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The Israeli army announced the launching of two large waves of intensive air strikes on areas and towns in South Lebanon Yesterday evening, Thursday, was considered the most violent since the beginning of the war, and the strikes included, according to the Israeli military statement, 100 launch pads and military infrastructure.Hezbollah It includes a thousand nozzles for missiles that were immediately ready to be launched. The Israeli army admitted to killing an officer and a soldier on the border with Lebanon, while Hezbollah announced launching 17 attacks on soldiers, sites, military vehicles and settlements in northern Israel in the largest number of attacks launched by the party in 3 months and the fourth largest daily rate of attacks since the war began about a year ago.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed that military operations against Hezbollah would continue, even though what he described as the new phase of the war involved great risks in order to return the residents of the north to their towns.
Channel 14 correspondent reported that as of this evening, Lebanon has become Israel's main battlefield, not Gaza. He added, “In the Gaza Strip, our forces will remain firmly in control of the Netzarim and Philadelphi axes, in the West Bank our forces will continue their operations with as few forces as possible, and in Lebanon we will go all out.”
The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported tonight, citing sources, that a wave of attacks had taken place on 70 targets within 20 minutes in southern Lebanon.
In turn, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority confirmed that more than 50 Hezbollah sites were targeted throughout Lebanon during the second wave of strikes.
The Israeli authority also quoted an official as saying, “We are working to exploit the developments to push Hezbollah to give the green light for a diplomatic solution.”
The Israeli army radio said that the air force is launching a wide wave of attacks in southern Lebanon for the second time today.
Reuters quoted three Lebanese security sources as saying that Israel carried out dozens of strikes yesterday across southern Lebanon, describing them as some of the most violent strikes since the war began on October 8.
Al Jazeera's correspondent confirmed that more than 30 raids took place on areas in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, noting that Israel bombed sites near the Litani River and Mahmoudiyah in southern Lebanon with about 30 missiles.
The correspondent spoke about heavy warplane flights in central Israel, as part of a second wave of raids targeting southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced in a statement that an Israeli airstrike on the town of Al-Haniya resulted in 4 Lebanese and 3 Palestinians sustaining minor injuries, and they were treated in the emergency department.
Coinciding with the new wave of strikes, the occupation army announced maneuvers in training areas in northern Israel at the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army asked the residents of Safed and its surroundings, all of the northern and central Golan, all of the Upper Galilee, the Galilee Finger and the Western Galilee, up to areas 20 kilometers away, to stay near shelters.
Hezbollah attacks
In return, Hezbollah announced launching 17 attacks on soldiers, sites, military vehicles, and settlements in the Galilee, the Golan Heights, and the occupied Kfar Shuba Hills, in the largest number of attacks launched by the party against Israel in 98 days, and the fourth largest daily rate of attacks since the exchange of fire between the two sides began about a year ago.
The party said that it attacked with squadrons of suicide drones the newly established headquarters of the Israeli Western Brigade in Yaara, and the artillery positions in Beit Hillel. It also announced that its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Marj site, killing and wounding them. It confirmed that it shelled the Israeli Hanita site with artillery, achieving direct hits, and targeted the Ramia site and the Zar'it barracks with rockets and artillery.
Al Jazeera's correspondent said that air raid sirens sounded in Matula in the eastern sector of the border with Lebanon, adding that the settlement of Matula was targeted by a number of missiles from southern Lebanon. He pointed out that the electricity was cut off as a result of the intense missile attacks.
Large fires also broke out in Matula as a result of the bombing. Israeli media reported that 4 firefighting crews have been working for more than two hours to put out the fires.
Israeli sources confirmed that one person was slightly injured and that homes were damaged.
According to the mayor of Matula, 7 rockets were launched from southern Lebanon, damaging buildings and causing fires. For its part, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted buildings used by occupation soldiers in the settlement of Matula, saying that the attack had achieved a direct hit.
The day before yesterday, Hezbollah threatened Israel with “severe punishment” in response to an attack that caused the explosion of thousands of devices. Pager Wireless in Lebanon, which the party relies on for its communications, stressing that it will continue at the same time its daily operations to support Gaza Strip In the face of the Israeli war.
American position
In a related development, the White House said that President Joe Biden still believes that reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is possible and that it could lead to a reduction in tensions in the region. White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre indicated – in a press briefing – that the Biden administration is concerned about the potential escalation in the Middle East, noting that Washington does not want to see an escalation in the region.
Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the United States does not support Israeli ground operations in Gaza or the north against Hezbollah, warning against escalation and stressing that the Pentagon prioritizes diplomacy. Singh added, during a press briefing, that her country's forces in the Middle East will defend Israel when needed.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior American official as saying that Washington's envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to authorize a war against Hezbollah.
The US official added to the newspaper that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's impression is that Israel is studying new military options for Lebanon.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, the US official expressed the Biden administration's concern that the situation between Israel and Hezbollah could get out of hand.
In a related context, the Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying that they do not yet see any indications of an imminent Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
These officials said that Israel may order a smaller operation but more quickly without major military movements.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times quoted an informed source as saying that there is no alternative in the minds of Israeli political and security leaders to a military operation in Lebanon. The source added that Israeli officials want a limited campaign in southern Lebanon, while others prefer a broader attack.
An Israeli official considered it sad that the war and bloodshed would end with the same diplomatic solution now on the table – according to the Financial Times – adding that without a ceasefire in Gaza and if the escalation continues in the north, there will be no agreement with Hezbollah.
The Israeli Prime Minister and the army leaders are under great internal pressure to return the northern settlers to the areas from which they were displaced when the war with Hezbollah began. The Security and Political Cabinet recently included the return of the northern settlers among the goals of the current war.
According to Israeli media, about 120,000 Israelis have been evacuated from the north and south since the beginning of the war on Gaza to hotels in various parts of Israel.
Since October 8, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon – including Hezbollah – have been exchanging daily shelling with the Israeli army across the Blue Line, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, most of them on the Lebanese side.
These factions demand an end to the war waged by Israel with American support on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, which has left more than 136,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.
