After a day in which Israeli and Hezbollah troops clashed at close range in southern Lebanon, Israel bombed central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least six people. Later in the day, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said they had killed 15 Hezbollah members after a strike on a municipality building in southern Lebanon, reported Reuters. Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh in the early hours, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard, Lebanese security officials said.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks. Reacting to the missile barrage from Iran, Israeli military chief said. “We have the capability to reach and strike every location in the Middle East and those of our enemies who have not yet understood this, will understand this soon.”
Following Iran’s missile attacks against Israel, Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammad Afif made his first public remarks on the developments. “For all those who doubted Iran’s stance after the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh until recent weeks have been smacked in the mouth by a big rock,” Afif said. Hezbollah has claimed over two dozen attacks on Wednesday that mostly targeted Israeli troops amassing at the border in preparation for an invasion of south Lebanon.
Yemen’s Houthis claim drone attack on Tel Aviv
On Thursday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting Tel Aviv, although Israeli authorities have not directly confirmed the incident. The Houthis released a statement saying that they “carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the Jaffa (Tel Aviv) area in occupied Palestine with a number of Jaffa drones”.
According to the rebels, “The operation achieved its goals successfully as the drones reached their targets without the enemy being able to confront or shoot them down.” The Israeli military, however, only mentioned intercepting “a suspicious aerial target” off central Israel overnight, without providing additional details.
The Houthi also claimed to have fired cruise missiles at Israel on Wednesday, following Iran’s extensive bombardment of the country the previous night. Last week, the rebels reported firing a missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which led to Israeli air strikes on Yemen, including the crucial port of Hodeida.
Iran’s President Pezeshkian visits Qatar, aims to rally opposition to Israeli
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned Israel of a strong reaction if there’s any further escalation by the latter against it and has sought to rally Asian countries behind Tehran’s back as Pezeshkian visited Qatar on Wednesday. Pezeshkian arrived in Qatar a day after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles on Israel and Israel also stepped up its rally of attack at Iran backed Lebanon based Hezbollah militant groups infrastructure.
Pezeshkian said while Iran does not seek war, it will deliver a “stronger response” if Israel retaliates. “We were left with no choice but to respond. If Israel wants to react, we will have a stronger response,” Pezeshkian said. Countries that helped block missiles targeting Israel will “be held responsible,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday. The Iranian envoy to the UN also defended the missile attack, saying it was a “necessary and proportionate response” to Israel’s “aggressive acts” in the Middle East.
Team BharatShakti (With inputs from Reuters)
