Day 3 of carnage: 51 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.

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Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on September 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad gestures as Turkish medical aid arrives at Beirut International airport, on Sept. 25, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 26 September 2024
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Day 3 of carnage: 51 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.

  • Bombings ‘claiming the lives of innocents,’ UNHCR says
  • Hezbollah escalates rocket attacks in ‘defense of Lebanon and its people’

BEIRUT: The Israeli Air Force continued its airstrikes on dozens of towns in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region on Wednesday, the third day of its war against Hezbollah.

For the first time, the strikes reached deep into Lebanese territory, targeting the predominantly Christian area of Keserwan and the Druze-majority region of Chouf.

The bloody attacks resulted in dozens of civilian casualties and further destruction.

Health Minister Firass Abiad said at least 51 people were killed and 223 wounded in the attacks.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said: “The devastating bombings in Lebanon are claiming the lives of innocents and forcing thousands to flee,” adding that “the losses inflicted on civilians are unacceptable.”

The attacks have been intense over the past 24 hours, with Israeli planes attacking first southern areas then the Bekaa region. Many towns were shelled for the first time.

On Wednesday morning, Hezbollah escalated its rocket attacks on Israeli targets, introducing a new phrase in its official statements, replacing “in support for the Gaza Strip” with “in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

Hezbollah targeted the vicinity of Tel Aviv with a short-range ballistic missile, an action previously unrecorded in conflicts between Israel and Lebanon.

It also targeted Israeli military bases and army headquarters, demonstrating the effectiveness of its offensive weapons.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army counted more than 400 rockets fired by Hezbollah toward the Israeli side. It said the assault was “the highest rate of shelling since the escalation began on Oct. 8, 2023.”

On Wednesday, the army reported “detecting the launch of 40 rockets from Lebanon toward the Upper Galilee, with some intercepted, while a house in Safed was hit, causing a fire but no injuries.”

Municipal officials in Safed urged residents to stay near shelters, while the Israeli Home Front advised the remaining residents of Kiryat Shmona in the Upper Galilee to do the same.

An Israeli army spokesman said that “some rockets from Lebanon fell in the Carmel area and Wadi Ara south of Haifa, with others hitting Zikhron Ya’akov and Bat Shlomo, also south of Haifa, for the first time.”

Israeli media reported that three people were injured in the settlement of Sa’ar, near Nahariya, one of whom was said to be in a critical condition.

In an official statement, Hezbollah said: “The ballistic missile ‘Qader 1’ was aimed at a Mossad headquarters in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, which is responsible for assassinating Hezbollah leaders and blowing up pagers and walkie-talkies.”

The missile traveled more than 100 km, but the Israeli army intercepted it using the David’s Sling air defense system.

Israeli Channel 13 reported that the surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon was directed toward the Glilot base near Herzliya.

The army spokesperson said “the Israeli Air Force detected the surface-to-surface missile launch toward the greater Tel Aviv area this morning and after locating its launch platform in the area of Naffakhiyah in Tyre, it shelled it.”

The Israeli Northern Medical Center said Hezbollah’s attacks resulted in “12 people being lightly injured.”

Hezbollah said it targeted the Hatsor settlement and Dado base “with dozens of rockets.”

Later, Israeli Army Radio reported that about 100 targets in Lebanon were attacked in response to the assault on Tel Aviv.

Israel said its raids targeted Hezbollah artillery sites, which it alleged were situated within residential buildings.

Israeli military resumed shelling villages that had previously been targeted, including ones recently added to the target list in areas north of the Litani line, including the Nabatieh region, Iqlim Al-Tuffah, Zahrani and western, central and northern Bekaa.

For the first time, an Israeli airstrike targeted the town of Al-Maaysra located in the Keserwan District of Mount Lebanon.

The Lebanese Civil Defense reported an initial death toll of three individuals, with nine others injured.

Israel claimed the strike was aimed at Sheikh Mohammed Amr, a Hezbollah official in Mount Lebanon and the north. However, it was later revealed that he was not in the targeted residence, which belonged to his nephew.

