‘Do I laugh or do I cry?’ A turbulent newsweek

Dear readers,

« Do I laugh or do I cry ? » That was the question Remas Hmayed, a mother of five in Rafah, asked on Monday. Her day started normally, « well, whatever normal has been for the past seven months of our lives, » she told L’Orient Today.

But then dramatic events unfolded as Israel ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from Rafah. Hours later Hamas announced it had accepted a proposal for a ceasefire, but nothing materialized from the Israeli side. And so the wait for peace continues, amidst yet another week of brief hope, despair and confusion in Gaza, as the war continues to rage. Read this article by Ghadir Hamadi to learn more about how people in Rafah are feeling about the current situation.

Meanwhile, writing here from Beirut, it’s been a busy week in the newsroom covering the war in southern Lebanon. After a few relatively quiet days, the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah intensified again this week. As our reporter Mounir Rabin writes: « Resuming cease-fire negotiations in Gaza was accompanied by a decline in military operations in southern Lebanon. However, as negative signs on the possibility of reaching an agreement emerged Saturday evening, Hezbollah once again flexed its muscles. » As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised concerns this week about a major escalation in southern Lebanon, L’Orient Today has learned that the US and Iran held direct talks last week in Oman to prevent a regional conflagration. Read more here.

Seven months into the war, how are people in Lebanon feeling ? Our reporter, Nima Salha, has been asking this question to people in Furn al-Shubbak, Badaro and elsewhere in Beirut. Watch her report here.

And finally — have you ever thought about crossing 27 countries and traversing the Sahara Desert, on two wheels…for fun ? Well that’s exactly what Lebanese-American cyclist Samer Abou Hamad has done. He says it wasn’t about breaking records, but about simply soaking up life and overcoming challenges along the way. Read more about his momentous journey here.

I wish you a good weekend readers, as we wait to see what the news will bring in terms of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and tightening regulations around Syrians in Lebanon. More to come on that next week.

Very best,

Olivia Le Poidevin

Head of News