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Why the futureof Lebanon’s fragile state rests on Hezbollah’s next move

Analysis Why the futureof Lebanon’s fragile state rests on Hezbollah’s next move
Hezbollah emerged as Lebanon’s most powerful military force and dominant political actor in the post-civil war era. (AFP/File)
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Updated 31 min 34 sec ago

Why the futureof Lebanon’s fragile state rests on Hezbollah’s next move

Why the futureof Lebanon’s fragile state rests on Hezbollah’s next move
  • Iran-backed group under pressure to disarm but its deep roots in armed resistance complicate peace hopes
  • With Israel’s airstrikes and political paralysis, many doubt national unity can be restored without confrontation

BEIRUT: As pressure intensifies on Lebanon’s new government to resolve the question of Hezbollah’s arms, it confronts a fundamental challenge: Can the Iran-backed group relinquish its military wing and become a purely political party? And if it does, will Lebanon’s state institutions and political culture prove capable of supporting such a transition?

Earlier this month, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, telegraphed Washington’s growing impatience with the status quo in Lebanon in remarks to journalists following his visit to Beirut. He described Hezbollah’s disarmament as an essential condition for the renewal of international financial aid and long-term political stability in Lebanon.

As part of a proposal presented to Lebanese officials, the US offered support for Lebanon’s economic reform efforts in exchange for Hezbollah’s complete disarmament, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and the release of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.

“If Lebanon doesn’t hurry up and get in line, everyone around them will,” Barrack said. He acknowledged what he described as a “spectacular” response from Beirut in a short time, but criticized the Lebanese political system’s ingrained culture of “delay, detour, and deflect,” saying time was running out for the country to adapt to a fast-changing regional order.

But disarming Hezbollah is far from straightforward. Despite suffering significant losses last year during its war with Israel, including the death of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and the destruction of much of its military infrastructure, Hezbollah has shown no willingness to give up its arms.




The World Bank has estimated the cost of Lebanon’s reconstruction at $11 billion. (AFP)

The group’s new leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, reiterated that stance in a video address on July 19. “We will not surrender or give up to Israel; Israel will not take our weapons away from us,” he said.

According to him, any disarmament would be discussed only as part of a national defense strategy determined internally by Lebanon, and only after a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Thatuncompromisingposition is attributable tocontinued Israeli airstrikes, including recent attacks in the south that killed two individuals on July 20, as per local media reports.

Hezbollah cites these violations, along with Israel’s continued occupation of five positions seized after the November 2024 ceasefire, as justification for retaining its arms.

Although the group claims to have handed over 190 of its 265 southern military positions to the Lebanese army, it continues to maintain a significant arsenal in the region and in other strongholds.

Hezbollah emerged as Lebanon’s most powerful military force and dominant political actor in the post-civil war era, representing a significant portion of the Shiite population alongside the Amal party. Together, the two groups hold all the 27 Shiite seats in the 128-member parliament.

Analysts say that Hezbollah’s ideological foundation has long rested on armed resistance, so shifting toward civilian politics would require not only strategic recalculation but also a new political message capable of sustaining its popular base.




Lebanese army troops patrol the destroyed southern border village of Adaisseh. (AFP)

“For decades, the party has emphasized armed resistance against Israel as central to its appeal,” said David Wood, senior analyst on Lebanon at the International Crisis Group (ICG).

“If Hezbollah wants to transition into a normal political party, it will need to craft another electoral narrative based around how it can improve the socio-economic fortunes of its constituents.”

Such a transformation is not without precedent. Other armed movements in the region, such as the Palestinian Fatah in earlier decades, have evolved into political organizations. However, the Lebanese context is unique in many ways. Years of economic collapse, institutional paralysis and political gridlock have left the state too weak to assert its authority.

The November 2024 ceasefire, brokered by the US and France, was intended to revive the terms of UN Resolution 1701, which calls for Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, a halt to Hezbollah’s military operations near the southern border, and full control of arms by the Lebanese state. But little progress has been made.

Bilal Saab, associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, expressed doubt over Hezbollah’s ability to function effectively as a conventional political party. He pointed to signs of waning support in southern Lebanon and other Hezbollah strongholds.

