Lebanese home front virtually defenseless
The residents of southern Lebanon are worried. Should the
brewing winds of war between Iran and Israel escalate to an actual conflict,
they are likely to be caught in the middle – literally.
Israel is investing in its home front readiness, but the
residents of southern Lebanon have but a mere fraction of the civilian defenses
available to Israelis.
Lebanon's Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is affiliated with
Hezbollah, published a feature about the Lebanese home front's readiness for a
possible regional conflict. The conclusion was expressed in a poignant
headline: "Southern Lebanon can look to Allah for shelter in case of
war."
"Where is Lebanon's emergency contingency? Where are
the preparations of Southern Lebanon's residents?" the article wonders.
The newspaper stated that while the Lebanese people
"are not afraid of war or of dying," more needs to be done vis-à-vis
"The war that the Israeli enemy keeps hinting to."
The paper noted that many of the southern Lebanese
fatalities during the Second Lebanon War were preventable, as many gathered on
the ground floors of their buildings – sans bomb shelters – often with
disastrous results.
"The Lebanese people and the resistance won the
Second Lebanon War and more beautiful buildings took the place of those
bombed" the paper encouraged its readers, while admitting that the new
homes are no safer than their predecessors.
Engineer Sharif Bitar, head of the Tyre Planning
Committee, told Al-Akhbar that "Shelters are useless given the new and
advanced missiles that can penetrate through dozens of meters."
He further warned that in the event of a massive air
strike, the shelters may become mass graves; adding that Lebanon lacks the
funds to build state-of-the-art shelters that can withstand massive impact.
"You can't compare the measures taken in Israel to
those taken by the residents of southern Lebanon," he said. "The
State is responsible for building shelters, clearing debris and making sure
medical supplies go through."
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