Lebanese Judge Charges Salameh with Illicit Enrichment

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh. Reuters
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh. Reuters
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Lebanese Judge Charges Salameh with Illicit Enrichment

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh. Reuters
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh. Reuters

A Lebanese judge charged central bank governor Riad Salameh with illicit enrichment on Monday, the judge told Reuters, days after she ordered his brother Raja arrested in the same case.

Judge Ghada Aoun said Riad Salameh, governor for nearly three decades, had not attended a hearing scheduled for Monday, and she had charged him in absentia.

She said the charge related to the purchase and rental of Paris apartments, including some to the central bank, Aoun told Reuters.

But Salameh said that he had ordered an audit which showed that no public funds were a source of his wealth, denying the charge.

"This audit report was submitted to the relevant authorities in Lebanon and abroad," Salameh said in response to a question sent by text message from Reuters.

On Friday, Raja Salameh's lawyer said allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering against his client were unfounded, calling the evidence "media speculation without any evidence".



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.