- The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in Beirut’s southern suburbs yesterday evening, after a series of loud explosions were heard in the area near the airport.
- Hezbollah is also involved in ongoing clashes with Israeli troops in the Lebanon border area during a ground offensive. A statement said Israeli soldiers tried to approach the village of Adeseh when their operatives confronted them.
- Three Lebanese hospitals were forced to suspend work following damage caused by Israeli attacks as the Lebanese Prime Minister urged the global community to pressure Israel to allow rescue workers access to bombed sites.
- Israel is now fighting both Palestine and Lebanon, which are part of the Iran-backed ‘Axis of Resistance’ group, in a war that began with a Hamas attack on October 7 and has now expanded into a regional conflict.
- The October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Hamas group, dubbed the ‘Al-Aqsa flood’, targeted Israeli border towns, sparking a fierce conflict in West Asia that continues to this day. The Lebanese Hezbollah group – also supported by Iran – later entered the war in support of Hamas.
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei yesterday defended his country’s missile attacks on Israel, saying its allies will not back down. In a rare public sermon, he said after leading Friday prayers that Israel “will not last long”.
- Israeli Defense Forces, which have been carrying out ground raids inside Lebanon, claimed in their latest update to have destroyed more than 2,000 military targets and 250 Hezbollah operatives, including more than a dozen commanders.
- The Israeli Air Force has also been carrying out airstrikes on Beirut and its suburbs for the past few weeks. A week ago, former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a similar attack, dealing a major blow to the Lebanese group.
- Iran’s missile bombardment of Israel on Tuesday marked a massive escalation in the Middle East war as Israel vowed a strong response. There are fears that Israel may target oil and nuclear infrastructure in the country. Oil prices have already increased due to fears of oil supply disruption.
- US President Joe Biden has advised Israel to attack oil facilities in Iran. But his predecessor Donald Trump, who is running for office in November to return to the White House, has said he believes Israel should attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the missile barrage.
