Beirut (AFP) – Israeli raids on southern Lebanon on Thursday night resulted in the killing of at least five fighters from Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, according to what both parties reported, at a time when the exchange of bombing on the border raises fears of a widening scope of escalation against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
Published on: 02/16/2024 – 09:16 Last updated: 02/16/2024 – 09:13
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According to the National News Agency, Israeli aircraft carried out raids after midnight on homes in the towns of Naqoura, Jabal al-Labouneh, Alma al-Shaab, Tayr Harfa and Yarin, causing “severe damage” to property and crops.
According to the agency, a raid on a house in the town of Qantara led to the killing of three young men, who were named by the Amal Movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. She said in successive statements that each of them “was martyred while carrying out his national and jihadist duty in defense of Lebanon and the south.”
The day after he mourned four fighters, Hezbollah announced in the morning the killing of two of its members. It said that each of them “rose as a martyr on the road to Jerusalem,” a phrase it uses to mourn its members who have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the escalation.
Southern Lebanon and northern Israel witnessed a major escalation on Wednesday, with the Hebrew state launching a series of air strikes on several towns, one of which was about 25 kilometers from the border, shortly after the killing of an Israeli soldier in Safed by a missile fired from southern Lebanon, for which no party claimed responsibility.
The raids on Wednesday led to the killing of 15 people, including at least ten civilians, seven of whom were from one family, in a strike that targeted the city of Nabatieh. Three Hezbollah members were killed in the same raid, one of whom the Israeli army presented as a leader from the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s elite forces. Hezbollah announced on Thursday night that it had targeted northern Israel with dozens of missiles “in response” to the killing of civilians.
The death toll on Wednesday is the highest in one day since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging cross-border bombing more than four months ago.
The party’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, will speak on Friday afternoon at a party celebration.
Since the day after the attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah has announced the targeting of Israeli military sites and points in support of Gaza and “in support of its resistance.” The Israeli army responds with air and artillery bombardment, which it says targets the party’s “infrastructure” and the movements of fighters near the border.
Since the start of the escalation, 268 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 187 Hezbollah members and 40 civilians, including three journalists, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. In Israel, the army counted the deaths of ten soldiers and six civilians.
© 2024 AFP
2024-02-16 08:16:06
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