Israel has placed its troops on high alert, preparing for a potential entry into Lebanon amid escalating tensions. Get the latest updates on the developing situation and regional security concerns.
Israel’s military leader instructed troops on Wednesday to brace for a potential ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the air force executed numerous lethal strikes throughout the nation.
“We are conducting attacks continuously, both to set the stage for your possible deployment and to persist in our offensive against Hezbollah,” stated Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi to a tank brigade, as reported by the military.
Lebanon’s health minister reported that the strikes on Wednesday resulted in 51 fatalities and 223 injuries, affecting even mountainous regions beyond Hezbollah’s usual strongholds.
Hezbollah announced that it had targeted Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on the outskirts of Tel Aviv in the morning—marking the first instance of a ballistic missile being fired in nearly a year of ongoing cross-border hostilities ignited by the Gaza conflict.
In retaliation, Israel claimed to have struck 60 Hezbollah intelligence facilities, among hundreds of the group’s positions targeted across Lebanon.
This escalation occurred amid intensifying cross-border confrontations, following Israeli operations on Monday that resulted in at least 558 deaths, marking the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990.
Nour Hamad, a 22-year-old student residing in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, expressed her experience of living “in a state of terror” throughout the week.
“We endured four or five sleepless nights, uncertain if we would awaken in the morning,” she recounted.
In Tel Aviv, sirens were activated following Hezbollah’s unprecedented missile launch.
Tel Aviv resident Hedva Fadlon, 61, conveyed to AFP: “The situation is challenging. We feel the pressure and the tension… I doubt anyone in the world would wish to live in such conditions.”
– Israel mobilizes reservists –
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby remarked that Hezbollah’s missile attack on Tel Aviv was “deeply concerning,” yet he emphasized that there remains “time and space for a diplomatic resolution to de-escalate tensions and avert a full-scale war.”
The Israeli military reported that “over 280 Hezbollah” targets were struck across Lebanon on Wednesday, indicating that the operations were ongoing.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a directive prohibiting the Governors of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), along with its National Working Committee (NWC) and Board of Trustees (BoT), from dissolving or interfering with the Executive Committees of the party in Rivers State.
This ruling effectively bars the PDP from establishing interim committees to replace officials aligned with Governor Wike at the state, local government, and ward levels in Rivers.
The court’s order was a response to an ex-parte application submitted by the PDP Rivers State Executive Committee, headed by Aaron Chukwuemeka, along with other executives from local government and ward levels.
Justice Lifu determined that the national leadership of the PDP must not disrupt the governance of the state, local government, and ward executives, who were legitimately elected during party congresses held earlier this year.
The court’s ruling safeguards the tenures of the Rivers PDP Executive Committees, thwarting any efforts by the national body or other entities to supplant the current leadership with interim committees.
The judge explicitly instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to refrain from acknowledging any individuals or groups other than those elected between July 27 and August 31, 2024.
The plaintiffs, represented by their attorney Joshua Musa, alleged that the PDP governors and NWC were conspiring to unlawfully dissolve the state, local government, and ward executives in Rivers State. They contended that such actions would lead to injustice and detriment for the rightful executives.
In granting the restraining order, Justice Lifu mandated the plaintiffs to submit an undertaking to indemnify the defendants should it later be determined that the order was issued without sufficient justification.
The hearing regarding the motion filed by the plaintiffs is set for October 4, 2024, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing legal dispute within the PDP in Rivers State.
The army reported that fighter jets targeted 60 sites associated with Hezbollah’s intelligence division.
Additionally, it announced the mobilization of two reserve brigades “for operational missions in the northern arena,” indicating that this would facilitate the ongoing combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
The United Nations Security Council is set to convene an emergency meeting regarding the crisis in New York on Wednesday, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing that the situation is critical.
– Rocket commander killed –
On Wednesday, the UN’s International Organization for Migration reported that 90,000 individuals have been displaced in Lebanon since Monday.
READ ALSO: Lebanon Reports Over 274 Dead as Israel Bombards Southern Region
Among these, “many of the more than 111,000 people displaced since October… are likely to have been secondarily displaced,” according to a statement from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
This follows two days of what the Israeli military described as “extensive” strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese group confirmed an Israeli assertion that their rocket forces commander, Ibrahim Kobeissi, was killed in a strike on the Lebanese capital.
At the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary-General Guterres issued a grave warning.
“We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink,” he stated, while cautioning against “the possibility of transforming Lebanon (into) another Gaza.”
US President Joe Biden, whose administration is Israel’s primary supporter, remarked that “full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest.”
– Defiant Netanyahu –
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed his trip to New York until Thursday, where he is also scheduled to address the General Assembly.
“During the day, the prime minister will hold consultations to discuss the continuation of the attacks in Lebanon,” his office announced.
Netanyahu has disregarded international appeals for restraint, pledging on Tuesday to persist with Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah.
AFP
