BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel launched more intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon, and the Hezbollah group said it launched drone and missile strikes on Israeli targets on Wednesday, while Minister Israeli Defense Yoav Galant warns of a “hot summer” in the border area.
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine said that the Israeli attacks killed three Palestinian fighters from the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the movement. Hezbollah also reported that at least one of its fighters was killed.
Security sources said the Israeli attacks killed three people in Lebanon.
The conflict has been ongoing between Hezbollah and Israel since October, in parallel with the Gaza war, causing the displacement of tens of thousands on both sides of the border and raising fears of a larger war breaking out. out between the two rivals, and each of them has property. a large arsenal of weapons.
The Israeli army said it struck military bases and infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah in three locations in southern Lebanon, including more than 20 strikes on Hezbollah targets in the town of Ramieh.
Hezbollah said it launched “attack marches on the headquarters of the newly formed Western Brigade in the Israeli border town of Yara and hit the target accurately, and aimed at the headquarters of the 91st Division in Pranit barracks with high caliber Burkan missile. and he received a direct hit,” and that was among at least 10 attacks that Hezbollah announced on Wednesday.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the Israeli strikes targeted 28 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold. Two Lebanese security sources said the Israelis used surface-to-surface missiles in an apparent attempt to hit Hezbollah’s underground strongholds.
The Israeli army said that it was possible to find out that secondary explosions occurred during the attack launched by the artillery and combat aircraft in the Ramiya area, indicating that there were weapons storage facilities at the site.
The displacement of about 60,000 residents in northern Israel prompted calls to take tougher military action against Hezbollah. Across the border in Lebanon, some 90,000 people were also displaced due to Israeli strikes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, speaking in front of Israeli forces when he visited northern Israel, said that the mission was not completed.
“This summer may be hot,” he said in a video message released by his office.
He said that a diplomatic agreement or a military solution must be reached so that the residents of northern Israel can return to their homes safely and that the Israeli armed forces must be prepared.
The Israeli military said in April that it had completed another step in preparing for a possible war with Hezbollah that focused on logistics, including preparations for a large-scale transfer of reserve troops.
Lebanese sources say more than 250 Hezbollah members and 75 civilians have been killed in Israel’s raids on Lebanon since October. In Israel, about 20 people were killed, including soldiers and civilians.
The current combat operations between Israel and Hezbollah are the most intense confrontations between them since they fought a war in 2006.
Hezbollah has said again that it will cease fire when the Israeli attack in Gaza stops, but it also confirmed that it is prepared to continue fighting if Israel continues to attack Lebanon.
2024-05-08 18:16:12
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