Lebanon warns of ‘new war’ as Israel launches fresh deadly strikes

As dozens of fresh Israeli airstrikes against the Hezbollah armed group result in the deaths of at least two people, according to Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam.

Salam warned the Lebanese people on Saturday, warning that Israel’s “renewed military operations on the southern border” would result in “woes to Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”

According to reports from Lebanon’s National News Agency, at least two people have been confirmed killed and eight others have been injured in Israeli airstrikes. According to the report, three of the victims, including one who was killed, were children, according to the report, which also mentions the nation’s public health emergency operations center.

After its military claimed to have intercepted three rockets launched from a Lebanese district about 6 kilometers (4 miles) north of the border, Israeli artillery and air strikes hit southern Lebanon earlier in the day.

Israel claimed to have targeted rocket launchers that Hezbollah, which it claims is to blame for the assault, had targeted. Prior to this, the Israeli military claimed to have intercepted the military.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese organization, denied being involved in the string of rocket attacks coming from southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah reiterated its commitment to the November ceasefire agreement and claimed Israel had used it as a pretext to rekindle its airstrikes.

According to two security sources, Israel’s Army Radio reported that the military’s offensive in southern Lebanon is still going on.

According to the sources, “there will be additional strikes in the coming hours.”

prolonged conflict

The first reportedly exchanged on Saturday was between Hamas and Israel, which had previously declared a separate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

After a ceasefire agreement was announced in November of last year, Israel has also been held responsible for the protracted conflict.

A January withdrawal deadline was set for Israel under the agreement, which was later extended to February 18. Israel has since launched numerous deadly strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets in five locations inside Lebanon.

Salam stated on Saturday that “all security and military measures must be taken to demonstrate that Lebanon decides on matters of war and peace.”

In a separate statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for action to stop the conflict from escalating further and condemned “attempts” to destabilize his nation and bring back violence.

Israel has also defended the most recent Hezbollah attacks, claiming that the Israeli prime minister’s decree was “in response to the rocket fire that hit Israel this morning.”

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz instructed the Israeli military to “attack dozens of terror targets in Lebanon with forcefully,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Netanyahu claimed that Israel was holding the government of Lebanon accountable for “everything that occurs on its territory.”

There is “a lot of concern that the situation will spiral out of control,” according to Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, who is a reporter from Beirut.

According to her, Lebanese officials are reportedly negotiating with the US-led committee monitoring the ceasefire in an effort to lower tensions.

spillover from the Gaza war

The Gaza war’s most deadly spillover occurred in Lebanon, which scurried across the border for months before erupting in a fierce Israeli offensive that expelled Hezbollah’s top leaders, many of its fighters, and a significant portion of its arsenal.

UNIFIL, a member of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, stated in a written statement on Saturday that the border violence had “alarmed” it.

It warned that “any further escalation of this volatile situation could have serious consequences for the region.”

Source: Aljazeera