BEIRUT: Towns along the Lebanese border with Israel are becoming deserted as residents flee the Israeli bombardment, a local man told Arab News on Friday, as two more civilians were hurt in a blast that damaged a property in the village of Baraachit.
“After five months of daily confrontations between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, 90 percent of the border towns have become empty, while 100 percent of the residents in other adjacent towns have completely fled the area,” the person said.
“The weapons used by the Israeli enemy have become more destructive, meaning that bombed buildings are being destroyed, which makes it more difficult to tell if there are any residents living there, or to even find them due to their scattered body parts,” said the resident of Nabatieh, itself a target for the attacks.
Hezbollah said on Friday that four of its members were killed earlier in the week when the house they were in was hit by an Israeli shell. The victims were identified as Ali Amin Marji, Fadel Abbas Kaoud and Hadi Mahmoud Hijazi.
Another member, Fadi Mahmoud Daoui, was killed in a similar attack on Aitaroun on Thursday night, the group said.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah conducted artillery strikes on Israeli military sites in Shtula, Western Galilee and, according to Israeli media sources, “in the vicinity of Al-Rahib.”
According to figures from Information International, as of Tuesday, 290 people — including 228 Hezbollah members and cadres — had been killed in Lebanon as a result of the fighting.
Most of the deaths were reported in villages and towns in the south and Bekaa regions, including nine each in Ayta Al-Shaab and Kafr Kila, seven in both Markaba and Aitaroun, and six each in Khirbet Selm and Taybeh.
The deadliest week for Hezbollah so far was Oct. 22-28, when 28 of its members were killed, followed by Feb. 11-17, which saw 20 fatalities, the data showed.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Friday that the Israeli army was planning to invade Lebanon by land, but analysts said there was still the possibility of a political solution to the conflict.
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said: “It has been spread all over the media that Israel threatened to attack with a deadline of March 15. If Israel attacks, we will take it down with its supporters. We will pay it in the same coin: assault for assault, fight for fight.
“We are prepared for any day on which Israel chooses to expand its battle. We are on the lookout. We will win.”
The head of Hezbollah’s Shariah Council, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, said during his Friday sermon in Baalbek that the group would “keep striking until the war on Gaza and the attacks on Lebanon end.”
Hezbollah would “prevent the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the killing of innocent people and civilians,” he said.
