It said the attack in Beirut took place near an area where several Hezbollah facilities are located. Witnesses reported at least two large explosions in the affected area in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Ambulances rushed to the scene to see smoke rising. This place is considered a Hezbollah stronghold.
A top military commander named Ibrahim Akil was killed there last week. The airstrike hit one floor of a multi-storey building where Sroor, who went by the alias Abu Saleh, lived. At least two people were killed and 15 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. According to officials, at least 92 people were killed in a single day. More than 150 people were injured.
220 Attacks: Border crossings with Syria targeted
According to the military, the Israeli air force struck 220 targets of the militant Islamist group Hezbollah over the course of the day – including several along the border with Lebanon and Syria. It is said to be infrastructure used by Hezbollah. Hezbollah is using routes to bring weapons from Syria to Lebanon, the Israeli military said Thursday.
Lebanese security sources said four border crossings had been hit since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon began on Monday. Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamijah said the Israeli strike hit the Syrian end of the small bridge leading from Syria to Lebanon.
The exchange of fire continues
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported an attack on a border crossing in the area around the Syrian town of Qusayr, near the border with Lebanon. Many were injured. It was Israel’s first attack on Syrian territory since the escalation began.
The mutual shelling continued on Thursday. The Israeli military announced this morning that the western part of the Galilee in northern Israel had been hit by 45 bullets from Lebanon. Some of them were intercepted by missile defenses. The rest fell in open areas.
A cease-fire was not agreed upon
Meanwhile, Netanyahu called on the Israeli military to continue fighting Hezbollah “with full force.” His office made the announcement on Thursday. Netanyahu’s office also denied television reports that he had called for a green light for a ceasefire with pro-Iranian Hezbollah. N12 TV reported on Thursday that Netanyahu spoke in favor of a ceasefire. Netanyahu’s office said the report was false.
Netanyahu’s office also addressed a ceasefire called for by the United States and several allies. “This is a US-French plan, to which the prime minister has not responded,” Netanyahu’s office said at lunchtime.
Katz: Until victory
Right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smodrich, who is from Netanyahu’s coalition in Jerusalem, had earlier strongly criticized a possible cease-fire. Likud’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz also rejected suggestions for a ceasefire. “There will be no ceasefire in the North,” Katz said on X on Thursday. We will fight with all our strength until Hezbollah wins against the terrorist organization and the residents of the North return to their homes safely.
Pentagon chief warns of “all-out war”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned of “all-out war” between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. Austin said Thursday that it could be “disastrous” for both parties. He called on both sides in the conflict to choose a “different path”. Despite the strong escalation, a diplomatic solution is still possible. Such a solution is the only way to ensure the return of displaced civilians on both sides, Austin continued.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated on Thursday that numerous states are calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanese border. Blinken also pointed to pressure at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday for a 21-day ceasefire called by the leading Arab nations, the G-7 and the European Union. “The world reveals itself clearly. “All major countries in Europe and the region are in favor of a ceasefire,” Blinken told US broadcaster MSNBC.
EU: No security without peace
EU Council President Charles Michel urged the Israeli government to break its spiral of expansion in the Middle East for its own benefit. Requests to the Israeli government have so far been unsuccessful.
The Palestinian people have the right to their own state. Without it, Michael said, it would “undermine the security of Israel and all Jews.” Addressing the Israeli government, he added: “Trying to achieve security without peace is impossible. Without peace there can be no lasting security.”
Israel said it received an $8.7 billion U.S. aid package to support its ongoing military efforts. 3.5 billion in essential wartime procurement of this package, which has already been received and earmarked for critical military procurement. It also has 5.2 billion for air defense systems.
Abbas before UN: Stop arms supply to Israel
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community to stop supplying Israel with weapons. “Stop this crime, stop the killing of children and women, stop the genocide, stop supplying Israel with weapons,” Abbas said in a public debate at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. “This madness must not continue. The whole world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.
Tens of thousands are in emergency camps
In Lebanon, tens of thousands of people have taken refuge in emergency shelters. 70,100 displaced people are currently registered in 533 emergency centers, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told a press conference in the capital, Beirut. Some 90,000 people have been newly displaced since Monday, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday, citing Lebanese officials.
The day after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah sided with Hamas and has been shelling Israel ever since. As a precaution, Israel evacuated tens of thousands of people from the border area. As of last week, Hamas has held more than 100 hostages north of Gaza, the center of Israel’s fight against the radical Islamists Hamas and the radical Islamist Hezbollah.