Lebanon’s Bishops Council Warns of Vacuum in Top Maronite Seats, Criticizes Mikati

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai speaks after meeting with then-President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 15, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai speaks after meeting with then-President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 15, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
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Lebanon’s Bishops Council Warns of Vacuum in Top Maronite Seats, Criticizes Mikati

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai speaks after meeting with then-President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 15, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai speaks after meeting with then-President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 15, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

The Council of Maronite Bishops warned against a deliberate vacuum in the country’s top Maronite positions, reaffirming the concerns expressed by Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai during his Mass sermon on Sunday.

They also criticized caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, for calling the Cabinet to convene, stressing that a resigned premier has no right to hold a government session without the prior approval of the ministers.

“The deliberate persistence in the presidential vacuum creates a constitutional crisis at the level of the resigned government,” the bishops said in a statement issued at the end of their regular meeting on Wednesday.

The bishops denounced the “obstruction of the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion,” and condemned what they described as “the malicious arrests to which the families of the victims are subjected.”

They called on the country’s politicians, especially with the arrival of the European judicial delegation, to abstain from interfering in judicial affairs, to allow the judiciary to continue its work and uncover the circumstances of the crime, prosecute the guilty, and acquit the innocents, as determined by the laws in force.”

Touching on the presidential elections, the bishops expressed their concern over the constant postponement of the election of a new president, stressing that the delay would only bring more suffering to the Lebanese people.

They also warned against “schemes to create a vacuum in the Maronite seats in particular and the Christian positions in general,” describing it as “a hidden intention aimed at changing Lebanon’s identity.”



Israel Strikes Kill Five People in Gaza, Local Medics Say

Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israel Strikes Kill Five People in Gaza, Local Medics Say

Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinian men in Gaza on Monday as they tried to gather firewood, medics said, with no sign of progress from renewed talks on sustaining a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In the latest bloodshed to underline the fragility of the Gaza war's three-stage truce, the three, all from the same family, had left their homes in central Gaza to collect the wood for cooking.

That has become a daily task for many Gazans as Israel has continued to ban fuel, food, and medical goods from entering Gaza for over two weeks, residents said.

The Israeli military said in a statement it struck "terrorists" operating near their forces and attempting to plant a bomb, Reuters reported.

At Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, relatives rushed to pay farewell to the three white-shrouded bodies.

"They were targeted - and when their cousins and others in the area came to rescue them, the drone targeted them with bombs," said Jabr Abou Hajeer, the father of one of the victims.

Later on Monday, medics said an Israeli air strike killed a father and his son inside a school sheltering displaced families in Bureij camp, near the site of the earlier strikes, raising the day's death toll to five. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Israel's "violations" could "undermine all efforts for de-escalation".

He put the number of Palestinians killed since the January ceasefire at 150.

Israel's military says it has repeatedly thwarted attempts by Palestinians to plant bombs or otherwise threaten their forces.

Israel's suspension of goods entering Gaza for 16 days has increased pressure on Gaza's 2.3 million people, most of whom have been made homeless by the war. The suspension, which Israel said was aimed at pressuring Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine, and fuel imports.