Fighting in Lebanon taking a ‘huge toll’ on displaced civilians
The United Nations asked for $426m in aid to try and deal with the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced from the southern part of the country as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut.
About 900 schools have been turned into temporary shelters for the displaced. But it’s not nearly enough. The government is saying it’s been stretched to the limit when it comes to resources.
As a result, we’ve seen people sleeping on the streets of the capital, along the corniche, in their vehicles and any place they can find.
This is all taking a huge toll on the fragile infrastructure in this country. The government is insisting that a ceasefire is the only solution to be able to deal with this current escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel.
Israel seeks to ‘close’ front with Hezbollah with eye on Iran
Sultan Barakat, a professor at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says the increase in Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon over the past 36 hours shows its desire to hurriedly “close the front with Lebanon” as it prepares to strike Iran after the missile barrage last week.
“They [the Israelis] need to do something to restore the deterrence they’ve had for many decades in the region, but it would be very unwise to do so while they’re still at war with the Lebanese,” Barakat told Al Jazeera.
Israeli may not be able to completely neutralise Hezbollah, but it wants to weaken it enough to secure a UN-backed ceasefire that will keep the Lebanese group on the sidelines during a war with Iran, he added.
“This is why they’re intensifying their attacks at the moment, and this needs to be done before the American elections,” said Barakat.
Hezbollah claims it hit Israeli forces near bordee
The Lebanese group says it attacked a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Maskaf Am with artillery shells.
Hezbollah also claimed an attack on the settlement of Karmiel with a barrage of rockets.
