It was still uncertain in the early hours of the morning whether the massive air strike on Friday, which, according to the Israeli army, was aimed at the headquarters of the Shiite militia Hezbollah hidden under residential buildings and whose leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed. In neighboring Syria, people in the last major rebel area of Idlib were already celebrating his death.
“Alptraum”
Meanwhile, in Beirut, hundreds of people fled Israel’s attacks in the southern suburbs toward the center of the capital. The shock was evident on people’s faces. Everywhere, frightened families waited on the streets with tears in their eyes, as a reporter from the German Press Agency in Beirut described. People who fled to the city center from the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah is particularly strong, spoke of “hell.” They sought shelter in parks, streets and public beaches in the humid night. A woman said she fled barefoot. According to eyewitnesses, there was an eerie calm early in the morning. A resident of the capital spoke of a “nightmare”.
Local television stations showed nighttime explosions south of Beirut near the international airport. Fires and subsequent explosions could be seen. Rescuers, meanwhile, continued to search for survivors of Friday’s massive airstrike that destroyed several buildings in the densely populated suburb of Haret Hreik, according to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA. There could be dozens or even hundreds of deaths.
Guterres warns
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned urgently against an expansion of the conflict. “The war in Lebanon could lead to further escalation involving external powers,” he said at a UN Security Council meeting in New York. “We must avoid a regional war at all costs.” According to the UN, tens of thousands of people have already fled to Syria since the serious Israeli attacks began in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israel’s army reported further air strikes during the night on “terrorist targets” in Beirut that belonged to Hezbollah.” No details were given in the statement.
Missile storage
Israel’s army announced further attacks in the Lebanese capital area during the night. Weapons production facilities, buildings in which modern weapons are stored and command centers of the pro-Iranian militia were attacked, it said. According to Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari, among other things, rockets were stored under civilian residential buildings, which also posed a threat to international shipping and strategic facilities in Israel. The Israeli army had previously called on residents of the attacked area to evacuate.
Hezbollah rejected the Israeli army’s claim that it was attacking the militia’s weapons depots. There were no weapons or depots in the buildings attacked.
Attacks also in the south
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it again attacked Hezbollah militia positions in southern Lebanon. After shelling from Lebanon, the air force bombed the launcher, the army said that night. At least three projectiles had previously been fired at Israel from there, most of which were intercepted. In addition, other Shiite militia positions in southern Lebanon were attacked, including buildings in which Hezbollah had stored weapons.
The attack on Hezbollah’s headquarters reported by Israel was Israel’s “most aggressive step” in the past two weeks, with sophisticated intelligence operations, targeted killings and heavy bombings, wrote the Wall Street Journal. The militia should be prevented from penetrating the border into Israel. So far, the attacks in Beirut have been “targeted killings” of Hezbollah commanders, wrote the Times of Israel. However, the most recent attacks are more extensive and targeted the destruction of infrastructure and high-ranking people.
“Clear signal”
If Hezbollah leader Nasrallah were actually killed, it would not only be an “enormous blow” for the militia he led, wrote the Wall Street Journal. It would also be a major blow to its main backer, Iran, and the network of allied militias that Tehran has built across the Middle East against arch-enemy Israel. It would also be the clearest signal yet that Hezbollah had been deeply penetrated by Israeli intelligence, the US newspaper continued.
In Syria, people flocked to the streets in the last major rebel area of Idlib that evening to celebrate the as yet unconfirmed death of Nasrallah, as seen in videos on social networks. The opposition in Syria sees Hezbollah as one of the most important henchmen of their greatest enemy, President Bashar al-Assad. A civil war broke out in Syria in 2011. At that time, Hezbollah sent around 7,000 fighters from Lebanon to the neighboring country to support President Assad’s government against predominantly Sunni rebels with the help of Iran and Russia.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry sharply criticized Israel’s actions. At the same time, Foreign Office spokesman Nasser Kanaani once again emphasized the Islamic Republic of Iran’s resolute support for Lebanon, according to the state news agency Irna. Russia also criticized harshly. “We strongly condemn the actions of the Israeli side, as they blatantly violate the sovereignty of our friendly country Lebanon,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting of the UN Security Council. “The dangerous development in the aggression against Lebanon opens the door to an open and all-out war,” said the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The result of such a war would be “devastating” for Israel.
UN Secretary-General Guterres said he supported the proposal for a temporary ceasefire that would allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and pave the way for the resumption of serious negotiations for a lasting peace. “We need this ceasefire now.” One cannot afford endless negotiations like those in the Gaza Strip.
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