At least 14 dead as Israel launches offensive against Hezbollah, launches strike near Beirut ahead of talks | Today’s news

A day after the Israeli army called on residents of all of southern Lebanon to evacuate as it plans to expand operations in the area, Tel Aviv launched an offensive in southern Lebanon, hitting the Beirut area on Thursday (local time).

Read also | Israel steps up military operation against Hezbollah, days ahead of talks

Despite a fragile ceasefire, Israel’s military has expanded its offensive with the first strike near the country’s capital in weeks, AFP reported.

Israel is heading for Beirut

Citing a Lebanese military source, the report said the strike targeted an apartment south of Beirut in the second such airstrike since a ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group came into effect on April 17.

The escalation came shortly before scheduled talks between Israel and Lebanese military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday and US-brokered talks early next week, the fourth round since the latest conflict broke out.

Authorities said the heavy strikes killed at least 14 people, including three children. The Israeli military said it had “precision struck in Beirut” without identifying the target.

A Lebanese military source told AFP the attack “targeted an apartment in the Choueifat area”.

Hezbollah is asking Lebanon to withdraw from the talks

On Thursday, Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc asked Lebanese authorities to withdraw from the talks, accusing Israel of “trying to establish security coordination in favor of its aggression” in the military talks.

Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of human rights abuses

Both sides accuse each other of ceasefire violations and justify their attacks by the other side’s alleged ceasefire violations.

On Thursday, Hezbollah said it had carried out around 20 attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including rocket and drone attacks.

Read also | Israel and Lebanon extend ceasefire 45 days after talks in Washington

An Israeli military official said on Thursday that roughly 400 explosive drones had been launched at Israeli targets since the cease-fire began in April. Earlier on Wednesday, Tel Aviv’s military declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border and including the cities of Tire and Nabatieh, “combat zones” and urged residents to evacuate after Israel vowed this week to launch operations in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes on several locations in southern Lebanon, some of which were fatal, including subsequent airstrikes on the town of Nabatieh, one of which it said destroyed a mosque.

Tire and Sidon, both southern cities, were targeted by Israel on Thursday.

Lebanon’s prime minister, the UN’s official strike

In a post on X, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said: “Nothing can justify the continued attacks on the regions of Tire and Nabatieh and the destruction of their historical monuments” and condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks and evacuation orders as “collective punishment”.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, expressed concern and called on both sides to respect the ceasefire.

The number of victims of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah

Beirut’s health ministry said over 3,324 people had been killed in Israeli attacks, 55 more than a day earlier. The Israeli military said in a statement that since March “approximately 2,500 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated,” including 800 since the ceasefire was announced.

Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed military group, has vowed to continue fighting until the war in Lebanon ends and Tel Aviv agrees to withdraw its troops from much of the country’s southern region. Hezbollah also rejected direct negotiations between Tel Aviv and Beirut and supported Tehran’s talks with Washington about the war.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel over the killing of Iran’s top leader in US-Israeli strikes, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.

Iran insists that any deal to end the wider conflict must cover Lebanon.

Key things

• Ongoing military actions have resulted in significant civilian casualties, raising humanitarian concerns.
• Both Israel and Hezbollah are entrenched in a cycle of retaliation, complicating peace negotiations.
• The situation highlights the fragility of ceasefires in areas of conflict and the risk of escalation.