“Israeli attacks on towns and villages in southern Lebanon have left 100 dead and more than 400 injured“, including children, women and rescuers. This was announced by the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, has denounced “a plan of destruction” of his country: hospitals in the south and east have been put on alert to deal with the influx of wounded, while schools have been closed for two days in different regions. The attacks targeted the south, particularly the outskirts of the coastal city of Tyre, and eastern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the army Israeli announced that it is preparing to launch “larger and more precise” attacks in Lebanonadvising Lebanese civilians to «stay away from the targets of Hezbollah» in the south of the country. In a media briefing, the spokesperson ofIdf Daniel Hagari he explained that Israeli attacks in Lebanon “will continue for the foreseeable future.”
«We advise civilians in Lebanese villages that they are located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately remove themselves from danger to their safety,” the military spokesperson said Daniel Hagari at a press conference, in a rare appeal made by the Israeli army to the Lebanese people. “THE’Idf will engage in (more) extensive and precise attacks against terrorist targets that are widely entrenched throughout the Lebanon».
Hagari said the army launched new attacks against the sites of Hezbollah this morning and that “the attacks will continue for the foreseeable future.”
Panetta (ex CIA): the pager attack is terrorism
Former CIA director Leon Panetta (a Calabrian politician and former US soldier) in an interview with CBS News, defined the explosion of pagers in Lebanon as “a form of terrorism”. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that this is a form of terrorism,” he said. “It went straight into the supply chain. And when there’s terror that enters the supply chain, people wonder: what the hell is going to happen next?”
Lebanese Prime Minister: Israel’s aggression is a war of extermination
The Israeli aggression against Lebanon is a war of extermination and a plan to destroy Lebanese villages and cities. This was stated by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as reported by the online site of the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar. Mikati urged “the United Nations and the General Assembly and influential countries… to deter (Israeli) aggression.”
Change in command of the Italian military mission in Lebanon
The Italian ambassador to Beirut, Fabrizio Marcelli, hosted the change of commander of the Italian military bilateral mission in Lebanon (Mibil) at the embassy. Colonel Matteo Vitulano takes the place of the outgoing commander, Sandro Iervolino. The mission, explains the embassy, is in Lebanon to train, advise, equip but also support the civilian population.
Messina: unpredictable scenarios in MO, always updated plans
The one in Middle East “It is an unpredictable situation, we must be ready for any scenario and for this reason the plans are constantly updated.” He explains it in an interview with Corriere della Sera Stefano Messina, Brigadier Generalfrom 2 August in command of Western sector Of Unifilcommenting on the escalation of the conflict which also extends to Lebanon.
«Our work continues as always: every day there are dozens of reports made by Unifiland therefore also by us, al UN Security Council about violations along the blue line», he continues, «on one side and on the other: encroachments of dronesgunshots and artillery shots. Jet who fly over the buffer zone for bombing missions.”
To slow down the escalation, according to the general, it could be useful to «restore the Tripartite forum between UnifilIsraeli and Lebanese authorities interrupted in 2023, it would be a good thing,” he continues. «As long as we talk to each other it’s always positive, also because in the past the Forums it served precisely to analyze the violations along the blue line and to find a common solution on the points of friction. As far as possible, some of them have been resolved.”
Due to the conflict the population is now exhausted «and this is what impresses us most. There are around 170 thousand displaced people: 100 thousand Lebanese refugees forced to abandon their homes to flee north, and another 70 thousand Israelis who instead had to go south to avoid being involved in the attacks. It has a certain effect when you pass through border villages that are now abandoned, practically ghosts.”
“On the blue line the population fled in an instant, often without being able to take anything with them. It’s as if time has stopped: there is no one on the street and in the shops the goods are still on the shelves”, he concludes.