Amid concentrated shelling on southern Lebanese towns, the district of Baalbeck and the western Beqaa, violence continued to rise between Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday, coupled with an increasing death toll.
The Israeli Channel 12 had revealed that the Israeli army is preparing to expand its ground operations in Lebanon, “because negotiations may take time.”
Beqaa
In the district of Baalbeck, in east Lebanon, a woman was killed and a man was injured in a strike on al-Kayyal road.
Three people were also killed and five wounded in attacks on the town of Maqne while four raids were reported on Douris. Hosh al-Sayed Ali was also a target for successive raids by Israeli fighter jets.
Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on a house in the town of Budai, killing four people, according to an initial toll, as rescue work is still ongoing.
The Israeli attacks followed an evacuation order issued earlier by Israel’s army spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, who indicated that Israel intends to target “Hezbollah infrastructure, interests and facilities,” in the area, urging residents to “evacuate homes immediately and move out via Zahle-Baalbeck highway, Nahla-Baalbeck road and Cedar-Baalbeck road.”
For his part, Baalbck-Hermel Governor Bashir Khodr called on Baalbeck residents “not to return to their homes today, as the area is still dangerous.”
“A number of shelters have been opened in the Beqaa and most of them are still vacant and at your disposal,” Khodr said in a message on X, adding that “those who have gone to Deir al-Ahmar are asked to relocate in the shelters.”
Additionally, the Civil Defense in Baalbeck had received a call from Israel urging for immediate evacuation of their center, before 2 PM.
In the western Beqaa, an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Qaraoun, resulting the death of one person. Earlier on Thursday, warplanes bombarded Sohmor, killing three people and wounding others.
South
In South Lebanon, a Lebanese Army soldier was killed in a drone attack that targeted his motorcycle near Naqoura, and five people perished in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Arzai, between Tyre and Nabatieh.
Israel also conducted a drone attack near the army barracks in Tyre targeting members of the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority.
Several other South Lebanese towns and villages were also raided or shelled, as the Israeli army maintained its intensive attacks on presumed Hezbollah targets.
On Thursday morning, the Israeli military had warned residents of a number of towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate and relocate further north.
Beirut & Mount Lebanon
Israeli warplanes breached the sound barrier above the capital, resulting in loud sonic booms amid heavy reconnaissance drone flights.
A targeted drone attack on the main highway linking Beirut to Damascus hit a moving car, setting it ablaze and killing the driver. According to Saudi al-Hadath television, the target was Abbas al-Moussawi, member of Hezbollah’s security apparatus.
Hezbollah’s response
For its part, Hezbollah announced that it had launched rockets on Yarka warehouses east of Acre.
The pro-Iranian group also claimed attacks on Krayot, north of Haifa, “with a large rocket salvo,” and two gatherings of Israeli soldiers in Zar’it Barracks.
In another statement, Hezb said it had launched rockets at a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Yiftah.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army declared that it “detected 30 rockets fired from Lebanon towards the Galilee and intercepted a number of them.”
Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for targeting a group of Israeli forces south of Khiam with rockets.
Mikati Deplores
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the Israeli strikes, describing the evacuation calls and subsequent bombardments as “war crimes”. He also deplored the civilian casualties and denounced the Israeli army's attacks targeting vulnerable civilian populations, while urging the international community to intervene to put an end to these “repeated violations of international humanitarian law”.
In a report on Israeli bombings, Nasser Yassin, the caretaker minister of the environment and coordinator of the government emergency committee, said Thursfat that 68 airstrikes were recorded over the course of the last 24 hours on various sections of Lebanon, primarily in the south, Nabatiyeh, and Baalbek.
"With 45 deaths and 110 injuries recorded over the last 24 hours, the the total casualty toll since the beginning of the hostilities climbed to 2865 dead and 13047 injured," Yassin said.
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