Lebanon demands clarification from Cyprus for Israeli exercises

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Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib received the Cypriot ambassador, Panayiotis Kyriacou, to ask for clarifications over the joint military exercises with the Israeli occupation.

"Bou Habib objected to Israeli media reports that [the exercises] are targeted at Lebanon," the foreign ministry statement read, noting that the Cypriot ambassador to Beirut denied the reports.

"The Cypriot ambassador affirmed that the Israeli exercises are aimed at training the border guard to defend Cyprus," the statement added.

The Cypriot ministry of defense "will issue an explanatory statement [on Thursday] following the conclusion of the military exercises," Kyriacou said.

The Israeli occupation has been conducting its so-called "Chariots of Fire" exercises, the largest military drill in its history in occupied Palestine, as the region undergoes high tensions.

Israeli media reports earlier indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had pushed for a "desirable offensive operation in the Gaza Strip," while Security Minister Benny Gantz, the IOF, and the Shin Bet pushed for attacks on the occupied West Bank.

This comes as Israeli media reported that Israeli occupation Prime Minister Naftali Bennett discussed with his advisers the possibility of an early election.

According to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, informed sources said, "Bennett estimated that the government, which he leads, would fall in the coming weeks."

The drills prompted the Lebanese resistance, Hezbollah, to state that it would be hiking its mobilization and calling on its freedom fighters to be prepared to confront the enemy.