The Israeli army launched an attack on eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, according to Lebanon’s official media. The conflict between the two groups escalated after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to show no mercy to Hezbollah. The prime minister’s pledge came a day after four soldiers were killed in a drone attack on an Israeli base by an Iran-backed Lebanese group.
“We will continue to attack Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon, including Beirut,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the base near Binyamina, south of Haifa. Hezbollah reported on Tuesday that it clashed with Israeli forces trying to intervene on the outskirts of Rab Tlatin village.
Israel stepped up its bombing campaign in Lebanon before sending ground troops across the border last month. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health of Lebanon, at least 1,315 people have died in the war. As reported by Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA), Israel intensified airstrikes in the eastern Bekaa Valley on Tuesday morning.
Nicolas von Arx, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, called on Monday for the safety of ambulances and other health facilities and staff, saying the attack on them was a matter of “worry”. The Israeli offensive has begun targeting Hezbollah strongholds as well as other parts of Lebanon, including a northern Christian village where at least 21 people were killed on Monday, the health ministry said.
Anis Abla, head of civil defense in the southern border town of Marzayoun, said rescuers were “exhausted”. “Our rescue operations are becoming more and more difficult due to continuous attacks”, he said. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health has reported that at least 22 people were killed in an Israeli attack in central Beirut last week. According to last week’s certified statistics of the International Organization for Migration, at least 690,000 people have been displaced by the war in Lebanon.
