A woman walks outside a settlement housing Lebanese fleeing the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Al-Harjala, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, on October 15, 2024. Photo courtesy: AFP
Israel, which began incursions into southern Lebanon two weeks ago to fight the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, has launched a massive offensive affecting more than a quarter of the country, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday (October 15, 2024). Military evacuation orders have been issued.
The figures underline that the Lebanese are paying a heavy price as Israel steps up its campaign to defeat Hezbollah and destroy its infrastructure in its year-long conflict.
United Nations Refugee Agency Middle East [West Asia] Director Rema Jamous Imsis told a press conference in Geneva that the new Israeli evacuation order to 20 villages in southern Lebanon means more than a quarter of the country will now be affected. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate, and they’re running around with almost nothing.”
The Lebanese government said Israeli attacks last year have killed at least 2,309 people and displaced more than 1.2 million.
Most of the people have been killed since late September when Israel expanded its military campaign. The toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
According to Israel, about 50 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed.
Israel says its operation in Lebanon is aimed at ensuring the return of thousands of its residents forced to flee their homes in northern Israel due to Hezbollah attacks.
Israel expanded its bombing campaign in Lebanon on Monday (October 14, 2024), killing at least 22 people – most of them women – in an airstrike on a house in the north, where displaced people were fleeing Israeli strikes in the south. Were seeking shelter, health officials said.
“What we are hearing is that of the 22 people killed, 12 were women and 12 were women,” U.N. human rights office spokesman Jeremy Lawrence said at the same press briefing in response to a question about Monday’s attack on Christian-majority Etou. Had two children.”
“We understand that this was a four-storey residential building that was attacked. Taking these factors into account, we have real concerns with respect to IHL (International Humanitarian Law), so the laws of war, and the disparity and The principle of proportionality, he said, demanding an investigation into the incident.
Rescue workers were also digging through debris in Atou on Tuesday (October 15, 2024), local media reported, following the attacks earlier this month on the southern Lebanese town of Ain Deleb, one of the deadliest attacks on displaced families in Lebanon. The dead bodies were being taken out. In which more than 30 people were killed.
Israel has not commented on the Aitau attack, but has repeatedly said it takes every possible precaution to avoid civilian casualties.
United Nations concerned over attacks on peacekeepers
The main focus of Israel’s military operations in Lebanon so far has been in the Bekaa Valley in the east, the suburbs of Beirut, and the south, where UN peacekeepers have said Israeli fire has targeted their positions on several occasions and peacekeepers have been killed. Have injured.
The UN Security Council on Monday (October 14, 2024) expressed strong concern after several peacekeeping posts came under fresh fire in southern Lebanon amid clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a military base in central Israel where four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone strike on Sunday (October 13, 2024), saying Israel would attack “without mercy, everywhere in Lebanon – including Beirut “Will continue to attack the movement. , The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah resumed a year ago when the terrorist group began firing rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.
Meanwhile, the Middle East is on high alert for Israel to retaliate against Iran for the barrage of missiles it launched on October 1 in response to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said Israel would listen to the United States but decide its actions according to its national interest.
The statement was attached to a Washington Post article that said Netanyahu had told President Joe Biden’s administration that Israel would not attack nuclear or oil targets, but the Iranian military — with the aim of preventing a full-scale war. Suggests a more limited counter-attack.
The Emir of Qatar on Tuesday (October 15, 2024) called on Israel to take advantage of “international inaction” over the Middle East crisis to proceed with its “aggression” in Gaza and build more illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and in Lebanon. Accused of sending army.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said in his annual speech, “Israel deliberately decided to expand the aggression to implement pre-planned plans in other places such as the West Bank and Lebanon because it sees that there is scope available for it. Is.” Shura Council of Qatar.
Qatar, the United States and Egypt have repeatedly mediated in an effort to end the war in Gaza, which erupted a year ago when fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas crossed into Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people. , according to Israeli data.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza, turning the area into a pile of cement and metal and creating severe shortages of food, water and fuel.
published – October 15, 2024 11:23 PM IST