Hamas Commander and Family Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Lebanon
The airstrike partially demolished their home and killed Hamas commander Saeed Attallah Ali, his wife, and two daughters early Saturday morning in the Beddawi camp near Tripoli, northern Lebanon. This incident did contribute to the escalation of the ongoing conflict: Hamas stated this was the first strike on the area since the beginning of the Gaza war nearly a year ago, Al Jazeera reported.
Read Also : Police Arrest Woman Who Invaded Primary School And Kidnapped Three Pupils
Israel has expanded its military attack in Lebanon beyond the border region against a backdrop of escalating hostility towards Lebanon’s militia group, Hezbollah. Explosions hit Beirut’s southern suburbs before dawn Saturday, sending residents scurrying. The residents in Dahiyeh had been warned by Israel that the strikes were coming, but it isn’t clear how many civilians were able to get out in time.
In a string of precision strikes, Israel earlier hit what it said was Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in the southern suburbs on Friday and claimed it killed several senior military officers.
Pay Attention To: Nigerian Lady Goes Blind After Fixing Expensive Eyelashes Worth ₦30,000
The Israeli military also said it was targeting fighters inside a mosque near the Salah Ghandour Hospital in southern Lebanon, which it claims was being used as a command centre. That strike seriously injured nine hospital staff, after an Israeli warning to vacate the premises.
Retaliating, Hezbollah had clashed with the Israeli military in the south of Lebanon and also launched rockets at Israel’s Ramat David Airbase. Frighteningly, in this continuing conflict, an unprecedented number of casualities have been seen: Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reported that over 2,000 people were killed due to Israel’s attacks within the last year alone-meat of those over the past two weeks.
The United Nations denounced the high civilian toll as “totally unacceptable.” The shelters for displaced persons reached their full capacity as the humanitarian situation became worse due to the closure of the main Lebanon-Syria border crossing after an Israeli strike on Friday.
Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeper defied Israeli call to withdraw. They vowed to remain at their posts in southern Lebanon as the conflict took a dramatic turn for the worse Saturday.
In a related development, a South Korean military plane successfully evacuated 97 South Koreans from Lebanon on Saturday as tensions escalated across the region.
The international community watches intently, pressing for a de-escalation of tensions and a return to dialogue to avoid further loss of life.
