Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

"Enemy warplanes launched strikes overnight on the towns of Almajadel, Shaqra, and Srifa," the National News Agency (NNA) reported, adding strikes had also taken place in the Bekaa Valley.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Lebanese authorities said on Monday that Israel's attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313.

AFP has not been able to carry out a detailed breakdown of the figures.

According to the government, more than 660,000 people have registered as displaced, with 120,000 sleeping at official shelters as of Monday.

Arab World

Syria Accuses Hezbollah of Firing Shells into Its Territory

Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
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Syria Accuses Hezbollah of Firing Shells into Its Territory

Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)

Syria said Iran-backed Hezbollah had fired artillery shells into its territory from Lebanon overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese movement.

Syrian army officials said artillery shells fired from Lebanon landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.

The army accused Hezbollah of targeting Syrian army positions, telling the news agency it observed Hezbollah reinforcements at the Syrian-Lebanese border.

"The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria," the army said in a statement to SANA.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have clashed in eastern Lebanon in recent days, and Israel has carried out strikes across Lebanon, including on the capital Beirut.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state, while the head of the group's parliamentary bloc said it had "no other option... than the option of resistance."

Hezbollah provided military support to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024 by a coalition hostile to the Iran-backed party.

Since then, its supply routes from Syria have been cut off, and Lebanese and Syrian authorities are trying to combat smuggling across the porous border between the two countries.