BEIRUT: Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa remained under Israeli fire on Friday, with initial reports from the Ministry of Health stating that 25 people were killed during the morning hours.
This occurred as the Israeli army announced that it had “mobilized two reserve brigades for ground combat in the north.”
The Israeli army’s attacks focused on targeting Hezbollah’s supply routes through Syria.
An airstrike hit the Bekaa-Homs international road near the town of Rasm Al-Hadath, causing damage.
This followed the targeting of a legal crossing and illegal Hezbollah border crossings with Syria on Thursday.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced that a strike on a car resulted in the death of Abbas Ibrahim Sharaf Al-Deen, the deputy of Mohammed Qubaisi, commander of the Hezbollah rocket unit who was killed in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburb last Tuesday.
Hussein Hani, another official in the rocket system, was killed alongside Sharaf Al-Deen.
Three people were killed on Friday when a drone targeted a car on the Wadi Al-Oyoun road between Sarbin and Beit Lif in the Bint Jbeil district.
Civil defense teams managed to recover more bodies buried under the rubble of their homes for the past two days, including women in the south and Bekaa.
The search continues for more missing persons.
Hospitals in southern Lebanon, particularly in the city of Tyre, have complained of an overflow of bodies that their morgues can no longer accommodate.
They are trying to obtain mobile refrigeration units.
Several families took to social media, reporting that they had “lost track of their relatives’ bodies and no longer knew where they had been taken.”
Airstrikes also targeted the inner neighborhoods in the city of Nabatieh.
One of the targets was a building near the office of the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammed Raad.
The intense airstrikes hit the towns of Ghaziyeh, Qennarit, and the outskirts of Aaddousiyyeh in Al-Zahrani, as well as Kafr Rumman, Houmine El Faouqa, Choukine, Zawtar El Gharbiyeh, Maifadoun, and Kfar Tebnit, causing civilian injuries.
A strike on the border town of Shebaa on Thursday night, the first of its kind in the town, completely destroyed a house and killed 10 people, including women and children.
The western and eastern mountain ranges in the Bekaa were hit by intense Israeli airstrikes, targeting the towns of Nabi Aila, Chmistar, Nabi Chit, Douris, Bodai, Bednayel, Ablah, Aadous, and Taraiyya.
Salam Mrad, one of the displaced from Bodai, said: “My uncle and his family were killed in an airstrike on their home while they were inside preparing winter provisions.”
The Israeli army stated that it “conducted dozens of airstrikes on Hezbollah infrastructure, military buildings, and cells in several areas in southern Lebanon.”
According to the National Early Warning System Platform, the number of displaced people from the south and Bekaa to safer areas within Lebanese territory has reached 77,100.
Meanwhile, about 30,000 people, half of whom are Lebanese and the other half Syrian residents or workers in Lebanon, have crossed into Syria via the legal Masnaa border crossing.
Some of these people continued through Syria to Jordan to travel from there to other destinations.
A security source told Arab News: “Hundreds of Lebanese had their flights from Lebanon canceled by foreign airlines that suspended their flights to Lebanon.
“They were forced to travel by road to Jordan, and from there to their European or American destinations.
Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines, which continues to operate flights via Beirut Airport, is fully booked until Oct. 10.”
The security source pointed out that “many Syrians residing in Lebanon have returned through illegal crossings near the Masnaa crossing, heading toward Syrian territory, without being stopped by Lebanese authorities.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced that it targeted “the Kiryat Ata settlement with a volley of Fadi-1 rockets, shelled the city of Tiberias with a rocket salvo, and hit the Ilaniya settlement with another volley of Fadi-1 rockets.”
The Israeli army confirmed that it “detected the launch of 10 rockets from Lebanon toward Haifa Bay.”
It added that “the air defense system intercepted some of them, while others landed in open areas.”
The Israeli Army Radio reported that “the incident resulted in two people sustaining minor injuries while rushing to shelters in Haifa.”
Israeli media counted “five rockets landing in open areas in and around Tiberias” and revealed that “the Israeli army attacked 1,600 targets in Lebanon on Thursday.”
The needs of displaced people inside Lebanon have exceeded the capacities of relief agencies.
The British Embassy in Lebanon announced that “the UK has sent £5 million ($6.7 million) to UNICEF in Lebanon to support efforts to respond to humanitarian needs and enable the agency to distribute aid to the most vulnerable groups.”
The British aid package includes essential medical supplies, health supplies and fuel to run water stations.
Hamish Faulkner, British minister for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The number of civilian casualties is unacceptable, and the UK is deeply worried about the dramatic rise in the number of displaced people. An immediate ceasefire is necessary.”
Imran Riza, UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, said in a press conference held in Geneva that the Israeli escalation in Lebanon is “more than catastrophic.”
In the transcript that was distributed in Beirut, he described the current situation as “the bloodiest period in Lebanon in more than two decades, with many fearing that this is just the beginning.”
He said: “Within a few days, hundreds of thousands of Lebanon’s residents felt they were facing a fate similar to Gaza.
“In less than a week, at least 700 people were killed and thousands were injured, and around 120,000 were displaced within hours.
“These numbers are still increasing. Our loss was painful with the killing of colleagues from UNHCR, one of whom was killed along with her child.”
Riza spoke of “many gaps in vital and essential sectors that limit the necessary repairs in shelters and housing, the provision of adequate stocks of food and fuel and the management of coordination work.”
He said: “The priority now is to reach an immediate ceasefire to end the suffering of civilians and stop the destruction. The parties to the conflict must stop the fighting, prioritize diplomatic efforts, and recommit to the implementation of Resolution 1701, as the region cannot bear more bloodshed.”
Israeli airstrikes target field commanders in southern Lebanon
https://arab.news/85zws
Israeli airstrikes target field commanders in southern Lebanon
- The Israeli army’s attacks focused on targeting Hezbollah’s supply routes through Syria
- Three people were killed on Friday when a drone targeted a car on the Wadi Al-Oyoun road between Sarbin and Beit Lif in the Bint Jbeil district