Israel in new blitz on Hezbollah in Lebanon
‘Half of militant leaders killed’
The Israeli military on Wednesday claimed to have killed half of Hezbollah’s commanders as artillery and fighter jet strikes pounded at least 40 targets in southern Lebanon.
A Hezbollah official dismissed the claim as “completely worthless” and intended only to boost Israeli morale.
He said the group regularly published photos and biographical details of fighters killed in six months of fighting.
Israeli strikes hit the outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab, Ramya, Jabal Balat, and Khallet Warda.
The military said it had destroyed a missile launching pad in Tair Harfa, and targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in Marqaba and Aita Al-Shaab.
Israeli artillery also struck areas of Kafar Shuba and Shehin “to eliminate a potential threat.” Hezbollah also stepped up its operations in retaliation for what it described as a “horrific massacre committed by the Israeli enemy in the town of Hanin, causing casualties and injuries among innocent civilians.”
A woman in her 50s and a 12-year-old girl, both members of the same family, were killed in the Israeli airstrike. Six other people were injured.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been waging their worst hostilities in nearly two decades since war erupted in Gaza last October.
“There is continuous offensive action by IDF forces in all of southern Lebanon as well as in other parts of Lebanon. The operational results are very impressive,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday.
The new Israeli attack came a day after Hezbollah launched a drone attack on Israeli military bases north of the Israeli coastal city of Acre, its deepest strike yet in the hostilities that have flared in parallel to the Gaza war.
The attack appeared to be one of the most complicated by Hezbollah during the last six months, using drones designed to keep Israeli air defenses busy while others
laden with explosives were flown at the Israeli targets.
Though the latest hostilities have been the worst in years, the violence has largely been confined to areas at or near the Israeli-Lebanese border, with Israel occasionally striking deeper into the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon’s east.
Israeli strikes have killed about 250 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon since Oct. 7, in addition to a further 30 killed in Israeli strikes in Syria. Overall, the death toll exceeds Hezbollah’s losses in the 2006 war with Israel. More than 70 civilians have been killed in Lebanon.