BEIRUT: The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Lebanese Parliament, MP Fadi Alama, announced that “the number of attacks on southern Lebanon has exceeded 5,736 as of July 15, resulting in 538 martyrs and 1,850 injured.”
The Foreign Affairs Committee met with several ambassadors from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, the UK and Canada on Wednesday to present the results of the ongoing Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon. The results are part of the preparations for “the government's work in the post-ceasefire phase”.
MP Alama said: “Representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations were surprised when we spoke of 1,800 hectares of land that the Israeli enemy had deliberately burned down. They were also surprised by the number of schools attacked and the number of students who could not complete their education and were taken to other places. In addition, they were informed of the 28,000 new families who were displaced daily from the attacked areas.”
The parliamentarian said it was urgent that the government develop a plan and roadmap as soon as possible.
MP Wael Abu Faour, a member of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, said that “the loss of life, health, cities, agriculture and the environment as a result of the Israeli attacks is enormous. Initial estimates by Lebanese institutions put the cost so far at around $2 billion, in addition to other damage 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 bear such responsibilities, but at the same time it cannot abandon its responsibilities to its citizens, regardless of controversial local political considerations regarding the feasibility of war or its justification by 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 affected and hundreds of businesses were forced to close due to Hezbollah attacks.”
Israel attacked the towns of Kafr Shuba, Tayr Harfa and Hula with airstrikes and artillery fire on Wednesday. One attack also targeted and destroyed a house in the town of Kfar Hammam, a small village in the Hasbaya district in eastern Nabatieh province.
Hezbollah has released a new video taken by Israel's Hudhud drone showing footage from inside the Ramat David air base, located about 50 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
According to Hezbollah, “the footage was taken on Tuesday with a drone.”
The new, eight-minute video released by Hezbollah shows several sensitive areas inside the base, including aircraft fuel tanks, the headquarters of 109 Squadron, an Iron Dome missile defense platform, and ammunition depots. It also shows the locations of the headquarters of 157 and 105 Squadrons. Hezbollah included an image of the base commander's office, revealing intricate details of the facility.
This is not the first time Hezbollah has used such tactics; the group has previously released aerial photographs of key facilities taken by similar unmanned aerial vehicles in Haifa and the Golan Heights.
The Israeli media reacted strongly, with one newspaper declaring: “A Hezbollah video lasting over eight minutes exposing our vulnerability is a disgrace.”
However, the Israeli military downplayed the incident, claiming that the footage was taken by a drone designed solely for photography and did not interfere with operations at the base.
A Hezbollah source linked the timing of the video's release to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington.
Against the backdrop of these developments, the Israeli military announced on Wednesday that its “reserve brigade has completed an exercise simulating war scenarios in Lebanon.”
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a full-scale war against Hezbollah, saying: “The sooner the better.”
However, Israel's Ambassador to Russia, Simona Halperin, stressed that while Tel Aviv was prepared for a military confrontation with Lebanon, it still preferred a diplomatic solution.
She stressed that Israel is not interested in a large-scale war. “We cannot rule out a scenario in which Israel may be forced to wage a large-scale war on the northern front,” she added.
At the same time as Israel's war rhetoric, the Canadian Embassy in Lebanon issued a new warning to its citizens.
It urges “Canadians, permanent residents of Canada, their spouses and dependent children to heed travel advisories and leave the country while commercial flights are available.”
The embassy stressed that its focus is on assisting individuals in obtaining the necessary travel documents and ensuring family unity during this process.
This escalation came after thousands of Lebanese dual nationals from Canada, the United States and Europe came to Lebanon for summer holidays.
