BEIRUT: While Gaza officials reported they were still attempting to retrieve bodies from the debris following an Israeli hit that claimed the lives of several dozen people, Israel claimed to have struck Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut on Sunday.
Following the late-night airstrike on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza on Saturday, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory reported that at least 87 persons were either dead or missing.
The Israeli military claimed in a statement that three Hezbollah commanders were killed by fighter jets, among them Alhaj Abbas Salameh, a prominent member of the organization’s southern headquarters.
Witnesses for Reuters saw smoke billowing from the southern suburbs of Beirut, which were formerly home to Hezbollah offices along with a dense population.
According to the Lebanese army, an Israeli strike in the south of the nation “targeted” their truck, killing three troops.
According to the army, the soldiers were slain on a road that connected the neighboring town of Hanin to the border settlement of Ain Ebel.
Within minutes, the border village of Khiam was the target of 14 Israeli strikes, according to the official Lebanese media.
The state-run National News Agency reported that “14 consecutive strikes on Khiam were launched by enemy aircraft in a matter of 15 minutes.”
According to the Israeli military, a 41-year-old colonel from Israel was killed in fighting in northern Gaza on Sunday.
Hours after Israel announced it was stepping up its assaults against the group in southern Lebanon backed by Iran, Hezbollah claimed to have fired rockets at three military locations in northern Israel.
Following Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s announcement to the troops that Israel was “destroying” Hezbollah in south Lebanon, Hezbollah declared that the rocket salvos were directed against bases close to Haifa, Safed, and Tiberias.
It signaled a step up in Israel’s offensives against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, coming just days after Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar’s death had sparked expectations for a ceasefire that would conclude the battle that had lasted more than a year.
In addition, Israel is getting ready to strike back after Iran launched a salvo of missiles earlier this month, despite pressure from Washington to avoid hitting any Iranian nuclear or energy installations.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said that Hezbollah had attempted to kill him on Saturday when a drone was pointed towards his vacation house. Israel would make judgments based on its own interests, he reaffirmed in a phone conversation with former US President Donald Trump.
Rescue efforts in Gaza following the attack in Beit Lahiya are being hampered, according to the health ministry, by continuous Israeli military operations and communication issues.
Many Palestinians worry that the Israeli attack aims to drive them out of the northern portion of Gaza, thereby securing Tel Aviv’s dominance over the region after the fight. This fear is fueled by evacuation orders that point people south.
The Israeli offensive has damaged schools and hospitals, left the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents without a place to live, and created widespread starvation.
UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland wrote on X, “Horrifying scenes unfolding in Gaza, amidst conflict, relentless Israeli strikes & an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis.”
