BEIRUT, Israel/HAIFA, Sept 22 (Askume) – Israel and Hezbollah exchanged gunfire on Sunday, with Israeli warplanes carrying out the heaviest bombardment of southern Lebanon in nearly a year-long conflict and Hezbollah launching heavy air strikes on northern Israel.
The Israeli military said it struck nearly 290 targets on Saturday, including thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers, and said it would continue to strike more targets.
Israel has closed schools and banned public gatherings in several northern areas and ordered hospitals to move their operations to facilities with extra protection from rocket and missile attacks.
The Lebanese government did not issue any instructions on Sunday morning.
The conflict has escalated sharply over the past week as Israel waged war with Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza
Lebanon and Iraq fired a large number of rockets and missiles, setting off sirens across Israel overnight, most of which were destroyed by Israeli air defence systems, the army said.
Several buildings were damaged, including a home near the Israeli city of Haifa that was severely damaged. Rescuers treated the injured, but no casualties were reported. Residents were instructed to stay near bomb shelters and safe rooms.
Hezbollah said it had launched a sustained missile attack on Israel’s Ramat David air base in its biggest assault since the start of hostilities.
An official with the Iran-backed militant group Islamic Resistance of Iraq said they launched cruise missiles and explosive drone attacks against Israel at dawn on Sunday as part of a “new phase of our support front” with Lebanon.
“Increased tensions in Lebanon mean increased tensions with Iraq,” the official said.
The move would raise concerns that the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon could spread to other parts of the region.
“The region is on the brink of imminent catastrophe and this cannot be overstated: no military solution can guarantee the security of both sides.
Increase your attack
The attack came less than 48 hours after Israel launched an airstrike against Hezbollah commanders on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital . The Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday that the death toll from the attack had risen to 45.
Hezbollah said 16 of its members were killed on Friday, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqeel and another commander, Ahmed Wahbi, in the deadliest attack in nearly a year-long conflict with Israel .
The Israeli military said it attacked an underground gathering of Aqil and the leader of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit and almost completely destroyed his military command.
Security sources said the attack demolished a multi-storey residential building in the crowded suburb and damaged an adjacent nursery. According to the Health Ministry, the victims included at least three children and seven women.
after two days of attacks last weekFriday’s attack dealt another blow to Hezbollah , blowing up pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members.
The death toll from these attacks is believed to have risen to 39, while more than 3,000 have been injured. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Hezbollah posted on its Telegram channel on Sunday that it had fired rockets at Israeli military industrial facilities as an initial response to the explosive device attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement that Israel immediately retaliated and attacked Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
new stage
Hezbollah says it will continue fighting until Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
U.S. officials say that is unlikely to happen. After signing a U.N. resolution with Israel in 2006, Israel wants Hezbollah to call a ceasefire and withdraw its troops from the border area, regardless of the Gaza agreement.
On Saturday, people in southern Lebanon reported huge explosions in the night sky and ground shaking as Israel launched its latest attack.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said last week that Israel was starting a new phase of the war on its northern border, tweeting: “The new phase of action will continue until our goals are achieved. It should have been yes: Northern residents return home safely.
Thousands of people have fled their homes on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border since October after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in sympathy with Palestinians in Gaza.
The death toll in conflicts in the country since October has risen to more than 750, with at least 84 people killed in Lebanon last week in the worst Israeli-Hezbollah clashes since the 2006 war.
