The Israeli army, at war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, on Saturday ordered residents of this region not to return to their homes, a few hours after the firing of missiles by the Lebanese movement on northern Israel.
As Israel celebrates Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day, its troops battle Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to continue this fight against these Islamist groups allied with Iran, “until victory”.
The war in Gaza, triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 on Israeli soil, and that in Lebanon are accompanied by an escalation between Israel and Iran, with Israeli leaders threatening to retaliate against an attack on Iranian missiles on October 1.
In an Arabic message on X, the Israeli military’s spokesperson for the Arabic-speaking public, Avichay Adraee, wrote: “For your own protection, do not return home until further notice. Don’t head south; anyone heading south risks putting their life in danger”.
The army also warned health workers in the area to stay away from ambulances it says are being used by Hezbollah to “transport terrorists and weapons”.
Mermaids during Yom Kippur
Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon, October 12, 2024 / Rabih DAHER / AFP
A few hours earlier, Hezbollah announced that it had fired missiles at a military base south of Haifa, in northern Israel, bordering southern Lebanon.
Warning sirens sounded in central Israel after the interception of a “projectile fired from Lebanon”the army said.
In the morning, Israeli bombings targeted the village of Khiam, in southern Lebanon, according to an AFP correspondent on site.
This violence takes place while since Friday evening and until Saturday evening, Israel has been celebrating Yom Kippur, the day of “great forgiveness” during which the country stops: borders, airports and most businesses are closed and public transport does not run.
After weakening Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli army has moved the front of the war towards Lebanon since mid-September, in order to distance Hezbollah from the border areas and stop its rocket fire to allow a return to the northern Israel of some 60,000 displaced residents.
The front opened in October 2023 by Hezbollah against Israel in support of Hamas transformed into open war on September 23 with the start of violent Israeli shelling on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.
In addition to these devastating and deadly bombings, Israel launched a ground offensive on September 30 in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold.
“Unacceptable”
The port of Haifa, the large city in northern Israel, October 12, 2024 / AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
On Friday, Israel found itself under fire after firing on peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) stationed in southern Lebanon. Four soldiers were injured in 48 hours.
US President Joe Biden asked Israel to stop firing on UN forces in Lebanon, while his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron said “unacceptable” that they are targeted “deliberately by Israeli forces”.
The Israeli army assured on Friday that it had fired in the direction of a « menace ».
Since October 2023, more than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon, including more than 1,200 since September 23 and the intensification of Israeli bombings on Lebanon, according to an AFP count based on official figures. The UN has recorded nearly 700,000 displaced people.
As fears of a regional conflagration grow, Iran reiterated on Friday that it “ready to defend its sovereignty”while Israel promised its sworn enemy a “deadly, precise and surprising attack” to its missile launches on October 1.
– Deadly raids in Gaza –
In the devastated and besieged Gaza Strip, the Israeli army continues its offensive, mainly shelling the region of Jabalia (north), where it accuses Hamas of reconstituting its forces.
According to local Civil Defense, 30 Palestinians were killed Friday in strikes on Jabalia.
A Palestinian refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip bombed by Israel, October 9, 2024 / Eyad BABA / AFP
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in Gaza.
At least 42,175 Palestinians were killed, the majority civilians, in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry, deemed reliable by the UN. Almost all of the 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced.
