Mouna Hraoui: Lebanese Women Had Huge Roles in Times of War, Peace

Former first lady Mouna Hraoui
Former first lady Mouna Hraoui
TT

Mouna Hraoui: Lebanese Women Had Huge Roles in Times of War, Peace

Former first lady Mouna Hraoui
Former first lady Mouna Hraoui

President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women Mouna Hraoui has said that women have had huge roles in times of war and peace.

The Lebanese woman plays a big role in everyday life, including taking care of her family, in education, in healthcare and in culture, said the former first lady.

“She also proved in the past years to have a role in times of war and peace,” Hraoui told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Women are the backbone of society and have proved to excel in several decision-making positions,” she said.

On Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai’s calls for an international conference to resolve Lebanon’s political and economic crises, Hraoui hailed him, saying he has been exerting strong efforts to salvage the country.

Al-Rai wants to unite all the Lebanese from different confessions by focusing on partnership, she said.

Only neutrality that the patriarch is calling for would help Lebanon establish better relations with the Arab world and the international community, she told the newspaper.

Neutrality is Lebanon’s “sole salvation,” she stressed.



Israeli Strikes on Gaza Strip Leave 15 Dead, Medics Say

 Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Israeli Strikes on Gaza Strip Leave 15 Dead, Medics Say

 Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 15 people on Wednesday, some of them in a school housing displaced people, medics in Gaza said, adding that the fatalities included two sons of a former Hamas spokesman.

Health officials in the Hamas-run enclave said eight Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded in an Israeli strike that hit the Al-Tabeaeen School, which was sheltering displaced families in Gaza City. Among those killed were two sons of former Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, according to medics and Barhoum himself.

In the Shejaia suburb of Gaza City, another strike killed four people, while three people were killed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave where army forces have been operating since last month.

Separately, a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the US and France, a rare victory for diplomacy in a region shaken by two wars for over a year.

Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing missiles at Israel in solidarity with Hamas after the Palestinian group attacked Israel in October of 2023, killing around 1,200 people and capturing over 250 hostages, Israel has said, triggering the Gaza war.

Israel's 13-month campaign in Gaza has left nearly 44,200 people dead and displaced nearly all the enclave's population at least once, according to Gaza health officials.

Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress and negotiations are now on hold, with mediator Qatar saying it has told the two warring parties it would suspend its efforts until the sides are prepared to make concessions.