Lebanon puts Bcharri town under lockdown as stranded nationals return

The Lebanese citizens were repatriated aboard the Middle East Airlines plane. (File/AFP)
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Updated 12 April 2020
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Lebanon puts Bcharri town under lockdown as stranded nationals return

  • People will not be allowed to enter or exit the town until COVID-19 tests are over
  • The Lebanese government has repatriated 123 citizens from Kuwait

DUBAI: Lebanese town Bcharri went on lockdown as local authorities continued to administer coronavirus tests, The Daily Star in Lebanon reported on Saturday.

People will not be allowed to enter or exit the town until COVID-19 tests are over.

The Bcharri Governmental Hospital reported 50 new cases of coronavirus infections on (day). Mayor Freddy Keyrouz said that the surge in figures was due to increased testing.

“Yesterday we tested around 50, today we will finish testing 150. We expect to test 500 more over the next four days,” Keyrouz told The Daily Star.

The mayor said Bcharri municipality does the testing for free.

Meanwhile, the government has repatriated 123 citizens from Kuwait aboard the Middle East Airlines on Saturday, according to the state agency NNA.

The arrivals were checked by doctors and medical teams at the Beirut Airport where they underwent medical tests. Passengers were later taken to hotels for quarantine

Lebanon has confirmed that people 630 are infected with the virus, while 77 have recovered and 20 have died.


Israeli fire kills three in Gaza, as US seeks to advance Gaza deal

Updated 37 min 49 sec ago
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Israeli fire kills three in Gaza, as US seeks to advance Gaza deal

  • Talks were held on Saturday

CAIRO: Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while an Israeli drone wounded four others in Gaza City, local health authorities said on Sunday.

Medics said Israeli fire killed at least two people east of Tuffah neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, while a 41-year-old man was killed by Israeli forces in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.

Earlier medical workers said an Israeli ‌drone exploded ‌on the rooftop of a multi-floor building in ‌Gaza ⁠City, ​wounding four civilians ‌in the street nearby.

There was no comment by the Israeli military on any of the incidents.

US ENVOYS MEET WITH ISRAEL PM NETANYAHU

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met in Israel on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, Witkoff said on Sunday.

“The discussion was constructive and positive, with both sides aligned on next steps and the importance of ⁠continued cooperation on all matters critical to the region,” Witkoff said in a post on X.

Gaza ‌has been reduced to rubble in the ‍war that was triggered by an attack ‍by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel on October ‍7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies.

The Gaza health ministry says more than 71,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli fire since then. It also says that at least 480 people have been killed ​by Israeli fire since a ceasefire agreement came into effect last October.

BOTH SIDES TRADE BLAME FOR VIOLATIONS

Israel has said four soldiers ⁠had been killed by militants in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Both sides have traded blame for violations of the truce.

Earlier this month, Washington said the plan had moved into a second phase, in which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.

Meanwhile, in Khan Younis, more than 100 people attended the funeral of a person killed by Israeli drone fire on Saturday, after holding special prayers in front of his white-shrouded body at the morgue in Nasser Hospital.

“They are liars, there is no ceasefire,” said Fares Erheimat, a relative ‌of the dead man, during the funeral.