The Ministry of Health said that four people were killed and seven injured during an Israeli operation in the mixed-sect town of Joun, located in the Chouf District, predominantly inhabited by Druze.

The raid targeted a three-story residential structure that housed both Lebanese and Syrian residents.

Israeli airstrikes targeted Civil Defense personnel from the Muslim Scout Association in the town of Burj El-Shemali while they were helping residents whose homes had been struck in an earlier attack on the area.

An airstrike targeting the border town of Bint Jbeil resulted in the deaths of three people, while strikes in the Baalbek-Hermel region killed four and injured 38.

Hezbollah mourned the death of three of its members: Abbas Ibrahim Sharaf Al-Din, Hussein Ahmad Awali and Mohammed Hussein Al-Rabbah.

Kamel Karky, a media photographer for Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his home in Qantara.

The Lebanese Red Cross issued repeated calls for blood donations following the depletion of the stocks that had been collected in recent days.

An intense airstrike was carried out by the Israeli military late on Tuesday night against a facility in the coastal town of Jiyeh, 28 km south of Beirut. The repercussions were felt in Beirut, resulting in significant destruction and causing debris and rocks to obstruct the Beirut-South highway for some time.

The Israeli army also conducted an airstrike near the oil facilities in Zahrani, south of Sidon, for the first time.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that an “airstrike on the border town of Tebnine resulted in the deaths of two and injuries to 27 others.”

The Israeli army reiterated in leaflets its request to the residents of the Lebanese border villages who evacuated their homes not to return to them “for your safety due to the presence of weapons or Hezbollah elements, so do not return to your homes until further notice.”

Public education institutions in Beirut and its surrounding areas were transformed into shelters for displaced people, with official agencies estimating their number at about 40,000 since Monday.

There were many complaints regarding a severe shortage of blankets, bedding and other essential supplies.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair, chief of the Lebanese High Relief Commission, said: “Our efforts are focused on meeting essential needs with the resources at our disposal.”

He appealed to “Arab and foreign countries, international organizations and expatriate businessmen to assist the displaced and provide aid to Lebanon during these challenging circumstances.”


Lebanon rocket fire kills two in Israel: first responders

Updated 5 sec ago
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Lebanon rocket fire kills two in Israel: first responders

Emergency medic Dor Vakinin said “we had to determine the death of both of them“

JERUSALEM: Rocket fire from Lebanon killed two men in their 40s in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on Tuesday, first responders said.
Emergency medic Dor Vakinin said a rocket hit a warehouse and after “medical examinations... we had to determine the death of both of them.” A barrage of 10 rockets had been fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement.

UN force says Israeli work on so-called Alpha Line with Syria saw ‘severe violations’ of ceasefire

Updated 33 min 13 sec ago
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UN force says Israeli work on so-called Alpha Line with Syria saw ‘severe violations’ of ceasefire

  • The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other UN peacekeepers have come under fire
  • “Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added
The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other UN peacekeepers have come under fire
“Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added

