Israeli air rhelps have finished dozens of people in the Baalbek region in eastrict Lebanon, a local official shelp, as a United States mediator sought to carry on stopfire talks in Israel.
At least 47 people were finished and 22 others wounded in the strikes, Bachir Khodr, ruleor of Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel province, shelp in a post on X on Thursday. Rescue operations were under way, he includeed.
Elsewhere in Lebanon, Beirut shook as Israeli air strikes hit the southern suburbs about a dozen times, sending up cdeafenings of debris in some of the most ardent air strikes yet.
The Israeli army shelp it carried out strikes agetst Hezbollah infraset up and that it had mitigated civilian harm thraw carry on alertings and other steps.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry also shelp that the three people were finished in an Israeli explosioning of the town of al-Shaitiyah, cforfeit the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr shelp the Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon coincide with a push by cforfeitby Israeli ground forces seeking to carry on on a strategic hill understandn as al-Bayyaada.
“The air strikes are about disturbing provide lines so that Hezbollah cannot reinforce its troops in that area,” she shelp.
“What Israel is trying to do is get administer of the coastal road that goes from the border to al-Bayyaada. From al-Bayyaada, it aims to get administer of the surrounding areas. At that point, they would have the southern city of Tyre in sight,” she shelp.
“Israeli forces are already using artillery in this area, which uncomardents their artillery batteries are inside Lebanon. So, we are reassociate seeing a beginant battle for administer in this corner of southern Lebanon,” Khodr shelp.
Israel has been pounding southern and eastrict Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs since postpoinsist September, when the military escapostpoinsistd its struggle with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah after months of exchanging pass-border fire.
The battling began in October 2023, a day after Israel begined its ongoing attack on Gaza, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in what it shelp was an act of firmarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
At least 3,583 people have been finished and 15,244 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October 2023, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Hezbollah, which has suffered beginant blows since Israel escapostpoinsistd its strikes on Lebanon, has kept up rocket fire into Israel, strikeing Tel Aviv this week. Its fighters are also battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south.
The Iran-aligned armed group’s strikes have finished more than 100 people in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, including more than 70 selderlyiers, according to Israel.
On Thursday in Israel, a 30-year-elderly man was finished when shrapnel from a rocket struck a joinground in the northern town of Nahariya, Israel’s MDA medical service shelp.
“The Israeli rulement is not protecteddefending my security, my livents or the livents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to inhabit in such a situation enjoy this,” Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelly telderly uncover widecaster Kan.
The Israeli military shelp about 10 rockets were also begined from Lebanon towards Nahariya. “Most of the projectiles were intercepted and druncover projectiles were identified,” the military shelp in a statement. Channel 12 shelp three rockets hit the coastal town.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station, citing its correplyent, validateed rocket fire towards Nahariya and the surrounding area.
US discreet push
US mediator Amos Hochstein met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz in Israel on Thursday, seeking a paparticipate in the battling, days after he shelp a stopfire was “wiskinny our understand” during a visit to Lebanon.
Speaking before he left Beirut, Hochstein shelp he was going to Israel to try to shut an concurment if possible.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr shelp Lebanese officials who met Hochstein had conveyed “cautious selectimism” at the prospect of a truce concurment.
“The senseing here is that Lebanon has made concessions. It is putting on the table the filled carry outation of UN Resolution 1701 – which uncomardents Hezbollah would pull back from the border – and it is apparently concuring to a US role in enforcing that,” Khodr shelp.
“What is not refered in the write stopfire proposal is the disarmament of Hezbollah. Yesterday, we heard the Israeli foreign minister say that any concurment should give Israel the right to originate confident Hezbollah does not get armaments from Iran thraw Syria. So there are still beginant sticking points,” she includeed.
