• durgesh dubey
• 25 Sep, 2024

Israel

In a video that quickly went viral on social media, Lebanese journalist Fadi Boudaya can be seen speaking on-air as the missile hits, knocking him off-screen. Boudaya, who serves as the editor-in-chief of the Miraya International Network, later tweeted that he was safe. "Thank you to everyone who called, texted, and checked in, and to all who expressed concern. Thank God I am fine, by His grace, and we will continue our media duties in support of the resistance. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he said. Boudaya is known for his sympathetic stance towards Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group.

Israel and Hezbollah have been locked in cross-border clashes since the Gaza war erupted in October, marking the most intense escalation in years. The conflict intensified after a sophisticated attack on Hezbollah members, in which their communication devices, including pagers and radios, were destroyed. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, but the Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. The ongoing violence has raised concerns of a full-scale war, as both sides have continued launching rockets in recent days. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon have so far claimed 558 lives, including 50 children.

On Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video message to the people of Lebanon, urging them to evacuate as Israel targeted Hezbollah positions. He assured them they could return once the operation was complete. A video capturing the moment Boudaya was injured during his live broadcast from his home in Baalbek shocked many. Reports confirmed that he was hurt in the missile strike.

Israel launched its most extensive air assault on Hezbollah on Monday, focusing on what it believes are the group's weapon sites in southern and eastern Lebanon. According to an Israeli military official, the operation is aimed at weakening Hezbollah’s military capabilities, though a ground invasion is not currently planned. So far, the strikes have killed nearly 500 people and injured over 1,000, prompting European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to warn of the region's growing risk of descending into "all-out war."

Tensions have been rising since August, after Hezbollah retaliated against Israel’s killing of its top commander, Faud Shukr, in July. The militant group escalated the conflict again on Sunday by launching more than 100 rockets, declaring an “open-ended battle of reckoning” with Israel following a series of explosions that destroyed pagers and radios across Lebanon. Hezbollah holds Israel's Mossad responsible for the targeted attacks on its members. Boudaya, who was preparing for an interview with Inews when the missile struck, suffered injuries in the incident.