The group’s military losses, the destruction of southern villages, and the economic suffering in Hezbollah-controlled areas are undermining its grassroots support, Saab told Arab News. “It is therefore unclear whether an unarmed Hezbollah could compete effectively in free elections, within Lebanon’s complex political system.”




For Lebanon’s new leadership under President Joseph Aoun, left, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the challenge is to preserve national stability while dealing with an increasingly polarized domestic landscape and pressure from powerful external actors. (AFP)

He said the obstacles ahead of the government are political willingness and “exaggerated” fears of sectarian violence. The new leaders, he said, “must recognize that the chances of sectarian tensions are higher with the status quo unchanged.”

According to Saab, lack of serious action to address the issue of Hezbollah’s arms would prompt Israel to continue its attacks and cause more damage and human casualties. “If that happens, war-weary and economically dispossessed Lebanese could blame Hezbollah for causing even more death and destruction. This would in turn increase the risk of sectarian violence and people taking up arms against Hezbollah and its supporters,” he said.

For Lebanon’s new leadership under President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the challenge is to preserve national stability while dealing with an increasingly polarized domestic landscape and pressure from powerful external actors.

Though both leaders have reiterated their commitment to imposing a state monopoly on arms, they have insisted that any progress depends on Israel’s complete withdrawal from Lebanese territory and an end to violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

While Barrack’s proposal received praise for its ambition, its feasibility depends on wider geopolitical considerations. Paul Salem, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, believes that Iran, Hezbollah’s principal backer, will have the final say.

“The key decision of disarming Hezbollah would have to be made in Iran, the group’s main backer, not in Lebanon,” he told Arab News. “For the time being, it is clear that Tehran is encouraging Hezbollah to drag its feet and not to hand over all its arms and I think that will remain the case.”

Salem emphasized the need for a coordinated domestic and international effort to encourage Hezbollah’s transition into a political entity. This, he said, would require guarantees from the US, a defined role for the LAF, and political assurances from the Arab Gulf states.

“Hezbollah, at a minimum, would need assurances about Israel’s withdrawal and protection of its operatives in Lebanon, which would have to come from the US, as well reassurances from Gulf countries of aid for reconstruction of the war-ravaged areas,” Salem said.

“They would want some of that money to come through their auspices so they could benefit politically.”

The World Bank has estimated the cost of Lebanon’s reconstruction at $11 billion. US and Gulf officials have indicated that significant portions of that aid will only be unlocked if Hezbollah agrees to disarm.




Lebanese emergency responders inspect the debris at the site of a reported Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khaldeh, south of the capital Beirut. (AFP)

The issue of integrating Hezbollah supporters into Lebanon’s broader political and economic fabric is also paramount. Wood emphasized that the process of disarming Hezbollah should come with assurances that the Shiite community would remain part of the nation-building process in a country long paralyzed by factional politics.

“Lebanon’s leaders must think very carefully about how to fully integrate Hezbollah’s supporters into the country’s future, or else they risk creating dangerous fissures in Lebanese society,” the ICG’s Wood said.

Despite mounting pressure, few expect a quick resolution. Reports suggest Hezbollah is conducting a strategic review of its military posture, exploring possible scenarios but delaying concrete action. “Hezbollah is taking a ‘wait and see’ approach for now,” Wood said. “Perhaps it wants to know if regional circumstances might improve for it before seriously entertaining the idea of surrendering its military wing.”

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army has consolidated control over Rafik Hariri International Airport and large parts of the south, improving state authority and border security. A successful disarmament, officials argue, would boost the credibility of Lebanon’s institutions and the case for the state’s monopoly on force.

The Middle East Institute’s Salem cautioned that Hezbollah is unlikely to fully relinquish its arms without assurances that go beyond Lebanese borders. If anything, he said, the disarmament would reduce sectarian tensions “with the Sunnis, Christians, Druze and other communities that have been afraid of Hezbollah’s arms.”




Firefighters work at the site of an Israeli drone attack in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roumman. (AFP)

The potential rewards for Lebanon are clearly substantial. Hezbollah’s disarmament would enable Lebanon to form new alliances with regional and global partners. The disarmament process could also unlock vital economic assistance, helping the country recover from years of political paralysis, financial crisis and social unrest.

