The Middle East is on the brink of the abyss – Israel’s new hammering in Lebanon – 2024-10-03 07:59:26

At least six people were killed during Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, specifically Beirut, a day after ground fighting in southern Lebanon killed eight Israeli soldiers.

One of the raids in the Lebanese capital hit an Iranian-backed Hezbollah “civil protection center” in Basura, in the heart of the city.

The Israeli army has issued a new order for the urgent evacuation of civilians from areas of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Haret Khraik, Burj al-Barazna and Hadath Garb, where new bombings against members or installations of Hezbollah are announced.

The Air Force intercepted a suspicious aerial target off the coast of Gush Dan @ItayBlumental @Itsik_zuarets

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday condemned the “heartbreaking cycle” of violence in the region on the brink of the “abyss” addressing the Security Council, which was convened for an emergency meeting.

Iran and Israel threats

The Israeli armed forces killed three people in Damascus on Wednesday, including the son-in-law of the leader of the Shiite movement Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in September in a southern suburb of Beirut.

“Hassan Ja’far al-Kashir, son-in-law of Hassan Nasrallah, is one of two Lebanese victims of an Israeli raid on an apartment building in the Mezza neighborhood of Damascus,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

An AFP source in Hezbollah confirmed the information, clarifying that Hassan’s brother Jafar al-Kashir, Jafar al-Kashir, was responsible for the transfer of weapons from Iran to Lebanon. Israel announced that it killed the second brother in a strike in a southern district of Beirut yesterday Tuesday.

On the same day, Iran launched its second direct attack on Israel in about six months. The two countries then exchanged threats of retaliation. “Iran made a big mistake (…) and will pay for it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Biden against nuclear attacks

US President Joe Biden assured yesterday that the US opposes Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, after reaffirming his “full” support for Israel the previous day.

Iranian President Massoud Pezheskian, for his part, promised that there would be a “stronger retribution” in the event of Israeli retaliation, while insisting that the Islamic Republic does not seek “war.”

The military escalation between Israel and its allies on the one hand, Iran and Hezbollah on the other, intensifies the concern that the situation in the Middle East is getting out of control, one year after the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip triggered by the unprecedented raid by the Palestinian Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, in the southern part of the Israeli territory.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday condemned the “heartbreaking cycle” of violence in the region on the brink of the “abyss” addressing the Security Council, which was convened for an emergency meeting.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned yesterday via X that Lebanon’s hospitals have been “overwhelmed” with wounded. “The health system has been weakened by successive crises and is struggling to cope with the enormous needs,” he added.

“The town became a ghost”

According to Lebanese authorities, at least 1,928 people have been killed since October 2023.

Residents of Beirut are being evacuated from their homes. “The neighborhood has become a ghost town,” said Mohammad, 31, who decided to stay but asked his parents, sister and nieces, who fled south Lebanon for his home, to leave for more safe place.

According to Lebanon’s health ministry, more than 1,000 people have been killed since the September 17 and 18 bombings of Hezbollah communications devices attributed to Israel, and massive airstrikes began on September 23.

The government estimates that approximately 1.2 million Lebanese citizens have been forced to flee their homes due to Israeli military operations. Meanwhile, the military arm of Hamas yesterday claimed responsibility for an attack the day before in Tel Aviv, in which seven people were killed.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP