Israel Continues Bombing Lebanon, Hezbollah Rocket Salvos

Israel continued its bombardment of Lebanon on Sunday, with strikes announced in the southern suburbs of Beirut, one of the strongholds of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, which has drawn the eve of new salvos of rockets towards Israeli territory, while the prospect of a truce seems more and more distant.

< p>At dawn on Sunday, the Israeli army ordered residents of three areas in Beirut's southern suburbs that it said were home to Hezbollah facilities to evacuate “immediately,” a standard warning before airstrikes.

“You are near Hezbollah-affiliated facilities and interests, against which the Israel Defense Forces will act in the near future,” the army's spokesman for the Arabic-speaking public, Avichay Adraee, wrote in a message on X to residents of Hadath Beirut, Burj al-Barajneh and Chiyah.

The Lebanese official news agency NNA also reported an air raid and artillery bombardment on the town of Al-Khiyam (southeast).

On another front, in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, where Israel is fighting the Islamist movement Hamas, at least 24 people were killed Saturday in Israeli strikes, according to the local Civil Defense. On the Israeli side, the army announced Sunday the death of a 21-year-old soldier in the northern Gaza Strip.

In Israel, two flares landed Saturday in the courtyard in front of the private residence in Caesarea (center) of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not there, announced the Israeli security services, which spoke of a “dangerous escalation”.

A powerful armed movement accused by its detractors of constituting a “state within a state”, the Lebanese Hezbollah has opened a front against Israel in support of Hamas, a day after the attack carried out by this Palestinian movement on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

After weakening Hamas and after a year of spiraling cross-border violence, Israel shifted the main war front to Lebanon, launching an intense campaign of destructive and deadly bombings on September 23, mainly against Hezbollah strongholds.

On Saturday, incessant airstrikes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, located near the Lebanese capital's international airport, according to local media.

– Synagogue hit in Haifa –

In the east of the country, six people including three children died in a strike, according to the Ministry of Health. In southern Lebanon, bordering northern Israel, several towns, including Tyre, and villages were the target of intense strikes. Two rescuers died, according to the ministry.

The Israeli army said it targeted “Hezbollah weapons depots and command centers” in the Tyre region.

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A car destroyed by a rocket fired from Lebanon in Haifa, Israel, on November 16, 2024 © AFP – Ahmad GHARABLI

The only faction to keep its weapons after the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), in the name of “resistance” against Israel, Hezbollah, created and financed by Iran, has established itself as an essential political force in Lebanon.

Israel says it wants to put Hezbollah and Hamas, two allies of Iran, its sworn enemy, out of harm's way. He says his goal in Lebanon is to push Hezbollah away from the border regions and stop its rocket attacks that have displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel.

Despite the blows inflicted on Hezbollah, with several leaders killed, the movement said it hit an Israeli tank in southern Lebanon with “a missile” and fired new rockets into northern Israel on Saturday, including military bases in and around the city of Haifa.

The army reported about 80 projectiles fired during the day from Lebanon. In Haifa, a synagogue was hit and two civilians were wounded.

– Truce plan –

After nearly two months of war, a senior Lebanese official said Friday that U.S. Ambassador to Beirut Lisa Johnson had presented Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri with a 13-point plan that includes a 60-day truce and the deployment of the army to southern Lebanon.

Funeral of a victim of an Israeli bombing in Deir Al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, on November 15, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

“Mr. Berri asked for a three-day delay,” added this official on condition of anonymity without giving further details on this plan.

More than 3,452 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 8, 2023, according to the Ministry of Health, the majority since September 23.

In the south, the army continues to bomb the devastated Gaza Strip, besieged and threatened with famine according to the UN. A center housing displaced people, homes and a hair salon were hit, according to the Civil Defense.

“Get us out (of Gaza), for the love of God. Enough war, enough suffering!” said Itimad Al-Zain, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City.

The October 7, 2023 attack in Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or who died in captivity.

That day, 251 people were kidnapped. In total, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.

The Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza has left 43,799 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.

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