Israel continued to pound Lebanon on Thursday, as it launched further attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, including in central Beirut, while calling on residents in southern Lebanese towns to evacuate.
Two days after the Israeli military launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, Lebanese authorities reported another round of strikes and dozens of casualties among the country’s emergency services since the conflict intensified in September.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hezbollah fired around 230 projectiles at northern Israel in a single day, but most were intercepted or fell over uninhabited areas.
The IDF, meanwhile, said it had killed at least 15 Hezbollah fighters in strikes on around 200 targets in Lebanon, including in residential areas of the capital Beirut, where the Shiite militia said its press office had been targeted.
Another attack on the capital’s Bashoura neighbourhood – the second on central Beirut this week – left at least nine killed and 14 injured, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to identify the remains removed from the site in order to be able to give a final toll, the ministry said.
Two Lebanese soldiers killed
The escalation of fighting in Lebanon, days before the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, has renewed fears that the war in Gaza could eventually trigger a regional conflagration.
Iran-backed Hezbollah began launching missiles at northern Israel on October 8 in support of Hamas. After a year of cross-border skirmishes, Israel’s stated aim is now to drive Hezbollah back from the border to enable some 60,000 Israelis evacuated from northern areas to return home.
Meanwhile, Israel is yet to respond to Iran firing a barrage of missiles at sites across Israel on Tuesday.
Two Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday, in the first deaths reported since the beginning of the offensive among the country’s military, which was vowed to stay neutral in the conflict.
The Lebanese army said one soldier was killed in the southern town of Taybeh while troops were carrying out an evacuation and rescue mission along with the Lebanese Red Cross.
So far, more than 100 medical workers and firefighters have been killed and 220 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, according to Health Minister Firass Abiad.
Some 1.2 million people in Lebanon have been displaced by Israel’s massive aerial bombardment launched last week, according to the government in Beirut.
Israel orders more evacuations
In an appeal made by an Israeli military spokesperson in Arabic, the army announced it would take action against Hezbollah in 25 locations in southern Lebanon, ordering people to evacuate north beyond the Awali river, some 60 kilometres from the border.
Residents of the city of Nabatieh were also told to leave.
Every house used by Hezbollah is a target, the army spokesman warned.
Many people in the areas controlled by Hezbollah often do not know which buildings are used by the Shiite militia.
According to the state news agency NNA, Israeli attacks on many areas in southern Lebanon continued on Thursday morning. The agency reported that the Lebanese civil defence was deployed 193 times in the space of 24 hours to recover bodies or extinguish fires.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, 46 people were killed and 85 injured in Israeli attacks in the country on Wednesday alone. The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and Hezbollah members.
Israel kills top Hezbollah commander
Israel says its strikes continue to target leading Hezbollah commanders.
In one attack on Thursday, the IDF claimed to have killed the man responsible for the firing of a missile at a football pitch in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in July, killing 12 young people.
Khider al Shaebia was killed on Wednesday in a targeted airstrike in Lebanon, the IDF said. He was reportedly the Hezbollah commander in the Lebanese area bordering the Golan Heights and had ordered hundreds of rocket attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah says Israeli soldiers killed
Details of Israel’s ground offensive have been scarce, but Hezbollah said several Israeli soldiers were killed by explosive in the village of Maroun al-Ras, near the border.
Hezbollah said further soldiers were also injured after it detonated an explosive device in the village, where eight Israeli soldiers were also reported killed on Wednesday.
When approached for comment, the Israeli army said it was not able to comment on the latest losses.
During the two sides’ last direct confrontation in 2006, Hezbollah used guerrilla tactics in the mountainous areas of southern Lebanon, which led to high losses on the Israeli side.
