Lebanese react to threat of war: ‘Of course everyone is afraid’
Many Lebanese say they’re resigned to a possible escalation with Israel. “Of course we don’t want to go into a war with them, but if that’s in solidarity with the people in Gaza, then so be it,” said designer Tara Tabet, 32.
She said it’s “stressful” to live with so much uncertainty but she’s trying to carry on “as if there’s nothing. All of Beirut is like that.” Already, about 90,000 Lebanese have fled their homes in the south because of cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
“You’re not happy because you don’t know at any point. We have our passports ready. We have a suitcase ready. We have some food stocks ready,” said Sami Masri, 38, a businessman from the south.
Shopkeeper Qassem Qarram says he is extremely worried. “Of course everyone is afraid, and those who tell you they are not afraid will be lying to themselves,” he said.
‘Nothing to do with this war’: Cypriots react to Hezbollah threat
People on Cyprus have reacted with incredulity to warnings from Lebanon’s Hezbollah that the island could be targeted if tensions with Israel blow up into a full-fledged war.
Cyprus is the European Union’s easternmost member and is less than 200km (125 miles) from Lebanon. The threat worried some people in Cyprus. “Last night when I heard about the news, yes, I was worried,” resident Filios Christodoulou, 84, said.
Others were unfazed. “We have nothing to do with this war,” Stella Patatini, 62, said. “On the contrary, we are helping peace in the region and assistance to the Palestinians, so I feel safe in Cyprus.”
Lebanon’s government appeared to try to contain any fallout from Nasrallah’s comments. Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib contacted Cypriot President Christodoulides.
“Cyprus is not involved, nor will it become involved, in any military conflicts,” government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis told state radio.
Europe is involved though...
And Cyprus is not completely innocent either.
Is Cyprus being dragged into an Israel-Hezbollah war?
Cyprus has traditionally allowed Israel to use its airspace for air drills, but never during active conflict – and it doesn’t look like it will start now.
After Hezbollah’s threat, Cyprus announced it would remain neutral and not get involved in any war. However, the United Kingdom has bases in Cyprus, which it uses to conduct military operations in the region.
The UK allegedly used those bases to launch attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, and they’ve reportedly been used to arm Israel in its war on Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Benny Gantz calls German president
Israeli minister Benny Gantz says on X that he held a phone call with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to discuss the Gaza war and the potential of escalation in the north of Israel against Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“I emphasised to him that the reality where Hezbollah and the Iranian axis of terror continue to threaten the citizens of Northern Israel and the entire region’s stability is simply irreconcilable,” Gantz wrote.
“I will support any responsible and effective military or political decision to remove the threat from outside the government,” he added.
Israel has become a ‘pariah state’: Jordan
Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi has discussed the ongoing war in Gaza with the EU’s top diplomat.
“Al-Safadi stressed, during a phone call with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Josep Borrell, that the war crimes documented by numerous international reports proved that Israel had become a pariah state, that used starvation as a weapon, and killed civilians indiscriminately, and the United Nations included them in the list,” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.
This “blacklist” is for countries “that have committed grave violations against children, but the international reaction to these crimes still falls short of the deterrence required to curb the extremism of the Israeli government and stop the massacres it is committing”.
