Israeli offensive in Lebanon is “destroying the country,” Lebanese minister tells CNN.
srael’s offensive in Lebanon is “destroying the country,” Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam told CNN.
Salam condemned Thursday morning’s strike on central Beirut, the first in that part of the city since 2006, highlighting how Israel is striking increasingly close to civilian areas.
“This has gone far and beyond what happened in 2006,” Salam told CNN’s Eleni Giokos, pointing out that the strike was carried out less than two miles from the Government Palace.
Salam warned that the displacement of over 1 million Lebanese and Syrian people from Lebanon will be a “long-term issue” for the government to manage, even if a ceasefire went into effect.
“We have hospitals filled with people, schools filled with people, people sleeping on the street, and this war keeps going. The way I see it is that this war has no goal. It’s just destroying the country,” Salam said.
“We need to rebuild their towns, their villages. We need to provide peaceful conditions for them. So, we are really in a very complicated operation now to take care of all those people,” the minister added.
Lebanon’s shelters are “full and overflowing,” humanitarian agency director says
From CNN’s Rob Picheta
Nearly half of the people in Lebanon’s emergency shelters are children and the facilities are operating beyond capacity, according to the Lebanon county director of a humanitarian agency.
“Already the shelters that have been assigned by the government of Lebanon are full and overflowing,” Michael Adams of CARE International told CNN on Thursday.
“About 47% of the people that are in these shelters are children,” Adams said, who is based in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the displacement caused by the airstrikes, he said.
Aid workers have been attempting to find people shelter and assist with injuries from Israel’s aerial campaign, while also providing them with food and supplies, Adams added. He said his agency is seeing thousands fleeing various neighborhoods, looking for safety.
“The city is well equipped but not equipped enough for the number of people that are injured. Supermarkets do have some supplies but they are running out very quickly,” particularly in southern Lebanon, Adams said. Read more….(https://rb.gy/kthqji)
