International Israel announces further attacks on Hezbollah

Although Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon have caused tens of thousands of civilians to flee since Monday, the government in Jerusalem wants to increase the military pressure on Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced further attacks on the pro-Iranian militia, which has been firing rockets at Israel's north practically every day since the start of the Gaza war almost a year ago. The escalation of violence in the Middle East is one of the most defining issues of the current UN General Assembly in New York and will be the focus of a special session of the UN Security Council today.

Israel's military and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon have been fighting for months in the border area between the two countries, which has intensified significantly in recent days. The latest attacks by Israel, which have left hundreds dead and even more injured, are the most serious in almost two decades and are fueling fears of an uncontrollable escalation in the region.

"Whoever has a rocket in their living room..."

"We will continue to take action against Hezbollah," said Netanyahu, despite harsh criticism of the deaths of many civilians in the Israeli airstrikes in the northern neighboring country. He emphasized once again that the war was not directed against the Lebanese people, but solely against Hezbollah - but anyone hiding weapons for the militia would also be targeted: "Anyone who has a rocket in their living room and a rocket in their garage will no longer have a home."

In the evening, Israel's air force again attacked dozens of Hezbollah military facilities in the east and south of Lebanon, including weapons depots and rocket launchers, according to the army. According to Israel, these are often deliberately placed in residential areas in order to abuse civilians as human shields. Thousands of private homes have been converted into military bases for the militia in this way, said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. Netanyahu called on the Lebanese to free themselves from the clutches of Hezbollah, which acts like a state within a state in the coastal country.

Israel already sees Hezbollah severely weakened

"We must not give Hezbollah a break. We must continue with all our strength," said Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. The militia has already been drastically weakened by the strategic successes of his army, said Defense Minister Joav Galant. "The Hezbollah of today is no longer the same Hezbollah we knew a week ago."

According to military figures, the heavily armed militia has used around 9,000 rockets and drones to attack Israel since the start of the war against its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip, i.e. since the beginning of October last year. According to Galant, tens of thousands of their rockets have now been destroyed in the latest attacks. Before the Hezbollah attacks began on October 8, its arsenal was estimated at 150,000 rockets, drones and cruise missiles.

Militia confirms death of its missile chief

The military operation now underway in Lebanon under the code name "Arrows of the North" should be ended as quickly as possible, emphasized army spokesman Hagari. That is why the military is attacking with concentrated forces. However, the Israelis must also be prepared for the fact that the operation could take longer.

Several members of the Hezbollah leadership are already said to have been killed in the military operation. The most recent casualty was the head of the rocket unit, Ibrahim Muhammad Kubaisi - he and two other Hezbollah commanders were killed in a "targeted attack" in a suburb of the capital Beirut, Israel's army announced. Hezbollah also confirmed Kubaisi's death. According to the army, he was responsible for rocket attacks on Israel and attacks on Israeli civilians, among other things.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the airstrike destroyed two floors of a building, killing six people and injuring 15 others. In total, more than 550 people have been killed and almost 2000 injured in the course of the Israeli attacks since Monday.

Lebanon in deep crisis even before the wave of attacks

The plight of the people in Lebanon was already severe before the current wave of attacks began. The economy is in a deep crisis and large parts of the population are living in poverty. Nevertheless, according to UN figures, the small Mediterranean state has taken in more refugees in relation to its population than any other country in the world - around 1.5 million people seeking help from Syria alone have been taken in since the start of the civil war there in 2011.

Now there are even more internally displaced people. As a result of the Israeli airstrikes, panic broke out among many Lebanese - tens of thousands fled and tried to make their way north on hopelessly overcrowded roads. According to the authorities, 27,000 people alone fled from the south and the Bekaa Valley in the east. More than 250 schools were therefore temporarily turned into emergency shelters. Hundreds of people are even said to have fled to neighboring Syria, where the situation is no less precarious.

Israel also wants to use the attacks in Lebanon to persuade Hezbollah to withdraw from the border area between the two countries. Since the start of the Gaza war following the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and other Islamist extremists on October 7 last year, the militia has been regularly shelling the north of the Jewish state - in solidarity with Hamas, as it says. Israel's military fires back. There were casualties on both sides of the border, with around 60,000 people fleeing their homes in Israel alone. The return of people to the north of the country is a declared war aim of Netanyahu's government.

Great Britain deploys hundreds of soldiers

In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Iranian President Massud Peseshkian said that it was self-evident that the "terrorist crimes" of the Israeli army and the "aggression against Lebanon" could not go unanswered. Moreover, the presence of foreign powers in the Middle East was a "source of instability". Peseshkian called on the countries in the region to cooperate more, as their fates were inextricably linked. At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran is "determined to ensure its security without destabilizing others".

The escalation of violence is not only being followed with concern in the directly neighboring countries. The British government instructed all compatriots to leave Lebanon immediately. In addition, 700 soldiers will be deployed to the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus "in the next few hours" - the government's announcement on Tuesday evening suggests that this is in preparation for a possible evacuation operation.

SDA