Lebanon says nearly 60 killed in new Israeli strikes

Lebanon’s health ministry on Sunday reported that Israeli strikes killed nearly 60 more people, following Israel’s continued bombardment of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and also strikes in Yemen.

The attacks follow an air strike on Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs on Friday, which killed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, engaged in cross-border fire with Israel for almost a year.

Hezbollah has stated that it is acting in support of Hamas militants in Gaza, who attacked Israel on 7th October, triggering the war in the Palestinian territory.

After Israel shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon and cross-border fire intensified, Israeli attacks have killed hundreds since last Monday, marking the deadliest day since Lebanon’s civil war (1975–1990).

Lebanon’s health ministry said air raids near the main southern city of Sidon killed 32 people on Sunday, while at least 25 died in the east.

France’s foreign ministry, without providing details, announced on Sunday that a second French national had been killed in Lebanon, following the death of a woman after a blast in southern Lebanon on Monday.

The announcement came as French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Lebanon, making him the first high-level foreign diplomat to visit since Israeli air strikes escalated.

Barrot met earlier with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and stated that Paris was seeking “an immediate halt” to Israeli strikes.

– Fear of ‘Conflagration’ –

France also called on Hezbollah and its backer Iran to refrain from any action that could lead to a “regional conflagration.”

Pope Francis, when asked about Israeli air strikes on civilians, said a country “goes beyond morality” when its defence is disproportionate to the attack.

A source close to Hezbollah reported that Nasrallah’s body was found on Saturday and “was placed in a shroud on Sunday after being washed.”

Funeral details have not yet been arranged, the source added, requesting anonymity.

Israeli military operations in Lebanon aim to weaken Hezbollah’s capacity to attack Israel, eliminate the group’s military leadership, and “clear” the border areas of fighters, an Israeli security official said on Friday.

Israeli leaders have expressed a desire for their displaced citizens in the north to be able to return safely.

Israel’s military also said dozens of its warplanes targeted Iran-backed Houthi rebels in war-ravaged Yemen on Sunday, including areas around the port of Hodeida, a crucial entry point for fuel and humanitarian aid.

Houthi media reports stated that the strikes killed four people and injured 33.

The Yemen raids came a day after the Houthis claimed they had targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with a missile, attempting to strike as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from New York.

Israel also targeted Hodeida port in July, causing what an official said was at least $20 million in damage, after a Houthi drone breached Israeli air defences and killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel’s military said it intercepted an “unmanned aerial target” approaching Israel over the Red Sea, where the Houthis have regularly attacked shipping.

Separately, it said the air strike that killed Nasrallah also “eliminated” 20 other Hezbollah members, following earlier strikes that killed Nasrallah’s right-hand man, Fuad Shukr, and the head of the elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil.

Israel also claimed that Nabil Qaouq, a member of Hezbollah’s central council, was killed in a strike on Saturday. Hezbollah has not officially confirmed his death, but a source close to the group stated that Qaouq had been killed.

– Seismic Blow –

Hezbollah is a significant political, military, and social force in Lebanon, but Nasrallah’s death has dealt it a seismic blow.

Israeli bombardment has killed more than 700 people in one week, including 14 paramedics over a two-day period, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

AFPTV live footage on Sunday showed smoke rising beyond palm trees in the coastal city of Tyre, with more smoke visible across a bay.

Israel’s military said late on Sunday that it had struck 120 Hezbollah targets, following earlier reports of dozens more.
Hezbollah stated it had once again fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Safed.

The group also reported launching “a volley of Fadi-1” rockets at an Israeli base in the Golan Heights. Israel reported that several rockets from Lebanon landed in unpopulated areas near the Israeli-annexed territory.

– Cult Status –

Nasrallah was the face of Hezbollah and held a cult-like status among his supporters.

Netanyahu stated that Israel had “settled the score” with Nasrallah’s killing. However, in the northern Israeli town of Rosh Pina, Matan Sofer had mixed feelings.

Sofer, 24, welcomed the “good news” of Nasrallah’s death but wondered whether “we risk it getting worse.”

US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel’s top arms supplier, said on Sunday that a broader war “really has to be avoided.”

Analysts told AFP that Nasrallah’s death places a bruised Hezbollah under pressure to respond.

For Tehran, his death “has not changed the fact that Iran still does not want to be directly involved” in the ongoing conflict, said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group.

Iran stated that a member of its Revolutionary Guards was also killed alongside Nasrallah.

– ‘Largest Displacement’ –

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said “well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon” and more than 50,000 have fled to neighbouring Syria.

Mikati, the prime minister, said up to one million people may have been displaced, potentially representing the “largest displacement movement” in Lebanon’s history.

In Gaza, the territory’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes on Sunday had killed several people.

Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7th October resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Of the 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 whom the Israeli military claims are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,595 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.