IsraelThe Polish warplanes flew low over Beirut on Tuesday afternoon. The maneuver was performed three times in half an hour, each time breaking the sound barrier and causing loud sounds resembling thunder. Panic broke out among the residents of the Lebanese capital.
A Reuters reporter witnessed people at a cafe in Beirut's Badaro district running in panic as loud noises echoed through the city, sending people scrambling for shelter. AFP journalists said “windows shook from the huge bang.” It's terrifying when we hear such sounds. We feel defenseless and afraid of what might happen, said one of the residents.
Israeli Air Force Shows Offensive in Beirut, Hezbollah Announces Retaliation
The time and date of the Israeli planes' flight were not accidental. They took place a few minutes before the leader's speech began. Hezbollahat Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. At 5 p.m. he was to address his supporters in memory of Fouad Shukra, a Lebanese armed group commander who was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Beirut exactly one week ago.
– Hezbollah's response to Israeli attacks will be strong and effective – he said, but did not specify when such retaliation would take place. He only indicated that the organization would “wait for the right moment” and that no state would dissuade them from taking revenge. – Regardless of the consequences, the resistance movement will not allow these Israeli attacks to pass by indifferently – he said.
According to his declarations, Hezbollah will operate either alone or with its “regional allies.”
Israel said it had killed Shukr because he was responsible for numerous attacks on Israel, including a rocket strike on the Tel Aviv-controlled Golan Heights on July 27. Twelve people were killed in the attack. Hezbollah has denied wrongdoing.
That same day, the Israeli military said dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested their community's mandatory military service and broke into a military base near Tel Aviv.