JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon on Sunday left dozens of people dead as the militant group Hezbollah suffered a series of deadly blows to its chain of command, including the killing of its entire leadership. Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah confirmed that Nabil Kaouk, deputy chairman of the extremist group’s Central Council, was killed on Saturday, making him the next president. 7th Hezbollah leader killed Israel’s offensive will begin in a little over a week. They include: founding member People who have been escaping death and detention for decades.
Hezbollah earlier acknowledged that Friday’s attack that killed Nasrallah also killed another senior commander, Ali Karaki. Israel said at least 20 Hezbollah militants were killed, including the head of Nasrallah’s security forces.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes and drones carried out deadly attacks across Lebanon on Sunday. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two airstrikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Beirut, killed at least 32 people. Separately, an Israeli airstrike in the northern province of Baalbek-Hermel killed 21 people and injured at least 47 others.
The Israeli military announced it had carried out another targeted attack in Beirut, but did not immediately provide details.
In addition to the attack in Beirut, Lebanese media reported dozens of strikes in the central, eastern and western Bekaa, as well as in the south. The death toll is expected to rise further as airstrikes target buildings where civilians live.
Video of the strike in Sidon seen by The Associated Press showed buildings shaking before collapsing while neighbors filmed. One TV station posted photos and asked viewers to pray for families trapped under rubble after rescuers failed to arrive. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported that at least 14 doctors were killed in two days in the south.
President Joe Biden On Sunday, he said he would soon meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he believed all-out war in the Middle East should be avoided.
“That should be the case,” Biden told reporters at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after boarding Air Force One for Washington, but did not say when he would call the Israeli leader. Ta.
Meanwhile, the remains of Friday’s strike that killed Prime Minister Nasrallah were still smoldering. AP journalist Smoke could be seen rising above the rubble as people flocked to the scene. Some came to check on the remains of their homes, others to pay their respects, pray or simply witness the destruction.
In response to a dramatic escalation in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Hezbollah has significantly increased its attacks over the past week, going from dozens to hundreds daily, according to the Israeli military. The attack left several people injured and other casualties, but most of the rockets and drones were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems or fell into open areas.
The military claims that the airstrikes have weakened Hezbollah’s capabilities and that the number of launches would have been higher had Hezbollah not been attacked.
Israel attacks Houthi targets in Yemen
Also on Sunday, the Israeli military announced that dozens of aircraft had struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to recent Israeli attacks. The military said it targeted power plants and port facilities in the city of Hodeidah.
The Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport on Saturday, the day Netanyahu arrived. The Houthi media office said the Israeli military strikes hit the ports of Hodeidah and Ras Issa, as well as two power plants in the city of Hodeidah, a stronghold of Iranian-backed rebels. The Houthi-run health ministry said four people were killed and 40 injured in the airstrike.
Nasruddin Ammar, deputy head of the Houthi media office, claimed that the Houthis had taken precautionary measures ahead of the attack, including emptying oil storage at the port. In a post on X, he said the attack would not stop rebel attacks by sea or against Israel.
US warns Hezbollah will work quickly to rebuild
Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel’s airstrikes in Lebanon had “decimated” Hezbollah’s chain of command, but warned that the group would work quickly to rebuild.
“I think people are safer without him walking around,” Kirby said of Nasrallah. “But they’re going to try to bounce back. We’re looking at what they’re going to do to fill this leadership vacuum. It’s going to be tough. … Their command Many of the lineages are now extinct.
Kirby sidestepped a question on CNN’s “State of the Union” about whether the Biden administration agrees with the way Israel is targeting Hezbollah leaders. The White House continues to urge Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary ceasefire struck by the United States, France and other countries when leaders met at the United Nations General Assembly last week.
Prime Minister Netanyahu adds former rival to cabinet
Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed former rival Gideon Saar to his cabinet on Sunday. movement Expanding Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition government and help entrench Israeli leaders in power.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that under the agreement between the two sides, Sa’ar would be given a post as a member of the security cabinet, which will oversee the management of the ongoing war.
Saar had hoped to replace Netanyahu’s other rival, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. However, the agreement to appoint him defense minister fell through due to the intensification of fighting with Hezbollah.
Airstrikes force thousands from their homes in Lebanon
Earlier this month, Hezbollah was also targeted in a sophisticated attack. pager and walkie-talkie It was widely blamed on Israel. Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon have killed more than 1,030 people in less than two weeks, including 156 women and 87 children, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Recent strikes in Lebanon have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The government estimates that around 250,000 people are in evacuation centers, with three to four times that number staying with friends and relatives or camping on the streets.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese extremist organization and political party backed by Israel’s biggest regional rival, Iran, that fought a devastating month-long war with Israel that ended in a draw in 2006. Afterwards, it gained fame in the region.
Kaouk is a veteran member of Hezbollah dating back to the 1980s and served as Hezbollah’s military commander in southern Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel. The United States announced sanctions against him in 2020.
After Hamas’ attack on Gaza on October 7 triggered the war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies that consider themselves part of an Iranian-backed “axis of resistance” against Israel.
The conflict is moving steadily to the brink of full-scale war, raising fears of a region-wide conflagration.
Israel has said it is determined to return some 60,000 of its citizens to northern communities they fled about a year ago. Hezbollah has said it will stop firing rockets only if a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip, but a ceasefire is unlikely despite months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas led by the US, Qatar and Egypt. I know that.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Natalie Meltzer in Tel Aviv, Amer Madani in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Jack Jeffrey in Jerusalem contributed.
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