In November, fresh fruit and vegetables were distributed to 5,000 families, Christian and Muslim, thanks to convoys organised by the Patriarchate with the Sovereign Order of Malta. Work is also underway to set up a medical centre and to reopen the school in the parish. Card. Pizzaballa: "It is not just a response to needs, but a moral duty towards these brothers".

For the Jordanian scholar, the plan that led to normalisation with Israel ‘seems dormant’ but remains a valid ‘basis’. The Middle East is a different reality today compared to the Tycoon's first term. The ‘zero conflict’ policy pursued by Riyadh privileges the economic sphere and opens up dialogue with Tehran. The centrality of the Palestinian issue to stop conflicts.

Negotiations for a 60-day suspension of the fighting, followed by the implementation of resolution 1701, continue on difficult tracks. Among the obstacles is the military doggedness of the Jewish state against the cedar country. Another of Hezbollah's historic leaders, Mohammed Afif, was the victim of a targeted attack. According to World Bank estimates, more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed in the last two months.

Card Zenari remembers the founder of Mar Musa on his seventieth birthday. The monastery remains his “most living” legacy. The tragedy of the missing is compounded by that of refugees and the displaced, the ongoing war, and last year’s devastating earthquake. Increasingly frequent, Israeli raids have cut links with Lebanon which are an “umbilical cord". Pope Francis’s proclamation of the martyrs of Damascus is a “breath of fresh air”.

In the ‘favourable’ climate created by the war, the Israeli authorities yesterday demolished the Al Bustan Centre, in the neighbourhood close to the Suleiman Walls. An area that for years they have wanted to clear of Arab families in order to expand the infrastructure of the tourist park that is bringing to light all the remains of ancient Jewish Jerusalem.

The changes ordered by the emir cover seven ministries, including the posts of deputy prime minister and minister of state for defence (and intelligence). Elected seats in the Shura Council have been abolished while new Qataris will be eligible for appointment. A foreign ministry  spokesperson calls  "inaccurate" reports that Qatar will no longer mediate, but Hamas’s presence in the emirate appears to be on hold.