Lebanon’s Rahi: Some Parties Disrupt Dialogue

Lebanon’s Patriarch  Beshara Rahi (NNA)
Lebanon’s Patriarch Beshara Rahi (NNA)
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Lebanon’s Rahi: Some Parties Disrupt Dialogue

Lebanon’s Patriarch  Beshara Rahi (NNA)
Lebanon’s Patriarch Beshara Rahi (NNA)

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi said Sunday that political parties ignoring Lebanon's basic principles would disrupt any future dialogue to save the country from its current crises.

“The success of any national dialogue, whether held under foreign patronage or an internal meeting, is linked to the recognition of these basic principles that do not need to be redefined on a daily basis,” the Patriarch said during Sunday’s mass.

Rahi had repeatedly called on Lebanese political parties to respect the principles of Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, neutrality and decentralization.

On Sunday, he called for holding a dialogue, which he said is the only language that should exist among the Lebanese.

“It is not acceptable for political parties to view each other with hostility when the country is in dire need of reconciliation on clear national foundations that stem from Lebanon's principles,” he stressed.

Rahi said the Lebanese people are living in catastrophic conditions, referring to inflation, the lack of medication and the closure of schools, hospitals and universities, which increase the number of the unemployed.

He also referred to the high rates of poverty, illiteracy, emigration, and the increase in the number of refugees and displaced persons.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."