عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israeli Army: No Change ‘As of Now’ in Defensive Policy

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (AFP)
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (AFP)
TT
TT

Israeli Army: No Change ‘As of Now’ in Defensive Policy

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (AFP)
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (AFP)

The Israeli Army on Sunday affirmed it had not changed “as of now” its policy for protecting civilians, as Iran and its allies are expected to avenge the assassinations of two senior figures, AFP reported.
“I emphasize that as of now there is no change in the Home Front Command's defense policy,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an online briefing to journalists on Sunday.
The Home Front Command is a branch of the army that deals with the protection of civilians in times of war and emergency, including natural disasters.
Hagari and other top Israeli military and government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said the country is prepared for any attack.
But Hagari said that Israel's protection is not “hermetic.”
“Therefore,” he added, “Every citizen is required to know what the instructions are, wherever he is and to be vigilant.”
Hagari also announced that the Home Front Command has launched a new system to alert citizens in the event of any emergency.
“The alert will be sent to mobile phones in the area under threat,” he said.
“This is done without the need for an application and without any action on the part of the citizen.”
Middle East tensions have soared as Iran and Hamas, together with Hezbollah, vowed strong retaliation to the killings Tuesday of Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut suburb and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh the following day in Tehran.

 

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Lebanon Receives Medical Aid amid Fears of War

This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
TT
TT

Lebanon Receives Medical Aid amid Fears of War

This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Lebanon on Monday received emergency medical supplies to equip its hospitals for possible war injuries and Beirut airport was teeming with people trying to leave the country amid fears a full-scale conflict was on the horizon.
Tensions in the region have spiraled in the last week following the killing in Tehran of Palestinian militant group Hamas' head, and an Israeli strike on Beirut's suburbs that killed a top commander in Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and Iran have vowed to retaliate against Israel for the killings, prompting concerns that the multiple fronts being fought in parallel to the Gaza War could escalate into a full-blown regional war.
Hospitals in southern Lebanon, where most of the tit-for-tat exchanges between Hezbollah and the Israeli military have taken place, are worn down by a years-long economic meltdown and have struggled to cope with wounded patients over the last 10 months.
On Monday, the World Health Organization delivered 32 tons of medical supplies to Lebanon's health ministry, including at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat possible war wounded.
"The goal is to get these supplies and medicines to various hospitals and to the health sector in Lebanon, especially in the places most exposed (to hostilities) so that we can be ready to deal with any emergency," health minister Firass Abiad told reporters at the airport landing strip where the aid arrived.
In the airport's departure hall, families of Lebanese origin who had come to their homeland for the summer lined up to check in to their departing flights, sad to be leaving earlier than expected.
Countries including France, Britain, Italy, Türkiye and others have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon as long as commercial flights are still available.
"It is just very sad, oh God, the situation is really sad. We get out of a crisis, we go into another one," said Sherin Malah, a Lebanese citizen living in Italy who had come to Lebanon to visit her mother and was heading home early.
The United States has urged its citizens who want to leave Lebanon "to book any ticket available," while the United Nations has asked the families of its staff to leave Lebanon and the Swedish embassy has temporarily relocated its staff to Cyprus.
But others in Lebanon appeared more relaxed. Along the sandy coastline of Lebanon's port city of Tyre, about 20 km (12 miles)from the border with Israel, children splashed in the water as plumes of black smoke from Israeli shelling further south curled up from the hills behind them.
"As for the current situation, as you can see, all the people are by the beach, this land is our land, and we will not leave it," said Tyre resident Ghalib Badawy.