Middle East: Israel bombs Lebanon – Hezbollah fires back

Despite reports of progress in ceasefire negotiations, fighting between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia continues. After heavy Israeli air strikes with many casualties in Lebanon, Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, fired an unusually large number of rockets at Israel. According to the Israeli military, around 250 projectiles were counted on Sunday.

According to unconfirmed reports from several Israeli media such as the Haaretz newspaper and the Kan television station, the Israeli government has tentatively agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah. Accordingly, details still need to be clarified and the type of announcement needs to be planned.

There were rocket alarms in the north of Israel and in the center of the country with the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. According to the emergency services, at least six people were injured in the impact. Several buildings were damaged. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 13 people were injured when an Israeli interceptor missile hit the town of Tulkarem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Here too, several houses were damaged.

According to the Ministry of Health, at least 84 people were killed and 213 injured in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon on Saturday. The Hezbollah militia has been firing rockets at Israel since the Gaza war began more than a year ago. Israel has responded with air strikes and a ground offensive in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which is financed by Iran, sees its attacks on Israel as supporting the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The terrorist group carried out a massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were kidnapped as hostages. The attack triggered the Gaza war that has been going on for over a year. Israel is now under international criticism because of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal strip.

After dark, Israel’s military again bombed targets in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut. A reporter from the German Press Agency reported several loud explosions. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, twelve pro-Iranian Hezbollah “command centers” were attacked. The facilities were used, among other things, for the intelligence service, a rocket unit and for the militia’s arms smuggling. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Shortly before, there had been calls from the Israeli military to evacuate residents of the suburbs known as Dahija. Nothing was initially known about possible victims. However, homes were severely damaged, as seen in videos from Lebanese media.

At the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven democratic industrial nations (G7) in Italy today, the war in the Middle East is also on the agenda. A recently issued arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in the Gaza war caused a stir.

For the meeting, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is also traveling to the small town of Fiuggi, about 80 kilometers outside of Rome. Italy will hold the presidency of the G7 until the end of the year. Other members include the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, France and Germany.