Israel raided southern Lebanon on Thursday and struck areas of Beirut, expanding its offensive and launching attacks near the country’s capital for the first time in weeks despite a fragile ceasefire.
Lebanese military sources said it was the second such attack on an apartment south of Beirut since the truce between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah came into effect on April 17 after the war broke out in early March.
The escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday and U.S.-brokered talks early next week, the fourth round since the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc on Thursday urged Lebanese authorities to withdraw from talks and accused Israel of “seeking to implement security coordination to facilitate its aggression” in military talks.
Lebanese authorities said the violent attack killed at least 14 people, including three children. The Israeli military said the attack “precisely hit Beirut” but did not specify its target.
A Lebanese military source, who requested anonymity, told AFP the attack “targeted an apartment in the Choueifat area”.
AFP footage showed thick smoke rising from the edge of the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Hezbollah stronghold.
An AFP reporter said the first two floors of a residential building were damaged and residents were seen packing up their cars and leaving.
It was the second Israeli attack on south Beirut since a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah was due to take effect on April 17 but was never observed.
-“deeply concerned”-
Each side accused the other of violating the armistice and used the other’s alleged violations to justify its attacks.
Hezbollah claimed on Thursday that Israeli forces in southern Lebanon had been hit by about 20 attacks, including rockets and drones.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, expressed concern and called on both sides to respect the ceasefire.
The UNIFIL peacekeeping force in Lebanon said “some 670 artillery shells were fired on Wednesday, the highest level since April 17.”
The Lebanese Health Ministry said Israeli attacks since then have killed 3,324 people, an increase of 55 from the previous day.
The Israeli army said in a statement that “some 2,500 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated” since March, including 800 since the ceasefire was announced.
An Israeli military official said Thursday that some 400 explosive drones have been launched at Israeli targets since the ceasefire.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River about 40 kilometers from the border, including the cities of Tyre and Nabatiyah, a “war zone” and ordered residents to evacuate, after Israel vowed this week to step up its operations in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s state-run state news agency reported Israeli attacks on multiple locations in southern Lebanon, some of which resulted in casualties, including successive attacks on the city of Nabatyeh, one of which it said destroyed a mosque.
-“Collective Punishment”-
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli airstrikes hit the southern cities of Tyre and Sidon, AFP reporters said.
AFP footage showed a fireball followed by smoke after an attack on a building in the archaeological area of Tire.
Resident Gazouan Halawani told AFP he believed Israel wanted to attack the ancient city’s “history and its civilization”.
“We stay here. This is our country, our land, our life,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on the 1st that “nothing can justify the continued attacks on the Tire and Nabaatih areas and the destruction of historical landmarks in these areas” and condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks and evacuation orders as “collective punishment.”
The Lebanese Health Ministry said an attack in Tyre killed two Syrians, including a child, and another in Sidon killed five people, including two women.
Another car attack in Adlon in southern Lebanon killed six people, “including two children, their mother and father,” the report said.
The Lebanese military said another attack killed a soldier “while driving” in the Nabatiyah area.
Lebanon is embroiled in a Middle East war, with Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel after Iran’s top leader was killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack, prompting an Israeli attack and ground invasion.
Iran insists any deal to end the wider conflict must apply to Lebanon.
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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
