Middle East conflict: Amid ongoing negotiations to end the 10-month war in Gaza, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon threatened to further escalate boiling tensions in the Middle East by firing over 50 rockets at Israel, hitting several private houses in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. This came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with negotiators with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
First responders in Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday's attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak. Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed two and injured 19, as per security sources.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it bombed Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley overnight, its latest strike on arms depots in a major stronghold of the powerful Iranian-backed militia. The air attack came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that "attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation for anything that might happen".
Recent Hezbollah strikes on Israel
On Tuesday, Hezbollah launched more than 200 projectiles toward Israel, after Israel targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot some 80 km from the border, marking a significant increase in the daily cross-border attacks. Last week, Hezbollah and Hamas launched coordinated strikes on sensitive Israeli military sites.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been locked in hostilities for the last 10 months in parallel with the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has spread to several other fronts and prompted fears of an all-out Middle East conflict. While most of the exchanges of fire have played out along Lebanon's volatile southern border with Israel, some Israeli strikes have occurred deeper into Lebanon.
More than 600 people in Lebanon have been killed since the start of the clashes last October, including more than 400 Hezbollah combatants and 132 civilians, according to a Reuters toll. On Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted a weapons depot used by Hezbollah militants in an airstrike. Lebanon's state news agency said at least 10 Syrian nationals, including two children, were killed in this incident.
Israel turning attention from Gaza to Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Gallant said Israel's military is shifting its attention from Gaza to the border with Lebanon and has scaled back its operations in the besieged Palestinian territory. “Our strongholds are moving from the south to the north, we are gradually changing, we still have a number of missions in the south,” Gallant told troops.
This came as Israel accepted a US-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza, and Blinken called on Hamas to do the same. However, Hamas called the latest proposal presented to it a “reversal” of what it agreed to previously and accused the US of acquiescing to what it called “new conditions” from Israel.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities and military bases, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 40,000 people since October according to Palestinian health authorities, and at least 109 hostages remain there, with a third of them believed dead. Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages on Wednesday.
(with inputs from agencies)
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