The intensity of the Lebanese people’s rush to grocery stores and gas stations decreased, a few days after Israel escalated its attacks on southern Lebanon and the southern suburb of the capital, Beirut, since last September 23.
As of yesterday, Monday, the Israeli escalation against Lebanon, specifically the southern regions, entered its second week, amid the most violent attacks since the 2006 war between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah.
With Israel announcing on Tuesday the start of a ground operation in southern Lebanon, which it described as “specific targets,” there were no signs of a rush by citizens in Beirut to grocery stores.
The Israeli army said that the 98th Military Division began “directed and specific” activities in southern Lebanon, the day after a night of anticipation for an imminent Israeli ground invasion of Lebanese territory, but no invasion of Lebanese territory by Israeli forces had been observed until Tuesday morning.
Last week, the Lebanese Ministry of Energy said that the fuel allocated for generating electrical power is sufficient for 12 days, specifically until October 7.
Gasoline prices rose by 5,000 liras ($0.056), according to a report by the Lebanese National News Agency, which indicated that the price of a 20-liter can of 95-octane gasoline became 1.41 million liras ($15.67).
The price of 98-octane gasoline also rose to 1.45 million liras ($16.12), while the price of diesel reached 1.3 million liras ($14.45), and gas reached 920,000 liras ($10.23).
From before the war
But even before the outbreak of the Israeli war, the Lebanese street has been suffering for 5 years from fluctuations in the availability of vital commodities, especially fuel for vehicles and fuel for power generation.
The scarcity of foreign exchange in banks and the Central Bank of Lebanon led to the scarcity of many vital goods imported from abroad, which led to the recovery of the black market not only for foreign exchange, but for goods as well.
However, the country is awaiting the arrival of two shipments of fuel, or what is known as “gas oil,” from Algeria as part of a grant the latter provided to Lebanon last August, and another shipment from Iraq, during the first week of this October.
Fuel reserves
According to press statements by the Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, on September 25, during which he confirmed that the stocks of gas oil allocated for power generation amounted to 30 thousand tons, while the daily consumption of the plants reached 2,500 tons.
He said, “The stock of gas oil present in Lebanon will increase in the coming days, with the arrival of an additional 60,000 tons, according to an agreement concluded with Iraq, in addition to an additional 24,000 tons, from the Algerian grant.”
While the Ministry reassured citizens on Sunday of the availability of necessary reserves of petroleum derivatives in the medium term, stressing that “there is no gasoline or diesel crisis,” without providing numbers.
Last Saturday, Lebanese media outlets, including Al-Akhbar and Al-Modon newspaper, quoted the head of the Oil Importing Companies Association, Maroun Chammas, as saying that the fuel market for cars will remain stable as long as commercial ports operate without any restrictions.
He said: “As long as the sea is open and there are no obstacles to importing, there is no problem with securing gasoline. The material is currently in abundance, but the situation changes as the situation changes. If the door to importing via sea is closed, we will fall into a crisis.”
Since the first days of the Israeli military escalation, queues of vehicles began to form at the entrances to gas stations, before their intensity decreased slightly by the beginning of this week.
In the south, where Israeli bombing is concentrated and there is talk of a ground invasion, the towns and villages there are facing a scarcity of some foodstuffs such as flour and fuel for vehicles.
The Ministries of Economy, Energy and Health called for the necessity of providing the needs of southern towns.
Economy Minister Amin Salam appeared in an interview with the American CNN on Monday, during which he confirmed that Lebanon’s operating ports did not stop receiving imports during the past days.
Negative effects
Salam added, “The most important thing is that we are working in cooperation with the relevant authorities to maintain the exchange rate of the lira against the dollar… but there is an existing danger that the exchange rate will move downward.”
He added, “There is a danger to the areas of the south that were damaged, and with them thousands of jobs and businesses that were closed for an unlimited period there… and this has negative effects on the economy… and it is too early to talk about loss figures.”
Regarding wheat stocks, he said, “We have quantities of wheat inside the country. The reserves are sufficient for two months, and we have upcoming shipments that will increase the reserves to meet the market’s need for 3 months.”
The United Nations ESCWA Committee stated, in a report today, that major economic sectors in Lebanon were severely affected by the war, as agriculture was wiped out in large areas due to the use of incendiary phosphorous bombs, threatening food security and livelihoods in rural communities.
Since September 23, Israel has launched the “most violent and widespread” attack on Lebanon since the beginning of the confrontations with Hezbollah about a year ago, which resulted, as of Tuesday dawn, at least 1,057 martyrs, including children and women, and 2,950 wounded, according to statements by the Lebanese authorities, and amid fears of The outbreak of a regional war.
Since October 8, 2023, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have exchanged daily bombardments with the Israeli army across the dividing Blue Line.
