Gallows humour conceals fear about next phase of Israeli-Iranian antagonism
People await their flights at the Beirut International Airport departure hall on Monday as concerns continue to grow over a possible all-out regional war. Photograph: AFP via Getty Imagesto deliver its much-touted punishment to Israel for twin assassinations in the region, and from the pool where she swims in Tel Aviv, she claims it is simply “annoying”.
“I kind of just want the war to start so we can get it over and done with,” she says. “That way we know what happens next and don’t have to keep watching and waiting and watching and waiting.”It has been more than a week since Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed that the Islamic republic would avenge the humiliation of the confirmed Israeli
But what Nasrallah did not address is that he is also keeping his fellow Lebanese in similar anguish. “We are all disassociating in different ways,” said one shopper who was stockpiling canned corn and baby wipes for an impending war. A man pushes his food cart in Beirut in front of a billboard depicting three assassinated figures: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Gen Qasem Soleimani of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hizbullah top commander Fuad Shukr. Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
In Israel, most people have stayed where they were, poised between helplessness and relative optimism.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Diplomats seek to avert regional war in wake of Lebanese rocket attack on Israeli-controlled townMissile strike killed children in worst assault on Israeli-run territory since Israel and Hizbullah began exchanging fire in October
Read more »
Daily life goes on as Israelis await attacks from Hizbullah or IranThose of a nervous disposition have already stocked up on bottled water, canned foods, transistor radios and batteries
Read more »
Can Israel go beyond show of strength to achieve strategic success?Assassinations in Tehran and Beirut may provoke Iran and the Lebanese Shia militia to respond forcefully
Read more »
Cancer patients are the quiet victims of Gaza war and West Bank occupationSlow and preventable deaths of Gazans with cancer may never be counted among the war casualties, even if they are a direct result of that conflict
Read more »
Irish war veteran meets Italian family who saved him from NazisAn Irish World War II veteran has been reunited with the Italian family who helped him escape the Nazis from behind enemy lines in 1945.
Read more »
Ukraine accuses Russian forces of killing, dismembering prisoner of warRussia denies torture or other forms of maltreatment of POWs
Read more »