By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Hiba Yazbek
Israel’s air force struck various targets in Lebanon while its troops engaged with Hezbollah militants in the southern region, the military reported on Sunday. The government of Lebanon announced that at least 23 individuals had lost their lives in the last 24 hours.
The Lebanese Red Cross stated overnight that they were addressing a “significant strike” in the southern city of Nabatieh, sharing images on social media depicting flames and debris. The civil defense of Lebanon reported on Sunday morning that a single fatality occurred, with four others suffering injuries.
The civil defense further noted that their teams had successfully completed a search and rescue mission just before dawn following an assault the previous day on the town of Al-Maaysra in the central Keserwan district. They indicated that 17 individuals — including two women and three children — had died, with 12 more sustaining injuries. The Health Ministry also highlighted numerous other strikes that resulted in at least six fatalities and many injuries since Saturday.
On Sunday morning, the Israeli military reported that its aircraft had targeted approximately “200 Hezbollah positions deep within Lebanon and southern Lebanon” over the preceding day as part of its multifaceted campaign against the Iranian-affiliated militant organization.
Hezbollah began bombarding northern Israel in support of its ally Hamas following the attacks on October 7 of last year, leading to continuous exchanges of fire that have displaced people on both sides of the border. Concurrently, Israel, engaged in conflict in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, has intensified its bombardment in recent weeks before deploying ground forces into southern Lebanon.
The Israeli strikes and ground operations have resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 individuals while causing extensive destruction and displacing hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians. Aid agencies have cautioned that this exacerbates a humanitarian crisis already ignited by the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations agency that provides assistance to Palestinians, noted on Sunday that he had recently visited Lebanon, where his organization was aiding Lebanese, Palestinians, and Syrians affected by the hostilities. Lebanon accommodates the highest number of refugees per capita globally, including over 1 million Syrians who fled their country’s civil strife.
“The escalation of the conflict into Lebanon is distancing us from achieving the cease-fire that is essential for relief for civilians throughout the region,” he expressed on social media. Lazzarini has consistently advocated for a cease-fire in Gaza, while the United Nations has urged for a cease-fire in Lebanon.
The extensive military campaigns — which have involved targeting and eliminating Hezbollah’s leader and other high-ranking officials — have yet to halt the cross-border rocket strikes against northern Israel. The Israeli military announced that Hezbollah fired approximately 320 projectiles into Israel on Saturday — coinciding with one of the most sacred days in the Jewish calendar.
Sirens warning of incoming rocket assaults resonated across northern Israel on Sunday, with the Israeli military reporting that Hezbollah had launched around 115 rockets or missiles by 3 p.m. local time. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Hezbollah issued statements on social media on Sunday indicating that it had launched a missile at the Israeli city of Haifa and also targeted Israeli forces in Lebanon with multiple rocket and missile attacks. Independent verification of these claims was not possible.
By emphasizing its ongoing capability to assault Israeli forces and launch rockets into Israel, Hezbollah seeks to diminish Israeli public support for the invasion, according to a report from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research organization.
“Hezbollah is inaccurately portraying Israeli ground operations as a failure to weaken Israeli resolve and highlight its own endurance in light of significant Hezbollah casualties since mid-September,” stated the report released on Saturday.
In recent days, Israeli forces in southern Lebanon have fired upon a U.N. peacekeeping mission operating along the border multiple times, injuring at least four peacekeepers. The mission, known as UNIFIL, reported these incidents, prompting international condemnation of Israel’s military actions.
Israel’s military has argued that Hezbollah militants operate in proximity to UNIFIL positions and advised peacekeepers to retreat — a request reiterated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday in a message aimed at U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
Guterres does not hold the authority over UNIFIL’s movements; only the U.N. Security Council can sanction their repositioning.
The U.N. force has dismissed Israel’s requests to withdraw from its positions in southern Lebanon, highlighting that its presence there is mandated by the U.N. Security Council. UNIFIL was established following Israel’s initial invasion of Lebanon in 1978 to supervise the border and prevent the influx of weapons or fighters. Israel has frequently asserted that the largely observational force has not succeeded in stopping Hezbollah from bolstering its military capacity along the border.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned that he spoke on Saturday with Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and “strongly stressed the importance of ensuring the protection and security” of the peacekeepers as well as the Lebanese forces.
Gallant indicated in his statement on Sunday that “the incident involving UNIFIL personnel” is under investigation and that Israel’s military “will continue to implement measures to prevent harm to UNIFIL troops and peacekeeping stations.”
Israel has conducted four invasions of Lebanon. During its last offensive in 2006, the Israeli military encountered considerable losses despite its superior military capabilities.
Approximately a dozen Israeli soldiers have died in the current operation. On Sunday, the Israeli military announced that two additional soldiers were seriously injured in combat. They also stated that Israeli forces had apprehended a Hezbollah fighter in a tunnel during a raid in southern Lebanon, with the fighter transferred to a detention center in Israel for further interrogation, as per the military’s statement.
