The escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah took a dramatic turn on Thursday, with Israel refusing a US-led call for a 21-day ceasefire and carrying out a targeted strike in south Beirut that killed the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, Mohammed Srur.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating that it was conducted based on “precise intelligence guidance” from the Air Force and Intelligence Division. “Following precise intelligence guidance from the Air Force and the Intelligence Division, fighter jets targeted and eliminated (Srur), the commander of Hezbollah’s air unit, in Beirut,” a military statement quoted by AFP said.
The strike resulted in the deaths of two civilians and injuries to 15 others, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. “The Israeli enemy strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed two people and wounded 15, including a woman in critical condition,” a ministry statement quoted by AFP said.
Meanwhile, a barrage of approximately 40 rockets was fired from Lebanon into the Upper Galilee, prompting the activation of sirens in several northern Israeli communities, according to a Times of Israel report citing the IDF. Some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, while others landed in open areas.
Despite calls for a ceasefire from the US, France, and other allies, Israel remained steadfast in its stance. “There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, declared on X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office echoed this sentiment, stating that he had not even responded to the truce proposal and had instead ordered the military “to continue the fighting with full force.”
The situation in Lebanon has become increasingly dire, with hundreds of people killed this week in Israeli bombing of Iran-backed Hezbollah strongholds. Hezbollah has retaliated with rocket barrages, further escalating the conflict.
President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, called for a 21-day halt to the violence during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Their joint statement described the situation in Lebanon as “intolerable” and “is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon.”
Despite these diplomatic efforts, the violence on the ground shows no signs of abating.
