The mayor of Nabatieh, one of the largest towns in south Lebanon was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Picture: X
Israel’s war machine has driven over 25% of the country of Lebanon to evacuate as the conflict escalates and the number of civilian deaths, like in Gaza, Palestine, start to stack up.
This is based on accounts by the United Nation’s Refugee Agency in the Middle East.
“That in a country of that size, which is relatively small, and a population that is estimated around to be around five million people, you can imagine how dramatic it is that over one million people are now without shelter and on the move,” said the agency’s director, Rema Jamous Imseis.
“Or not rather without shelter because they are being housed in collective centres, but are being forced to flee their homes in search of safety. And Israeli airstrikes and Israeli evacuation orders continue to increase the areas impacted. So now that we have over 25% of the country under a direct Israeli military evacuation order.”
Over 25 percent of the country of Lebanon is under Israeli “evacuation order,” according to the UN.
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) October 15, 2024
That number should disgust and infuriate people. But it’s so normalized for Israel to evict Arabs from their land and then destroy it with bombs, that the world just shrugs.
Dirk Kotze, a professor at the department of political sciences at the University of South Africa (Unisa), told IOL that Israel is violating international law.
“In terms of international law, it is impossible for any country to instruct another sovereign state to evacuate any parts of its territory. So, this was imposed by Israel,” he said.
Kotze went on to say that Israel’s intent in this could be to create a type of a buffer zone in the Southern part of Lebanon.
“If there is no one there, Hezbollah can not use civilian infrastructure as a way of hiding or disguising themselves from Israel. So, whoever is in such a zone is therefore regarded as someone directly affiliated with Hezbollah and Israel will treat them as an enemy.”
He added that it is purely a military tactic.
While Israel gave the evacuation order, it bombed the city of Nabatieh which is in Southern Lebanon, with its mayor, Ahmed Kaheil being among those who were killed.
The mayor of Nabatieh, one of the largest & most vibrant towns in south #Lebanon, has been killed in an #Israel’i airstrike. Panicked messages from first responders: “They hit the municipality. The mayor’s inside. They’re all inside, no one left alive. Everyone’s been killed.” pic.twitter.com/X2kVh2VMyc
— Leila Molana-Allen (@Leila_MA) October 16, 2024
IOL