Israel Intensifies Lebanon Attacks Despite Growing Calls for Ceasefire
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Dozens of people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon, according to health officials, as Israeli air forces continued to assault the country for the fourth day in a row, despite rising international calls for a truce.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health stated on Thursday that at least 29 people were killed in Israeli strikes, most of them Syrians in the town of Younine near the Syrian border, according to an Al Jazeera report.
Other strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including Tyre (Sour), while two people were killed and 15 others wounded in an attack on the suburbs of Beirut, according to the ministry.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had targeted around 220 Hezbollah-linked sites in the past 24 hours. It also claimed to have killed Muhammad Hossein Sarur, described as the head of Hezbollah’s aerial unit, in the Beirut strike.
Hezbollah, through its Telegram channel, announced that it fired over 50 missiles at Ahihud, north of Haifa, and launched rocket barrages targeting Kiryat Shmona and various military posts in northern Israel. The resistance group also claimed it forced two Israeli warplanes out of Lebanese airspace using air defense systems.
Meanwhile, international calls for a ceasefire have intensified. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that global powers seek a ceasefire, while US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized that diplomacy remains an option.
"Israel and Lebanon can choose a different path," Austin said, adding that despite the recent escalation, a diplomatic solution is still possible.
A US-French proposal for a 21-day ceasefire was introduced on Wednesday, also advocating for a halt to hostilities in Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly rejected the idea, stating, "We’re continuing to strike Hezbollah with all our strength, and we won’t stop until we achieve our objectives."
Israel’s recent military escalation has displaced over 90,000 people in Lebanon, with more than 600 reported dead since Monday. It marks the deadliest period of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since the conflict began last October, following Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.
The Israeli regime’s army has reportedly carried out several targeted assassinations of Hezbollah's military leadership, including the deaths of Ibrahim Aqil.