Iran warns of ‘serious consequences’ for Israel if it attacks Lebanon
Any possible Israeli attack on Lebanon “will have serious consequences for Israel”, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Iran’s state media reported on Monday.
“We are willing to improve our relations with France on the basis of mutual trust,” Pezeshkian added in his conversation with Macron.
Macron spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the French presidency said, as Paris seeks to prevent a broader escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
The presidency said Macron had reminded Netanyahu that France was fully committed to doing “everything to avoid a new escalation in the region by passing messages to all parties involved in the conflict”.
White House says Israel has right to respond to rocket strike
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says Israel has every right to retaliate for the attack on the occupied Golan Heights that Israel blamed on Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. He added, however, that the US does not believe the response needs to result in escalation.
Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams that killed 12 teenagers and children on Saturday, July 27.
Israel is responding several times a day, with 5 times as many attacks as Hezbollah and over 10x as many casualties. Is the US seriously suggesting Israel should bomb children in Lebanon?
Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon
Video and photos posted on social media by a local rescue organisation show smoke rising from an attack on a car in the town of Kunin, in the south of the country. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that two people were wounded in the attack, one seriously.
Elsewhere in south Lebanon, an attack occurred on the town of Shebaa, heavily damaging a house and vehicles parked nearby, scenes from the ground show. We do not have information on casualties that resulted from this attack, but we will keep you updated.
▪️غارة على بلدة كونين
-الغارة استهدفت سيارة في بلدة كونين pic.twitter.com/hu55VYid5m
— كُن مُواطِن (@kon_mowaten) July 29, 2024
UK advises nationals to leave Lebanon, avoid travel to country
The United Kingdom has advised British nationals to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country as diplomats race to contain any escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We are advising British nationals to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country. This is a fast-moving situation,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted on X.
EU, Lebanon, Arab League chief discuss ‘bloodshed’ in occupied Golan Heights
Europe’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he spoke with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit about the rocket attack on the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights which killed 12 children and teenagers on Saturday.
Borrell said the discussion focused on the need to “clarify the causes” of the “Majdal Shams’ bloodshed”, ways to “avoid a regional war”, and reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
“Far too many children have been killed already,” Borrell wrote in a post on social media.
Fear is mounting that a strong attack by Israel on Lebanon-based Hezbollah – which it blames for the strike on the Druze town in the Golan Heights – could lead to a regional conflict. Hezbollah has denied carrying out the attack.
