BEIRUT/OSLO/RAMALLAH - Israeli warplanes broke Tuesday afternoon the sound barrier twice over Beirut, the Lebanese capital, and its suburbs, causing loud booms a few minutes ahead of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech.
The sonic booms shattered glasses in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs, and created fear and anxiety among local residents. Some even started packing to seek shelter in mountainous areas.
Nasrallah was set to begin an address at around 5 pm local time (1400 GMT) to mark the one week since the killing of the Lebanese armed group's senior military commander, Fouad Shokor, in an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs.
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Nasrallah said that the Israeli warplanes might deliberately break the sound barrier during the mourning ceremony to intimidate the people at the memorial.
Israeli warplanes have recently intensified their violations of the sound barrier in the airspace of most Lebanese regions, sometimes even resulting in building damage and collapses, Lebanese military sources previously told Xinhua.
The sources reported that the sonic booms, caused by warplanes flying faster than sound, occur two or three times a day and are especially terrifying when the planes are flying at a low altitude.
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In his speech, Nasrallah vowed a strong and impactful retaliation to Israel, al-Manar local TV channel reported.
"Our retaliation to the assassination of our commander is inevitably coming, and it will be impactful and strong. We may choose to retaliate in cooperation with other resistance powers in Iran and Yemen or separately," Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah added: "This is a big war, and the blood of our people is too expensive and dear. The assassinations will not pass without retaliation."
Nasrallah also threatened to attack factories in northern Israel, each according to Nasrallah, worth billions of US dollars.
"All of these are located in northern Israel; it took 34 years to build all these factories, but it takes half an hour to destroy them all," he said.
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Nasrallah said Israel constitutes a big danger in the region. "This danger cannot be faced with fear and hesitation; all Muslims must assume their responsibilities," he said.
Caution prevails in Lebanon and Israel following the latter's attack that killed Shokor and seven civilians. Nasrallah has repeatedly threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli attack.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
European countries advise citizens to leave Lebanon
Some European countries have advised their citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling to the country amid rising regional tensions.
"In a highly volatile security context, we once again draw the attention of French nationals, particularly those passing through, to the fact that direct commercial flights with stopovers to France are still available, and we invite them to make their arrangements now to leave Lebanon as soon as possible," the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.
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Air France and Transavia France have decided to extend the suspension of their flights to Beirut until at least Thursday.
A spokesman for the German Foreign Office repeated an urgent call at the end of last month for all Germans to leave Lebanon. Since then, 500 people have registered on a crisis preparedness list, with a total of 1,800 Germans now listed.
In the Netherlands, the Foreign Ministry has issued a red travel alert for Lebanon, advising Dutch nationals to avoid travel to the country.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also advised Polish citizens against such traveling. Last Friday, Poland's flag carrier LOT announced it had canceled eight flights from Warsaw to Lebanon and Israel, as well as return flights.
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The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs on Monday called on Croatian citizens in Lebanon to leave, according to a statement on the social media platform X.
The Slovenian Foreign Ministry advised citizens in Lebanon to leave the country, too.
Norway and Sweden have also urged their citizens to leave Lebanon while Finland's current travel advisory for Lebanon urges avoiding all travel.
2 Palestinians killed in West Bank
Two Palestinian men were killed and three others injured by the Israeli forces' bullets near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday.
The Ramallah-based ministry identified the victims as 33-year-old Walid Jamal Muhammad Hussein and 33-year-old Khader Hussein Khader Abu Qatna, both killed in Kafr Qud, a town close to Jenin.
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Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that since Monday afternoon, the IDF, Israel Securities Authority, and Israel Border Police have been conducting a "counterterrorism operation" in Jenin and the surrounding areas.
The latest attack came after 10 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli army's operations in the West Bank from Monday evening to Tuesday morning.
Amid the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank has also been witnessing rising tensions between the Israeli army and Palestinians.
