Israel Says Prepared Plans to Invade Lebanon

Israeli bombing on Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon (AFP)
Israeli bombing on Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon (AFP)
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Israel Says Prepared Plans to Invade Lebanon

Israeli bombing on Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon (AFP)
Israeli bombing on Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon (AFP)

Tensions arose at the Lebanese borders even after Hezbollah withdrew its elite Radwan forces to more than 5-6 kilometers from the border.

Israeli officials stated that the army has prepared plans to invade Lebanese territory, and it is not unlikely that it will declare war.

However, political sources in Tel Aviv indicated that France and the US are continuing their efforts to reach an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Fears of the outbreak of war came as a result of a noticeable escalation in missile strikes on Thursday and Friday.

On Friday, the Israeli army targeted, with artillery shelling, the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab amid reconnaissance aircraft flying over the villages adjacent to the Blue Line, all the way to the Tyre area.

Hezbollah announced the death of two of its fighters, "martyrs on the road to Jerusalem."

During the night, the Israeli army fired incendiary bombs and flare bombs into the forests adjacent to the Blue Line on the outskirts of Naqoura and Alma al-Shaab.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported, on its Ynet website, noticing a movement of the Radwan towards the north, saying that successful chances of military and political efforts to withdraw Hezbollah from the border are on the rise.

Israeli Channel 12 claimed that half of the Radwan force on the border has already left its place due to Israeli military activity.

The Israeli reports added that Hezbollah had withdrawn its forces to the north, which brought calm to the residents of the northern towns, signaling a possible return to their homes. However, the group's missile bombing reached about 30 kilometers into the Israeli territories, which restored tension.

They noted that the Israeli army insists on responding to the attacks, threatening that continued bombing would lead to war similar to that in Gaza.

According to political sources, the Israeli extreme right is still demanding to seize the opportunity to recruit reserve forces to expand the front with Hezbollah.

But the US administration curbs these intentions and insists on preventing another front with Lebanon because it is convinced it will lead to a regional war that threatens a global war.

The US administration confirmed that President Joe Biden's Envoy, Amos Hochstein, is still making unremitting efforts to reach a truce.

The sources said Hochstein believes that the withdrawal of the Radwan Forces is a positive indication that there is room for progress towards a political agreement that includes a ceasefire and the formation of a security area that prevents slipping into war.

However, the Israelis fear that Hezbollah is seeking an agreement that could sedate Israel for a few months and then choose the time to launch a war similar to the Hamas attack.

They assert that Hezbollah is much stronger than Hamas and possesses combat experience and high-quality weapons that pose a severe threat to Israel. Therefore, a pre-emptive strike should be directed against it.



WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.