Khaberni - Lebanon witnessed on Wednesday evening a military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, after a series of Israeli raids targeted areas in Beirut and the south of the country, coinciding with rocket attacks announced by the party against Israeli forces in the south.
The National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone targeted a car on the highway leading to the airport, before a second car was targeted minutes later in the vicinity of the same place.
For its part, the Israeli army stated that the two raids targeted two Hezbollah elements in Beirut within less than an hour, without providing further details about their identities, while Channel 12 Israeli reported that one of the targeted individuals is responsible for managing fires in the party.
Al Jazeera correspondent reported that an Israeli raid targeted the Amrousieh area in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Channel 12 Israeli reported that the Israeli army carried out a warning strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after issuing an evacuation order for a building in Haret Hreik.
Worsening humanitarian situation
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that 3 people were killed and 6 others were injured, due to two Israeli raids targeting two cars on the Beirut airport road in the southern suburb of Beirut.
Yesterday, Wednesday, 6 people were killed and 15 others were injured in a raid that targeted a four-story residential building in the city of Baalbek in the east of the country, while another raid targeted a hotel in the Hazmiyeh area near Beirut.
The United Nations confirmed that about 60,000 people have been displaced due to the fighting since the beginning of the latest escalation last Monday, while the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that 72 people were killed and 437 others were injured due to the Israeli raids on Lebanon.
Raids against rockets
In turn, the Israeli army stated that it completed a wave of raids across Lebanon, targeting what it described as military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, and the army mentioned that it attacked dozens of military targets belonging to the party in Lebanon.
The army spokesperson stated that the attacks included rocket and mortar launching sites, and rocket launching platforms south of the Litani River, and a workshop for producing drones.
The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Evi Deverin, said that the Israeli army attacked more than 250 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon within 48 hours.
Hezbollah attacks
Conversely, Hezbollah announced the execution of several rocket attacks against the Israeli army forces in southern Lebanon, and said in successive statements that it targeted Israeli forces in Khallet Wadi al-Asfour in the city of Al-Khiyam with rocket salvos, confirming the execution of the attack more than once.
Hezbollah also said that it attacked with a fleet of drones the Ain Zaitim base north of the city of Safed.
In his first speech since the escalation began, Hezbollah's Secretary-General Naim Qassem said that the Israeli attacks on Lebanon represent "a planned aggression", and confirmed that the party "will not surrender" no matter the sacrifices, adding that the response to the Israeli attacks will continue.
Israeli media also confirmed the detection of 8 rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel where the sirens were not activated, while sirens were activated in the Golan Heights and the city of Kiryat Shmona after detecting a drone from Lebanon.
Israeli incursion
The Israeli army announced the launch of an "offensive battle" against Hezbollah, conducting a series of raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut and areas in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army issued immediate evacuation orders for residents of vast areas in southern Lebanon, asking them to move north of the Litani River, and a military spokesperson published a map of the area covered by the warning, which represents about 8% of Lebanon's area.
According to a Lebanese security official reported by Reuters, the Israeli army has entered at least 9 towns in southern Lebanon during recent operations, while the Lebanese army said it had redeployed some of its forces from border locations due to Israeli incursions.
The Israeli army also announced that two soldiers were injured by anti-tank fire in southern Lebanon, the first injuries announced in its ranks since the beginning of the escalation.
However, Israel imposes strict censorship on the publication of losses due to falling or intercepting missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, and also prohibits the circulation of any visuals in this regard.
The escalation in Lebanon occurs in the context of the expansion of the confrontation in the region following the US-Israeli war on Iran, which led to Hezbollah's direct involvement in the confrontation, after the party launched - last Monday - rocket attacks on Israel, which it said were in response to the attacks targeting Iran, and primarily led to the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
