At least four people have died this Tuesday, including two journalists, in new attacks by the Israeli Army against areas in southern Lebanon, within the framework of the clashes in recent weeks with the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah.
An 80-year-old Lebanese woman has died as a result of an Israeli attack against Kfar Kila, in the Marjayun district, while her granddaughter, of Syrian origin, has been injured and has been transferred to a hospital in the area, according to information from the Lebanese newspaper ‘L’Orient le Jour’. The Al Manar television network, close to Hezbollah, has reported that several minors – all of them grandchildren of the deceased – were in the house when the anti-tank missile attack occurred.
Subsequently, two journalists from the Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen have died due to the bombings against the town of Tair Harfa, as reported by the channel itself. Sources cited by the newspaper ‘L’Orient le Jour’ have indicated that a person who was with the journalists and who was acting as a guide, identified as Husein Akel, has also died in the attack. The Lebanese state news agency, NNA, has stated that the attack resulted in the death of two reporters and a civilian, without giving further details.
For its part, the Israeli Army has indicated that several Air Force planes have “identified and attacked three anti-tank squadrons in the Lebanese border area,” as well as a series of “terrorist targets of the Hezbollah organization, including military infrastructure.” In this sense, they have denounced the previous launch from Lebanon of a mortar projectile against an Israeli Army checkpoint on the border, although they have ruled out for the moment the presence of victims and injuries in Israeli territory. Furthermore, it has not commented on the victims on Lebanese soil.
The Israeli attacks would have taken place in response to launches carried out from the area against Army positions in northern Israel, a situation that has been repeated in recent weeks. This same Tuesday, several projectiles fell on the Israeli city of Metula, after which the Army opened artillery fire. Hezbollah, for its part, has indicated that its attacks are part of “support for the brave and honorable resistance of the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip.” “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon continues its operations against Zionist posts on the border,” he said, as reported by the Al Manar television network, linked to the group. Likewise, he explained that the objective was a “settlement” in Metula in which “enemy soldiers” were stationed.
The mayor of Metula, David Azoulay, regretted shortly after that the surroundings of the town were “empty” due to threats from Hezbollah and asked that a “security zone” be established between four and five kilometers to the north. of the border, according to information from the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’. “They tell us that the leader of Hezbollah (Hasan Nasrallah) will not start a war, but we are already at war,” he said. Hezbollah has carried out dozens of attacks against Israeli territory across the border with Lebanon, which has sparked clashes in the area, given the risk of an expansion of the conflict to the neighboring country after Israel’s warnings about a possible military response to larger scale.
The attacks carried out by Hamas left nearly 1,200 dead and more than 240 kidnapped in Israel. Authorities in Gaza, controlled by the Islamist group, have reported the deaths of more than 13,300 Palestinians in bombings by Israel, while more than 200 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli forces or in settler attacks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.