War in the Middle East: new deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon

The Lebanese Civil Defense announced that Israeli strikes in the Nabatiyé region, in the south of the country, left 16 dead on Saturday June 22. For its part, the Lebanese army announced, again this Saturday, the death of one of its soldiers in the south of the country. These strikes came despite the announcement the day before of a ceasefire between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

The strikes targeted more than a dozen localities after midnight and Saturday morning, many in the Nabatiyé sector, where artillery fire also took place, according to the official Lebanese news agency ANI. Three people were killed in Arab Salim and one in Deir Zahrani, while another died “After enemy drone fire targeting a motorcycle†Enter the locality of Dweir, according to the ANI agency.

The civil defense teams are mobilized “Since the early hours of the morning” in the district of Nabatiyé in response to “Ongoing attacks targeting the area”transported « 16 morts et 12 blessés » towards hospitals, this organization specified in a press release. « A glimpse of yet another Israeli man saw a soldier of the army on the route Kfar Rumman-Nabatiyé »leading to his death, for his part, indicated the army denouncing “The continuation of brutal Israeli attacks (which) aims to hinder any solution to restore stability in Lebanon.”.

The Israeli army said on Saturday it was targeting pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, in response to attacks against its soldiers deployed in this part of Lebanon, despite the ceasefire announcement the day before. “Overnight, the terrorist organization Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.”indicates a military press release. “Following these attacks, the IDF (Israeli army, editor’s note) strikes Hezbollah terrorist targets in the south of the countryâ€.

A Hezbollah MP, Hassan Fadlallah, told him on Saturday that the pro-Iranian movement had “le droit” to respond to Israeli attacks, at a time when Israel continues its strikes on Lebanon despite the announcement of a new ceasefire the day before. “There is talk of a ceasefire. For us, what matters is that the enemy fully and totally respects this ceasefire, and that it does not attempt to attack our country and our villages, nor to occupy new positions.”declared Mr. Fadlallah in a press release, adding that “The resistance has every right to face this enemy when he attacks us, because he is the aggressor and the occupier”.

On Friday, an American official told Agence-France-Presse that an immediate truce between Israel and the Shiite organization Hezbollah, supported by Iran, had been concluded by American and Qatari mediators after discussions with Israel and Iran. The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, indicated that his country would respect the ceasefire if Hezbollah did the same, while previous truce announcements had had little effect.

Before the new announcement, Israeli strikes had left 47 dead and nearly a hundred injured on Thursday night, according to the Lebanese authorities. This was the heaviest death toll since the conclusion, on Monday, of the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding which provides for an end to hostilities. “On all fronts, including in Lebanon” – a point on which Tehran had insisted. The Israeli army had reported the death of four of its soldiers, including a high-ranking officer.

Under pressure from the United States, Lebanon began direct talks with Israel in Washington in April, aimed at ending hostilities. A fifth round of negotiations is scheduled to begin Tuesday, according to the State Department. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israeli troops would remain in southern Lebanon “as long as necessaryâ€.