However, Lebanon’s leadership remains caught between the demands of the international community and the compulsions of domestic sectarian politics. For now, a delicate balance holds. But as pressure builds, time may be running out for Lebanon’s politicians to chart the country’s future — before others do it for them.


US envoy urges Syria’s Sharaa to revise policy or risk fragmentation

Updated 1 min 10 sec ago

US envoy urges Syria’s Sharaa to revise policy or risk fragmentation

US envoy urges Syria’s Sharaa to revise policy or risk fragmentation
BEIRUT: A US envoy has urged Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support and fragmenting the country.
US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack said he had advised Sharaa in private discussions to revisit elements of the pre-war army structure, scale back Islamist indoctrination and seek regional security assistance.
In an interview in Beirut, Barrack told Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power.
Sharaa should say: “I’m going to adapt quickly, because if I don’t adapt quickly, I’m going to lose the energy of the universe that was behind me,” Barrack said. He said Sharaa could “grow up as a president and say, ‘the right thing for me to do is not to follow my theme, which isn’t working so well.’“
Sharaa, leader of a former Al-Qaeda offshoot, came to power in Syria after fighters he led brought down President Bashar Assad in December last year after more than 13 years of civil war.
Though his own fighters have roots in Sunni Muslim militancy, Sharaa has promised to protect members of Syria’s many sectarian minorities. But that pledge has been challenged, first by mass killings of members of Assad’s Alawite sect in March, and now by the latest violence in the southwest.
Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and Sharaa’s own forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killing of Druze by government forces.
Barrack said the new government should consider being “more inclusive quicker” when it comes to integrating minorities into the ruling structure.
But he also pushed back against reports that Syrian security forces were responsible for violations against Druze civilians. He suggested that Daesh group militants may have been disguised in government uniforms and that social media videos are easily doctored and therefore unreliable.
“The Syrian troops haven’t gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They’re not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in,” he said.
“No successor” to Sharaa
The US helped broker a ceasefire last week that brought an end to the fighting, which erupted between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions on July 13.
Barrack said the stakes in Syria are dangerously high, with no succession plan or viable alternative to the country’s new government.
“With this Syrian regime, there is no plan B. If this Syrian regime fails, somebody is trying to instigate it to fail,” Barrack said. “For what purpose? There’s no successor.”
Asked if Syria could follow the dire scenarios of Libya and Afghanistan, he said: “Yes, or even worse.”
The US has said it did not support Israel’s airstrikes on Syria. Barrack said the strikes had added to the “confusion” in Syria.
Israel says Syria’s new rulers are dangerous militants, and has vowed to keep government troops out of the southwest and protect Syria’s Druze minority in the area, encouraged by calls from Israel’s own Druze community.
Barrack said his message to Israel is to have dialogue to alleviate their concerns about Syria’s new Sunni leaders and that the US could play the role of an “honest intermediary” to help resolve any concerns.
He said Sharaa had signaled from the beginning of his rule that Israel was not his enemy and that he could normalize ties in due time.
He said the United States was not dictating what the political format of Syria should be, other than stability, unity, fairness and inclusion.
“If they end up with a federalist government, that’s their determination. And the answer to the question is, everybody may now need to adapt.”

UK FM ‘sickened’ by Israel’sconduct in Gaza

UK FM ‘sickened’ by Israel’sconduct in Gaza
Updated 1 min 56 sec ago

UK FM ‘sickened’ by Israel’sconduct in Gaza

UK FM ‘sickened’ by Israel’sconduct in Gaza
  • David Lammy speaks out against new Israeli, US aid system and says Tel Aviv could face new sanctions
  • 25 countries call for an end to humanitarian restrictions in Gaza

LONDON: Britain’s foreign secretary said he feels “appalled” and “sickened” by Israel’s actions in Gaza, and that the UK could launch a new wave of sanctions against Tel Aviv if no ceasefire deal is reached.

It follows a joint statement from 25 countries on Monday — including the UK, France, Canada and Australia — urging Israel to end its restrictions on aid entering the Palestinian enclave, The Independent reported.

