An Israeli bombing killed, this Wednesday 16, at least 16 people in a city in the south of Lebanonincluding the mayor, in an all-out offensive against the Islamist movement Hezbollahwhich raises fears of an “extremely dangerous scale” in Middle East.
Israeli bombings in Lebanon have already destroyed large areas of the territory and forced almost 700,000 inhabitants to leave their homes since the offensive intensified on September 23, according to the UN. A count of AFP based on official data, it estimates that there have been at least 1,373 deaths in the country since then.
Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, reported “violent fighting” with Israeli troops near the Lebanese border town of Al Qawzah, with “point blank” shooting.
In addition to the south of the country, Israeli bombing targets the southern outskirts of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, and the east of the territory, considered strongholds of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
At least 16 people died and 52 were injured this Wednesday in Israeli bombings in the city of Nabatieh, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported. Among the dead were the local mayor, Ahmad Kahil, municipal councilors, doctors and rescuers, the source said.
The Israeli military said it targeted “dozens of Hezbollah targets” in the southern Lebanese city, including “terrorist infrastructures, Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities.”
The provincial governor, Howaida Turk, denounced a “massacre” at City Hall, where the crisis management committee was meeting. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned what he called the “deliberate” bombing of the “Municipal Council” meeting in Nabatieh.
At dawn, shelling hit the Shiite neighborhood of Haret Hreik, south of Beirut, minutes after the Israeli army asked for the area to be evacuated.
Israeli forces claim their target was a Hezbollah weapons depot. This was the first bombing in several days on the southern outskirts of the capital.
After weakening the Hamas in Gaza, Israel has moved most of its operations to Lebanon, where it says the aim is to allow the return of 60,000 Israelis displaced by the Shiite group’s projectile fire.
Rockets against the Israeli city of Safed
Hezbollah announced, this Wednesday, that it had fired rockets at the city of Safed, in northern Israel, for the third time in 24 hours.
The shots come the day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was opposed to a “unilateral” ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel says the aim of its offensive is to drive Hezbollah away from border regions and end rocket fire so that nearly 60,000 displaced Israelis can return home.
Hezbollah, claiming to act in support of Hamas, opened a front against Israel on October 8, 2023, one day after the attack carried out by Palestinian Islamists in Israel that gave rise to the war in Gaza.
This Wednesday, the Islamist movement announced that it had fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank in the border area.
Number two in the group, Naim Qassemwarned on Tuesday that his group would carry out attacks in “all” Israel, stating that “the solution” to end the war in Lebanon is a “ceasefire”.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also asked this Wednesday to do “everything in our power” to stop “the extremely dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.
“We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” he said during a summit in Brussels between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union.
Gaza at risk of extreme famine
In Gaza, Israeli troops continue their offensive in the north of the territory, especially in Jabaliya, where, according to them, Hamas is trying to rebuild its forces.
The head of the UN refugee agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned of “a real risk” of extreme famine during the winter in Gaza and said it was “completely avoidable”.
The conflict erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militiamen killed 1,206 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians, according to a count based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity in Gaza.
At least 42,409 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians, in the Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled territory, considered credible by the UN.
While continuing its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israelis continue to prepare a response to Iran’s October 1 missile attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that his country will give a “decisive” response if Israel decides to attack its territory, during a telephone conversation with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
The foreign minister, who is traveling through the region, stated that Iran strives to “protect the peace and security of the region”.
Iranian President Massud Pezeshkian called for more pressure on Israel’s allies to end the “massacres” in Gaza and Lebanon.
