Today, Friday, the Israeli army continued to carry out air strikes, artillery shelling, and bombing operations in various areas of southern Lebanon, according to what was reported by the German News Agency.
This morning, intermittent Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of the town of Mifdoun, towards the eastern town of Zawtar in southern Lebanon. Israeli warplanes also launched raids at dawn targeting the town of Mansouri.
The town also witnessed a series of huge explosions at night, the echoes of which were heard in the villages and towns of the south. Israeli forces also carried out bombings at night in the towns of Hadada and Al-Tiri in southern Lebanon, according to what the official Lebanese National News Agency announced.
At night, Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids on Ali Al-Tahir Heights. The raids were accompanied by artillery shelling on the area, which also targeted Ali Al-Taher Heights, according to what the National News Agency announced.
Israel has been waging war on Lebanon since March 2, after Hezbollah fired missiles at northern Israel. Israeli forces occupied a number of towns in southern Lebanon. On June 20, a ceasefire was announced, after which the pace of Israeli targeting of southern Lebanon decreased.
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir released a video showing himself bragging about the construction of a site where Palestinians convicted of terrorism crimes will be executed by hanging - not including Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Ben Gvir - who has previously faced international sanctions and condemnations for his activities - said that the site will be equipped with viewing booths that will allow the families of the victims to follow the executions.
Ben Gvir posted the video on social media of a visit he made to the site, while pictures published by Israeli media showed the presence of a bulldozer and construction work, said to be located near a prison, and the extremist minister appeared pointing to the foundation work, boasting that this was the place “where terrorists will be executed.”
The newspaper pointed out that Ben Gvir celebrated his fiftieth birthday earlier this year with a candy bar designed in the shape of a noose.
Ben Gvir said in the video: “I promised to tighten the detention conditions for terrorists in prisons, and we fulfilled our promise. I promised to pass the death penalty law for terrorists, and we did that. Now, the features of the death row section and the hanging facility are also beginning to take shape.”
The Guardian said that reports of the construction of gallows - which will be used to execute Palestinians convicted of “terrorism” crimes in military courts only, not Jewish extremists - come in the wake of the passage of a new law earlier this year.
The law requires military courts to impose the death penalty as the only available punishment, unless the court finds special circumstances that justify a life sentence. In practice, Jewish Israelis are protected from the death penalty under a provision that limits the law's application to murders committed "with the intent to deny the existence of the State of Israel."
She pointed out that Ben Gvir - who was previously convicted on charges of incitement to racism, obstructing a policeman in the performance of his duty, and supporting the banned Kach terrorist movement - has been serving as Israeli Minister of National Security since 2022.
The death penalty law - one of two laws approved by Israeli lawmakers this year - has sparked widespread international condemnation since it was approved in the Knesset by a vote of 62 votes to 48, due to criticism that it involves “discrimination.”
Commenting on the passage of the law, Erika Guevara Rosas, from Amnesty International, said: “It also undermines basic guarantees to prevent arbitrary deprivation of life and protect the right to a fair trial, and also strengthens the apartheid system in Israel.”
In recent months, sanctions have been imposed on Ben Gvir by France and Ireland, in addition to the sanctions imposed on him by the United Kingdom last year, and he also faced widespread criticism just a few days ago for calling for a policy of punitive killing in Gaza.
“I think we should carry out between 30 and 40 executions every night,” Ben Gvir said. There are people who do not deserve to live... They are not even human.
On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described Ben Gvir's statements as "unacceptable and inhumane," while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his strong condemnation of "the inhumane calls made by Minister Ben Gvir, which violate international law."
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, also described Ben Gvir’s statements as “horrific,” “outrageous,” “dehumanizing,” and “dangerous.”
The emergence of this video came amid growing international condemnation of Israel's behavior, including the issuance of new tenders for the massive "E1" settlement complex outside Jerusalem; This is a move condemned by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, describing it as an “unacceptable and destructive act” that threatens to separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
Miliband said: “The UK has been clear - both in private and in public - about its opposition to E1 and its support for the two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. “All settlements undermine this possibility and are a flagrant violation of international law.”