David Lammy said that only a “change in behavior” from Israel would cause the British government to abandon its plan to introduce new sanctions against it.

The Israeli military this week launched a new ground operation on Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, which is the primary aid hub for the territory.

Lammy was interviewed on “Good Morning Britain” on Tuesday, a day after releasing the joint statement with his 24 counterparts.

He was asked what steps the government would take should Israel fail to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“Well, we’ve announced a raft of sanctions over the last few months,” he said.     
“There will be more, clearly, and we keep all of those options under consideration if we do not see a change in behavior and the suffering that we are seeing come to an end.

“It’s important that we continue to work with international partners if we are to have the maximum result. But what I want to see is a ceasefire and it’s my assessment that once the Knesset rises on July 28, we are more likely to see a ceasefire come into effect.”

Last month, Lammy announced British sanctions against two senior far-right members of the Netanyahu government, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have repeatedly incited violence against Palestinians.
Monday’s 25-nation joint statement condemned Israel and the US’s aid model for Gaza, which was designed to replace much of the existing UN aid system in the enclave.

The organization at the center of the new model, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has faced intense criticism after scores of Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces at its designated aid sites.

Lammy told “BBC Breakfast” about his reaction to events in Gaza: “I feel the same as the British public: appalled, sickened. I described what I saw, yesterday in parliament, as grotesque.”

He added: “These are not words that are usually used by a foreign secretary who is attempting to be diplomatic, but when you see innocent children holding out their hand for food, and you see them shot and killed in the way that we have seen in the last few days, of course Britain must call it out.”

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.


Food situation in Gaza ‘absolutely desperate,’ charity warns

Food situation in Gaza ‘absolutely desperate,’ charity warns
Updated 2 min 17 sec ago

Food situation in Gaza ‘absolutely desperate,’ charity warns

Food situation in Gaza ‘absolutely desperate,’ charity warns
  • Markets in the enclave are devoid of goods and people with cash are unable to find bread or vegetables to purchase, says Save the Children official
  • Several aid organizations have warned that some of their staff in Gaza are starving due to low food and drinking water supplies

LONDON: Rachael Cummings, the humanitarian director for Save the Children, described the food situation in Gaza as “absolutely desperate” and “the worst it has ever been.”
She spoke to Sky News from Deir Al-Balah on Tuesday, a city in central Gaza where Israeli forces launched a bombing campaign this week and where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought shelter.
“One of my colleagues said to me yesterday: ‘We are all walking together towards death’. And this is the situation now for people in Gaza.
“There is no food for their children; it’s absolutely desperate here,” she said during the video call.
Markets in the territory are devoid of goods, she added, and people with cash are unable to find bread or vegetables to buy.
“My team have said to me: ‘There’s nothing in my house to feed my children, my children are crying all day, every day’.”
Cummings’ remarks came as the UK, along with 24 other nations, issued a joint statement on Monday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and criticizing the US-Israeli model of aid distribution. In recent weeks, hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed while attempting to obtain food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial organization supported by the US and Israel.
“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” the joint statement said.
The 25 countries also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of hostages captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks. Sources informed Reuters that Israel suspects some hostages taken by the armed group may be located near Deir Al-Balah.
Meanwhile, several humanitarian organizations, including UNRWA and the Norwegian Refugee Council, have also warned that some of their staff are starving due to low food and drinking water supplies in the territory.
Since Sunday, 21 children have died in Gaza due to severe malnutrition and hunger-related complications, amid shortages of food and medical supplies.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy pledged £40 million ($54 million) for humanitarian assistance in Gaza on Tuesday.
Charity staffer Liz Allcock, who works for Medical Aid for Palestinians in Gaza, welcomed the announcement, but told Sky News: “There have been (similar) statements in the past 21 months and nothing has changed. In fact, things have only got worse. And every time we think it can’t get worse, it does.
“Without a reversal of the siege, the lack of supplies, the constant bombardment, the forced displacement, the killing and the militarization of aid, we are going to collapse as a humanitarian response,” she said.
“And this would do a grave injustice to the 2.2 million people we’re trying to serve.”


