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Rahi Calls on the United Nations to 'Save Lebanon'

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi called on the UN to hold an international conference on Lebanon. (NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi called on the UN to hold an international conference on Lebanon. (NNA)
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Rahi Calls on the United Nations to 'Save Lebanon'

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi called on the UN to hold an international conference on Lebanon. (NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi called on the UN to hold an international conference on Lebanon. (NNA)

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi urged to the United Nations to save Lebanon by holding an international conference – a call that was supported by country’s opposition parties and rejected by Shiites.

“Faced with Parliament’s drastic failure to elect a new president of the republic, with the five sessions being a farcical drama...and the failure of all internal dialogues...we find no solution except to call for an international conference to renew the guarantee of the independent Lebanese entity, the democratic system and the state’s exclusive control over its lands, based on the constitution and then on all international resolutions pertaining to Lebanon,” the Patriarch said during the Sunday mass in Bkerki.

He continued: “Any delay in adopting this constitutional and international solution would drag the country into non-peaceful dangers that no party can withstand.”

Rahi’s call was endorsed by Hezbollah’s opponents. A letter signed by the Meeting of Our Lady of the Mountain, the National Gathering, and the National Initiative Movement, expressed support to the patriarch’s positions and called on Bkerki to establish a national front to defend the country’s “legitimacy, positive neutrality, the international conference for Taif and the constitution, and the resolutions of international legitimacy.”

On the other hand, Rahi’s sermon prompted a response from the Development and Liberation bloc, which is headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Sources from the bloc told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The main problem in the presidential elections is between the Christians themselves.”

“Can Bkerki or any other Lebanese side play a consensual role or at least unify the vision and criteria… especially since the presidential elections… concern the Christians in the first place?” They asked.

For his part, Jaafari Mufti Ahmed Qabalan warned that an international conference would harm Lebanon’s sovereignty.

“The interest of Christians and Muslims is to agree on a national president through Parliament and implement a project for a strong state, national partnership and effective constitutional institutions, away from international stances that consider Lebanon… an arena for settlements,” he stated.

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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.