Three Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli bombardment of the village of Odaisseh in South Lebanon.
Israel targeted a center of the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Association where the three party members, Hussein Ibrahim, Ali Hassan Soueidan and Abbas Hojeij, were killed. Their deaths were announced by Hezbollah in a statement. A fourth person was also injured. Ambulances immediately arrived at the scene of the attack.
Israel stepped up its attacks on several sectors of southern Lebanon during the afternoon. Its army fired phosphorus shells at Wadi Bayad and Hula and launched fire bombs at Markaba.
Rmeish, Yaroun, Naqoura and Alma al-Shaab were also targeted by air raids. Significant material damage was caused by the attack on Alma al-Shaab.
The Israeli army also announced raids on a Hezbollah military position in Chihine.
Meanwhile, the Israeli air force carried out medium- and low-altitude reconnaissance flights over Keserwan, North Lebanon, western Bekaa and Rachaya.
Hezbollah announced that it had “directly targeted” spy devices at the Roueissat al-Alam position in the Kfarchouba hills. The pro-Iranian group also claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the Ramtha and Samak positions in the same area “with the appropriate weapons,” according to the terminology still used by Hezbollah.
This renewed tension follows the morning bombardment of the Margaliot Kibbutz, where a Thai worker was wounded and three others injured, and at a time when US envoy Amos Hochstein is in Lebanon for talks on a diplomatic solution for the southern border.
In a statement, the Amal movement warned Israel against any attempted incursion into Lebanon. “Any Israeli attempt to attack Lebanese territory will be fought by all resistance fighters with the same determination and perseverance that the occupation has experienced in the South in recent years.”
The statement was issued after two Israeli infiltration attempts into Lebanese territory on Sunday night, and at a time when the United States fears a ground operation against Lebanon during Ramadan.
According to the Amal movement, the Lebanese position is clear. “It is a matter of forcing Israel to withdraw from all occupied land (in Lebanon) unconditionally and through the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”
