Lebanon warns of internal strife due to Israeli onslaught

By Wassim Seif El Din

BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon warned of internal strife on Monday due to Israel’s ongoing air and ground attacks on the country.

“What worries us most today in Lebanon is the internal strife, as a result of the expansion of friction between the displaced Lebanese and residents of the areas to where they were displaced due to the Israeli war,” Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said in a speech at the 9th Union for Mediterranean Regional Forum in Barcelona, Spain.

He said most of the areas that have not been hit by Israeli attacks “have become a refuge and shelter for 1.4 million displaced people.”

"One out of four Lebanese residents has become homeless, and some of them sleep on the ground on the sides of roads and sidewalks,” he added.

The top diplomat warned that the situation “could blow up” if the Israeli assaults have not halted immediately.

"We ask for your support and help to achieve a cease-fire, fully implement UN Resolution 1701 in a balanced way by both sides, and enhance our defensive capacities," he told the forum.

UN Resolution 1701, adopted unanimously by the Security Council in 2006, calls for a complete cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and the establishment of a zone free of armed personnel and military equipment, except for those belonging to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL).

Israel last month launched a massive air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza.

Over 2,670 people have been killed and nearly 12,500 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar