Middle East On Brink As Israel Strikes Heart Of Beirut For The First Time; Lebanon's Toll Mounts To 105

The Israeli military said its fighter jets launched fresh strikes on dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s Bekaa region on Monday, as regional tensions soared after the death toll crossed 100 in the Mediterranean country.

Israeli Air Force jets “attacked dozens of launchers and buildings where weapons were stored in the Bekaa in Lebanon,” it said in a statement, adding the sites were linked to the Lebanese group. Israel “will continue to attack powerfully, damage and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities and infrastructure in Lebanon”, it added.

‘First attack on the heart of the city’

The Israeli military’s statement came as its strike on a Beirut apartment block killed four people — the first attack on the heart of the city since the outbreak of the Gaza war last year. At least 105 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Sunday, with 359 people wounded, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Bombing Killed Hundreds in Lebanon

Hezbollah began firing into Israel one day after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel has in recent days shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed hundreds since last Monday and has displaced over 200,000.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a left-wing group, said three of its members were killed in the strike. The group said in a statement that its military security chief Mohammad Abdel-Aal, military commander Imad Odeh, and Abdelrahman Abdel-Aal were killed.

Television footage showed the partially flattened floor of the building targeted by the strike, in the predominantly Sunni neighbourhood of Kola, near the road linking the capital to Beirut airport. Israeli attacks have killed hundreds in Lebanon since last Monday, the deadliest day since the country’s 1975-1990 civil war. Israeli military campaign in Lebanon has sparked fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.

Houthi rebels in Yemen

Israel’s military said dozens of its warplanes had also attacked targets of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday. Houthi media reports said the strikes had killed four people and wounded 33.

The Israel Air Force deployed dozens of aircraft to strike military Houthi targets 1,800 km away from the country in the Ras Isa and Hudaydah regions of Yemen. The Israeli military said these strikes were carried out in response to recent Houthi attacks against Israel.

‘No place is too far’

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel would strike at foes no matter the distance, after the military targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen. “Our message is clear — for us, no place is too far,” Gallant said in a statement issued by his office after he monitored the strikes from an air force command and control room.

The intensifying Israeli bombardment over two weeks has killed a string of top Hezbollah officials, including its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Israel has vowed to keep up the assault and says it wants to make its northern areas secure again for residents who have been forced to flee Hezbollah rocket attacks.

The United States has urged a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Lebanon but has also authorised its military to reinforce in the region. US President Joe Biden, asked if an all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, said “It has to be.” He said he will be talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US Boosts Military Presence

Amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the United States announced on Sunday that it is increasing its military presence in the Middle East. In a statement, Pentagon officials said it will enhance defensive air support capabilities and maintain a state of heightened readiness for US forces as tensions rise in the region.

Defense analysts say that the killing of Nasrallah could have far-reaching implications for the Middle East as Israel shifts its attention from its nearly year-old war with Iran-aligned Hamas in Gaza to operations against Hezbollah amid fears that strikes in Lebanon could trigger a wider war that draws in Iran.

(With agency input)