Lebanon – A Country on Edge

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In the days since Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking hundreds of others hostage, tensions have been high along Lebanon's border with Israel. There've been frequent exchanges of fire between heavily armed fighters in Lebanon and the Israeli army. Towns not far from the frontier in Lebanon have fallen quiet, with most shops closed. But in the nation's capital, Beirut, tensions rose further following an explosion at a hospital in Gaza. Hundreds of followers of the formidable Lebanese military, political and social movement Hezbollah took part in a protest chanting both anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans. The border skirmishes have prompted fears that the violence could escalate into a bigger confrontation. In this episode of 5 Minutes On, our correspondent in Lebanon, Hugo Bachega, reports from a country on the edge. Image: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters