Israel warns the population of eastern Lebanon this Thursday 17th to leave the Bekaa area, in the east of the country, after having bombed Hezbollah positions in the south of the country and also in Syria.
The Israeli Army issued an “urgent” evacuation order to the population, warning of an “imminent attack” on the social network X. To justify the action, Armed Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee stated that “buildings in the Temnine area ” would be “facilities that belong to the Hezbollah“.
The warning was issued hours after Israel carried out dozens of air strikes in southern Lebanon this Wednesday 16th. The bombings killed at least 16 people and caused widespread destruction.
Mayor’s death
In Wednesday’s attack, the Israeli Army claimed to have targeted “dozens of Hezbollah targets” near Nabatiyeh, in southern Lebanon, considered a stronghold of the movement and also of the Amal Shiites. The attack killed the city’s mayor, Ahmad Kahil. In addition to the 16 dead, 52 people were injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The coordinator of the UN humanitarian arm in Lebanon, Imran Riza, denounced a “catastrophic attack”.
The city of Cana, in southern Lebanon, unrecognizable after Israeli bombings.
Photo: Bilal KASHMAR / AFP
In Kana, also in the south, “more than 15 buildings were completely destroyed, a real disaster,” said rescuer Mohammed Ibrahim after a deadly attack by the Israeli army, which he said killed a Hezbollah commander on the spot.
Also on Wednesday, peacekeeping forces from the United States Peace Force HIM (UNIFIL) also stated that an Israeli tank had fired at one of its towers surveillance in southern Lebanon, saying it was a “direct and visibly deliberate attack.”
Attack in Syria
An airstrike attributed to Israel also targeted the Syrian coastal city of Latakia in the early hours of Thursday, causing fires there, according to the official local news agency. A lotwithout reporting casualties.
This attack targeted “a weapons depot”, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based NGO with a vast network of sources in the country.
Israel frequently accuses Hezbollah, against which it has been in open war since September 23 in Lebanon, of transporting weapons from Syria, a country supported by Iran.
Further south, in Yemenos USA announced on Wednesday night that they used B-2 bombers to destroy underground weapons depots of the Houthisa group that attacks cargo ships in the Red Sea and is also financed by Tehran.
In parallel with its war against Hezbollah and the Hamas Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, also an ally of Iran, Israel says it is preparing its response to the Iranian missile attack launched on October 1 against its territory.
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, reiterated that his country “will respond in a determined manner” to a possible attack.
(With RFI and AFP)
