ReutersSmoke rises in the sky after Beirut’s southern suburbs were targeted by new Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday
The Israeli prime minister called on the Lebanese people to expel Hezbollah and avoid “the kind of destruction and suffering we see in Gaza.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeal on Tuesday comes as Israel expands its incursion against Hezbollah by sending thousands more troops into new zones in southwestern Lebanon. The military said Monday’s airstrike killed 50 Hezbollah members.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 36 people were killed and 150 injured in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired rockets at the Israeli port of Haifa for the third day in a row, injuring 12 people.
In a video address to the Lebanese people, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “We have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will bring the kind of destruction and suffering we see in Gaza.”
“I say to the Lebanese people: To end this war, liberate your country from Hezbollah.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu also claimed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had killed the successor to Hezbollah’s late leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“We have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities. We have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, Nasrallah’s successors, and his successors.”
High-ranking Hezbollah official Hashem Saffieddin, widely tipped to succeed his cousin Nasrallah, has not been seen in public since an Israeli airstrike reportedly targeted him in Beirut last Thursday. are.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said Tuesday night that it could not be confirmed that Mr. Saffieddin died in the attack, adding that the results of the operation were being reviewed.
Hezbollah remains defiant despite three weeks of heavy Israeli and other attacks that have left more than 1,400 people dead and another 1.2 million displaced, according to Lebanese authorities. I keep it.
Earlier on Tuesday, Naim Qassem, Nasrallah’s former vice president, claimed that Hezbollah had overcome the recent “severe blows” from Israel and that its capabilities were “fine.”
Israel is on the offensive after nearly a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the Gaza war, with thousands of Israeli border residents displaced by Hezbollah rockets, missiles and drone attacks. He said he wanted to ensure the safe return of everyone.
Hostilities have steadily escalated since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of the Palestinians on October 8, 2023, a day after a deadly attack on southern Israel by its ally Hamas.
Reuters
Many displaced Lebanese live in vacant lots in Beirut, including parking lots.
On Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces announced that reservists from the 146th Division had begun “limited, localized and targeted operations” in southwestern Lebanon.
They join three standing army divisions that have been operating in south-central and eastern Lebanon since the invasion began on September 30, bringing the total number of deployed soldiers to more than 15,000.
The Israel Defense Forces said its troops took control of a Hezbollah “combat facility” in the border village of Maroun al-Ras, and seized what was described as a loaded rocket launcher in an olive grove, as well as weapons and equipment inside. They announced that they have released a photo showing this. residential building.
Meanwhile, drone footage showed widespread destruction in the nearby village of Yaloun, the initial target of the invasion.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon and the UN Peacekeeping Force Commander warned in a joint statement that the humanitarian impact of the conflict was “nothing short of devastating”.
The Lebanese government says up to 1.2 million people have fled their homes in the past year. Approximately 180,000 people are housed in approved refugee centers.
Additionally, more than 400,000 people, including more than 200,000 Syrian refugees, have taken refuge in war-torn Syria, a situation the UN refugee agency chief described as one of “tragic absurdity”.
The World Food Program said there was “particular concern about Lebanon’s ability to continue to feed itself” as thousands of hectares of farmland were burned or abandoned.
AFP
An apartment building in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Yam was damaged by Hezbollah rockets on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces also announced that its aircraft carried out new strikes on Tuesday against Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other parts of Lebanon, where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
Earlier, it announced that Hezbollah headquarters commander Suhail Husseini had been killed in an attack in the capital on Monday.
Hezbollah did not comment on the allegations. But if confirmed, it would be the latest in a series of serious blows Israel has dealt to the group, with Hassan Nasrallah and most of its military commanders killed in similar attacks in recent days.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader said in a defiant televised address from an undisclosed location on Tuesday that Hezbollah’s command and control is “solid” and “there are no vacancies,” citing Israeli attacks in recent days.
“We are inflicting damage on them and we are going to extend the time. Dozens of cities are within range of Resistance missiles. We assure you that our capabilities are fine,” Naim Qassem said. spoke.
However, for the first time, Hezbollah did not mention ending the war in Gaza as a precondition for not ceasing its attacks on Israel until the conflict ends.
“We support the political efforts of (Lebanese parliament speaker) Nabi Berri towards a ceasefire,” Qasem said in a televised address.
“Once there is a ceasefire, diplomacy will be able to investigate all other details.”
It is not clear whether this signifies a change in Hezbollah’s position.
The speech coincided with the firing of more than 100 rockets into the Gulf of Haifa and the Lower, Middle, and Upper Galilee regions.
The Israel Defense Forces said most of the rockets were intercepted. There were no serious casualties.
Haifa was hit hard on Sunday night. This had not happened since 2006, when Israel and Hezbollah last fought a war.
