JERUSALEM, Nov. 12 (Reuters) – (This Nov. 12 story has been corrected to correct number of displaced Israelis in paragraph 10 from 250,000 to 200,000)
Israel attacked Lebanon as hostilities escalated on Sunday, with Hezbollah injuring civilians in a cross-border missile attack and blowing up an Israeli Air Force bombing facility linked to the Iranian-backed group. He said he was prepared to calm the front.
Israeli military chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari on Oct. 7 called Hezbollah “a group of Hamas/ISIS,” referring to the Islamist Palestinian faction that rampaged across the border against Israel and sparked the devastating Gaza war. Defender.”
Hezbollah is widely believed to have a smaller arsenal of rockets than Hamas, but it has carried out relatively limited attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday that the Israeli front was “active.”
But after Israeli counterattacks killed at least 70 of the group’s fighters and several Lebanese civilians, Hezbollah’s tactics expanded to include rockets with 300- to 500-kilogram warheads and suicide drones. did.
On Sunday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a guided missile attack that Israel said injured at least two power company employees sent for repairs in the border area.
According to the military, seven Israeli soldiers were injured in the mortar attack. Rockets set off sirens near the Israeli port city of Haifa, 27 kilometers from the Lebanese border, but there were no casualties. Hamas’ Lebanese counterpart took credit for the launch.
Smoke rises from the Israel-Lebanon border in northern Israel on November 12, 2023.Reuters/Evelyn Hochstein Obtaining license rights
In response, Israel said its air force and artillery were attacking Hezbollah and other targets in Lebanon and holding the group and the Beirut government accountable for all hostilities.
“The IDF (military) is concentrated in Gaza, but in the north they are in a very high state of readiness,” Hagari said. “The Lebanese people will pay the price for this recklessness and for Hezbollah’s decision to become a defender of Hamas/ISIS.”
“The IDF has an operational plan to change the security situation in the north. There will never be a security situation where people in the north cannot feel safe returning to their homes,” he said in a teleconference.
Residents of villages and towns on the Lebanese border have fled south, with around 20 Millions of Israelis are internally displaced. Many southern Lebanese have also fled north in search of safety.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he appealed to Iran, which supports not only Hezbollah but also Hamas, to intervene.
In an interview with Fareed Zakaria GPS, Guterres said he asked Iran to “tell Hezbollah that we cannot create a situation where Lebanon is completely drawn into this conflict, because… “If Hezbollah launches a large-scale attack against Israel, that could create the potential.” We don’t know what the impact will be, but one thing is certain: Lebanon will not survive. ”
Asked if Iran had reacted, he said: “I don’t know. They always say they have nothing to do with what’s going on, but they have publicly stated that there is a risk of prolonging this conflict. “It’s always very mysterious. Iran’s position.”
Report by Maayan Lubell.Editing: Crispian Ballmer and Giles Elgood
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