Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah exchanged deadly blows Thursday, as their war rages despite signs of progress in U.S. ceasefire efforts, with airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and gunfire rockets on northern Israel.
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein was in Israel to speak with Israeli officials to try to secure a ceasefire that he said was “within our reach” during a visit to Beirut earlier this week .
The diplomacy represents the most serious attempt yet to end the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed and Iranian-backed Hezbollah amid regional fallout from the Gaza war that erupted more than two years ago. ‘one year.
In southern Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike killed three people in the village of Chaaitiyeh, some 10 km from the border, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
In Israel, a 30-year-old man was killed when shrapnel from a rocket hit a playground in the northern town of Nahariya, Israel’s MDA medical service said.
“The Israeli government does not ensure my security, nor that of my residents, nor that of the residents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to live in such a situation,” declared the mayor of Nahariya, Ronen Marelly, at the public channel Kan.
The Israeli army said around ten rockets were launched from Lebanon towards Nahariya. “Most of the projectiles were intercepted and the fallen projectiles were identified,” the army said in a statement.
Channel 12 said three rockets hit the coastal town.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar television channel, citing its correspondent, confirmed rocket fire in the direction of Nahariya and its surroundings.
Airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, controlled by Hezbollah, shook the capital, raising thick clouds of debris.
The Israeli military issued a statement on X before the strikes, warning residents that they were near Hezbollah targets against which it would soon take action. Residents have largely fled the area since Israel went on the offensive in September.
White House envoy Hochstein returned to Israel after saying progress had been made during two days of negotiations in Lebanon with officials including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who was allowed to negotiate by Iran-backed Hezbollah. Before leaving Beirut, Mr. Hochstein said he was heading to Israel to try to make a deal, if possible.
The diplomacy aims to end a conflict that has caused considerable devastation in Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive, by staging airstrikes in large areas of the country and sending in troops.
Images broadcast by Al Jazeera showed thick smoke rising from the town of Khiyam in southern Lebanon, some 6 km from the border, the focal point of ground fighting between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops.
Israel says its goal is to ensure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from the north of the country due to rocket fire from Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Hezbollah, which has suffered significant losses since the Israeli offensive began in September, continued its rocket attacks on Israel, attacking Tel Aviv this week. Its fighters confront Israeli troops on the ground in the south of the country.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the death toll since October 2023 stands at 3,558 people killed in Lebanon, most of them killed during the Israeli offensive launched in September. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry said 14 deaths were reported Tuesday.
Hezbollah strikes killed more than 100 people in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Among them, more than 70 soldiers were killed in strikes in northern Israel and the Golan Heights, as well as in fighting in southern Lebanon, according to Israel.
