The feet of the Bear Kingdom

[WilliamL]

I wonder if they are waiting too attack, purposefully or unconsciously, for the 9th of Ab.

[Stewardofthemystery]

In the news….

US Flexes Mideast Muscle Amid Pending Iran Attack

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area, as the U.S. on Monday said it believes Iran or its proxies may launch a strike against Israel as soon as this week.

The moves, announced by the Defense Department Sunday, come as the U.S. and other allies push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire that could help calm soaring tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

Officials have been on the lookout for retaliatory strikes by Iran and Hezbollah for the killings, and the U.S. has been beefing up its presence in the region.(end quote)

[Stewardofthemystery]

In the news…
UN Demands Halt to Escalating Attacks Between Hezbollah, Israel

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded a halt to the increasing attacks between Lebanon's Hezbollah terrorists and Israeli forces and warned that further escalation "carries the high risk of leading to a widespread conflict."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah pulled back after an exchange of heavy fire across the U.N.-drawn boundary between Lebanon and Israel over the weekend. But their decades-old conflict is far from over and regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza are still high.

The Security Council demand that Israel and Hezbollah halt hostilities came in a French-drafted resolution unanimously approved by its 15 members, urging the "relevant actors" to restore "calm, restraint and stability." Council resolutions are legally binding though often ignored.

The risk of open warfare remains real, and we are mobilized alongside our regional and international partners to avoid a regional conflagration," France's deputy U.N. ambassador, Nathalie Broadhurst, said before the vote.

Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, told reporters that he had a message for the Lebanese people: "You and your government have a choice to make, confront Hezbollah today or watch as your country is dragged into chaos and destruction."

Lebanon's representative, Hadi Hachem, was far more diplomatic, thanking the council after the vote for its clear message "in favor of stability and a cease-fire." And he urged members: "Let's work together, not only to end the escalation" but toward "a just and comprehensive peace."

The resolution extended for another year the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, which was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after a 1978 invasion and has been there ever since.

The Security Council expanded the mission after a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah so that peacekeepers could deploy along the Lebanon-Israel border to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into their country's south for the first time in decades. That resolution also called for a full cessation of Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, which has not happened.

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon frequently accuse the U.N. mission of collusion with Israel, while Israel has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah's military activities in southern Lebanon.

During the ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL facilities or vehicles have been hit by shelling or gunfire on several occasions. Earlier this month, UNIFIL said three peacekeepers on patrol were lightly injured when an explosion happened near their vehicle. ( end quote)

[Neighbor]

1 hour ago, Stewardofthemystery said:

Lebanon's representative, Hadi Hachem, was far more diplomatic,

Ah okay got it.

Far more please and thank you's to the UN from Lebanon.