Israel and Hezbollah threatened to intensify their cross-border attacks on Sunday, despite growing international calls for both sides to de-escalate and avoid an all-out war. According to an AFP report, following intense rocket fire from Lebanon, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had dealt a “series of blows” on Hezbollah that it could "have never imagined". "No country can tolerate attacks on its citizens," Netanyahu said. Meanwhile, Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said the group was in a “new phase” in its battle against Israel.
The ongoing battle between Israel and Iran-backed groups like the Hezbollah is a fallout of the former's onslaught on Gaza, which began after Hamas waged a brutal terror attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel forced thousands to flee to bomb shelters and caused severe damage in Haifa. Hezbollah rocket fire reached Kiryat Bialik near north Israel's largest city Haifa, leaving a building in flames, another pockmarked with shrapnel and vehicles incinerated, AFP reported. The Israeli army said more than 150 rockets, missiles and drones were fired at its territory during the night and early Sunday, most from Lebanon.
Israel said it hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon "to prevent a larger-scale attack". Israel has made a shift in its focus towards the Hezbollah after nearly a year of cross-border fire that began in October, an action described by the latter as support for Hamas. According to AFP, an Israeli air strike in a densely populated Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut on Friday killed the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil. While speaking at Aquil’s funeral in Beirut on Sunday, Qassem said, "We have entered a new phase, namely an open reckoning, with Israel." He added that threats will not stop them. “We are ready to face all military possibilities.”
According to Reuters, Aqil had many enemies, and a bounty of over Rs 58 crore on his head. He was wanted by the US for his alleged links to the killing of hundreds of Americans in Beirut in the 1980s — in attacks on the US Embassy and a Marine barracks.
Hezbollah's Radwan Force has spearheaded its ground operations, and Israel has repeatedly called for its fighters to be pushed back from the border.
On Monday, the Israeli army told Lebanese people to 'move away' from Hezbollah sites, saying it will launch more 'extensive, precise strikes' in Lebanon, as per AFP.
International Call For Ceasefire
Meanwhile, ahead of the annual General Assembly, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of the risk of Lebanon becoming "another Gaza", and said it is "clear that both sides are not interested in a ceasefire" in the Gaza war.
Israel's key ally US said military escalation is not in the “best interest” of Israel. President Joe Biden has said Washington is doing everything possible to prevent a wider conflict, AFP reported. The Biden administration said it was going to do everything it could to keep a wider war from breaking out. “And we're still pushing hard,” he added.
The European Union said it was "extremely" concerned, while UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for an "immediate ceasefire".
The UN special coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, posted on X that the Middle East was on the brink of "imminent catastrophe". "It cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer," she posted on Sunday.