DUBAI: United Nations peacekeepers warned Tuesday that the Israeli military has committed “severe violations” of a ceasefire deal with Syria as its military continues a major construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
The comments from the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which has patrolled the area since 1974, come after an Associated Press report Monday that published satellite imagery showing the extent of the works along the frontier.
The work, which UNDOF said began in July, follows the completion by the Israeli military of new roadways and what appears to be a buffer zone along the Gaza Strip’s frontier with Israel. The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other UN peacekeepers have come under fire.
While such violence hasn’t broken out along the Alpha Line, UNDOF warned Tuesday the work risked further inflaming tensions in the region.
“Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Syrian officials have declined to comment on the construction, though UNDOF described Syrian officials as having “strongly protested” the work.
As Israel conducted the construction work, which UNDOF described as “extensive engineering groundwork activities,” it has protected earth-moving equipment with armored vehicles and main battle tanks, the peacekeepers said. Troops and earth-moving equipment have crossed the Alpha Line into the demilitarized zone in Syria, known to UNDOF as the “area of separation.”
“Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AOS,” the peacekeepers said in a statement, using an acronym for the area. “There have been several violations by (Israel) in the form of their presence in the AoS because of these activities.”
UNDOF has repeatedly protested the work, which it described as violating the ceasefire deal over the months of construction so far.
“Based on the engagement, (Israel) has indicated that the current earthworks are being carried out for defensive purpose to prevent unauthorized crossing and violations by civilians,” the peacekeepers added.
Israel sent a 71-page letter in June to the UN outlining what it described as “Syrian violations of the Alpha Line and armed presence in the area of separation (that) occur daily.” The letter cited numerous Israeli-alleged violations by Syrian civilians crossing the line.
Syria has constantly accused Israel of launching attacks against it from territory it occupies in the Golan Heights. Israel has frequently struck Syria over the years, particularly after the start of the Mideast wars following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. The UN Secretary Council voted to create UNDOF to patrol a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized zone and maintain the peace there after the 1973 Mideast war. A second demarcation, known as the Bravo Line, marks the limit of where the Syrian military can operate.
UNDOF has around 1,100 troops, mostly from Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Uruguay, who patrol the area.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 — a move criticized by a UN resolution declaring Israel’s action as “null and void and without international legal effect.” The territory, some 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) in size, is a strategic high ground that overlooks both Israel and Syria.
Around 50,000 Jewish settlers and Arabs who are mostly members of the Druze sect of Shiite Islam live there.
In 2019, President Donald Trump unilaterally announced that the United States would “fully recognize” Israel’s control of the territory, a decision that has been unchanged by the Biden administration. However, it’s the only other country to do so, as the rest of the world views it as occupied Syrian territory.

Lebanon security official says Israel strikes house east of Beirut

Updated 12 November 2024
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Lebanon security official says Israel strikes house east of Beirut

  • Israeli warplanes hit a house between Baalshamieh and Dhour Al-Abadiyah

BEIRUT: A Lebanese security official said an Israeli strike hit a villa east of Beirut on Tuesday, with state media confirming the rare attack outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.

The security official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the “Israeli strike caused an unspecified number of casualties.” The National News Agency later said Israeli warplanes hit a house between Baalshamieh and Dhour Al-Abadiyah

At least five people were killed and two were injured in the strike, health ministry said.


Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

Updated 12 November 2024
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Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

DUBAI: Iran is building a “defensive tunnel” in the capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, following strikes by Israel on targets in the country.
The tunnel, located near the city center, will link a station on the Tehran metro to the Imam Khomeini hospital, thus allowing direct underground access to the medical facility.
“For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive applications is being built in Tehran,” the head of transport for Tehran City Council told Tasnim.
Last month, Israel carried out its first officially-recognized strikes in Iran, hitting missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in the country’s west, as a response to Iran’s Oct.1 attack on Israeli territory.


Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

Updated 24 min 57 sec ago
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Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

  • Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds

BEIRUT: Israel launched at least 10 air strikes on south Beirut Tuesday morning, Lebanese state media said, shortly after Israel’s army urged residents of several neighborhoods to evacuate the Hezbollah bastion.
“Israeli warplanes launched a very violent tenth strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the official National News Agency reported.
AFPTV footage showed grey smoke covering the area, with big plumes rising after each strike.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli army told residents of four south Beirut neighborhoods to leave immediately, warning it would strike Hezbollah targets there.
“You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, against which the Israel Defense Forces will act in the near future,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
The post included a map showing the buildings it would target in the Lebanese capital’s south.
Witnesses told AFP they heard gunfire in the area ahead of the strikes — warning shots by residents for people to leave following the evacuation call.
NNA also reported Israeli strikes across Lebanon’s south that destroyed a building in the main southern city of Nabatiyeh and also targeted the eastern city of Hermel.
Last month, Israeli strikes razed Nabatiyeh’s historic marketplace, with another wave of attacks also hitting its municipality building and killing several including the mayor.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon’s east and south and in southern Beirut. A week later, it sent in ground troops.
It came after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire, launched by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
More than 3,240 people have been killed in Lebanon since the clashes began last year, according to the health ministry, the majority of them since late September.