Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Lebanon’s leaders have “prepared for the worst” as the country braces for an impending Israeli retaliation following last week’s deadly strike in the occupied Golan Heights, amid extensive diplomacy to prevent a major operation.
Israel insists Lebanon’s Hezbollah group was behind last week’s strike on Majdal Shams that killed 12 teenagers and children. The Iran-backed party has denied responsibility for the attack, but Israel has vowed to retaliate harshly.
US officials told Lebanon’s leaders that an Israeli operation is inevitable, political sources in Beirut confirmed to The National on Tuesday, but that the capital would not be targeted.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has decided to respond to any Israeli retaliation for the Majdal Shams strike and has rejected diplomatic efforts to convince it otherwise, two sources – a member of parliament close to Hezbollah and a political source close to the party – said.
“All Lebanese territory is a red line. The resistance has decided to respond to any Israeli aggression, even if it does not reach Beirut,” said the MP.
“There is great international pressure to contain the repercussions of the aggression that seems imminent, but the resistance has decided to respond, and it will do so after assessing all factors,” added the MP.
Israel is trying “to embarrass the resistance in all its spectrums so that it does not respond, and this is unacceptable”, a second political source close to Hezbollah said.
The Iran-backed group has attacked Israeli targets in northern Israel and in the occupied Golan Heights as part of a wider, Iranian-led retaliation against Israel for its current war in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 39,400 Palestinians since October 7.
Hezbollah has “responded to every attack on Lebanon for the past 10 months. It told mediators that it will keep doing so, and that is not concerned with the diplomatic assurances that Beirut won’t be the target of the Israeli strike. This matter is not up for discussion”, stressed the source.
Preparing for the worst
“Right now we are in a state of waiting. We’ll wait and see,” Member of Parliament Abdelrahman Al Bizri told The National of Lebanon’s war preparations.
“Hopefully, the worst doesn’t happen.”
“We’ve been conducting emergency drills, but these trainings aren’t happening just because we’re expecting an escalation,” Mr Al Bizri, who is a member of parliament’s health committee, explained.
“It’s part of our pre-existing emergency plan, so we’ve been conducting such drills all along.”
Lebanon’s national emergency plan was created in October in preparation for a potentially severe escalation similar to that of the 2006 July war between Israel and the powerful Hezbollah group, which devastated public infrastructure throughout the country, caused mass displacement, and killed about 1,200 Lebanese.
“We’ve ensured the preparedness of hospitals and health centres and we know the capabilities of each in terms of how many injuries they can take in, the supplies available to us, and so on,” said Mr Al Bizri.
He explained that concerns about Lebanon’s health sector crumbling under the weight of war are valid, but that “it will endure. We have the capability”.
According to him, the health sector is much stronger than it was two years ago when Lebanon was in the throes of a severe economic crisis that resulted in mass shortages of basic medicines, medical supplies, petrol and even bread throughout the country.
“It’s the most toxic kind of waiting, the kind that affects residents psychologically,” he emphasised.
South Lebanon bracing for assault
In the southern Lebanese village of Rmeich, a field hospital has been erected inside the auditorium of an elementary school since October, when the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel first erupted. The nearest hospital, in Bint Jbeil, is at least 12km away.
Rmeich temporarily housed tens of thousands of people displaced from other parts of south Lebanon during the 2006 war. Although this time displaced southerners have evacuated to major cities throughout south Lebanon and Beirut, the village remains ready for emergencies.
The field hospital has not seen much use since the cross-border violence erupted, but is there “in case”, according to Daniel Alam, a member of Rmeich municipality’s catastrophe response committee.
“We’ve had a plan in place since the very beginning,” he told The National.
“We’re not always conducting drills because we want to give the people who remained in the village a sense of normalcy – but we’re prepared.”
Hezbollah began its attacks against Israel from south Lebanon on October 8 in support of its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip and has repeatedly conditioned a ceasefire in Gaza to stop the attacks.
The conflict has steadily escalated since then. At least 529 people – mostly fighters but at least 104 civilians – have been killed by Israel strikes on Lebanon, according to an AFP tally. Israel’s military says at least 24 civilians and 22 soldiers have been killed.
Analysts have long warned that a single “miscalculation” could tip the conflict into a full-scale war that could erupt throughout the region.
Targets in Syria
As the diplomatic activity takes place to contain Israel’s impending retaliation, Israel and Hezbollah immediately returned to a tense exchange of retaliatory strikes following Saturday’s deadly attack on Majdal Shams.
On Tuesday, Israeli planes struck two Syrian army positions near the Golan Heights in southern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attacks in on the strategic mountainous positions of Tel Jabieh and Tel Um Hauran bordering the Golan Heights.
It was not immediately known if there were casualties.
Hezbollah personnel participate in the manning of the two sites, which contain air defences, electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and radar equipment, upgraded by Iran in recent years, according to a member of the Syrian opposition in Amman.
“Hezbollah’s mission in the area, apart from reconnaissance, is to launch attacks on the Golan in case of pressure against it elsewhere,” he said.
The sources added that although it was not the first time that Israel struck these sites, the attacks signalled Israeli intention to keep up pressure on Hezbollah and other allies of Iran in the area.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
more from Janine di Giovanni
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Results
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
RESULT
Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
AIR
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
Hellas Verona v Roma (10.45pm)
Sunday
Parma v Napoli (2.30pm)
Genoa v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (8pm)
Juventus v Sampdoria (10.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Bologna (10.45om)
Playing September 30
Benevento v Inter Milan (8pm)
Udinese v Spezia (8pm)
Lazio v Atalanta (10.45pm)
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)