Israel expands attack against Hezbollah, announces new ground operations in SW Lebanon

Photo: A scene of the destruction following an overnight Israeli air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, on October 7, 2024. (AFP)

The Israeli army on Tuesday said it had launched ground operations in southwestern Lebanon, further expanding its incursion in the country with “limited, localised and targeted” attacks against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure.

Summary:

• The Israeli army said it had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s headquarters, Suhail Hussein Husseini, in a strike on Beirut.
• More than 2,000 people have been killed and 10000 injured in Lebanon since Hamas‘s attack on Israel on October 7 last year. The Lebanese government estimates that roughly 1.2 million people have been displaced. 
• Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon since Israel launched a ground operation across its northern border on October 1.
• Two new Israeli strikes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday evening, Lebanese state media said, after Israel’s military issued a warning to inhabitants of the area. An AFP correspondent saw smoke rise from the suburbs, and the country’s National News Agency reported that the area had been “the target of two raids”.
•  Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has suffered major blows from Israel in Lebanon, on Tuesday left the door open to a negotiated ceasefire after its arch-foe raised the stakes with fresh incursions in the south of the country.
• In a televised speech, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem, said he supported attempts to secure a truce, and for the first time did not mention the end of war in Gaza as a pre-condition to halting combat on the Lebanon-Israel border.

France24/ AFP/ Reuters