Hezbollah Responds to the Israeli Occupation Army’s “Propaganda Tour” on Lebanon’s Border

Hezbollah issued a statement commenting on the “propaganda tour” organized by the Israeli occupation army for a number of international media outlets along the Lebanese border.

In a statement by Hezbollah’s media relations, the party said: “Following up on our previous statement regarding the propaganda tour organized by the occupation army for several Western media networks, it has become clear that in addition to the BBC, networks such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, Fox News, Reuters, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Associated Press, and other channels and outlets also participated.”

The statement added: “We reiterate our condemnation of this dangerous and unacceptable act, and we once again call on the relevant authorities to take the necessary legal and political measures.”

In an earlier statement, Hezbollah noted that “the BBC, across all its platforms and in all its languages, has blatantly aligned itself with murderers and criminals, justifying the Zionist aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.”

The statement continued: “In a brazen move, the BBC sent a journalistic team that entered one of the southern Lebanese villages accompanied by the Israeli occupation army, violating Lebanese land, sovereignty, and the laws in force, as evidenced by the reports published by the organization.”

Hezbollah expressed its outright rejection and condemnation of this unjustifiable and unacceptable act, demanding that the Lebanese Ministry of Information, the National Media Council, and relevant judicial and security bodies take the necessary legal action against the British network and its teams operating in Lebanon.

The party also called upon journalists’ unions, editors, and free media outlets around the world to denounce this action.

At least 18 people were martyred, and others were injured in an airstrike carried out by the Israeli occupation army on the predominantly Christian town of Ayto in northern Lebanon, according to an initial toll announced by the Lebanese Red Cross.

The Israeli airstrike targeted a northern Lebanese town for the first time since the aggression on Lebanon began. The Lebanese Red Cross reported 18 martyrs and at least four wounded so far.

On Monday, the Israeli occupation army warned the residents of 25 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes and move north of the Awali River.

The villages whose residents were warned include: Barghliya, Qasimiya, Nabi Qasim, Matarieh al-Shoumar, Kharayeb, Mazraat Kouthariyeh al-Ruzz, Ansar, Babilieh, Deir Taqla, Adloun, Ansariyeh, Marwaniyah, Zefta, Bafruwa, Habboush, Nabatieh, Sajd, Jbaa, Anqoun, Benafoul, Qanariyyeh, Zaita, Arnaya, Mazraat Matarieh Jbaa, and Tanbourit.

Since September 23, the Israeli occupation has expanded its genocidal campaign, which it has been carrying out in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, to include Lebanon through airstrikes that have targeted the capital, Beirut, as well as ground incursions into the southern region.

Hezbollah responds daily with rockets, drones, and artillery shells targeting military positions and settlements. While the occupation acknowledges part of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes strict secrecy on most of these losses, according to observers.