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Hezbollah-linked financial firm an economic lifeline for Lebanese

Al-Qard al-Hassan, bombed by Israel over it's Hezbollah links, is a lifeline for mainly Muslim Shiite communities battling a years-long financial crisis that has locked Lebanese out of their bank deposits. The financial firm, officially registered as a charity, has been offering customers credit in exchange for gold deposits on an interest-free basis since the 1980s.Its beneficiaries are mainly Shiite Muslims, but in a country where a five-year economic crisis has forced many into desperation, Christians and Sunni Muslims have also turned to its services.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Hezbollah-linked financial firm an economic lifeline for Lebanese

US envoy Hochstein’s document for Israel-Lebanon cease-fire: What we know

According to a report by the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, the US envoy presented a document that includes several amendments to UN Resolution 1701 as a proposal to end the war in Lebanon, which Lebanese officials have repeatedly refused to change.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US envoy Hochstein’s document for Israel-Lebanon cease-fire: What we know

Blinken urges Israel to 'capitalise' on Sinwar death and reach Gaza truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday to seize on the killing of Hamas's leader to work towards a Gaza ceasefire.Blinken also pressed for more aid to be allowed into the Palestinian territory as concerns rise for tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in the hard-to-reach north.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Blinken urges Israel to 'capitalise' on Sinwar death and reach Gaza truce