The latest exchange is likely to raise concerns that the near-daily exchange of fire between the two sides could escalate, even as U.S. officials said talks on a Gaza ceasefire are nearing their final stages. (Representational Image). Photo: Bloomberg
By Omar Tamo
Hezbollah said it fired a salvo of rockets into northern Israel in one of the deadliest attacks on Lebanon since the two sides began fighting more than 10 months ago.
Saturday’s barrage on Israel’s Upper Galilee came after the Israel Defense Forces said it hit a Hezbollah weapons depot in Nabatieh, along with other Hezbollah structures in southern Lebanon. Ten Syrian nationals were killed and five others were wounded, including two in critical condition, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military identified about 55 projectiles that crossed from Lebanon, some of which fell in open areas. No injuries were reported, while multiple fires were started and authorities are working to extinguish them. A projectile fired earlier on Saturday injured two soldiers.
A commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force has been killed in the Israeli army’s attack on southern Lebanon, the army said in a message on X.
The latest exchange is likely to raise concerns that the near-daily gun battles between the two sides will escalate, even as US officials say talks on a ceasefire in Gaza are in their final stages.
Tensions have risen in recent weeks after Israel blamed Hezbollah for an attack that killed 12 teenagers on a soccer field in the Golan Heights. Israel retaliated by targeting and killing a senior commander of the Iran-backed militant group in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., said the killing of the commander, Fuad Shukr, crossed a red line and threatened to respond forcefully.
Hezbollah, one of the Middle East’s most powerful militias, has been firing into Israel since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October. The Lebanon-based group has said it stands in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas and will stop once a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
Later on Saturday, Lebanon’s state-owned Electricite Du Liban warned of a “total blackout” after it ran out of gas oil due to the ongoing conflict. The last remaining production unit at the Zahrani power plant was “forced to shut down”, affecting the country’s airport, ports, water pumps, sewage systems and prisons, the state-owned National News Agency reported.
First publication: Aug 17, 2024 | 11:36 PM IST