Illegal Migration from Northern Lebanon to European Shores on the Rise

Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)
Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)
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Illegal Migration from Northern Lebanon to European Shores on the Rise

Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)
Lebanese soldiers search for survivors of a migrant boat sinking off the coast of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Lebanon, 25 April 2022. (EPA)

Illegal migration is on the rise from northern Lebanon towards European shores.

The capsizing of a migrant boat off the impoverished northern city of Tripoli on April 23 has not deterred people from embarking on the dangerous journey.

Around 40 people were killed in the tragedy, the latest to strike Lebanon that is struggling with unprecedented economic and living crises.

Army and naval units entered the al-Abdeh-Akkar port in northern Lebanon on Friday, seizing a boat that was suspected to have been prepared to transport migrants illegally.

Two days ago, the army said it arrested a citizen in the al-Beddawi region for preparing an illegal migrant sea operation.

It said it seized a Kalashnikov rifle, 4,000 liters of diesel fuel, 100 life jackets, 46 buoys and two air pumps in his possession.

Activist Omar Ibrahim said the boat sinking in April has not deterred illegal migration.

Two smuggling attempts were thwarted just two days ago, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We no longer know about the departure of Lebanese boats until they have reached their destination in Europe,” he said.

As for the Syrian migrants, he revealed that “no one knows their numbers or the number of boats that are taking them away from northern Lebanon. No doubt the figures are high.”

Moreover, he said that around a week ago, a boat transporting some 50 Palestinians left the al-Beddawi camp. “We didn’t know about the departure until after the migrants posted photos of themselves after they reached Italian shores,” he added.

“Either the concerned security agencies are facing difficulty in curbing illegal migration or they don’t intend to,” he remarked.

Lebanon may be following Turkey’s approach in extorting Europe to pressure them into providing funds to the refugees and ease the burden they are placing on the Lebanese state, said Ibrahim.

Politician Dr. Khaldoun al-Sharif stated that the dire economic and financial crisis is pushing people to take the treacherous sea journey out of Lebanon, which may be enduring the worst economic crisis the world has seen since World War II.

Unemployment has reached 50 percent and drug abuse 13 percent, he noted. Add to that a recent report that found the Lebanese people to be the angriest in the world.

People are desperate and the officials are continuing their petty political bickering as if nothing has changed, he lamented.

Amid Dandachi, who lost his three children in the April sinking, said the illegal migration will continue in spite of the tragedy.

“The conditions we are enduring in Tripoli and Akkar, from poverty to the dollarization of services while salaries remain in Lebanese pounds, will inevitably force people out to sea,” he stressed.

The migration will continue to rise as long as the state continues to neglect our region, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We are bordered by Syria and Israel. The former is in a worse state than us, while the latter is an enemy, so the impoverished people have no choice but to put their life in danger at sea to secure a dignified life for their children,” he added.



Little Hope in Gaza that Arrest Warrants will Cool Israeli Onslaught

Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights
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Little Hope in Gaza that Arrest Warrants will Cool Israeli Onslaught

Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinians gather to buy bread from a bakery, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri Purchase Licensing Rights

Gazans saw little hope on Friday that International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders would slow down the onslaught on the Palestinian territory, where medics said at least 24 people were killed in fresh Israeli military strikes.

In Gaza City in the north, an Israeli strike on a house in Shejaia killed eight people, medics said. Three others were killed in a strike near a bakery and a fisherman was killed as he set out to sea. In the central and southern areas, 12 people were killed in three separate Israeli airstrikes.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces deepened their incursion and bombardment of the northern edge of the enclave, their main offensive since early last month. The military says it aims to prevent Hamas fighters from waging attacks and regrouping there; residents say they fear the aim is to permanently depopulate a strip of territory as a buffer zone, which Israel denies.

Residents in the three besieged towns on the northern edge - Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun - said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.

An Israeli strike hit the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, one of three medical facilities barely operational in the area, injuring six medical staff, some critically, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"The strike also destroyed the hospital's main generator, and punctured the water tanks, leaving the hospital without oxygen or water, which threatens the lives of patients and staff inside the hospital," it added. It said 85 wounded people including children and women were inside, eight in the ICU.

Later on Friday, the Gaza health ministry said all hospital services across the enclave would stop within 48 hours unless fuel shipments are permitted, blaming restrictions which Israel says are designed to stop fuel being used by Hamas.

Gazans saw the ICC's decision to seek the arrest of Israeli leaders for suspected war crimes as international recognition of the enclave's plight. But those queuing for bread at a bakery in the southern city of Khan Younis were doubtful it would have any impact.

"The decision will not be implemented because America protects Israel, and it can veto anything. Israel will not be held accountable," said Saber Abu Ghali, as he waited for his turn in the crowd.

Saeed Abu Youssef, 75, said even if justice were to arrive, it would be decades late: "We have been hearing decisions for more than 76 years that have not been implemented and haven't done anything for us."

Since Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel, nearly 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, much of which has been laid to waste.

The court's prosecutors said there were reasonable grounds to believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution, and starvation as a weapon of war, as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The Hague-based court also ordered the arrest of the top Hamas commander Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif. Israel says it has already killed him, which Hamas has not confirmed.

Israel says Hamas is to blame for all harm to Gaza's civilians, for operating among them, which Hamas denies.

Israeli politicians from across the political spectrum have denounced the ICC arrest warrants as biased and based on false evidence, and Israel says the court has no jurisdiction over the war. Hamas hailed the arrest warrants as a first step towards justice.

Efforts by Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt backed by the United States to conclude a ceasefire deal have stalled. Hamas wants a deal that ends the war, while Netanyahu has vowed the war can end only once Hamas is eradicated.