Transcript of Lebanon facing 'terrible' refugee crisis, says UN | BBC News

There have been fresh Israeli airstrikes on Southern Beirut as the humanitarian situation is worsening in the country, and there are fears of an Israeli attack on Iran. These are just some of the live images overlooking Beirut, where Lebanon's Health Ministry is saying that 25 people have been killed and 127 have been wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Friday. Israeli military says that it's killed two top Hamas officials in the north and the east of Lebanon, and Israel has bombed a mosque in the Southern part of the country. It says it was being used as a command center by Hezbollah fighters. The building was next to a hospital, and at least four hospitals are now closed in the south because of those Israeli airstrikes. The World Health Organization is saying at least 37 healthcare facilities have closed since Israel began its air bombardment of Lebanon two weeks ago. The UN says that more than 200,000 people have fled Lebanon into neighboring Syria. While Hezbolar says that it's fired rockets at the Ramat David Air Base near the city of Haifa in northern Israel, and sirens have sounded across northern Israel this morning. This new line came in today.

Amid growing international pressure on Israel. The French President Emmanuel Macron has said that a political solution should be the priority and that there should be a halt to the delivery of weapons used to fight in Gaza. Now, he also added that France is currently currently not sending any weapons to Israel. He made those remarks during an interview with the French broadcaster, France Inter. Well, nick Bick has more on Lebanon.

Israel is stepping up its strikes in Lebanon. Beirut rocked by more blasts overnight and this morning, as the Israeli army says it continues to hit Hezbollah targets, including near the city's airport. But the expanded assault has forced more than a million Albanese from their homes in the past two weeks, many taking refuge in the capital. There may be glimpses of normality, but this is not the safe haven they hoped it would be.

The Albanese people are used to this. This is not the problem. The problem is with how we're living with the people who are sleeping in the streets. You need countries to start taking action.

The situation is a disaster, and we're living through it. What should we do? We cannot go anywhere. We cannot travel. All the country is at risk. And because of that, we have to live. What should we do? We have to live with it.

Israel also hit the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli in the early hours. This, the damage after a commander, not from Hezbollah, but from Hamas, was killed, reportedly, along with his wife and two children. The Commander was killed by an Israeli drone, this man says, explaining that others living here would to follow the path to martyrdom. In the south of Lebanon, Israeli soldiers are trying to consolidate their recent ground invasion. But Hezbollah say there have been fierce clashes and claimed to have wounded advancing Israeli troops. Over the border, Israeli aircraft have been in constant action as Hezbolar fires more rockets into Israel and fights back. Nick Beake, BBC News in Northern Israel.

As This crisis continues and escalates. Let's cross over to Tel Aviv to speak to the BBC Persian Special Correspondent, Khazra Najee, who joins us live now. And Khazra, just as we're seeing the intensification of these airstrikes, both from Israel into Lebanon, from Lebanon into Northern Israel. Just what do we make of the situation on the ground?

It's pretty horrific, actually, the various bits and pieces of news that we are getting out of Lebanon Lebanon, Southern Lebanon, and Northern Israel. It seems that there's quite a lot of fighting going on, particularly in Southern Lebanon, in confrontation with the Hezbollah fighters out there who are firing tens of rockets every day into Israel. I think on average, this last few days, they've been probably firing about 150 missiles a day into Israel. And beyond that, Israel is ordering evacuation of even more areas in Southern Lebanon and bombing rates by Israeli aircraft is continuing. And Israel, so far, in the last three days, at least, they've lost at least 13 soldiers in the fighting, which is quite high for Israeli military to lose 13 people in three days. And we're getting indications that still they are transferring the wounded from the north back to hospitals here in Israel. So things are hotting up in the north.

So things hotting up, Khazra, in the north. Of course, Iran monitoring all of this. Any reaction from them? No.

Here in Tel Aviv, it's quiet, but suspiciously quiet, in a sense that we are expecting Israelis to respond to Iran's missile attacks on Tuesday night, any moment, any hour, any day. We know that Israeli military, political leaders, and intelligence people are constantly recently meeting here discussing various options they have for attacking in Iran. The targets from Israel's nuclear facilities to Iran's infrastructure of gas, electricity, power to air bases and military bases in Iran. These are all part of of the choices that Israelis are discussing. We hear also that the Commander of CENTCOM, American Forces in the region, General Michael Kourila, is going to be here in the next few hours to coordinate actions by Israel and the Americans, so far as this attack is concerned on Iran. Iranians are warning Israel against attacking their infrastructure. They're saying that if Israel attacks the infrastructure, they will attack the infrastructure here in Israel. And in the last hour or two, we had Iran's foreign minister who's visiting Syria, saying that their response is going to be even stronger than the Israeli response and attack, and they're warning Israel against testing their resolve.

Okay, Kazra, well, the situation there, the region on tenterhooks. Khazra Najeeh there joining us live from Tel Aviv, BBC Pershing Special Correspondent. Thank you so much. Of course, a live page on our website. We are monitoring those twists and turns of fast developing situation. Now.