Israel launches major ground offensive in Lebanon, Prime Minister warns
Lebanon's Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, announced on Tuesday that the country is experiencing one of the most dangerous moments in its history. He said this during a meeting with representatives of UN-affiliated organizations and ambassadors of countries that financially support Lebanon.
8:53 AM EDT, October 1, 2024
Appeal for help for refugees
During the meeting, Prime Minister Najib Mikati appealed for support for about a million people who had to evacuate from the southern regions of the country due to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions, which are often located near civilian infrastructure.
About a million of our citizens have been displaced by the tragic war that Israel is waging in Lebanon, Mikati said, as quoted by the local news agency NNA.
Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon
On the night from Monday to Tuesday, Israel launched a limited ground operation in southern Lebanon. These actions aim to neutralize Hezbollah's offensive capabilities, which have been shelling northern areas of Israel since October 8, 2023. As a result of these attacks, about 60,000 Israelis had to leave their homes.
The airstrikes are concentrated in the south of the country, the Bekaa Valley located in the east, and the southern suburbs of Beirut—areas considered strongholds of this Iranian-backed organization.
An Israeli official quoted by the "Jerusalem Post" emphasized that expanding the ground operation to include Beirut "is out of the question."
According to Lebanese government estimates, over 1,000 people have been killed in the airstrikes over the past two weeks, and over a million Lebanese have had to leave their homes.