How heritage defenders are rescuing Gaza’s artifacts, preserving cultural identity

How heritage defenders are rescuing Gaza’s artifacts, preserving cultural identity
Updated 1 min 41 sec ago

How heritage defenders are rescuing Gaza’s artifacts, preserving cultural identity

How heritage defenders are rescuing Gaza’s artifacts, preserving cultural identity
  • Palestinian archaeologists are racing to safeguard ancient objects from bombed museums, private collections, and historical sites
  • International experts warn that Gaza’s cultural memory is at risk of permanent loss if preservation efforts are not supported

LONDON: It is one of the more extraordinary and unexpected images to have emerged from the chaos and destruction in Gaza.

Two men, wearing high-visibility vests and stepping carefully through the rubble-strewn streets of Khan Younis, are carrying a priceless Roman-era pottery jar, supported between them on a folded carpet serving as a makeshift sling.

The incongruous photograph tells a story of hope and determination — hope that Palestine has a future, and determination that, whatever tomorrow might bring, the heritage of an entire people will not be destroyed.

The photograph was taken during the summer last year, when the men, members of the Heritage Guardians Team from the Khan Younis-based Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts, were taking part in the evacuation of thousands of artifacts from Al-Qarara Museum, which had been severely damaged in the fighting.

Emergency restoration work at Qasr Al-Basha in Gaza, almost completely destroyed in 2023. (Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation)

Today, thanks to emergency funding supplied by ALIPH, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage, those artefacts are stored in a relatively safe and secret place, in the hope that one day they can be returned to a restored museum.

The rescue of Palestine’s past is just one of 550 projects in 54 countries that have been funded by ALIPH since 2017.

The alliance was founded by France and the UAE at an international conference on heritage in danger, held in Abu Dhabi in December 2016 in the wake of widespread destruction of monuments, museums and heritage sites in conflict areas. Ƶ was one of ALIPH’s founding members and remains one of its biggest contributors.

This month ALIPH announced additional funding of $16 million for 28 new projects supporting heritage in Gaza, Africa, Syria and Ukraine, bringing the total amount committed worldwide by the organization since 2017 to $116 million.

Much of that money has been spent on major projects, such as ALIPH’s response to the explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020. Since expanded to cover 37 individual projects — 26 of which have been completed — the commitment to Lebanon has reached $5.4 million.

ALIPH’s funding for Iraq, much of it in response to the destruction of multiple heritage sites by Daesh, has seen more than $31 million invested in 49 initiatives.

Smoke billowing during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory. (AFP)

It began in 2018 with the massive project to rehabilitate the Mosul Museum, in which ALIPH invested $15.8 million in collaboration with the Louvre, the Smithsonian Institution, and the World Monuments Fund, working with local partners and Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.

ALIPH has also spent $3 million on 18 projects in Syria since 2019, working with 11 local operators to protect and restore archaeological sites, monuments, historic neighborhoods, museums and religious buildings.

The new program that ALIPH wants to implement in the coming months includes the rehabilitation of the Palmyra museum and its artifacts, and the stabilization of damaged monuments at the ancient site, where the destruction inflicted there by Daesh in 2015 was one of the key events that led to the alliance’s foundation.

But it is the much smaller sums invested in timely, emergency interventions, such as several funded by ALIPH in Gaza, that often have a disproportionately significant impact.

Muhannad Abu Lehia, left, and Mahmoud Abdul Ghafour, members of the Heritage Guardians Team of Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts, carry a Roman pottery jar to safety from the bombed Al-Qarara Museum in Khan Younis, Gaza. (Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation)

“We have quite a large number of small projects,” said Elke Selter, ALIPH’s director of programs. “And a lot of these are acute emergencies, when you actually can’t spend large amounts of money and just need to pay for an evacuation, for boxes to move objects, for tarpaulins to cover a hole in a roof, or for wooden panels to put in front of broken windows.”

The cost of such interventions, which can make all the difference to the future of a heritage site, can be just a few thousand dollars.

Larger, general applications for funding can be made through the regular calls for projects that are advertised on ALIPH’s website — the current call, in partnership with the EU, is for projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and closes on July 31.

