By Aryn Baker
Currently, a quarter of Lebanon’s land is under evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, as noted by the United Nations, illustrating that Israel’s air and ground operations against Hezbollah militants could lead to another humanitarian disaster in the Middle East.
The statement released Wednesday by the U.N. human rights chief coincided with the sight of smoke rising from airstrikes across parts of southern Lebanon, where local media indicated that Israeli fighter jets had executed additional air assaults in and around the cities of Tyre and Saida.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah reported that it was engaged in confrontations with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. The militant group launched a fresh wave of missile strikes targeting the northern Israeli city of Haifa in the afternoon, after warning that the city would become unlivable if the Israeli military persisted in its operations in Lebanon.
Sirens were triggered in Haifa Bay, leading to approximately 40 rockets being fired, as stated by the Israeli military, which noted that many were thwarted by air defense systems. Explosions echoed in Haifa and nearby towns, with Israeli emergency responders reporting that six individuals were treated for shrapnel wounds after a rocket struck a bypass road close to Haifa.
Israeli airstrikes have persisted for over a week after the initiation of a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, which the military has characterized as “limited,” asserting that it seeks to purge the border area of Hezbollah fighters, munitions, and tunnels that pose a threat to the security of residents in northern Israel.
“To the residents of South Lebanon, exercise caution!” an Israeli military spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, cautioned in an Arabic post. He stated that Israeli forces are “continuing to target Hezbollah positions in and around your village, and for your own safety, you are advised against returning to your homes until further instructions are given.”
The Israeli evacuation orders have caused residents from over 100 villages and urban locales in southern Lebanon to flee northward, per the United Nations, which reported that these warnings now encompass a quarter of Lebanon’s geographical area, inclusive of regions in the Bekaa Valley and along the Syrian frontier. With more than 600,000 individuals now displaced in a country of 5.4 million, there are concerns of shelters becoming overwhelmed, the U.N. cautioned.
The ongoing air and ground assaults in the south followed another night of Israeli airstrikes in densely populated areas near Beirut where Hezbollah exerts control. Although an overnight wave of assaults into Wednesday seemed less severe than those in preceding days, Lebanon’s death toll continued to climb, with the Health Ministry reporting 36 fatalities and over 100 injuries nationwide in the last 24 hours.
Since Israel ramped up its air operations against Hezbollah leadership in late September, over 2,100 individuals have lost their lives, and more than 10,000 have sustained injuries. Among the deceased are Hezbollah’s long-standing leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and various other senior figures.
Israeli authorities stated on Tuesday that Nasrallah’s alleged successor, Hashem Safieddine, had also perished in a recent assault, although Hezbollah has yet to verify this information.
