A drone strike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Jwaya in the Tyre district. The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health issued a statement announcing that the strike led, in an initial toll, to the death of two people and the injury of four others.
Israeli warplanes shattered tranquility over several areas in Lebanon, breaking the sound barrier not once, but twice on Wednesday. The sonic boom Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier twice on Wednesday over Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Bshamoun, Aramoun, Khaldeh, Shweifat, Iqlim al-Kharroub, Jezzine, and Sidon, flying at a medium altitude in the skies of the south.
In recent field developments, alarm sirens blared in Shtula in the Western Sector on the border with Lebanon. Cluster artillery shelling targeted the Wadi Hassan Area linking the villages of Tayr Harfa, Al-Jabin, Shihin, and Majdal Zun.
UNIFIL
In addition, UNIFIL forces are detonating munitions left over from recent Israeli attacks in the firing range area of Ras al-Naqoura, the echoes of which can be heard relatively far away.
In response to circulating rumors, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti clarified to This is Beirut the situation of family members of service personnel. He emphasized that UNIFIL ceased being a family duty station in April, with dependents departing in May, reaffirming the mission’s ongoing operational status.
“UNIFIL has not been a family duty station since April. Family and dependents left in May. We continue to be operational,” he affirmed to This is Beirut.
He explained that “in Beirut, the UN decided to apply some security measures for extra caution and applied some temporary restrictions for family. Therefore, most UN dependents left, but this is a temporary measure,” he added.
UK Deployment
In a separate report by ‘The Times,’ the British publication highlighted preparations for a potential evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon amidst apprehensions of an Israeli assault on the country’s international airport. More than a thousand British troops are reportedly on standby, with military personnel, including Royal Marine commandos, already stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, ready for swift deployment if required.
This scenario has prompted comparisons to Operation Pitting, the 2021 mission to rescue British citizens from Kabul.
The British newspaper reported that officials familiar with US intelligence believe Iran will retaliate against Israel later in the week or at the weekend, after a meeting on Wednesday of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
David Lammy
Furthermore, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy engaged in discussions with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, urging Iran to exercise restraint in the face of escalating tensions. Lammy cautioned against actions that could hinder progress toward a Gaza ceasefire, stressing the grave consequences of a conflict between Israel and Lebanon that would serve no one’s interests.
