Politics Despite ceasefire talks: 250 rockets fired at Israel

Despite reports of progress in the ceasefire negotiations, fighting between the Israeli armed forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia continues.

Following heavy Israeli air strikes with many casualties in Lebanon, Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, fired an unusually high number of rockets at Israel. According to the Israeli military, around 250 missiles were counted on Sunday.

According to as yet unconfirmed reports from several Israeli media outlets such as the Haaretz newspaper and the Kan television channel, the Israeli government has provisionally agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah. According to this, details still need to be clarified and the type of announcement planned.

North and center of Israel under fire

There were rocket alerts in the north of Israel as well as in the center of the country with the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. According to the emergency services, at least six people were injured by rocket hits. Several buildings were damaged. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 13 people were injured in the Israeli-occupied West Bank when an Israeli interceptor missile hit the town of Tulkarem. Several houses were also damaged here.

According to the Ministry of Health, at least 84 people were killed and 213 injured in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon on Saturday. The Hezbollah militia has been firing rockets at Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war more than a year ago. Israel has responded with air strikes and a ground offensive in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which is financed by Iran, sees its attacks on Israel as support for the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The terrorist group carried out a massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage. The attack triggered the Gaza war, which has been going on for over a year. Israel is now the target of international criticism due to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal strip.

New Israeli airstrikes on Beirut suburbs

After nightfall, Israel's military once again bombed targets in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut. A reporter for the German Press Agency reported several loud explosions. According to the Israeli armed forces, twelve "command centers" of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah were attacked. The facilities had been used for the militia's intelligence service, a rocket unit and for smuggling weapons, among other things. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Shortly beforehand, the Israeli military had issued evacuation calls to the residents of the suburbs known as Dahiya. There was initially no information about possible casualties. However, residential buildings were badly damaged, as can be seen in videos from Lebanese media.

War in the Middle East also a topic at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Italy

The war in the Middle East is also on the agenda at today's meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations in Italy. A recent arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in the Gaza war caused a stir.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is also traveling to the small town of Fiuggi, around 80 kilometers outside of Rome, for the meeting. Italy still holds the presidency of the G7 until the end of the year. The other members are the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, France and Germany.

SDA