Israel issues an evacuation order for the residents of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon… and a massive displacement movement
Agencies – Beirut:
The Israeli army issued a new warning to evacuate a large area of the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, which includes Roman ruins dating back three thousand years. The city, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984, has some of the best-preserved Roman temples.
A local Lebanese official said that Israeli raids on the Bekaa Valley overnight claimed the lives of more than 60 people with the beginning of hostilities more than a year ago. No evacuation orders were issued for any of the towns that were bombed.
Israel has intensified its air strikes across Lebanon over the past month, saying it is targeting the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Politically… an informed source said that American mediators are working on a proposal to stop hostilities between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, starting with a 60-day ceasefire.
He said: The two-month period will be used to complete the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to keep southern Lebanon free of weapons that do not belong to the Lebanese state.
The US Embassy in Lebanon has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The US special envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hockstein, who is working on the new proposal, told reporters in Beirut earlier this month that better mechanisms are needed to implement the resolution, as neither Israel nor Lebanon has fully implemented it.
The senior diplomat and source familiar with the talks told Reuters that the 60-day truce replaced a proposal last month by the United States and other countries that included a 21-day ceasefire in preparation for Resolution 1701 to enter into full force.
