Israel attacks suburbs of Beirut while Lebanon reports 31 fatalities nationwide.
According to Lebanese official media, Israeli strikes pounded south Beirut on Monday. Health officials say 31 people were killed throughout the war-torn nation, the most of them were in the south.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, Israel's military claimed to have struck "about 25 terror targets" that Hezbollah had set up throughout Lebanon, notably in southern Beirut, Baalbek, the Bekaa Valley, Nabatiyeh, and the city's outskirts.
Following many Israeli military evacuation warnings, strikes started in the morning, resulting in palls of smoke over the southern suburbs of the capital, according to AFPTV photos.
A fourth round of Israeli assaults on south Beirut was reported by Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) on Monday night, claiming that "enemy warplanes launched strikes on (the) Haret Hreik and Shiyah" districts.
Despite continuous international peace efforts, the attacks followed a weekend of intense raids in the region.
At least 29 people were murdered in a horrific strike that struck the heavily populated Basta neighborhood in central Beirut early on Saturday, according to the health ministry.
Although a spokesperson with the Iran-backed organization disputed rumors that a senior member had been targeted, Israel's army said on Monday that it had hit a Hezbollah command center there.
Following Israel's evacuation warnings for portions of the major southern cities, the NNA reported Israeli strikes on Tyre and Nabatiyeh.
According to Lebanon's health ministry, at least 31 persons were killed Monday by Israeli attacks.
"The casualty toll of Israeli enemy strikes on a number of Lebanese cities and towns" in the east, south, and vicinity of Beirut was mentioned in a statement.
"Dangerous conditions"
The NNA also reported "a drone strike that targeted a residential complex" in a Druze-majority hamlet on the outskirts of Beirut without previous evacuation orders.
The continuing conflict has mostly avoided the Druze minority's homeland in Lebanon, which is a subset of Shiite Islam.
Due to "the current dangerous conditions," the education ministry on Monday canceled classes at private higher education institutions, technical institutes, and schools in Beirut and the surrounding territories.
Over fifty strikes on Israeli soldiers, military posts, and villages in southern Lebanon and across the border were reported by Hezbollah on Sunday. The Israeli army claims that Israel was hit by 250 rockets.
On September 23, Israel intensified its air campaign in Lebanon, primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and the country's east and south. Israel later crossed the border with ground soldiers.
In south Lebanon, Israeli ground forces have seized many border towns and villages, including Khiam, where the NNA said Monday that Hezbollah members were engaged in fierce combat.
On Monday, UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, voiced its "serious concern" over recent Lebanese soldier deaths that Beirut has blamed on Israel.
Lebanon's army has lost a number of personnel, including one on Sunday, despite not being directly involved in the Israel-Hezbollah confrontation.
The United Nations, the European Union, and the United States have all been vigorously urging parties to agree to a war halt in recent days.
On condition of anonymity, an Israeli official told AFP that the ceasefire agreement would be decided by Israel's security council "on Tuesday evening."
The United Nations, the European Union, and the United States have all been vigorously urging parties to agree to a war halt in recent days.
On condition of anonymity, an Israeli official told AFP that the ceasefire agreement would be decided by Israel's security council "on Tuesday evening."
0 Comments