But ALIPH is also open year-round to requests for emergency assistance grants, worth up to $75,000 each, for which applicants must submit a brief, precise proposal for interventions designed “to halt or prevent irremediable heritage degradation that cannot wait until the next call for projects.”

“I believe that our emergency response is one of ALIPH’s main strategic advantages,” said Selter.

“We do very important projects also, before and after emergencies, but there are many others doing that too. In terms of being actively present, and being able to provide funding within 48 hours, if needed, we’re alone.”

Israeli troops deploy by Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

Part of the consideration of each emergency application is the risk posed to those on the ground.

With only a couple of dozen staff at headquarters in Geneva, ALIPH is “primarily a financial instrument, and so it’s not ALIPH that puts on its boots and its helmets and goes on site,” said Selter.

“But we work with local operators and provide funding to people on the ground who ask for it, and who are, at that moment, doing whatever they can to save heritage that is clearly important to them.

“These people are going to do it either way, so we can either help them, or not. And if you know that you’re one of the only ones that can help, I think there’s a duty to do so.”

ALIPH takes steps to ensure projects are as safe as possible.

“We try to do whatever we can in our power to make sure that the teams are as safe as they can possibly be, given the situations in which they work,” Selter added.

A truck bound for a secret destination is loaded with rescued artefacts from the ethnographic collection at Al-Qarara Museum. (Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts)

“In Gaza, for instance, we’ve put them in touch with UNMAS, the UN demining service, so that sites could first be checked.

“We stay in touch throughout a project, and in the particular case of Gaza we also make sure they understand that, for us, things like reporting deadlines are not essential.

“Of course, it’s important that the administration at some point is in order, but we don’t need them to risk their lives in order to send us a report within a deadline.”

In Gaza last year, ALIPH partnered with the Khan Younis-based Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts and teams from Al-Qarara Museum and The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit in the West Bank to inventory and evacuate Al-Qarara’s collection of more than 3,000 artefacts.

INNUMBERS

• 550 Projects that have been funded by ALIPH since 2017.

• $16m Additional funding for new projects unveiled by ALIPH this month.

• 28 New projects to support heritage in Gaza, Africa, Syria and Ukraine.

In April 2024, ALIPH also supported the urgent rescue from the rubble of surviving artifacts from the Rafah Museum, which, before it was almost completely destroyed by Israeli bombing, housed hundreds of objects related to Palestinian heritage, including a unique collection of traditional thobes.

ALIPH is currently supporting emergency protection and stabilization measures for the historic Qasr Al-Basha in Gaza, being undertaken by the Palestinian Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over three Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Deir El-Balah. (AFP/File)

Once the seat of Mamluk and Ottoman power, the palace became a museum in 2010, housing collections of the Palestinian Antiquities Department, before it was almost completely destroyed in 2023.

Equally devastated was Al-Omari Mosque in the heart of Gaza’s old city, which was built in 1149 and has been repeatedly damaged, most recently in December 2023. Almost all that remains intact is the building’s minaret.

ALIPH is supporting the Ramallah-based Palestinian NGO Riwaq, the Center for Architectural Conservation, which is carrying out emergency stabilization and documenting the destruction to support any future work.

In February this year, ALIPH funded a damage assessment and stabilizing built heritage workshop in Cairo.

Run by the Egyptian Foundation for Heritage Rescue and the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Bethlehem, it has prepared 20 Palestinian heritage professionals to form teams and intervene in Gaza as soon as the situation allows.

ALIPH has also spent $3 million on 18 projects in Syria since 2019. (Iconem)

More than 60 heritage professionals from Gaza, the West Bank and Cairo also attended an ALIPH-funded online course on risk management and undertaking emergency cultural heritage protection measures.

“We were really surprised that we had more than 60 participants,” said project manager Gala-Alexa Amagat.

“Something we see in every conflict we work in is that people attach such importance to preserving the heritage that they have.

“A lot of the people in Gaza who attended actually walked very far every morning to get to a place where they could get a connection and connect to that training, which was completely beyond what we expected.”

ALIPH relies on the generosity of donors, including nine member countries, public donors such as the EU, and private individuals and philanthropic foundations. Its next donor conference will be held in Abu Dhabi at the end of next year.

“Of course, the funding landscape is under serious pressure,” said Selter.

