Fresh Israeli strikes are reported to have battered Lebanon

0:00Now, to the Middle East, fresh Israeli strikes are reported to have battered Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaz Salam has warned a humanitarian disaster is looming due to mass displacement. Beirut has been hit with multiple air strikes since Monday. Tlac Pokarell is spokesperson with UNIFIL and he's been telling me about the situation today in southern Lebanon. As far as UNIFIL is concerned, we are in the south, in the south of the country. And then we operate along the blue line in the south. But talking about the south, of course, we have seen since the latest escalation, we have seen a growing number of Israeli and cousins, ground in cousin Amin along the border. Today, we have already seen three new cousins in the eastern part. And of course, there are like air raids and air activities, strikes happening in several

1:03areas. As you know, and then there is a massive displacement of people from the south to safety. So that's the current situation at the moment. Talk to us about the scale of the displacement of the civilian population. Israel has warned everybody to move north of the Latani river and also about the security and safety of those on the UNIFIL mission, including nearly 300 Irish troops. Yeah, since the order, two days ago, the order was announced publicly by the IDF, asking all the people living in the south, you know, between the south of the Latani river to move north for safety. These for us, as we noted in our statement the other day, this is the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territory integrity, and also the resolution, Security Council resolution 1701, which actually gives UNIFIL the mandate.

2:07But our peacekeepers remain in positions across the south, Lebanon, they have not left, including our Irish peacekeepers who are very much, you know, along the border, in positions, along the very sensitive areas, and all are doing what they can from where they are at the moment. Have there been any hostile activities by the IDF in relation to UNIFIL? Have there been any firing incidents? Have there been any close calls? Not that I'm aware of. There have been, you know, when you said close calls, yes, there was even a few, I would say, but nothing major. But at the strategic level, we have been in touch, regular contact with the IDF. They have assured us the safety of our peacekeepers and our personnel and assets. So the line of communication remains open and continues that way.

3:11And for the moment, the assertion from the Israeli authorities is that UNIFIL is not a target for them in this operation. UNIFIL is not a target, yeah, that they have assured us of that. And that was UNIFIL's spokesperson Tee Lak Pokerer.