War in the Middle East: Efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon – shelling continues

Despite efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military and the Shiite militia Hezbollah continue to fire at each other in Lebanon. According to media reports, at least four people were killed in a violent air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut. 23 others were injured in the attack on a building in the Basta district, the Arabic television channel Al-Majadin reported, citing the Ministry of Health.

A correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Majadin broadcaster reported that the building was completely destroyed in the airstrike. Hezbollah, in turn, fired around 80 projectiles into Israel, the Jewish state’s armed forces said. The information provided by both sides could not initially be independently verified.

US President Joe Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, the White House announced. The aim is for residents on both sides of the border to be able to return to their homes. US special envoy Amos Hochstein was also in the region to explore the chances of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hospital director killed in Lebanon attack

According to authorities, the head of a university hospital was killed in an Israeli attack in northeast Lebanon. Ali Rakan Alam and six employees were killed in an Israeli attack on his home in Duris, not far from the city of Baalbek, the Health Ministry said. Alam was the director of Dar Al Amal Hospital in Duris. It is the largest hospital in the northeast region, according to the ministry.

The Ministry of Health strongly condemned the attacks on health facilities and their employees. It was said that they constituted a war crime. According to the Health Ministry, 3,645 people have been killed in Lebanon since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began more than a year ago. The count does not distinguish between civilians and fighters from the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia.

Israeli general harassed in West Bank – Five arrests

Suspected Jewish extremists harassed the commander of the Israeli Central Command in Hebron in the West Bank. Major General Avi Bluth and several other officers were insulted, the Israeli military said. In addition, their path was blocked. Five suspects were then arrested by the Israeli police.

Tens of thousands of people had come to Hebron for an annual pilgrimage. Jewish extremists have traditionally had a tense relationship with the military because there are repeated clashes between soldiers and settlers in the West Bank. During the pilgrimage in Hebron, Major General Bluth was described as a “traitor,” the newspaper “The Times of Israel” reported.

Since the Islamist Hamas massacre over a year ago and the outbreak of the Gaza war, violence by radical settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased, according to media reports. Major General Bluth said when he took over central command in June that he would not turn a blind eye to this. His predecessor had already complained that some settlers were following “the enemy’s path” and that the leaders of the settler movement did not condemn the violence.

Photographer Nan Goldin opens exhibition with speech about Gaza war

Accompanied by loud activists, the artist Nan Goldin opened her exhibition in Berlin with a speech in which she sharply criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza war. She also repeatedly condemned Germany’s alleged stance in the conflict. “I have decided to use this exhibition as a platform to express my moral outrage at the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon,” Goldin said earlier on stage. “Germany is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe. Nevertheless, protests are fought with police dogs.”

After her speech, dozens of pro-Palestinian activists held up flags and banners in and in front of the National Gallery and chanted, among other things, for the “freedom of Palestine.” Klaus Biesenbach, director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, tried to give a counter-speech but was shouted down. When the situation calmed down, he read the speech again. The 71-year-old American Goldin is one of the most renowned artists in contemporary photography.