Israel is preparing for a ground operation in Lebanon, its army chief said on Wednesday (Sept 25, 2024) as Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets across the border and missiles aimed at Tel Aviv in the militant group’s deepest attack yet.
Addressing forces on the northern border, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the punishing Israeli airstrikes this week were designed to “prepare the ground for you to come in and continue to humiliate Hezbollah.”
Editor | Rogue States: Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah
Israel said it targeted Hezbollah weapons and rocket launchers in an attack that has killed more than 600 people, at least a quarter of them women and children, according to Lebanese health officials.
In an apparent reference to the missiles fired at Tel Aviv, Halevi told troops: “Today, Hezbollah is expanding its range of fire, and later today, they will receive a strong response. Get ready.”
It is unclear whether they are referring to ground operations, airstrikes or some other form of retaliation against Hezbollah, which is Lebanon’s most powerful political force and, with Iran’s backing, is considered the Arab world’s top paramilitary group.
The Israeli military has said in recent days that it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion, but Halevi’s strongest comments have yet to suggest that troops can move in. plan more difficult actions.
In the southern Israeli city of Eilat, a building at the port was struck by a drone, an attack that killed two people and was claimed by an umbrella group for Iran-backed militias in Iraq. A second drone was intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Footage aired on Israeli media showed plumes of smoke in the area and at least one building destroyed. The army said the drone was identified “approaching from the East.”
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have continued to rise since war broke out 11 months ago between Israel and Hamas, another Iranian-backed militant group. Hezbollah has fired rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and Hamas. Israel has responded with escalating airstrikes and targeted assassinations of Hezbollah commanders while threatening wider operations.
Nearly a year of fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border before a new escalation.
Israel has vowed to do whatever it can to ensure its citizens can return to their homes in the north, while Hezbollah has said it will continue to fire rockets until a cease-fire is reached in Gaza, which appears increasingly distant.
To allow displaced Israelis to return home, “we are preparing a maneuvering process,” Halevi told troops.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for Israel and Hezbollah to withdraw, saying an all-out war would be dangerous for the region and its people.
In New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly, Blinken said the U.S. is working with other partners on a plan for a temporary ceasefire to ease tensions and allow Israelis and Lebanese to return to their homes in the border areas.
US officials say the idea is being floated but have not been specific. Some may be discussed at a special meeting of the UN Security Council in Lebanon called by France later on Wednesday.
Lebanon’s health minister said more than 50 people were killed Wednesday in the ongoing Israeli offensive, raising the death toll from three days ago to 615, with more than 2,000 wounded.
At Dar Al Amal hospital in the eastern city of Baalbek, Soumaya Moussawi lay in bed with her head smashed and her face brutal.
He had been sitting outside with relatives when warplanes began to attack in the distance, he said.
“Then suddenly it was right next to us. We were all thrown in different directions,” he said. Two cousins ​​and their father were killed, and another brother was seriously injured.
This week was the deadliest in Lebanon since the 2006 month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah said it fired a Qader 1 ballistic missile that targeted the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, which is blamed for a series of targeted assassinations of top commanders and attacks last week in which explosives hidden in fences and walkie-talkies killed dozens. people and thousands injured, including many Hezbollah members.
Israeli military officials say they intercepted a surface-to-surface missile that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and central Israel. There were no reports of casualties or damage. The military said it struck a launch site in southern Lebanon.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the missile fired Wednesday had a “heavy warhead” but declined to elaborate or confirm whether it was the type described by Hezbollah. He dismissed Hezbollah’s claim that targeting the Mossad headquarters north of Tel Aviv was “psychological warfare.”
The Israeli military said it was the first time a projectile fired from Lebanon had reached central Israel. Hezbollah claimed to have targeted an intelligence base near Tel Aviv last month in an airstrike, but there was no confirmation. Hamas repeatedly targeted Tel Aviv in the early months of the war in Gaza.
The launch has fueled hostilities in the region that appear to have sparked an all-out war, even as Israel continues to fight Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian-made Qader is a medium-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile of various types and payloads. It can carry an explosive charge of up to 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds), according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Iranian officials describe the liquid-fueled missile as having a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
Israel said on Wednesday its air force had struck about 280 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the evening, including launchers used to fire rockets in the northern Israeli cities of Safed and Nahariya.
Families who fled fled to Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon, sleeping in schools as shelters, as well as in cars, parks and on beaches. Some sought to leave the country, resulting in traffic jams at the border with Syria.
The United Nations says more than 90,000 people have been displaced by five days of Israeli attacks. In all, 200,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel nearly a year ago, drawing Israel’s attention, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Hezbollah’s latest attack included dozens of rockets fired Wednesday into northern Israel, the military said.
Rocket fire over the past week has disrupted the lives of more than 1 million people in northern Israel, with schools closed and public gatherings restricted. Many restaurants and other businesses are closed in the coastal city of Haifa, and fewer people are on the streets. Some who fled from communities close to the border will again come under fire from rockets.
Israel has moved thousands of soldiers who had been serving in Gaza to the northern border. It said Hezbollah has about 150,000 rockets and missiles, including some capable of striking anywhere in Israel.
Cross-border fire started to escalate Sunday after a fence and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah were attacked from a distance, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000, many of them civilians. Lebanon blames Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
The next day, Israel said warplanes struck 1,600 Hezbollah targets, destroying cruise missiles, long- and short-range rockets and attack drones, including weapons hidden in private homes. The attack led to the highest single-day death toll in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah fought a months-long war in 2006.
Published – September 26, 2024 03:11 IST
