A number of gas stations in Lebanon are likely to close Monday due to a lack of fuel on the eve of a general strike by fuel distributors.

Here is what we know:

    • Local TV channel MTV quoted Fadi Abou Chakra, spokesperson for the fuel distributors, as saying Sunday that “several stations will not be able to deliver fuel tomorrow” ahead of more widespread disruption in the sector on Tuesday.

    • “Only some distributors will be able to deliver their goods, but on Tuesday, the whole sector will comply with the strike," he explained.

    • The prospect of gas station closures has sown, once again, panic among motorists. On Sunday evening lines of cars again formed in front of some stations.

    • Reacting to this announcement, gas station owners’ syndicate member Georges Brax defended his sector against criticism, saying that “the fuel sector is not a scapegoat and is not responsible for the monetary, economic and financial crisis in Lebanon and the current disorder.” In a statement reported by our correspondent Hoda Chedid, Brax continued, “It is up to state officials to give the stations, tanks, import and distribution companies the rights that are due to them, so that citizens can have access to fuel. We can no longer bear the losses. Neither the stations, nor the tanks, nor the companies want to close and stop work.”

    • Last Thursday, the union of tanker owners and fuel distributors announced a strike for Tuesday throughout the country in tandem with a rally in front of the headquarters of the Energy Ministry.

    • Since the end of 2019, the ministry’s Petroleum Directorate has been demanding that the tanks of these vehicles be standardized for safety reasons. Drivers oppose this measure, saying it creates additional costs that they cannot sustain.

    • After a hike in fuel prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the surge in world oil prices, prices in Lebanon were revised downwards earlier this week.

    • On Monday and Tuesday, the country’s banks will also be on strike, to contest legal proceedings launched against commercial banks.