BEIRUT, Oct. 1 — Israel on Monday night launched ground raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area of southern Lebanon, killing over 90 people and raising concerns about regional escalation.
Ninety-five people were killed, and 172 others injured over the past 24 hours in Israeli airstrikes on different areas in Lebanon, said the Lebanese Health Ministry Monday night.
The ministry reported that 16 people were killed and 48 injured in the Baalbek-Hermel district, while another 16 were killed and 55 wounded in the Nabatieh governorate.
Additionally, four deaths and four injuries were reported in Beirut, along with 52 fatalities and 43 injuries in the southern governorate. The Bekaa region saw seven people killed and 22 injured.
ESCALATION OF CONFLICT
Israel’s military confirmed late Monday that it had launched “a focused and limited” ground campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The operation, involving ground forces, aircraft and artillery units, targeted areas in southern Lebanon, while warplanes bombed Beirut’s southern suburb, Israel’s military said.
The ground raids against Hezbollah in Lebanon come amid heightened tension in the region, with Israel launching attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria as part of its alleged “self-defense” strategy.
Besides the ground raids, the Israeli forces early Tuesday carried out an aerial assault on the Syrian capital Damascus, with three civilians dead and nine others being injured, according to the Syrian Defense Ministry.
Syria’s state media confirmed that Syrian air defenses were responding to an Israeli attack in the vicinity of Damascus.
The Israeli military said Monday night that the offensive in the Gaza Strip would also proceed.
At least 12 people were killed, and several others injured in an Israeli raid on two houses in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.
An influx of both Lebanese citizens and displaced Syrians were crossing into Syria following Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon.
The UN Refugee Agency said 100,000 people have fled Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon to Syria, primarily Lebanese and Syrian nationals.
GROWING CONCERNS
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about the humanitarian impact on civilians.
“The secretary-general remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the events that are unfolding in Lebanon,” said his chief spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. “He continues to reiterate his call for de-escalation, a cessation of hostilities.”
The UN peacekeepers monitoring the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, remain in position.
However, the spokesman said that while the peacekeepers remain in their area of responsibility, the intensity of fighting prevents their movements and ability to undertake mandated tasks, such as going out on patrols.
Dujarric said the UN will mobilize additional resources for Lebanon to meet the growing needs of about 1 million people impacted by the increasing crisis.
The United Nations General Assembly President Philemon Yang on Monday called on Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah to urgently reach a ceasefire.
During the last day of the General Debate of the 79th session of the assembly, many speakers also denounced Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
In his statement, Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh condemned Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people, stressing “the need to hold Israel accountable for the war crimes it is committing.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier Monday evening that Israel had informed the United States of “limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.”
“We should have a ceasefire now,” said U.S. President Joe Biden said earlier on Monday.
Other countries like Britain and Spain have also expressed their concerns over the escalations and called for a ceasefire. (Xinhua)
