BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri has replaced his chief of staff after his Future Party lost more than a third of its seats in parliamentary elections a week ago.
The Future Party won 20 seats, down from the 33 won in the country’s last elections held in 2009.
In a post-election speech last week Hariri said the party had been expecting a better result and there had been “gaps” in how it conducted its campaign, for which people would be held responsible.
Hariri’s office announced the resignation of Nader Al-Hariri, a cousin of the prime minister, late on Saturday. It said Mohamed Mnaimne had replaced him in a temporary capacity.
Despite Future’s losses, Hariri is still the frontrunner to form the next government, as the Sunni Muslim leader with the biggest bloc in parliament. Lebanon’s prime minister has to be a Sunni under its sectarian power sharing system.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group and factions and individuals that support its possession of weapons made significant gains last Sunday, winning more than half the seats in parliament.
Hezbollah’s powerful arsenal has been a point of contention in Lebanon for years.
The staunchly anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces won 15 seats, almost doubling their MPs.
The current parliament’s term expires May 20, and difficult negotiations are expected over the division of positions in the new government.
Lebanon’s Hariri replaces chief of staff after election setback
Lebanon’s Hariri replaces chief of staff after election setback
Israel military says Iran fires new wave of missiles at country
- Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Wednesday that it detected missiles heading toward the country from Iran and had activated air defenses, as it pressed a “wave” of strikes against Iran and Lebanon.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said on its official Telegram account.
AFP journalists heard air raid sirens sounding in Jerusalem and the sound of explosions in the distance.
A short time later, Israel’s military said it was permitted to leave shelters.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating “a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas.”
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a satellite communications center in Haifa, along with military bases in Israel, and US targets elsewhere in the Middle East including Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.
“We will continue our sustained attacks with purpose and power, and in this war, we contemplate nothing but the enemy’s complete surrender,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News.
