• durgesh dubey
• 04 Aug, 2024

Hezbollah

Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles at Israel on Saturday. Lebanon's militant group confirmed the attack, which followed an exchange of strikes between Hezbollah and Israel on Friday. On Thursday, Hezbollah targeted Israel's West Galilee, but most rockets were intercepted, except for five. In response, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) destroyed the launcher used in the attack.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran warned that Hezbollah would strike deeper inside Israel, not limited to military targets, as reported by the Times of Israel. On Friday, Hezbollah resumed rocket and artillery attacks against Israel after a brief lull, following the killing of its military commander in Beirut by Israeli forces. Hezbollah claimed it fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli warplane in Lebanese airspace and conducted multiple attacks on military positions in northern Israel.

The Israeli military intercepted an aerial target from Lebanon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire hit several villages in southern Lebanon on Friday, a day after an Israeli strike killed at least five Syrian migrant workers in the area. The Israeli military also reported hitting two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a Thursday address, called for calm along the border following the Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed military commander Fuad Shukr, an Iranian military adviser, and five civilians. Nasrallah indicated Hezbollah would retaliate but would first deliberate on their response while continuing regular military operations against Israel.

Hezbollah and the Israeli military have exchanged fire for nearly 10 months, primarily along the border, but recent strikes risk escalating into a full-scale regional war. Israel and the United States accused Hezbollah of killing 12 youths in a July 27 rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a claim Hezbollah denied.

The recent rocket attacks from Hezbollah followed Israeli strikes that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Israeli authorities reported several impacts near Beit Hillel, with fires in the area, though no injuries were confirmed.

In response to rising tensions, the US announced an increased military presence in West Asia, deploying an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers, and a new fighter squadron. President Biden, when asked about Iran's threat to attack Israel, expressed hope that Iran would stand down but was uncertain.

The US Embassy in Beirut advised its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately amid fears of a fresh war, an advisory echoed by several other countries, including Jordan, Canada, and India. Meanwhile, Iran, blaming Israel for Haniyeh's death, expects Hezbollah to strike deeper into Israel, beyond military targets.