One killed, two injured in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon as fears grow of escalation
BEIRUT: One person was killed and two wounded in an Israeli army attack on the Lebanese border village of Rab Al-Thalathin on Thursday amid growing fears of an escalation in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hezbollah said it fired anti-aircraft missiles after Israeli warplanes entered Lebanese airspace in the south, forcing them to retreat.
It came as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 between February 21 and June 20 this year, warned of the “expansion of a destructive war on both sides of the Blue Line”.
Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to end that year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, calls for an end to hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the disarmament of non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah.
In his latest report, Guterres highlighted the ongoing confrontations in southern Lebanon, saying he “remains deeply concerned about the repeated violations of the ceasefire across the Blue Line from 8 October 2023”.
He warned that “the cycle of escalation between Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces is seriously affecting the civilian population on both sides of the Blue Line and poses a serious threat to the stability of Lebanon, Israel and the region” and that “the intensification and geographic spread of firefights along with increasingly bellicose rhetoric and threats of all-out war are deeply troubling”.
The UN chief called on both sides to “urgently recommit to the full implementation of Resolution 1701, immediately return to a cessation of hostilities and use all diplomatic channels, including the good offices of the UN, to avoid further suffering and the risk of a wider, devastating conflagration.”
Noting that “the firefights demonstrate the possession of weapons outside the authority of the state…by Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups in violation of resolution 1701,” he urged the Lebanese government to take all measures “necessary to ensure that there are no weapons or authorities other than weapons or by the authorities of the Lebanese state, including through the full implementation” of existing agreements and UN resolutions that “require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon”.
Guterres again condemned “all violations of Lebanese sovereignty by Israel” and called on the Israeli authorities “to stop all flights over Lebanese territory”.
He also called on Lebanon's political leaders to take “decisive steps towards electing a president to address the urgent political, economic and security needs facing the country.”
The office of president has been vacant since October 2022, when Michel Aoun's term ended, as the country's political factions failed to agree on a successor.
Guterres also said the ability of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon “to carry out its mandated operational activities is more critical than ever”, but warned that restrictions on the freedom of movement of forces remained a “great concern”. He called on the Lebanese government to “address all such incidents”.
Meanwhile, Israeli artillery fired on the outskirts of the village of Kfarchouba on Thursday morning as civil defense personnel tried to put out a fire caused by an earlier attack on the area at dawn. No one was injured, but civil defense teams had to stop the firefighting work. An Israeli combat drone fired a cruise missile that targeted the same area.
The suburbs of Aitarounu also came under artillery fire, causing fires, as did areas around the city of Naqoura. And Israeli forces targeted areas around the town of Mays Al-Jabal with incendiary phosphorus bombs. Although such weapons are not prohibited under international humanitarian law, conventions strongly restrict their use in populated civilian areas.
Also on Thursday, Hezbollah said it attacked and hit a building used by Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Manara in response to Wednesday's attack on Kfarhamam. The group said it also targeted military buildings in Shtula, a target in Hanita, and “espionage equipment in the Birkat Risha location… leading to its destruction”.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said forces carried out airstrikes against “Hezbollah targets and targeted military buildings.”
