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Lebanon: the Israeli army intensifies its strikes and confronts Hezbollah on the ground
Israel intensified its strikes in Lebanon on Sunday, in and beyond Hezbollah strongholds, and is carrying out ground fighting against the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement in areas close to the border, in the south of the country relentlessly shelled by its army. Hezbollah reported for the first time “close fighting” and indicated that it had repelled two infiltration attempts by Israeli troops early on Sunday, near the village of Ramia, not far from the border. For its part, Hezbollah Israeli army spoke of “targeted and limited operational activity” in southern Lebanon, before reporting “face-to-face fighting” with Hezbollah. It announced that its soldiers had captured a fighter from the Lebanese movement in a tunnel in southern Lebanon, the first announcement of this type since the launch of its cross-border ground offensive at the end of September. After weakening Hamas in Gaza, Israel moved the front of the war to Lebanon in September, with the objective of distancing Hezbollah from the border and to allow the return to northern Israel of some 60,000 inhabitants displaced by rocket fire, triggered by the Lebanese armed formation from October 8, 2023 in support of the Palestinian Islamist movement. Again Sunday, the Israeli army indicated having intercepted five projectiles coming from Lebanon. The war in Lebanon and that of Gaza triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 on Israeli soil, are accompanied by an escalation between Israel and the Iran, Israeli leaders threaten to retaliate for an Iranian missile attack on October 1. – “Like an earthquake” – According to the official Lebanese news agency Ani, an Israeli strike targeted a market in the southern city of Nabatiyeh on Saturday evening from Lebanon. Between the walls of collapsed stores, the columns of acrid smoke and the mountains of charred debris, rescuers were still working on Sunday morning. A few onlookers noted, startled, the damage caused by the strike. Among them, Tareq Sadaqa, still can’t believe his eyes: “it’s as if an earthquake had ravaged the market,” he told AFP. “Everything was destroyed, even the little bistro on the corner where we drank our coffee in the morning.” The Israeli army had recently called on the inhabitants of 25 localities, including those of Nabatiyeh, to leave towards the north. She ordered them on Saturday not to return there. “Nabatiyeh is like our mother, so I stay,” insists Mr. Sadaqa. After the intensification on September 23 of Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, tens of thousands of families fled this region, according to the UN. According to ANI, Israel has intensified since midnight its air strikes and heavy weapons fire on villages in the south of the country, a traditional stronghold of Hezbollah. A strike “around 3:45 a.m.” (00:45 GMT) destroyed “completely” an ancient mosque in the center of the village of Kfar Tebnit, she added. The Lebanese Red Cross reported for its part that several of its rescuers were injured Sunday in a strike on a house in southern Lebanon where they had been dispatched “in coordination” with the United Nations Interim Force deployed in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) which acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon. The front opened in October 2023 by Hezbollah against Israel, in support of Hamas, turned into open war on September 23 with the start of intense Israeli bombardments on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, killing in particular the leader of the movement Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli army then launched a ground offensive on September 30 in the southern Lebanon, fueling fears of a regional conflagration. – “Catastrophic” – In an interview with AFP, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti warned of “a catastrophic impact for all”. Israel came under fire on Friday after UNIFIL accused Israeli troops of “repeatedly” and “deliberately” firing on its positions. Five peacekeepers were injured in 48 hours, according to UNIFIL. Israel said it had fired in the direction of a “threat”, before telling Washington on Sunday that it “will continue” to work to avoid harming UNIFIL forces. Since October 2023, more than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon, including more than 1,200 since September 23, according to an AFP count based on official figures. The UN has recorded nearly 700,000 displaced people. – Offensive in Jabalia – In the devastated and besieged Gaza Strip, the Israeli army continued its offensive, mainly shelling the region of Jabalia (north), where it accuses Hamas of seeking to reconstitute its forces. On Sunday, its army indicated that it had eliminated “dozens” of fighters in the Jabalia sector and struck “40 targets”. The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 led to the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, in majority of civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in Gaza. At least 42,227 Palestinians were killed, the majority civilians, in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN.bur-ila/feb
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