“But on the other hand, after eight years, ALIPH is becoming better known, which makes funding a bit easier. People know us now, and those who were hesitant at the beginning can see that we have delivered.

Working amid the chaos of the badly damaged Al-Qarara Museum, members of the Aliph-funded Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts carefully document artefacts prior to their evacuation. (Mayasem Association for Culture and Arts)

“We hope that our donors will remain committed and that they’re happy with the results that we’ve delivered.”

Ultimately, those results stand as a testament to the dedication of thousands of individuals around the world, from South America in the west to Indonesia in the east, many of whom are working in dangerous circumstances. 

“The past belongs to all of us, and it is vital to protect our heritage to build a shared future,” said Valery Freland, ALIPH’s executive director.

“We are much more than just a funder. But the real heroes are our partners on the ground, who often face great challenges, but are committed to protecting the world’s heritage.”

 


Clearing Gaza war rubble could release 90K tonnes of greenhouse gases: study

Clearing Gaza war rubble could release 90K tonnes of greenhouse gases: study
Updated 22 July 2025

Clearing Gaza war rubble could release 90K tonnes of greenhouse gases: study

Clearing Gaza war rubble could release 90K tonnes of greenhouse gases: study
  • Estimated 39 million tonnes of concrete debris created between October 2023 and December 2024
  • Findings suggest it could take up to 37 years to clear the enclave using locally available equipment

LONDON: Rubble in Gaza caused by Israeli bombardment could cause more than 90,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, a study has suggested.

Research using open-source data published in the journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability suggested that about 39 million tonnes of concrete debris had been created between the start of the war in October 2023 to December a year later.

It added that 2.1 million truck journeys spanning a total of 29.5 million km would be needed to move it, generating about 66,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. 

Researchers at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh based their findings on two scenarios, one which assumed 80 percent of the debris was viable for crushing, which with a fleet of 50 industrial machines would take more than half a year and add a further 2,976 tonnes of CO2 emissions. 

Using the same number of local, smaller crushers could take up to 37 years to complete the task, and generate 25,149 tonnes.

The longer the task took, the researchers said, the more additional emissions would be produced, adding that the model did not account for additional emissions caused by other substances left in the enclave such as asbestos, as well as unexploded ordnance.

It is believed that about 90 percent of homes in Gaza, as well as a significant proportion of its infrastructure, have been destroyed by Israeli strikes.

“The CO2 emissions from clearing and processing the rubble may seem small compared to the total climate cost of the destruction in Gaza, but our micro-focus unpacks the labor and work required to even begin the process of reconstruction,” said Samer Abdelnour, the study’s lead author and senior lecturer in strategic management at the University of Edinburgh Business School.

“While filling the military emissions gap is important, our work can also support Palestinian policymakers, civil engineers, planners and other workers on the ground who are determined to reclaim what was lost, stay on the land and rebuild.”

Nicholas Roy, a statistical science student at Oxford University and co-author of the study, said: “Looking ahead, finer spatial and temporal resolution of satellite images, advances in deep learning for building and damage classification, and methods that integrate information from different perspectives — such as street-level cellphone footage and top-down satellite images — open new opportunities to estimate military emissions across different scopes and better understand the true climate cost of war.” 

The carbon footprint of global military activity is estimated at about 5.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions — more than civil aviation and international shipping combined. The Gulf region in particular is uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Ben Neimark, a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London investigating the climate impact of Israeli military activity, told The Guardian: “The methodological focus on debris is cutting-edge work, highlighting often-missed environmental damage left by militaries after the war is over. It provides a fresh look at the daily images of bombed-out buildings and rubble from Gaza, rather than seeing them as longer-term climate impacts of war.”

In June, Neimark’s work estimated that the impacts of Israel’s war in Gaza could release more than 31 million tonnes of CO2. 

Stuart Parkinson, executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, told The Guardian: “Militaries and war are large and hidden contributors to the climate crisis … it is important to include the full range of activities from production of the military equipment to fuel use during warfighting, from the damage to carbon stores like forests to cleanup efforts and reconstruction following the end of the war. This study adds to this bigger picture of war-related emissions.”