BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes conducted five airstrikes on the border town of Kfar Kila on Sunday, demolishing five vacant homes and reducing them to rubble.
An Israeli drone strike also targeted a house in the town center of Beit Lif, causing “severe injuries to two individuals and minor injuries to a third person,” according to the Ministry of Health’s Emergency Operations Center.
The attack came hours after Iran-backed Hezbollah expanded its military operations against the Israeli army on Saturday night, targeting the settlement of Beit Hillel for the first time since hostilities began between the two sides 10 months ago.
The threat of expanding hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army has increased due to Hezbollah’s decision to avenge the assassination of its prominent field commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in the southern suburbs of Beirut last week.
The situation has raised Lebanese concerns about open war, especially as it has coincided with warnings from Arab and foreign embassies for their citizens in the country to leave immediately.
The Israeli army fired incendiary bombs at the forests near the Blue Line after its heavy machine guns combed the town of Aita al-Shaab.
In addition, an Israeli drone conducted an operation against a motorcycle in the town of Rab El-Thalathine but it failed to hit its target.
In a separate incident, another drone targeted a water distribution power station in the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon. The strike ignited a fire at the facility, causing a disruption in water supply.
Hezbollah declared that it had “successfully targeted the espionage equipment at the Ramia military site, resulting in its destruction.”
Additionally, the group launched rockets at the Manara military complex, “hitting it directly.”
Hezbollah also said it had used artillery shells to target “the Birkat Risha site, achieving hits,” and “Al-Malikiyah … hitting it directly.”
The group launched around 50 rockets toward the settlement of Beit Hillel on Saturday night.
Hezbollah said in a statement that it had included the location on its target list and attacked it for the first time with dozens of Katyusha rockets in response to Israeli attacks on Kfar Kila and Deir Siriane, which had targeted civilians.
The Israeli military responded to Hezbollah’s action by expanding its own targets to include “a Hezbollah missile-launch pad and an additional infrastructure located in Marjayoun, southern Lebanon.”
It added that it had “eliminated dangers in the Odaisseh area (in) southern Lebanon.”
Israeli media reported on Sunday afternoon that “a factory in Kiryat Shmona in Upper Galilee was directly hit by a missile fired from southern Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, three rockets were fired toward an Israeli site in the occupied Shebaa Farms.
Saudi Arabia’s Embassy has reiterated its request for nationals to depart from Lebanon without delay, while the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Jordanians “not to travel to Lebanon at present, for their safety,” and requested its citizens “residing and present in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible.”
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested its citizens to “take immediate measures to leave Lebanon as soon as possible,” describing the situation in the country as “a very volatile security context.”
The statement released by the US Embassy on Saturday requested US citizens to “book any available travel ticket” and contact the embassy if any citizen did not have enough funds to return to the US.
The offices of Middle East Airlines have witnessed some pressure from those wishing to bring forward their departure date from Lebanon.
An employee working in the call center said: “We receive between 6,000 and 8,000 calls a day to change the travel date. Most callers are Lebanese expatriates who have come to Lebanon to spend their summer vacation.”
Arab and foreign airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon, with the exception of a few that have reduced the number of daily flights to one, including Turkish Airlines.
Beirut International Airport saw no new arrivals throughout the night until the early-morning hours although, according to a government source: “Lebanon’s officials have not been warned of the possibility of Israel targeting the airport like it did during the 2006 war.
“However, nothing is guaranteed in this confrontation, and any mistake could lead to dire consequences.”
Adel Al-Masri, an attorney living in the Ruwais area of Beirut, said many people want to leave the city’s southern suburb.
The attorney said: “The reassurances that minimize the likelihood of a war breaking out are no longer convincing us, as we are seeing what is happening in Gaza, and we do not want our children to live this bitter experience as we did.”
