A barrage of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza and Lebanon on Tuesday as its war with Hamas, which completed a year on October 7, continues to threaten a wider regional conflict.
Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli military intelligence base near Tel Aviv on Monday, according to news agency AFP. The Iran-backed group said it fired "a salvo of rockets at the Glilot base of military intelligence unit 8200 on the outskirts of Tel Aviv". Further, Reuters reported that Hezbollah said it targeted a military base south of Haifa with "Fadi 1" missiles and launched another strike on Tiberias, 65 km (40 miles) away.
Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon fired about five rockets at Israel, setting off sirens around Tel Aviv but causing no casualties, according to Israeli authorities. Local residents reported hearing explosions in the sky over Israel. The Israeli military said several rockets were intercepted, while others landed in open areas.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli warplanes conducted extensive airstrikes in Lebanon, the Beqaa area, and Beirut, targeting over 120 Hezbollah targets which included infrastructure sites, launchers, command and control centres, and a weapons storage facility.
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Meanwhile, the armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters had attacked Israeli forces in the north with anti-tank rockets, and that there were casualties among the Israeli troops. The Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades claimed they had targeted an Israeli armoured personnel carrier with a Yassin 105 missile in the Tuwam area, north of Gaza City.
On the other hand, the Israeli military launched targeted raids against Hezbollah in southwest Lebanon, expanding its ground operations along the country's coastline after deploying more troops.
Israel also sent tanks deeper into Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip and advised people to leave as it pounded a Palestinian refugee camp from the air. Palestinian health officials did not immediately provide new casualty figures but said dozens had been killed in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. Israel's military said one soldier had been killed in combat in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said it had killed many Palestinian militants, located weapons, and dismantled military infrastructure in its operations in Jabalia.
Memorials in the region and around the world mourned the loss of lives on both sides in the October 7 Hamas attack last year, when Hamas fighters targeted communities and security outposts. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, over 41,000 people, the majority civilians, have been killed since the start of the war. Around 100 of 250 hostages have not been released.
A large chunk of Gaza remains in ruins, with tens of thousands dead, over half among them women and children. Nearly the entire Gaza population of 2.3 million has been displaced, most of them forced to live in dire conditions in refugee camps. The Lebanese fear the same fate as Israeli airstrikes have displaced 1.2 million people so far.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will continue to fight” against its enemies. “As long as the enemy threatens our existence and the peace of our country, we will continue to fight. As long as our hostages are in Gaza, we will continue to fight. We will not give up on any of them. I won't give up," he said.
No ceasefire in sight?
Ceasefire deals between the warring sides have fallen through repeatedly, despite intervention from various countries. Recently, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pleaded for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, adding that his country was ready to work for de-escalation in the region.
Barrot reiterated France's commitment to Israel's security as “unwavering,” but said “force alone cannot guarantee Israel's security". His comments come days after French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza".
Displaced men sleep on mattresses in the open air on central Beirut's Ain al-Mreisseh seaside promenade
Photo Credit: AFP
CNN reported the US is not actively trying to revive the ceasefire deal and is trying to shape and limit Israeli operations in Lebanon and against Iran rather than halting hostilities. The earlier proposal had called for a 21-day pause in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to allow Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return home.
China to provide medical supplies to Lebanon
China will provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, China's official foreign aid agency, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said. "At the request of the Lebanese government, the Chinese government has decided to provide emergency humanitarian medical supplies to Lebanon to help Lebanon carry out medical assistance," the statement said.
World leaders remember “dark day”
US President Joe Biden reiterated his commitment to Israel's security, but also described October 7 as a "dark day for the Palestinian people".
The United States has spent $22.76 billion to support Israel's offensive on Gaza and operations against the Houthis in Yemen, according to a report by Brown University's Watson Institute. The $17.9 billion military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza started is the highest annual total ever. It is a mix of military financing, and transfers from US weapons stockpiles, according to Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for renewed diplomatic efforts to bring calm to the region. "The region cannot endure another year of this, civilians on all sides have suffered too much. All sides must now step back from the brink and find the courage of restraint," Starmer said.
In Strasbourg, Members of European Parliament observed a minute of silence. "There is nothing that could ever justify the indiscriminate mass murder, rape, kidnapping and torture that occurred a year ago," said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
