While it is looking like war between Israel and Iran is on hold, after the somewhat theatrical tit-for-tat which finally ended in Israel's 'limited' military response this weekend, things in Lebanon are still ramping up.
On Monday the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre has come under heavy Israeli airstrikes and bombardment, so much so that a giant cloud of smoke has engulfed the it. The city has already been under attack for nearly a week. At least seven people have been reported killed in the latest Monday airstrikes.
Lebanese state media has confirmed significant aerial attacks after Israel's military earlier issued an evacuation call for large swathes of the ancient city, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site.
"Enemy aircraft launched their first strike after the Israeli warning for the city of Tyre and targeted a residential apartment," Lebanon's National News Agency said. It confirmed in follow-up "a series of strikes" on the city, which is home to over 135,000 people.
Turkey's TRT World journalist: "Certainly some of the heaviest striking that we've seen in this area."
An Al Jazeera correspondent describes of the ongoing attacks:
The Israeli warplanes continue to shower the city with missiles, targeting the heart of the Old City, with the aim of turning this historic city into ruins.
The attack came in a series of air strikes, five to six air raids, on the city’s residential areas into its depth, as well as its marine front.
We saw, during the first two air strikes, how residential buildings were directly hit; reduced to rubbles. They were followed by successive air raids. More loud explosions, more destruction, and of course more victims.
The same report emphasizes that "The entire city of Tyre is now shrouded in smoke."
Tyre is not particularly known as a major Hezbollah stronghold, even though it is heavily Shia Muslim (also with a significant Christian minority). The ramped-up strikes are being widely interpreted as a military tactic to put pressure on the Lebanese government to pressure Hezbollah.
1 comment:
Psalm 83 front and center - rapture imminent.
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