There are growing signs that the border dispute, which will enter its ninth month tomorrow, could escalate into all-out war.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station provided details of the attack on an Israeli military base in Rabieh, 15 kilometers from the Lebanese border, where the Iranian-backed group targeted the headquarters of the 188th Brigade with a swarm of kamikaze-armed drones.
Explosions were heard all around the base, followed by flames shooting into the sky.
Hezbollah has claimed that at least 20 Israeli soldiers were killed. There has been no official statement from Israel yet.
Lebanon’s most powerful military, Hezbollah, also reported firing Ferak missiles at Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah, who fought a war 18 years ago, have been talking about a new all-out war since June.
Since last week, a number of countries have made announcements asking their nationals to leave Lebanon. Airlines Lufthansa has suspended late-night flights from Beirut until July 31. The Lufthansa Group also operates airlines in Austria, Switzerland and Brussels.
New photos from the US deployment in the Eastern Mediterranean, a key ally of the Tel Aviv regime, have emerged. The amphibious readiness group led by the USS Wasp met with a strike group led by the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Royal Navy warship Duncan also took part in the exercise.
The U.S. Navy did not disclose the exact location of the exercises, with only its statement about the eastern Mediterranean drawing attention.
The deployment of amphibious ships, led by the USS Wasp, to the region has led to comments that the US is preparing to evacuate Lebanese nationals in case of a possible war, while the Pentagon has described the transfer of warships to the eastern Mediterranean as a deterrent force.
Bild: War is imminent
German tabloid Bild, in a news story headlined “Israeli Invasion of Lebanon Imminent,” reported that the war would begin in the third or fourth week of July. Bild added that Germans must leave Lebanon immediately.
Since Oct. 8, Hezbollah has lost more than 350 members in clashes that mostly did not cross the border, and 15 soldiers, including a general, have been killed on the Israeli side.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose group is estimated to have more than 100,000 missiles and rockets but some sources say the number is as high as 200,000, said in a televised address in June that there were no rules for all of its missiles and rockets and that he would stop the war.
