On Monday, Israel expanded its attacks targeting Hezbollah extremists in Lebanon, causing at least 21 people to die in an airstrike in northern Lebanon. Meanwhile, millions of Israelis had to evade Hezbollah’s artillery attacks on the northern border of Israel.
According to a report by Reuters on Monday, Joseph Trad, the mayor of the predominantly Christian town of Aitou, told Reuters that Israel’s attack on the town hit a house rented to displaced families. The Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that the Israeli attack resulted in 21 deaths and eight injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while inspecting a military base in central Israel, stated that they will continue to attack the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, “mercilessly striking locations across Lebanon, including Beirut.”
The Israeli military stated that Hezbollah fired about 115 artillery shells into Israel from across the Lebanese border on Monday.
A year ago, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah erupted again, with the Hezbollah extremists launching rockets towards Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza. In recent weeks, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated sharply.
The Lebanese government, in its daily briefing updates, mentioned that over the past year, Israeli attacks have resulted in at least 2,309 Lebanese casualties, most of whom were killed since Israel expanded its military offensive at the end of September. The death toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel stated that its military operations in Lebanon aim to ensure the return of tens of thousands of displaced Israelis in the north to their homes.
The Israeli military announced that they killed Hezbollah elite anti-tank missile unit commander Muhammad Kamel Naim, known as Radwan, in an attack in the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on this.
Furthermore, Israel has deployed troops to southern Lebanon in an attempt to eliminate Hezbollah and its military infrastructure, intensifying tensions with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The UN reported that on Sunday, Israeli tanks entered a UN base in Lebanon.
On Monday, Netanyahu denied accusations of Israeli forces deliberately harming UN personnel, calling them “completely wrong,” and once again urged the peacekeeping forces to withdraw from the combat zones near the Israeli border.
He stated that Hezbollah uses UN positions as cover to launch attacks, resulting in Israeli casualties. On Sunday, a drone attacked an Israeli military base, leading to the deaths of four soldiers.
He said in a statement, “Israel has every right to defend against Hezbollah attacks and will continue to do so.”
He expressed regret over the harm to UN personnel, noting that the best way to ensure their safety is to “heed Israel’s demands and temporarily stay away from harm.”
On Sunday, the Israeli military took foreign journalists into southern Lebanon, showing them Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches less than 200 meters (650 feet) from the UN positions.
Israeli Air Force General Yiftach Norkin pointed at the tunnel entrances, saying, “We are actually standing inside a Hezbollah military base, which is very close to the UN base.”
The Israeli military stated that since launching ground operations near the border, they have destroyed dozens of Hezbollah tunnels, rocket launchers, and command posts.
The UN forces stated that Israel’s previous attacks hindered their monitoring capabilities, expressing concerns that any violations of international law during the conflict might go unmonitored.
On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that it would send US troops and advanced American missile defense systems to Israel.
On Monday, the US Embassy in Lebanon strongly urged American citizens to leave immediately, warning that the increased flights arranged by the US government to assist in evacuations would not continue indefinitely.