Deadly Israeli raids prompt UN fears of “dangerous escalation”.

Published on: 02/14/2024 – 9:18 pm

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” The dangerous escalation must stop », the spokesman of the Secretary General announced this Wednesday UN. Washington, for its part, called for favors ” diplomatic channel to reduce tensions in the Middle East, while France argued through its foreign minister that the situation in Lebanon ” Serious, but not irreversible “

The calls for de-escalation come after the Israeli army launched new airstrikes in Lebanon. The army announced that it had “ Hezbollah is a terrorist target » In some areas in the south of the country. According to the Lebanese National News Agency, the attacks killed a woman, her two-year-old son and her 13-year-old stepson in the village of Savaneh. Another raid completely destroyed a building in Adchit village, killing one, a Hezbollah fighter and injuring ten, ANI reported, causing significant destruction in the area. The pro-Iranian Islamist movement later confirmed the death of one of its fighters in the village.

The raids, which targeted areas located within a radius of 10 to 25 km from the border, were carried out in retaliation for rocket attacks from Lebanon on a military base in northern Israel. According to the Israeli military, one person was killed in the attack: Sergeant Omar Sarah Banjo, 20 years old. Pro-Iranian Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.

Israel promises ” Very strong offensive »

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Harzi Halevi, who visited the north of the country, said on Wednesday that “ The next campaign will be a very strong offensive ” For his part, a senior Hezbollah official warned that ” This aggression (…) will not go unanswered

” Already on Tuesday, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, assured that the shooting in southern Lebanon would cease when ” Aggression in Gaza » will end and a ceasefire will be declared. ” If they prolong the confrontation, so will we ” he added, in response to repeated threats by Israeli officials to launch a war against its neighbor.

Also readHezbollah is seen as a bulwark in the face of tensions in southern Lebanon

Since the day after a bloody attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, which sparked the war in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah has targeted Israeli military positions along the border in support of the Palestinian Islamist movement. Israel, for its part, regularly bombards southern Lebanon and carries out targeted attacks against leaders of the Lebanese Islamist movement.

In more than four months, at least 248 people, mostly fighters from Hezbollah and other allied groups, but also 33 civilians, have been killed in southern Lebanon, according to an AFP count. On the Israeli side, 16 people were killed, ten soldiers and six civilians, according to the military. Violence between the Israeli military and Hezbollah has also displaced thousands of people on both sides of the border.

(with AFP)