Israel ramps up invasion of Lebanon with new displacement order as Irish UN troops refuse to budge
Beirut, Lebanon - Israel ramped up its invasion of Lebanon on Tuesday, deploying more troops and displacing civilians all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The military's order for civilians to evacuate followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to keep fighting a "sacred war" until Hezbollah and Hamas are defeated. Both groups have said they will not stop fighting until a ceasefire is agreed in Gaza.
Israel launched a wave of strikes against Lebanon on September 23, leaving at least 1,110 people dead – the majority civilians, according to Lebanese authorities – and forcing more than a million people to flee.
Israeli attacks have mostly focused on southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as south Beirut, where Hezbollah's presence is strongest.
While the southern coast has not been spared, Israel's latest evacuation order suggests it is widening its offensive northwards along the coast, effectively squeezing more and more of the Lebanese population into smaller areas – an approach used in Gaza to catastrophic effect over the past year.
Meanwhile, the UN is growing increasingly concerned for the safety of its peacekeeping force in the south of Lebanon.
Irish troops serving in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are caught between the advancing Israeli offensive and Hezbollah's attempt to repel it. They have rejected Israel's demands to withdraw, even as Israeli troops have stationed themselves just a few hundred yards away and are firing at targets.
Ireland's president, Michael D. Higgins, accused Israel of threatening the troops, though a UNIFIL spokesperson denied receiving specific threats.
Cover photo: REUTERS