Hezbollah announced that three of its members were killed this Monday in Israeli attacks in a border area in southern Lebanon, where Islamic Jihad fighters infiltrated into Israel, while Tel Aviv announced that it had killed “several suspects.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which says it supports Hamas in its unprecedented offensive launched against Israel on Saturday, took responsibility for the infiltration operation, a move that reinforces fears that the violence will spread to the Israeli-Lebanese front.
Hezbollah announced, in separate statements, the death of three of its members, described by the group as “martyrs following the Zionist aggression in southern Lebanon on Monday afternoon.”
The Lebanese Shiite group later claimed to have bombed two Israeli barracks, using “guided missiles and mortars that directly hit” their targets.
The armed group described its attack as a “first response” to the death of its members.
Israel bombed southern Lebanon after announcing that it had killed “several armed suspects” who had infiltrated its territory.
In a statement, the Al-Quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed “responsibility for the border operation in southern Lebanon.”
More than 800 people have been killed on the Israeli side and 560 in the Gaza Strip, since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israeli territory on Saturday, called Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, with the launching of thousands of rockets and the raid of armed militias. By land, sea and air.
Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, denied any involvement in the infiltration operation.
In turn, the Israeli Army indicated, in a statement, that “IDF soldiers [Forças de Defesa de Israel] “killed several armed suspects who had infiltrated Israeli territory from Lebanese territory.”
Israeli forces also said they were continuing to “sweep the area,” which had been the target of air and artillery strikes.
The Lebanese Army said in a statement that the surroundings of Aita al-Chaab and Dhayra, as well as other border areas, were the target of “aerial and artillery bombardment by the Israeli enemy.”
Lebanese families and Syrian refugees fled the areas hit by Israeli bombardments, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent in Aita al-Chaab.
The commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, urged the parties involved this Monday to “exercise maximum restraint and use the liaison and coordination mechanisms of UNIFIL to avoid further escalation.” , according to the UN spokesperson. force.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati assured that “the government’s priority is to maintain security and stability in southern Lebanon and maintain calm.”
In 2006, a devastating war pitted Hezbollah against Israel, causing more than 1,200 deaths on the Lebanese side, mostly civilians, and 160 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.
Source: TSF
