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As Israel continues to pummel Lebanon in its resumed war against the country and the Hezbollah paramilitary, we get an update from Associated Press reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut. “If you compare this particular war to the last one, less than two years ago, what happened in the past three weeks is what happened in the past seven or eight months,” says Chehayeb, who describes masses of displaced people and fears of an imminent ground invasion. “There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country, and it doesn’t appear that these strikes will stop anytime soon.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

In Lebanon, there are reports of heavy fighting between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers backed by air and artillery fire as Israel pushes ahead with a ground invasion of South Lebanon. More than 1 million people have been displaced by Israeli strikes, evacuation orders, as well, across Lebanon. The Israeli military has also destroyed several bridges over the Litani River, which connects the south of Lebanon to the rest of the country.

Lebanese health officials report more than a thousand people have been killed and thousands injured since fighting began earlier this month. At least 40 medical workers are among the dead. There are over a hundred children who are dead.

Israel Has Killed or Wounded Classroom’s Worth of Children Every Day in Lebanon

In a statement, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights raised concerns of possible war crimes, writing, quote, “In many instances, Israeli airstrikes have destroyed entire residential buildings in dense urban environments, with multiple members of the same family, including women and children, often killed together. Such attacks raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law. People displaced by the fighting and living in tents along Beirut’s seafront have also been hit. … Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime. In addition, international law provides for specific protections for healthcare workers, as well as people at heightened risk, such as the elderly, women and displaced people,” unquote, said a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Fears are growing of a long-term occupation of southern Lebanon. Fighting began following the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war on Lebanon, prompting Hezbollah to resume firing missiles into northern Israel.

For more on what’s happening in Lebanon, we go to Beirut, where we are joined by Kareem Chehayeb, correspondent for the Associated Press.

I know there’s a bit of a delay, Kareem. Just lay out what you’re experiencing and what you’re reporting on other people experiencing in Lebanon, in Beirut, in the south of Lebanon.

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Over the past three weeks, since this latest conflict or latest war began, things have escalated at such a rapid rate. If you compare this particular war to the last one, less than two years ago, what happened in the past three weeks is what happened in the past seven or eight months. There have been daily airstrikes in southern Lebanon, in southern suburbs, several overnight strikes in central Beirut, and a large displacement, which has really shocked the country.

The country at one point was hoping that it was going to restore its economy a bit, improve its regional standing with its relationship with the Gulf and so on. And it had hoped that it was going to, you know, not be involved in this regional conflict with the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran and, of course, Iran’s strikes on the Gulf and this whole regional mess. The Lebanese authorities have been trying their best to stay away from this. And there appear to have been some conversations with Hezbollah to avoid dragging Lebanon into this.

There’s a massive humanitarian crisis taking place now. Beirut is flooded with displaced people. Many are staying in public schools, which have turned into shelters,........

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