BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Askume) – United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon on Friday urged an immediate de-escalation of tensions amid ongoing hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border that followed the heaviest air strikes in Israel’s nearly year-long conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah .
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had shot down hundreds of Hezbollah rocket launchers firing at Israel , in what Lebanese security sources said was the biggest attack since hostilities began last October.
The conflict has escalated this week as the Gaza war has escalated, with Hezbollah facing an unprecedented attack and pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploding, leaving 37 people dead and thousands injured.
A Lebanese source familiar with the device’s components told Askume that the walkie-talkie’s batteries contain a highly explosive compound called PETN.
Sources said the manner in which the explosive material was incorporated into the battery pack made it extremely difficult to detect.
The UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said on Friday morning that there had been a “significant increase in hostilities” along the Lebanon-Israel border and in its area of operations over the past 12 hours.
“We are concerned about the escalation of tensions along the Blue Line and urge all parties to immediately de-escalate tensions,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenanti told Askume, referring to the dispute between Lebanon and Israel border lines.
Israeli airstrikes hit at least three villages in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to Lebanese security sources and Hezbollah’s Mannar television. Television showed images of a plume of smoke rising from one of the attacks.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Hezbollah said its militants fired missiles at Israeli forces in Metura, the Israeli border town frequently targeted by Lebanese groups last year.
Israel Radio reported that residents of several northern Israeli towns were instructed by the army’s Home Front Command to remain in shelters.
Earlier on Thursday evening, the army imposed restrictions on movement and large gatherings in several communities in the north and the Golan Heights. These restrictions were imposed after the assault began.
Lebanese security sources said four people were injured in heavy Israeli bombardment on Thursday. It was not clear if they were Hezbollah members.
The year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is the worst since the 2006 war. Thousands of people on both sides of the border have been forced to flee their homes.
While fighting has mostly taken place on or near the border, an escalation in fighting this week has raised concerns that fighting could become more widespread and intense.
The United States on Thursday warned all parties in the Middle East not to escalate tensions and said Washington’s first priority was to find a diplomatic solution.
“We continue to uphold Israel’s right to self-defense, but we do not want any party to escalate this conflict,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press conference.
According to Lebanese sources, more than 460 Hezbollah fighters have been killed along with about 170 civilians since the latest hostilities with Israel began nearly a year ago.
At least 52 people in Israel were killed, half of them civilians and half of them soldiers, according to the Israel Institute for National Security Studies.
Security Council meeting
The 15-member United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet on Friday regarding the bomb blasts.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address on Thursday that the explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday had “crossed all red lines” and vowed to punish Israel.
Israel has not commented directly on the pager and radio bombings, which security sources have said were probably carried out by Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on Thursday that Israel would continue military operations against Hezbollah.
Israel says its goal is to ensure the safe return of Israelis to northern Israel.
Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, said the attack on northern Israel was aimed at supporting Palestinian victims of Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip.
Nasrallah said on Thursday that the Lebanese front line would not stop “until the offensive on Gaza stops.”
