Lebanon’s Judges Announce Open Strike to Reject ‘Oppression, Humiliation’

Lebanese police stand outside the Justice Palace in Beirut. Photo: Reuters
Lebanese police stand outside the Justice Palace in Beirut. Photo: Reuters
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Lebanon’s Judges Announce Open Strike to Reject ‘Oppression, Humiliation’

Lebanese police stand outside the Justice Palace in Beirut. Photo: Reuters
Lebanese police stand outside the Justice Palace in Beirut. Photo: Reuters

Judges announced an open strike to denounce their deteriorating financial and social conditions and reject “oppression and humiliation” faced by the Lebanon’s Judiciary.

Senior judges have joined the strike, including members of the Supreme Judicial Council, others in the Audit Bureau and the State Shura Council.

In comments, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, asserted that the judiciary would not abandon its responsibilities and would remain the main pillar of state building.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, a judge, who helped organize the strike, said that the judiciary was facing “a harsh war, starting with political interference.”

“It is no longer acceptable to undermine the judiciary and the dignity of judges,” he said.

In addition to the severe financial conditions faced by the judges as a result of the devaluation of the national currency and the sharp deterioration of the purchasing power, the palaces of justice are plunged into darkness due to long hours of power cuts, in addition to water shortages and the failure to clean offices and courts.

“Officials must understand that the judiciary is an authority parallel to the legislative and executive powers, and not just an administration and employees,” the judge said, adding that no country could revive without an independent judiciary free from political pressure and interference.

Abboud, for his part, stressed that the judges were raising righteous and justified demands, denouncing “the tragic conditions and circumstances that the judicial body is experiencing at all levels.”

He noted, however, that the Judicial Council would assume its responsibilities and work to address all the problems facing judges, within the institutional framework, emphasizing that the judiciary would remain “the main pillar in the structure of the state.”



Hamas Cites Progress in Ceasefire Talks as Palestinian Death Toll Passes 62,000

18 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis due to the Israeli bombing and blockade on Gaza. (dpa)
18 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis due to the Israeli bombing and blockade on Gaza. (dpa)
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Hamas Cites Progress in Ceasefire Talks as Palestinian Death Toll Passes 62,000

18 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis due to the Israeli bombing and blockade on Gaza. (dpa)
18 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis due to the Israeli bombing and blockade on Gaza. (dpa)

Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israel's approval, as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations. “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,” he posted on his Truth Social site.

Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavy populated areas after the ceasefire talks appeared to have broken down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.

Plans to expand the offensive, which are in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war. Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests on Sunday calling for their return.

‘Extensive efforts’ to revive talks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are “exerting extensive efforts” to revive a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

He spoke during a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began.

Abdelatty said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. He said they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, later told The Associated Press that the group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating.

An Egyptian official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said the proposal includes changes to Israel's pullback of its forces and guarantees for negotiations on a lasting ceasefire during the initial truce. The official said it is almost identical to an earlier proposal accepted by Israel, which has not yet joined the latest talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Palestinian death toll surpasses 62,000

Hamas-led fighters abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that ignited the war. Fifty hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own.

The ministry said 1,965 people have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid since May, either in the chaos around UN convoys or while heading to sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor.

Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds of people seeking aid. Israel says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on rare occasions to prevent deadly crowding.

More deaths linked to malnutrition

Experts have warned that Israel's ongoing offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine, even after it eased a complete 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May. The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes.

It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June.

Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of “carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation."

Israel has rejected such allegations, saying it allows in enough food and accusing the UN of failing to promptly deliver it. UN agencies say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, around three-quarters of which is now controlled by Israel.