Bloodshed in Lebanon: Bekaa Under Siege, ‘Third Man’ in the Crosshairs

The death toll from Israeli strikes on the southern Lebanese towns and villages of Bekaa and Baalbek rose to 492 killed and more than 1,600 wounded on Monday, Al-Hura website correspondent reported from the Public Health Emergency Operations Center. Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The ministry said the Israeli operation resulted in the deaths of 35 children and 57 female civilians. The previous death toll was 356.

On Monday, several areas were hit by intense Israeli raids since the morning, when reports emerged that Israel had targeted a prominent Hezbollah leader.

Lebanon’s health minister, Firas al-Abiad, said the toll was “unprecedented” and the highest recorded in a single day since military tensions between Israel and Hezbollah began nearly a year ago.

He also said that thousands of families were displaced on Monday from the target areas of the Israeli operation.

Israel carried out airstrikes on hundreds of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country and northern areas close to Syria, in the largest wave of strikes targeting the group.

Israel has called on the Lebanese to evacuate areas where it says the group has stockpiled its weapons.

The Israeli operation came two days after Hezbollah’s deepest attack since October 8, as it targeted the Ramat David air base and a complex of the Rafael Military Industries Company, using a new type of missile called the “Fadi 1” and the “Fadi 1″ in its attack. . 2”.

The situation on the ground indicates that the conflict between the two sides has become open in all circumstances.

Al-Hura’s correspondent in Beirut reported that an Israeli operation targeting the Bekaa region on Monday evening, early in the morning resulted in deaths and injuries.

The National News Agency reported that “enemy attacks targeted the heights of the eastern range of Baalbek” and several villages in the region in addition to the town of Hermel.

Al-Hura’s correspondent said that Israeli fighters attacked East, North and West Bekaa. The raid resulted in deaths and injuries, particularly in the towns of Sohmar and Yahmar.

Raid on unemployment

Targeting Hezbollah’s “Third Man.”

In the evening, the Israeli army announced the implementation of a “targeted strike” in Beirut, without giving further details.

Israeli media outlets, including Haaretz and the Times of Israel, reported that the raid targeted Hezbollah leader Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s South Lebanon Front, and this was confirmed by a source at Agence France-Presse.

Those sources did not immediately determine his fate, while Hezbollah issued a statement saying he was “well” and gone to a safe place.

The Times of Israel said he was “responsible for the group’s military activities in southern Lebanon and is a member of the Jihad Council, the organization’s highest military body.”

A source told Agence France-Presse that Qaraki is considered “the third Hezbollah military figure after leaders Fouad Shukhar and Ibrahim Akil”, who were killed in a similar attack.

“Change Balance”

The Israeli military said it had bombed around 800 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa since Monday morning. He reported that the total number of shells monitored and fired from the Lebanese side on Monday exceeded 160 shells.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement on Monday, said the army was “changing the security balance” in northern Israel.

“I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power to the North, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Netanyahu added from an air force trench at the Defense Ministry, according to a statement issued by his office. He added that “Israel does not wait for the threat, but waits for it.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said: “We are intensifying our attacks in Lebanon and the continuation of the operation will continue until our goals are achieved.”

The minister, who attended the Home Front preparedness assessment, said: “We have days ahead when the public will have to show restraint, discipline and complete obedience to the instructions issued by the Home Front Command”.

Meanwhile, Tel Aviv’s Al Hura correspondent quoted Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari as urging Lebanese residents to stay away from Hezbollah’s ammunition depot locations, specifically referring to the Bekaa region.

The Israeli army said it sent text messages to residents and made phone calls from a Lebanese phone number.

panic

According to Agence France-Presse, a state of panic prevails as Israel launches a heavy offensive in southern Lebanon and calls are received for residents to evacuate their homes.

Hundreds of people packed their belongings and fled, while area hospitals were overwhelmed by dozens of victims.

At the Popular Rescue Hospital in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatih, doctor Jamal Badran described what happened to Agence France-Presse as a “catastrophe and a massacre”, adding, “There was an operation between one operation and another. , and even when we were treating the wounded They bombed us when we were doing the rescue” in the town of Deir al-Zahrani.

More than 20 kilometers away, the same scenario was repeated at Tibnin Government Hospital. An employee, who declined to be identified, said: “The situation is very difficult with the injured pouring in one by one.” He added: “I cannot determine the number of injured. The injured are outside, they are still on the streets.”

In the city of Sidon, one of the gateways to the south, an Agence France-Presse correspondent saw a large stream of vehicles heading towards Beirut. The streets were crowded with hundreds of cars and dozens of buses carrying displaced people and their belongings.

A displaced Syrian, Muhammad al-Walid, who fled with his family of seven, said: “We fled the city of Ghasnia after several raids that terrorized our children,” adding: “We will take shelter anywhere even if we are sleeping now. . on the sidewalk.”

The official National News Agency, for its part, reported a “suffocating traffic jam” on the highway connecting Beirut to the south.

Escape to the shelter

For its part, the Israeli army announced in its official account on “X” that “more than a million Israeli civilians have fled to shelters in Haifa in light of Hezbollah’s indiscriminate rocket fire.”

He added: “This is why we are working against Hezbollah, which constantly attacks our civilians.”

Haifa was hit by Hezbollah missiles

According to the army, on Monday evening, sirens were heard in the Galilee, Jezreel Valley, Wadi Ara area and towns near Haifa amid a new barrage of missiles fired from Lebanon.

Hezbollah makes diplomatic efforts in northern Israel

The US Department of Defense has announced that it is beefing up its troop presence in the region with a small additional military force in light of rising tensions in the Middle East.

He said it was “very important that we continue to work to find a diplomatic solution” with the growing “potential for the outbreak of a larger regional conflict”, adding: “But we have not yet reached that stage.”

He added: “We continue to negotiate closely with Israel and other countries in the region to ensure that these tensions do not escalate into a wider regional war.”

For its part, Iran’s foreign ministry warned Israel on Monday of a “fatal response” to attacks launched by its army on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani “strongly condemned the large-scale airstrikes,” warning of a dangerous response to what he described as a “new adventurer.”

It is reported that the French ambassador, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has arrived in Lebanon and met with army commander General Joseph Aoun.