Israel says Hezbollah struck sensitive air traffic base in the north and warns of ‘another war’
The Israeli military announced Sunday that Hezbollah had struck an air traffic controller base in northern Israel and warned against “another battle” with Iran-backed militants.
As Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to make his latest Mideast trip, the increased fighting between Israel and Hamas militants across the border in Lebanon has given new urgency to U.S. diplomacy.
Blinken, after talks with Qatar, an important mediator, told reporters: “This is a situation that can easily escalate, leading to even greater insecurity and suffering.” The U.S. effort to prevent a conflict in the region has been complicated by the escalation in cross-border fighting.
Israel’s military claimed that Hezbollah fired on the air traffic control station on Mount Meron Saturday, but that air defenses weren’t affected as backup systems were present. The Israeli military said no soldiers were injured and that all damage would be repaired.
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It was still one of Hezbollah’s most serious attacks in the months-long fighting that accompanied Israel’s war in Gaza, and it forced tens or thousands of Israelis from their communities near the Lebanese Border.
Hezbollah said its rocket barrage was an “initial reaction” to Israel’s alleged targeted killing of Hamas leader, a Hezbollah official in Beirut.
Israel’s military chief of Staff, Lt.Col. Herzi Halevi, stated that military pressure was increasing on Hezbollah – a Hamas partner – and would be either effective or “we will get into another war.” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari claimed that Israel’s emphasis on Hezbollah Radwan’s elite force was driving it away from its border.
Israel’s main goal has been to contain the fighting in its northern region. Hezbollah has far more powerful military capabilities than Hamas. Israeli leaders, however, have stated that their patience has worn thin and they are ready to resort to force if tensions can’t be resolved diplomatically.
Benjamin Netanyahu said to his cabinet: “I suggest Hezbollah take a lesson from Hamas in the last few months, that no terrorist is immune.” We are determined in our resolve to protect our citizens, and return residents of the North safely to their homes.
Hezbollah started firing rockets along Israel’s northern boundary shortly after Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war, killing around 1,200 people (mostly civilians) and taking 250 hostages. Hezbollah claims its attacks are meant to relieve pressure on Gaza.
In a joint press conference with Blinken’s, Qatar’s Government acknowledged that the death of the Hamas senior leader in Lebanon may affect the complex negotiations to release more Hamas hostages in Gaza. “We are continuing our discussion with the parties and we are trying to reach an agreement as soon as possible.”
On Sunday, ten people were killed in violence in the West Bank occupied. This included a Palestinian driver who was shot by attackers in a car bearing Israeli plates and a girl who was wounded when Israeli police opened fire on a vehicle that had rammed into a checkpoint.
The war inside Gaza against the militant group has entered its fourth month.
Israel’s military announced that the major battle in Gaza’s northern part was over, claiming it had dismantled Hamas military infrastructure. It is now advancing its offensive to the south where most of Gaza’s 2.3m Palestinians are crammed into smaller areas, resulting in a humanitarian catastrophe while being bombarded by Israeli airstrikes.
Netanyahu says the war won’t end until Israel’s hostages are returned, Hamas is eliminated and Gaza ceases to be a threat.
Biden administration officials have urged Israel’s air and ground offensive to slow down and focus on more targeted attacks against Hamas leadership.
According to the Health Ministry of Hamas-run Gaza, more than 22,800 Palestinians were killed and over 58,000 injured since the beginning of the war. The death toll is not divided into combatants and civilians. According to health officials, about two thirds of the victims were women and children.
Israel accuse Hamas of civilian casualties, claiming that the group operates in densely populated residential areas.
According to local medical officials and the Qatari-owned Arabic language channel, an airstrike near Rafah’s southern city killed two journalists, including Hamza Dhdouh. Hamza was the oldest son Wael Dhdouh who is Al Jazeera’s chief correspondent for Gaza. Al Jazeera broadcast video of Dahdouh sobbing and holding the hand of his son. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.
Al Jazeera condemned Israel’s killings of journalists and their family members, as well as other brutal attacks. Dahdouh lost his wife, children, and grandchild during an airstrike on Oct. 26, and was injured in a strike by Israel last month, which killed a colleague.
He said, wiping away tears: “The world is blinded by what’s going on in Gaza.”
According to a journalist from the Associated Press, the European Gaza Hospital was the site of another airstrike that killed at least seven people. Their bodies were transported to the hospital. A man ran in with a baby and then walked it to the morgue, wrapped in a blanket.
“Everything that is happening here is beyond the law, and outside of the realms or reason.” “Our brains cannot fully comprehend what is happening to us,” said Inas Abu Al-Najja in a quavering voice. Men picked up the rubble using picks and their bare hands.
The bodies of 18 people were brought to the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, a southern city, on Sunday. Twelve of them were children. They had been killed by an Israeli air strike that occurred late Saturday night. It was aimed at a house in the Khan Younis refugee camp, which was set up in the early 1980s for refugees of the 1948 conflict over Israel’s establishment.
Israeli forces advanced deeper into central city Deir al-Balah where residents of several neighborhoods were told to evacuate.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an international medical charity known under the French acronym, announced that it would be evacuating all of its medical staff out of Deir al-Balah’s Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital.
Carolina Lopez, emergency coordinator for the group, confirmed that a bullet had penetrated the wall of the intensive care unit of the hospital on Friday. “Drone attacks and sniper firing were only a few hundred metres from the hospital in the last couple of days,” she said. She stated that the hospital has received between 150 to 200 injured people per day in recent weeks.
Both the International Rescue Committee and Medical Aid for Palestinians have been forced to leave the hospital. “The number of injuries brought in during the past few days have been horrendous,” surgeon Nick Maynard said.
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