An Israeli airstrike in the Israel-Lebanon border in southern Lebanon claimed the lives of three children and their grandmother yesterday, on Sunday. On the other hand, the Israeli army pointed fingers at the Lebanese authorities for killing an Israeli national in northern Israel. Earlier, on Saturday, the Iran-backed Lebanon’s Hezbollah carried out back-to-back attacks on the Lebanese border where the Israelis stood. The group called it a ‘retaliation’ of the incessant Israeli strikes amidst the ongoing cross-border disputes.
The National News Agency of Lebanon stated that the strike hit a car that led between the villages of Aianata and Aitaroun. The involvement of Hezbollah in the Israel-Hamas war is from the beginning of this clash from October 7. As per reports, the prime target of the Israeli warplanes, tank shelling, artillery strikes is Hezbollah. Approximately 60 fighters from Hezbollah lost their lives. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah mentioned in this Friday speech to not spare the Israeli actions on Gaza and Lebanon.
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Hezbollah’s Statement
Hezbollah claimed its response to the strike by firing rockets at Kiryat Shmona, a small town in Israel’s northern region. The Lebanon-based group stated that it would never tolerate any strikes on the civilian communities. Continuing with its statement, the group reinstated their ‘firm and strong’ retaliations to such attacks.
The Maghazi Refugee camp in Gaza searched for the victims amongst the rubble after a massive strike in the region. It killed 47 people and left several others ‘badly injured’. The rubble hid dismembered, torn-apart-flesh bodies, and critically injured children. Other families reported multiple deaths overnight. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), when asked to comment, refrained from doing so.
Israel Rejects Requests for Ceasefire
The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the West Bank on Sunday (5th of November) without an announcement and met the Palestinian President Mahmoud, who demanded an immediate ceasefire from Israel. Abbas termed the assault on the Gaza Strip as a genocidal war and destruction. However, Blinken and the US feared that a ceasefire would benefit Hamas and thus withstood cries for the same by Arab leaders. The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that there will be no ceasefire until the 240 Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas are set free.
Blinken in Turkey
Blinken landed in Ankara on Sunday for further talks with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, on Monday. The Turkish police in the Southern region used tear gas coupled with water cannons as people in masses displaying Pro-Palestinian rallies gathered to storm an air base that usually shields U.S. troops. Earlier Pro-Palestinian protests in Washington, Ohio, Utah, and California denounced the rising scale of the Israeli military campaign.
Further Briefs
Antony Blinken also paid a quick visit to Baghdad, and assured his unwavering support to Iraq’s Prime Minister, and signaled to preserve the Biden’s administration’s personnel from the targets of Iran. If the reports are true, then the U.S. via Blinken, also warned Iran and its ally Hezbollah of a military intervention in case of an escalated attack upon Israel’s territory. On Friday, Blinken planned with Israel to limit civilian casualties by using smaller bombs against Hamas.
Saturday night saw an unprecedented blast in the Gaza Strip. This densely packed neighborhood faced many casualties and wounded lives. In Israel, the leaders and official authorities tried to gather international support for placing the displaced Gaza civilians in Egypt for the ongoing duration. This move has scared Palestinians, who now fear their permanent loss of lands and territories with this potential expulsion. Meanwhile, the UN’s response to the war focused on ceasefire and humanitarian aid in the Strip.
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