BEIRUT: The chairman of the Lebanese Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, MK Fadi Alama, revealed that “the number of attacks in southern Lebanon has exceeded 5,736 as of July 15, resulting in 538 martyrs and 1,850 wounded.”
The Foreign Affairs Committee met on Wednesday with several ambassadors from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Britain and Canada to present the results of the ongoing Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, as part of preparations for “the government's work in the post-ceasefire phase”.
MK Alama said that “representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations were surprised when we spoke about 1,800 hectares that were intentionally burned by the Israeli enemy. They were also surprised by the number of schools that were targeted and the number of students who were unable to complete their education and moved to other places. In addition, they were informed about the 28,000 new families that were displaced from the areas that are targeted every day.”
The MP said it was urgent for the government to come up with a plan and roadmap as soon as possible.
Wael Abu Faour, a member of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, said that “the human, health, urban, agricultural and environmental losses caused by Israeli attacks have become enormous. Initial estimates by Lebanese institutions indicate a cost of around $2 billion so far, in addition to other damages and losses.”
Abu Faour said: “This is a new challenge for the Lebanese state that must be addressed in Lebanon's Arab and international relations. The state is bankrupt and unable to assume such responsibilities, but at the same time it cannot abandon its responsibilities towards its citizens regardless of any controversial local political considerations regarding the feasibility of the war or its justifications among some parties.”
Hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continued on Wednesday. According to Israeli media, “43 settlements were evacuated in the north, (and) more than 1,500 buildings, cars and infrastructure were damaged in the north. In addition, six industrial zones were hit and hundreds of businesses were forced to close due to Hezbollah attacks.”
On Wednesday, Israel targeted the towns of Kafr Shuba, Tayr Harfa and Hula with air strikes and artillery shelling. One raid also targeted a house in the town of Kfar Hammam, causing its destruction. This small village is located in the Hasbaya district, on the eastern side of the Nabatieh governorate.
Hezbollah has released a new video recorded by Israel's Hudhud drone, showing footage from inside the Ramat David air base, located about 50 km from the Lebanese border.
According to Hezbollah, “the footage was captured on Tuesday using a drone.”
The new eight-minute video released by Hezbollah shows several sensitive areas inside the base, including jet fuel tanks, the headquarters of Squadron 109, an Iron Dome missile defense platform, and ammunition depots. It also reveals the locations of the headquarters of Squadron 157 and Squadron 105. Hezbollah included an image of the base commander’s office, exposing intricate details of the facility.
This is not the first time Hezbollah has employed such tactics. The group has previously broadcast aerial footage of critical installations captured by similar unmanned aerial vehicles in Haifa and the Golan Heights.
Israeli media reacted strongly, with one agency declaring: “Over eight minutes of Hezbollah videos exposing our vulnerability are a disgrace.”
The Israeli military, however, downplayed the incident, claiming that the footage was taken by a drone designed solely for photography purposes and did not affect the base's operations.
A Hezbollah source linked the release of the video to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington.
Amid these developments, the Israeli military announced on Wednesday that its “reserve brigade has completed an exercise simulating war scenarios in Lebanon.”
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has expressed support for a global war against Hezbollah, saying: “The sooner the better.”
However, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Simona Halperin argued that while Tel Aviv is ready for a military confrontation with Lebanon, it still prefers a diplomatic solution.
He stressed that Israel is not interested in a large-scale war. “We cannot rule out a scenario in which Israel could be forced to engage in a large-scale war on the northern front,” he added.
In conjunction with Israel’s war rhetoric, the Canadian Embassy in Lebanon has issued a new warning to its citizens.
He called on “Canadians, permanent residents, their spouses and dependent children to follow travel recommendations and leave the country while commercial flights are available.”
The embassy stressed the importance of assisting individual citizens in obtaining the necessary travel documents and keeping families together during this process.
The escalation comes as thousands of Lebanese expatriates with dual citizenship, from Canada, the United States and Europe, have arrived in Lebanon for summer holidays.
