Beirut News

🔴 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called an urgent meeting today at 12 p.m. to discuss the electricity generator file. The meeting is attended by the ministers of energy and water, Joe Saddi, and economy and trade, Amer Bisat, along with judicial representatives and security agencies. The rise in electricity bills sparked widespread debate among citizens on Thursday, as complaints mounted over the cost of private generator bills in Lebanese neighborhoods and villages. The increase came after the Ministry of Energy and Water raised tariffs and consumption rose because of the heat, while many bills have started relying on the prices set for mountain areas in Beirut and its surroundings. Salam said during the meeting at the Serail that handling the generator bill would go all the way in holding violators accountable and conducting immediate scrutiny of the invoices.

🔴 Major General Hassan Shuqair from the Aboudiyeh crossing said: We are continuing what we started in Beirut at all border crossings, and our aim is to follow developments taking place in the region and, above all, facilitate the movement of citizens.

Sources close to the Future Movement say the movement is preparing to return to direct political activity, amid reports of an imminent return by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Beirut, although it remains unclear whether the visit will be brief or last longer than his supporters are accustomed to.

It was reported that a former minister sold his apartment in an area marked by extensive sectarian mixing and moved to another area, while a prominent political adviser bought his house. There is said to be coolness in relations among a number of ministers in the government, both among themselves and with the prime minister, unlike at the beginning. Education Minister Rima Karami also distributed chocolates to her colleagues in the cabinet in celebration of her son Bashar's success. The Constitutional Council annulled the six-month extension of the Lebanese University president's term and preserved his right to run for a second term, meaning the president currently has no legitimacy in any decision he takes because his original term has ended and he has not been renewed yet.

State Security is cracking down on irregular pricing of electricity generators and has detained one generator owner in Beirut’s Dahieh.

Diplomatic sources told Al Jadeed that U.S. guarantees have been given that Beirut and the southern suburbs will not be targeted, and that there is no Israeli green light to enter Ali al-Taher, as the battle is also linked to Iranian calculations.

Israeli warplanes are flying at low altitude over southern Lebanon, and are also flying over the capital Beirut and surrounding areas.

President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon’s challenges can only be faced through national unity and internal solidarity, and praised what was said in Speaker Nabih Berri’s speech on the anniversary of Imam Sayyed Musa al-Sadr’s disappearance, especially his affirmation of the basic principles of civil peace, commitment to the army and the Taif Agreement, and treating them as red lines, saying it was a message to the inside before the outside. Speaking to a delegation from the Beqaa Development and Belonging Meeting, he said work is under way to strengthen the state’s development presence in the Beqaa in line with its needs and importance, through attention to development projects, especially the Beirut-Beqaa tunnel, the Arab highway, the Lebanese University complex, and care for the Litani River and its course.

A drone was flying at low altitude over the suburbs.

A fire broke out in a public transport bus due to an electrical short circuit on the Jounieh road towards Beirut. The same source said the fire erupted in the bus while it was traveling on the road.

Nitzan Shapira, the military correspondent on the Hebrew Channel 12, said he recalls Defense Minister Katz threatening that any gunfire on the northern settlements would lead to an attack on Beirut.

A public transport bus caught fire on the Jounieh Highway in the direction of Beirut. The fire was extinguished.

Occupation forces raided the Aktaba suburb east of Tulkarm.

President Joseph Aoun returned to Beirut this evening from Athens, after a visit to the Greek capital during which he met Greek President Konstantinos Tassoulas and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and discussed activating bilateral relations between the two countries.

An unidentified individual stole a motorcycle from outside the entrance to the American University of Beirut campus along the Beirut seafront, according to the sources.

The sounds heard in Beirut are thunder, and there is no cause for alarm.

Nawaf Salam said that Beirut today needs more than ever every hand working for it, and every initiative that restores confidence to its people, preserves its heritage, and strengthens life in it.

🔴 Urgent: The Lebanese Army received at Beirut port the second batch of the Greek grant, which includes 13 M113 armored personnel carriers and 10 trucks, as part of support for its operational capabilities. The grant underscores continued cooperation between Lebanon and Greece and Athens' keenness to support the military institution in its security tasks and stability.

A rock was thrown at a car from the Cola Bridge in Beirut, nearly turning the incident into a tragedy. According to information, the perpetrator’s identity is known, as he reportedly repeats this act from time to time, but he has not been arrested so far.

Saad Hariri: Congratulations to the Beirut Families Union on its new executive body, congratulations to Beirut families on the spirit of democratic competition, and to the winners on the responsibility of serving Beirut and all its people.

Complaints are growing over the complete absence of official state bodies in areas controlled by Hezbollah, especially in the south, where Hezbollah members are seen moving around with visible weapons. It was also learned that the ban on thousands of Syrian nationals who had previously been barred from entering Lebanon will be lifted, with legal procedures to follow for anyone seeking entry. Beirut is also preparing an economic investment conference in Washington during the prime minister's presence in the U.S. capital in September, while U.S. sources question its usefulness amid Lebanon's inability even to present an investment proposal and the lack of any vision among those concerned.

Sheikh Naim Qassem said attempts to pressure people into surrender will fail, as will attempts at displacement or to separate people from the resistance. He said they have sacrificed much and have not lost, adding that loss comes when one surrenders. He also said the Lebanese authorities chose a path that does not honor them or Lebanon, and that negotiations are taking place under war, granting legitimacy to the war and siding with Israel. He called for a mediator other than the American mediator. Qassem said they will remain in the field and will not accept the projects being discussed, saying they have broken the Greater Israel project and prevented them from reaching Beirut and stripping Lebanon of its strength.

Sheikh Naim Qassem has begun speaking at a ceremony held on the occasion of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in the southern suburb of Beirut.

A reconnaissance drone flew at very low altitude over the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council said that if HA had not joined the confrontation with Israel and inflicted heavy losses on it, Israel might have reached Beirut.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran's relationship with the Lebanese people is historic and deep-rooted, and that Iran defends Lebanon with all it has and provides it with support. He added that one of the terms of the memorandum of understanding is that America must end the war across West Asia, especially in Lebanon, and that their conditions include Israel withdrawing from the territories it occupied so that the lands of Lebanon and Gaza are liberated. He said Lebanon's issue will be settled in the coming period, and that Israel is no longer able to attack Beirut and the southern suburbs.

Bangladeshi worker Mohammad Jamal, 20, has died after remaining in hospital since the Beirut explosion. Citizen Jamal Abu Eid said Jamal came to Lebanon to work and help his family, earning 400,000 a month and working from morning until late at night, but he had been unable to send money home for nine months. He said the young man was at work on the day of the Beirut explosion and stayed in hospital from that day until he died yesterday evening. Abu Eid described him as a human being who was loved in his country.

MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi asked: Why are Iranian aircraft prevented from landing at Beirut International Airport? And why are inspection procedures and other measures tightened for visitors traveling to Iraq to visit the holy shrines? Are they merely a transient community in this country?

President Joseph Aoun took part in the 81st anniversary ceremony of the General Security directorate at the General Directorate of General Security building in Beirut, and laid a wreath at the memorial of the directorate's martyrs. During the ceremony, he said: "I bow before the shrine of the General Security martyrs and before the sacrifices and firm will that brought us to these achievements, and I draw morale from you." He added: "We have pledged to be up to the responsibility, to strengthen security and stability, and to work on development and digital transformation in the services provided by General Security."

The first aircraft belonging to the company operating Al-Qlayaat Airport has arrived at Beirut Airport as part of administrative and technical procedures and preparations to launch operations and flights from René Mouawad Airport in Qlayaat before the end of the year.