DAILY NEWS
Rocket Fire from Hezbollah Prompts Cross-Border Escalations
This morning Hezbollah launched tens of rockets on Israeli-controlled Shebaa Farms in retaliation for yesterday’s Israeli airstrikes. The rocket fire prompted cross-border attacks from Israel’s army. [Bloomberg] UNIFIL has called for an immediate ceasefire and is working with the LAF to strengthen security measures. [Naharnet]
Hezbollah Rocket Launchers Seized by Village Residents
Following border escalations, residents of one village in southern Lebanon halted Hezbollah members on their way back from a launch site and seized a truck mounted with rocket launchers. The truck was subsequently handed over to the Lebanese army. [The 961]
Protesters Gather This Week to Demand Justice
This week on the one-year anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion, a memorial service was held at the port and thousands of protesters gathered in Lebanon’s capital with calls for justice and accountability. Security forces used water cannon and tear gas on a group of protesters who were throwing stones near parliament. [France 24]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Beirut Blast: Why Recovery Has Stalled One Year Later
One year after the Beirut explosion, questions are still left unanswered. Where does the investigation into the explosion stand? Amid the pandemic, economic crisis, and political upheaval, how has the city recovered? Kim Ghattas explains the state of recovery and why efforts to reform Lebanon have so far failed one year after the Beirut blast.
Atlantic Council
It’s been a year since the Beirut blast. Now the unemployed are turning to tech.
Sarah Page
Just two days before the devastating explosion in 2020, a cohort of twenty-seven newly qualified, full-stack web developers were graduating from a six-month coding and leadership course at the Codi offices in Gemmayzeh, Beirut. Their sector may be one of the only fields of employment that has been relatively unaffected by the country’s political and socio-economic crisis…Coding and other tech professions are one way for Lebanon’s 1.5 million Syrian refugees to circumvent the country’s restrictive labor laws that only permit Syrians to work in the agriculture, construction, and cleaning sectors…The situation in Lebanon post-blast remains dire and many tech workers also suffer from unreliable 4G connectivity, electricity outages, high costs of living, and post-traumatic stress. This is where organizations like SPARK and Codi step in to provide vulnerable youth with the digital, soft, and language skills to support themselves in the future, despite the rapidly changing and fragile situations they live in.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.