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Israel says it carried out strike on Hezbollah HQ near Beirut
Israel announced Friday that it had carried out an airstrike on Hezbollah’s “headquarters” in Beirut, shortly after its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, committed to the United Nations to continue striking the pro-Iranian armed movement. Shortly after the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, the Israeli army announced a “precise strike” on Hezbollah’s “headquarters” in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, targeted by this strike according to several Israeli television channels, “is doing well”, a source close to the Lebanese Islamist movement assured AFP. According to the same source, six buildings were completely destroyed in the area, the scene, according to a video obtained by AFP, of huge explosions which raised thick columns of smoke. An AFP photographer reported scenes of panic, with residents fleeing the area, which is home to many apartment buildings, in a hurry, to the sound of ambulance sirens. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati denounced a “genocidal war” led by Israel. The UN expressed its “deep concern” and Washington, Israel’s unconditional ally, claimed not to have been informed of this strike. “As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no other choice,” Mr. Netanyahu had recently affirmed, on the fifth day of the deadly airstrikes carried out by his army against the Lebanese formation, which fired rockets again towards Israeli territory. These operations will continue “until all our objectives are achieved”, added Mr. Netanyahu, before the UN General Assembly, in a speech boycotted by several delegations, dashing hopes of a temporary truce of 21 days proposed Wednesday by France and the United States joined by many Western and Arab countries. – “Insane” – Since Monday, the massive Israeli bombings aimed at weakening Hezbollah, supported by Iran and ally of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, left more than 700 dead, mostly civilians according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The Israeli army also indicated that it was preparing for a possible ground incursion against Hezbollah, which would be “as short” as possible, an Israeli security official assured Friday. “It doesn’t make sense that soldiers are going to die in there. It’s insane,” reacted Ohad Weber, 36, a resident of Tel Aviv, after the Prime Minister’s speech. At midday, the Israeli army had already reported “dozens of strikes” against Hezbollah, whose rockets have targeted northern Israel almost daily since the unprecedented attack launched on October 7, 2023 by Hamas on Israeli soil, which sparked the war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its attacks “until the end of the aggression in Gaza.” More than 1,500 people have been killed in Lebanon in almost a year, according to Beirut, more than the 1,200 dead in 33 days war between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist group in 2006. UNICEF was alarmed by the “frightening rate” at which children are being killed, as well as the damage to civilian installations such as pumping stations. – “All displaced” – Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing against Israel on Friday in the Kyriat Ata sector, in Haifa Bay, which is home to many industries, particularly defense industries, and on the city of Tiberias, at a distance of thirty kilometers south of the border. The Israeli army also indicated that it had intercepted four drones fired from Lebanon towards the Rosh Hanikra border area and responded to a rocket attack towards Haifa, the major port in northern Israel. Five Syrian soldiers were also killed in an Israeli strike near the border with Lebanon, according to the official Sana agency. Israeli bombings threw 118,000 people onto the roads in Lebanon this week, according to the UN. In Baakline, southeast of Beirut, Hala Zeidane has been welcoming displaced people from southern Lebanon since Monday, two sisters and the little boy of one of them, aged 10. “This is our country and (…) we could all become displaced people. We must show compassion,” explains this 61-year-old teacher. – “Devastating war” – Echoing many other leaders, the secretary American Defense Minister Lloyd Austin warned Thursday against a “total war” which “would be devastating for Israel and Lebanon”, estimating that a ceasefire could also make it possible to conclude a truce agreement in Gaza.Israel , which has shifted the center of gravity of the war from the Gaza Strip in the south to the border with Lebanon in the north, claims to be operating against Hezbollah to allow the return of tens of thousands of residents who fled its rocket fire. According to the Israeli government, 9,360 rockets and missiles have been fired at Israel in almost a year. The Israeli army also indicated that it had intercepted a missile fired in the night from Yemen. The Houthi rebels, also supported by Iran, claimed responsibility for a missile and drone attack in Israel. In Gaza, “we will fight until we achieve victory, total victory” if Hamas does not lay down its arms and does not release all the hostages, Mr. Netanyahu also insisted at the UN podium. Hamas in return accused the Israeli leader of “intensifying his threats against the people of the region, while continuing his cycle of crimes to include (le) Lebanon”. In the small besieged Palestinian territory, Israel continues its offensive, launched in response to the Hamas attack which led to the death of 1,205 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures including the hostages. dead or killed in Gaza. Of 251 people kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, 33 of whom are declared dead by the army. In retaliation, Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization as are the United States and the European Union. Its offensive has so far left 41,534 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN, causing a humanitarian disaster.bur-cab/feb
