Lebanese parliament extends term for 2 years due to war in Middle East
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese parliament has extended its term for two years on Monday due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and Israel steps up its attacks on Lebanon.
The country’s state news agency said 76 legislators voted in favor, 41 voted against, and four abstained. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.
On Monday, the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan, while its ground forces in Lebanon’s south launched “focused raids” against what it called the group’s infrastructure.
The ongoing war with Israel that began last week has displaced over half a million people and made it difficult to hold a vote in large parts of the country. The parliamentary elections were scheduled for May.
Meanwhile, the human rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday that the Israeli military “unlawfully” hit a village in southern Lebanon with shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition.
Through geolocating and verifying seven images, Human Rights Watch said Israel fired white phosphorus using artillery at residential areas in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor. It happened hours after the Israeli military warned the residents of the village and dozens of others in southern Lebanon to evacuate.
Human Rights Watch said it couldn’t independently identify if any residents were still in the area or if anyone was harmed.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has maintained that it uses white phosphorus as a smoke screen and not to target civilians.
Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.
“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the munition was used in Israel’s last war with Hezbollah, over a year ago, on numerous occasions in southern Lebanon while civilians were still present.