By Moses Okorie
As the war between Israel and Iran continues to rage, the Iranian Media had said the number of people killed in the country, within five days, has topped 1,000.
Recall that US-backed Israel had launched an attack on Iran on Saturday leading to the death the supreme leader of the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a related development, as the conflict engulfs the region, Turkiye says a ballistic missile fired by Iran was destroyed by NATO air and missile defence systems in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The target of the missile was not immediately clear.
Also, a US submarine has sunk an Iranian warship with a torpedo in international waters off Sri Lanka’s coast, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Democratic lawmakers slam US President Donald Trump’s justifications for attacking Iran, warning the US may be heading for a ground assault and an “open-ended engagement with no end in sight”.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam has said the country will spare no effort to end this destructive war.
Salam spoke briefly at a news conference and raised the issue of tens of thousands of civilians displaced after Israel began its ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
“I would like to promise … that we will spare no effort to bring an end to this destructive war, and to bring the displaced people to their homes, and to protect Lebanon and its people,” he said.
Directly addressing those forced to flee their homes, the prime minister said: “You are not alone. All of Lebanon is your home”.
“Our people who had to leave their homes are not responsible for what has befallen them. They are victims – victims of policies not of their making.”
In a similar vein, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the death toll from Israeli strikes on the country has risen to 72, with at least 437 people wounded.
Cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon resumed after the Iran-backed armed group launched rockets towards northern Israel following the US-Israel attack on Tehran.
The Israeli army responded by resuming air strikes on the country’s south and Beirut’s southern suburbs, issuing forced evacuation orders and taking new military positions in Lebanese territory.