Hamas says no special food privileges for Gaza hostages
The Palestinian militant group Hamas said that Israeli hostages would not receive any "special privileges" in the food they are given compared to the rest of the Gazan population.
"(Hamas) does not intentionally starve the captives, but they eat the same food our fighters and the general public eat. They will not receive any special privileges amid the crime of starvation and siege," Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, wrote in a statement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
One killed, one injured by Israeli drone strike in Khiam
An Israeli drone strike killed at least one person Monday afternoon in the town of Khiam, in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon. The victim's brother, who was riding a motorcycle, was seriously injured and taken to the hospital by rescue teams who arrived at the scene. According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region, the drone strike occurred in front of a house in the same neighborhood where the Khiam prison was located. The victims' identities have not yet been made public. Elsewhere, Israeli artillery fire targeted the southern outskirts of the border village Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district). A surveillance camera placed by the Israeli army was also discovered in a field in the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district). Earlier in the day, Israeli soldiers stationed at the Rweissat al-Alam site on the heights of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district) opened machine-gun fire toward the areas of Sadaneh and Birket al-Nakkar, south of Shebaa (Hasbaya district), our correspondent reported. Monday morning was also marked by drone overflights in several areas of southern Lebanon, as well as over Beirut's southern suburbs, according to our correspondent and local media. Despite the adoption of a cease-fire on Nov. 27, 2024, the Israeli army continues to occupy five positions deemed 'strategic' along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. It still regularly targets Lebanese territory and civilians. According to a tally by L'Orient Today based on figures provided by the U.N. and Lebanon's Ministry of Health, at least 291 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, strikes, and shelling since the cease-fire took effect on Nov. 27. The fragile truce, almost daily violated by the Israeli army, ended 13 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. More than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since Oct. 8, 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanese baccalaureate candidates can submit appeals online starting Tuesday
The Ministry of Education announced that general baccalaureate candidates who wish to contest their results from the first session of the 2025 exams can file appeals online between Tuesday and Thursday. The ministry released results for all four baccalaureate tracks on Friday, Aug. 1. South Lebanon posted the highest pass rates across the board — an exceptional outcome given the region's daily targeting by Israeli strikes since October 2023, which continue despite a cease-fire coming into effect on November 2024. The results were published on the ministry's official website ( on social media platforms, and sent via SMS to candidates' registered phone numbers. According to the ministry's statement, appeals are open to candidates in all four general baccalaureate tracks — general sciences, life sciences, economics and sociology, and literature and humanities. Requests must be submitted over three days, starting the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 5. Appeals can only be filed via the online form available on the Ministry of Education and Higher Education's website. Applicants must provide all required details, including their exam registration number, phone number and the subjects for which a grade review is requested (limited to a maximum of three subjects). Candidates will be contacted by phone once their appeal has been reviewed. The ministry also noted that the process is free of charge and warned that "any announcement to the contrary exposes its author to criminal prosecution." This year, the literature and humanities track recorded a national success rate of 59.28 percent, with South Lebanon leading at 90.48 percent and the North ranking lowest at 40.27 percent. In economics and sociology, results improved significantly with an average pass rate of 85.62 percent. Nabatieh recorded the highest rate at 93.89 percent, while Baalbek-Hermel had the lowest at 78.26 percent. The general sciences track saw an even higher success rate at 91.92 percent, with South Lebanon again leading (96.31 percent) and Baalbek-Hermel trailing (83.16 percent). In life sciences, the national pass rate hovered around 91 percent. South Lebanon maintained the highest rate at 94.84 percent, while Baalbek-Hermel remained the least performing region at 84.81 percent.
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
During a visit with Michel Aoun, Hezbollah insists Israeli withdrawal should be 'priority'
A Hezbollah delegation, led by MP Ali Fayad, was met Monday morning in Rabieh by former President Michel Aoun, where they discussed the cease-fire with Israel and disarmament, emphasizing the party's condition that Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory must precede any other discussion, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA) and al-Manar. During their meeting, the delegation and the former president discussed the "latest developments," at a time when the question of Hezbollah's arsenal is dividing Lebanon's political scene. A Cabinet meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, in Baabda to discuss this issue, which has hardened the positions of the various parties in recent days. According to the NNA, those who took part in the meeting discussed "views on the implementation of the cease-fire agreement provisions," which came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, after 13 months of war between Hezbollah and Israel. The agreement, which notably calls for the group's disarmament, its total withdrawal from south of the Litani and a halt to Israeli violations, is breached daily by Israel, which conducts attacks in Lebanon and continues to occupy five positions along the border. The parties agreed on the importance of "national cohesion" in order to achieve solutions that will maintain the country's stability and security. Fayad calls for a 'unified Lebanese position' At the end of the meeting, Fayad stated, according to al-Manar, that he was "open to a resolution through the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701," which serves as the basis for the truce agreement. "We must respect the sequence of measures as established in the ministerial statement, the inaugural speech, and the Lebanese document submitted to American mediator Tom Barrack," argued the Hezbollah MP, who said that "the first step must be Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories, cessation of hostilities, and release of prisoners — steps that are imperative before addressing any other issues." Denouncing an attempt to "bypass" the truce agreement, he called for a "unified and firm Lebanese position regarding Israeli withdrawal." President Joseph Aoun has in recent months favored dialogue with Hezbollah over the weapons issue. He raised his tone last week in a speech calling on the party and its base to "place their trust in the state," while calling on the party's critics, notably the Lebanese Forces, to avoid "provocations." The Lebanese Forces and their allies, as well as the United States, call for the establishment of a specific timetable for disarmament. Michel Aoun was allied with the party during his term (2016-2022) before ties grew strained between the Free Patriotic Movement – which was founded by the former president – and Hezbollah. The FPM notably strongly criticized Hezbollah's decision to open a "support front" for Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, following the deadly attack by the Palestinian movement in Israel and the start of the Israeli army's violent offensive on the enclave. Relations between the two former allies, who solidified their understanding on Feb. 6, 2006, also became tense due to Hezbollah's support for a presidential bid by Sleiman Frangieh, a well-known opponent of FPM leader and Michel Aoun's son-in-law, Gebran Bassil. After more than two years with the presidency vacant, it was finally Joseph Aoun who was elected in January 2025.
