NNA - Israel’s military said in a statement early on Monday that one soldier had been killed in combat on the Lebanese border and two soldiers were severely injured.
Israel bombed Lebanon overnight ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, as Israel’s defense minister declared all options were open for retaliation against arch-enemy Iran.
Israeli air strikes battered Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday in the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since Israel sharply escalated its campaign against Iran-backed group Hezbollah last month. Large fireballs lit the darkened skyline and booms reverberated across Beirut.
The Israeli military claimed fighter jets struck targets in Beirut belonging to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters and weapons storage facilities. It said strikes also targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area.
Hezbollah rockets launched late on Sunday got past Israeli air defense systems and landed in Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, causing damage to buildings, police said. Israeli media reported 10 people wounded in rocket strikes in Haifa and the city of Tiberias.
Hezbollah said it had targeted a military site south of Haifa with a salvo of “Fadi 1” missiles.
Iran launched a missile attack on Israel last week in response to its operations in Lebanon and Gaza, where Hezbollah and Hamas militants are Tehran’s allies in a so-called Axis of Resistance.
Israel, which claims its objective is the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, vowed retaliation amid fears that tensions will escalate into an all-out regional conflict.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday Israel would decide independently how to respond to Iran even though it was closely coordinating with longtime ally the US.
“Everything is on the table,” Gallant, who is due to meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, said in an interview with CNN. “Israel has capabilities to hit targets near and far — we have proved it.”
While the US has said it would not support strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, President Joe Biden said last week that Israeli attacks on Iran’s oil facilities were being discussed.
Israel snubbed a US-backed push for a ceasefire in launching ground operations in Lebanon.
On Sunday, the US government reacted to Israel’s heavy bombardment there by saying that military pressure can enable diplomacy but can also lead to miscalculations.
French President Emmanuel Macron said over the weekend that shipments of arms to Israel should be stopped. Israel said such a step will serve the purposes of Iran.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for residents of southern Beirut late on Sunday in advance of further strikes.
On Sunday night, Israel declared three more areas on its northern border as closed military zones in addition to more than five closed last week as military staging areas.
An Israeli strike on a building in the mountain town of Kayfoun in central Lebanon killed six people and wounded 13, Lebanon’s health ministry said. A strike in the nearby town Qmatiye killed six more, including three children, and wounded 11, it said. ---Reuters
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