President General Michel Aoun, will deliver a speech this evening to inform public about maritime demarcation negotiations.

U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea met Thursday with Internal Security Forces chief Major General Imad Othman on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of joint cooperation.

⋯ Then-U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman signed the first letter of agreement providing an initial $60 million of assistance to strengthen the skills, equipment, and administration of the ISF on October 5, 2007.

"Through U.S. Department of State programs, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut has supported the travel of hundreds of ISF officers to international trainings and cooperation with the FBI," added Shea.

The Council of Lebanese Medical Association in Beirut announced an increase in the minimum fees by doctors:

- Medical examination for general medicine: 450,000 LBP.

- Medical examination for specialized medicine: 650,000 LBP.

Lebanon intends to repatriate Syrian refugees despite lack of cooperation from Damascus. (The Cradle)

President Michel Aoun announced on 12 October that the process of returning Syrian refugees to their country in batches starts next week. However, Lebanon has yet to receive a response from the Syrian authorities about Syria’s readiness to accommodate the 483 families being deported.

Aoun’s announcement comes just two weeks before he is set to leave his post after six years in office, and coincides with the landmark border deal made with Israel.

⋯ An informed source revealed to The Cradle that Damascus has not yet responded to Beirut’s request for the repatriations, over a month after it submitted the names of 1,600 refugees who plan to go back home

This confusion raised several questions about Aoun’s public statement concerning the Syrian refugees, considering Lebanon’s inability to complete this step without Syrian cooperation.

⋯ Nonetheless, this move falls under Aoun’s plan to end his presidency while claiming his success in completing two of his most important objectives: the maritime deal with Israel, and solving the refugee crisis in Lebanon.

A new case of cholera was registered in Qab Elias camp for Syrian refugees.

It has been isolated and the necessary health measures have been taken.

بيان الغرفة للضفة و القدس بإختصار:

فَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ

The dollar exchange rate reaches a new all-time high exceeding 40,000 for the first time in history.

🚨 ‘Poisoned Wells’: New Research Reveals Israeli Army's 1948 Biological Warfare

On 14 ⁠October 2022, Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote extensively on the research by historians Benny Morris and Benjamin Z. Kedar:

“For decades, rumors and testimonies swirled about Jewish troops sent to poison wells in Arab villages. Now, researchers have located official documentation of the ‘Cast Thy Bread’ operation.”

David Ben-Gurion's diary mentions “biological materials” purchased for $2,000 (entry from May 1948). The diary proves the involvement of Israel's soon-to-be first PM, in a secret operation to poison drinking water.

➡️ Read the thread

⋯ This operation was partially exposed decades ago when rumors and oral testimonies were reported in newspapers and books about an attempt in 1948 by the IDF to poison wells in Acre and Gaza by adding bacteria to the drinking water.

⋯ The newly unearthed documents show that this operation was much broader in scope than earlier believed and that other top military and political figures besides Ben-Gurion were involved.

⋯ Most of the material related to the episode is censored, but when searched through the IDF archives for any mention of the operation by name, numerous documents were discovered.

⋯ Moshe Dayan – then calling himself, in code, “Moshe Neptune” – cabled Yigal Yadin:

“Cast Thy Bread will be activated by Nahshon [meaning Operation Nahshon forces, which included the Harel Brigade] on Monday or Tuesday. I will come down mid-week with all the material.”

⋯ Yadin instructed senior IDF commanders: “There is an immediate need to appoint in your HQ a special officer for Cast Thy Bread matters. The matter is of utmost importance and must be kept in great secrecy by you.”

⋯ In another cable, Yadin writes: “Place in the wells material of the Cast Thy Bread type.” And in another cable: “Is there authorization to use B [the Hebrew letter Bet] in the areas that will be evacuated by us [i.e., Israel]?”

⋯ The plan was to poison wells in abandoned Arab villages as well as in Jewish locales that were due to be evacuated by the state-in-the-making. The idea was to prevent Arabs from returning to their villages and from settling in Jewish locales that would fall into their hands.

⋯ On the scientific side, the production of the poison, were people from the IDF Science Corps Bet, a subunit in the Science Corps that dealt with biological warfare. It was headed by Alex Keinan, who went on to found the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Nes Tziona.