00:00Beyond Israel-Iran, there's also Lebanon which is caught in this conflict.
00:04Israel continues to pound southern Lebanon.
00:07Israel Defense Minister Kadz has said that near the border in Lebanon,
00:11all the homes and villages will be destroyed.
00:16Israel Defense Minister Kadz has said that there are over 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon
00:20who've been evacuated but will not be able to return
00:24until the safety of residents in northern Israel is guaranteed.
00:27So we'll of course try and understand what exactly is Israel Minister stating here
00:32vis-a-vis the casualties that are being reported from the neighbour region as well.
00:37But for now, basically stating that evacuations have taken place from the border regions
00:42that this is Israel Defense Minister Kadz saying
00:45600,000 residents of southern Lebanon have been evacuated
00:49but will not be able to return until safety of residents in northern Israel is guaranteed.
00:54So that, because the border connects south Lebanon and northern Israel
00:59and therefore till the time northern Israel which has been facing attacks as well
01:04is not ensured of its safety
01:06that even south Lebanon residents will not be able to head back
01:11because otherwise all homes and villages near the border would be destroyed.
01:18So that's the big news.
01:19In fact, remember that India Today is the only channel currently reporting from Lebanon
01:23and Ashraf Vani will be joining me in just a short while.
01:26Ashraf has been there for years now
01:28and constantly been going back and forth.
01:30Past one month, he has been reporting consistently.
01:33Ashraf, you've been reporting from Lebanon off and on, I remember, in the past few years,
01:39again returning this time.
01:40What is the situation?
01:42What is Israel Minister saying?
01:43What do you hear and see around you in what's unfolding in Lebanon?
01:50Actually, this was a plan of Israel for last many years,
01:53since 2006 when they first came out from the south Lebanon.
01:57Otherwise, that part of Lebanon was occupied by the idea.
02:00But in 2006, due to the pressure from the United Nations
02:04as well as by the main ally of the Israel Americans,
02:08they decided to move away from the south Lebanon.
02:11But once again, this time they are thinking that it is the only opportunity
02:17where they could grab the land of not only south Lebanon,
02:21but also will create a kind of a buffer zone,
02:24what they were planning for last many years.
02:27We have seen that after the Iran-Israel and America war,
02:33also the Hezbollah jumped in in the war after the ceasefire in November 24,
02:37and they started attacking Israel.
02:39And Israel decided to that this is the time when their sponsor and helper,
02:47the Hezbollah's helper, Iran, is getting weak.
02:50This is the opportunity that they will capture the area
02:55what they are so far telling till the Litani River,
02:58which is the 20% of the total area of the Lebanon.
03:02But they have not planned it so well,
03:05because what I came to see on the ground is that
03:08there was already a big network of surveillance cameras
03:14put in place by the Hezbollah
03:16before the people and the other residents were equated
03:20by the warning of the IDF.
03:23And when the IDF started ground invasion,
03:26there each and every movement was being triggered
03:28by the surveillance cameras, by Hezbollah,
03:31and accordingly they were coordinating the attacks on the IDF,
03:35which is putting a lot of pressure and a lot of losses
03:39among the IDF soldiers.
03:40And since the last 15 days,
03:42when they started this new ground invasion in the south Lebanon,
03:45they have not achieved so much
03:47what they had preceded that probably
03:50they would reach till the Litani River.
03:52Shroof, are these border areas,
03:53whether northern Israel or specifically Lebanon
03:55from where you've reported,
03:57is it empty completely?
03:59Have they become ghost towns?
04:00Are people still living there?
04:02What do you hear about it?
04:05No, I visited each and every area of the south Lebanon.
04:08In fact, across the northern parts of the Litani River,
04:11still 20% of population who have not any avenue or alternative
04:16to reside somewhere else,
04:18they are still in the south Lebanon.
04:21And that is why we are seeing the casualties,
04:24the figure of casualties,
04:24which has already crossed 1150 now in Lebanon
04:28during the one month of war.
04:30That is a very high huge number.
04:32Those are the civilians who are still in the houses.
04:36The Hezbollah targets them,
04:38the IDF targets them,
04:40alleging those Hezbollah installations,
04:42but civilians are also getting killed.
04:44And that is the huge number of civilians
04:46that is being killed.
04:47And also there are the orders.
04:49Some of this order by the IDF
04:51has been followed by some residents,
04:53some have not followed.
04:54But one thing is clear that in the south suburb,
04:57which is the stronghold of Beirut city
04:59of Hezbollah in the Beirut,
05:02that has been completely being vacated
05:04because on the regular basis,
05:06that sub-area, south suburb,
05:08which we call mainly the south suburb,
05:12Dahiya district,
05:13that is without any population,
05:15without any business.
05:16We have shown those pictures on our networks
05:19because there on regular basis,
05:22without any warning,
05:23aerial strikes are being carried out by the IDF.
05:27Ashraf, thank you very much for now.
05:29Also, I want to play out a report
05:30that you had sent from south Lebanon.
05:32What is the situation like?
05:33Is it ground invasion?
05:35Is there going to be more attacks?
05:37Here's what Ashraf Pani had sent us out for.
05:43The devastation inside the southern Lebanon
05:47is visible in each and every corner
05:50of this part of this part of the Lebanon.
05:55And even you can see wherever you move,
05:59all these homes and villages had been bombed
06:04by the Israeli defensive forces in the aerial strikes.
06:10During last one month,
06:13more than 5,000 aerial strikes had been carried out
06:19across the southern Lebanon.
06:24Not only the Hezbollah facilities,
06:27their weapon stores had been targeted,
06:30but also everything, whatever remains here
06:33in the absence of their house owners
06:36had been bombed and it is a picture
06:43which gives a look of only the devastation here
06:48in the south Lebanon.
06:50You can see here is a very touching story,
06:54beautiful home of a family,
06:57but in their absence,
06:59this home has been completely devastated
07:02by the bombing.
07:04In fact, there is no one to take care of
07:06these oranges laying here
07:09in the orchard of this house's compound
07:15here in the south Lebanon.
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