One killed, two injured in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, fears of escalation grow
BEIRUT: One person was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli military attack on the Lebanese border village of Rab Al Talatin on Thursday, amid growing concern over an escalating conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hezbollah said it fired anti-aircraft missiles after Israeli warplanes entered southern Lebanese airspace, forcing them to retreat.
This came as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 between February 21 and June 20 this year, warned against the “expansion of a devastating war on both sides of the blue line.”
Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to end that year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, calls for an end to hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon and the disarmament of non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah.
In his latest report, Guterres highlighted the continued standoff in southern Lebanon and said he “remains deeply concerned about the repeated violations of the ceasefire across the Blue Line from October 8, 2023.”
He warned that “the cycle of escalation between Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces is seriously affecting the civilian population on both sides of the blue line and poses a serious threat to the stability of Lebanon, Israel and the region,” and that ” the intensification and geographic expansion of the firefight, combined with increasingly bellicose rhetoric and threats of all-out war, are deeply troubling.”
The UN chief called on both sides to “urgently renew their commitment to the full implementation of resolution 1701, return immediately to the cessation of hostilities and use all diplomatic channels, including the good offices of the UN, to avoid further suffering and the risk of wider destruction.” , a devastating fire.”
Noting that “the exchanges of fire demonstrate the possession of weapons outside state authority … by Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups in violation of resolution 1701,” he called on the Lebanese government to take all measures “necessary to ensure that there will be no no arms or power in Lebanon other than the Lebanese state, including through full implementation of “existing UN agreements and resolutions that “require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.
Guterres again condemned “all violations of Lebanon's sovereignty by Israel” and called on the Israeli authorities to “stop all flights over Lebanese territory.”
He also urged Lebanon's political leaders to take “decisive steps to elect a president to address the pressing political, economic and security challenges facing the country.”
The presidency has been vacant since October 2022, when Michel Aoun's term ended, as the country's political factions failed to agree on a successor.
Guterres also said the ability of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon “to carry out its operational activities in accordance with the mandate is more important than ever”, but warned that restrictions on the force's freedom of movement remained a “great concern”. He called on the Lebanese government to “deal with any such incidents”.
Meanwhile, Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Kfarchuba village on Thursday morning as civil defense personnel tried to put out a fire caused by an earlier dawn attack on the area. No one was injured, but civil defense crews had to stop their efforts to extinguish the fire. An Israeli combat drone fired a guided missile that targeted the same area.
The outskirts of Aitarun also came under artillery fire, causing fires, as did areas around the town of Nakura. And Israeli forces shelled the areas around the city of Mays Al-Jabal with incendiary phosphorus bombs. Although such weapons are not prohibited by international humanitarian law, conventions severely restrict their use in populated civilian areas.
Also on Thursday, Hezbollah said it attacked and struck a compound of Israeli soldiers in the Manara settlement in response to an attack on Kfar Hamam on Wednesday. The group said it also targeted military buildings in Stula, a target in Khanita and “spy equipment at the Birkat Risha site… leading to its destruction.”
Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adrei said forces carried out raids against “Hezbollah targets and targeted military buildings”.
