In the face of bold strikes by Israel, Hizbullah responded on Sunday, retaliating with a stronger shower of projectiles that reached deeper into Israeli lands than most previous assaults, intensifying apprehensions of a looming wider regional conflict.
Northern Israeli towns were alerted by air raid sirens in the early hours of Sunday and subsequent limitations were placed on public gatherings in regions such as Golan Heights and Galilee. Notwithstanding, the majority of the missiles launched by Hizbullah from its base in Lebanon were intercepted by Israeli air defences, resulting in slight injuries only.
This flurry of retaliatory action followed Israeli aircraft in heavy bombardment of southern Lebanon the day prior. According to the Israeli armed forces, these strikes targeting Hizbullah were a delegate pre-emptive measure vis-à-vis the militant groups’ missile assaults. However, air raid sirens continued their warning signals in northern Israel at dawn on Sunday, prompting Hizbullah to claim it had targeted Israeli military facilities, including one in proximity to the coastal city of Haifa.
The prevailing atmosphere in Lebanon was likewise fraught with tensions, where the widespread activation of pagers and two-way radios, broadly credited to Israel, along with an Israeli air raid, have in recent days catalysed utter mayhem. These attacks resulted in many casualties, including high-ranking Hizbullah leaders, and inflicted injuries on thousands. They also stoked speculation that Israel’s defence force was diverting its attention from Hamas in Gaza Strip towards Hizbullah, a transition they had been anticipated to make over several months.
The ongoing confrontation between Hamas and Israel is now close to a year old. Throughout this period, Hizbullah has maintained continuous missile attacks on Israel. Nevertheless, the escalated intensity of the latest assaults indicates a surge in the conflict along Israel’s northern frontier.
The Lebanese officials have reported that the death count from recent air offensives by Israel on Friday exceeded 37 inhabitants, with three of which were children. Hizbullah authenticated that their high-ranking officer, Ibrahim Akil, involved in anti-Israel activities lost his life. Akil was being sought by the US on account of two separate aggressive incidents carried out in Beirut in 1983, with a fatality count superseding 350 individuals.
On another note, Israel has sustained its offensive moves in Gaza. An alleged Hamas command centre, previously a school in Gaza City, was struck by Israel on Saturday. The health department of Palestine confirmed 22 people were killed due to this attack.
Moreover, Israeli forces targeted Al Jazeera’s office situated in Ramallah, West Bank, and forced the journalists to vacate the premises on Sunday. The network reported the order to shut down their office. Earlier in May, Al Jazeera had received similar instructions from Israeli officials to cease its operations within Israel.
– The original version of this report is found in The New York Times. 2024 The New York Times Company