BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese parliament extended its term by two years on Monday due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran that has pushed the region into an escalating conflict and Israel stepping up its attacks on Lebanon following renewed strikes with the militant group Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said Monday it was targeting Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan, as its ground forces in Lebanon's south launched “focused raids” against what it called the group’s infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has accused Israeli forces of using white phosphorus incendiary shells in strikes on residential areas in a Lebanese village, a violation of international law.
Two more years for the current Lebanese parliament
Lebanon’s state news agency said 76 legislators voted in favor of the decision, 41 were against, and four abstained. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.
The ongoing war with Israel that began last week has displaced over half a million people in Lebanon and made it difficult to hold a vote in large parts of the country.
The parliamentary elections were scheduled for May.
Israel attacks Hezbollah’s financial arm in Beirut, forcing people to flee
Residents of Beirut’s southern suburb, widely known as Dahiyeh, were ordered to evacuate before Israel launched strikes.
Smoke billowed over Beirut after the attacks. The first strike destroyed a building housing an office of al-Qard al-Hasan in the southern suburb of Chiyah. A Lebanese journalist on site told The Associated Press he was wounded in the leg and taken to a nearby hospital. Video footage showed what appeared to be two strikes on the building that were minutes apart.
Source: WPLG
