BEIRUT: Israel conducted strikes against Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold on Monday and battles raged in Lebanon's south after the group claimed 50 attacks on Israeli targets the day before. The heavy exchanges of fire over the weekend included deadly strikes on Beirut and other areas of Lebanon, and fighting on the ground between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers, particularly around the southern town of Khiam.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired 250 projectiles into Israel on Sunday, part of a wave of attacks the militants said had targeted areas including the Ashdod naval base in southern Israel and military sites near Tel Aviv. The Israeli army warned in a statement on X it would target Hezbollah "facilities and interests" in Beirut's southern suburbs, the group's main stronghold.
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported "three strikes on the vicinity of Haret Hreik", and images showed thick smoke rising from the southern suburbs. The strikes followed heavy raids on the area the night before.
Lebanon's education ministry suspended classes on Monday for schools, technical institutes and private higher education institutions in Beirut and a number of surrounding areas, citing "the current dangerous conditions". Israeli ground forces have also entered several villages and towns near Lebanon's southern border, including Khiam, where NNA on Monday reported clashes with Hezbollah fighters. The escalation came as the United States and the European Union pushed for a truce in a war Lebanon says has killed at least 3,754 people since October 2023, most of them in the last two months.
In Beirut on Sunday, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire, after a US envoy said last week that a deal was "within our grasp". The envoy, Amos Hochstein, headed to Israel after a visit to Lebanon, where he met with senior Lebanese officials and twice sat down with a key mediator for Hezbollah. Neither Israel nor the United States has issued official comments on the Israel visit.
Jean-Noel Barrot, the foreign minister of France called on Israel and Lebanon to seize a "window of opportunity" to negotiate an end to the fighting. The US news site Axios reported that the parties were close to a deal that would involve a 60-day transition period in which the Israeli army would pull back. The draft agreement also provides for the establishment of a US-led committee to oversee implementation, as well as US assurances that Israel can take action against imminent threats if the Lebanese military does not, according to Axios. — AFP
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