Janice R. Andrews
Late Thursday night, Israel began its strongest airstrikes on southern Lebanon, making the war with Hezbollah even worse. Several rocket sites that were supposedly ready to fire at Israel were hit by the bombs. Earlier in the week, 37 people were killed and thousands were hurt in Lebanon in strikes that Hezbollah and Lebanese officials said were caused by Israel.
The increase in military action has worried people around the world, and the US and UK have asked both sides to calm down. Karine Jean-Pierre, a spokeswoman for the White House, said she was worried that the fight could turn into wider violence in the region and stressed the need for peace. The U.S. also said again that it was committed to finding a political answer and urged everyone to be calm right away.
Getting worse tensions
Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, said earlier this week that the bombs crossed all “red lines.” This led to the strikes on Thursday night. Hezbollah’s radios, pagers, and other communication devices were the target of these blasts, which were allegedly set off by signals sent from afar. Israel hasn’t said who is responsible in public, but security experts have put the finger at its notoriously secretive Mossad spy agency.
In reaction, Israel’s forces went after rocket launchers used by Hezbollah all over southern Lebanon. According to Lebanon’s official news service, the strikes were the worst since October. In just two hours, there were over 52 air raids. The Israeli military said they had hit about 100 rocket sites.
There were no reports of deaths from Thursday’s attacks right away, but things are still very dangerous. Both sides are still using hostile language, and Israel has said it will hold Hezbollah responsible for any more problems it causes. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that Hezbollah would have to pay a “increasing price” for continuing to fight, which suggests that the military action could last for a long time.
What Hezbollah Did and How Others Reacted Around the World
Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, said on TV that Israel was committing “war crimes” and warned of harsh punishments for more attacks. Attacks on Hezbollah’s communication networks have made ordinary Lebanese people afraid. Many are giving up their electronics out of fear that they could be targeted.
After these events and an official letter from the Lebanese government accused Israel of technical warfare, the U.N. Security Council is going to meet to talk about what’s going on. The prime minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, asked the international group to strongly condemn what he called Israeli violence.
Calls for Peace and Peaceful Solutions
The foreign community is telling people to be calm because violence is getting worse. Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, spoke from Paris and called for an end to actions that make things worse. He stressed that the violence could make it harder to reach a peace agreement in Gaza. Both the U.S. and the U.K. called for an instant end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and stressed the need for diplomatic routes to settle the dispute.
The United States and the United Kingdom are both worried that the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could make the Middle East less stable as a whole. It worries the U.S. government that the conflict could turn into a war in the area involving Iran, which supports Hezbollah, and other armed groups in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Effects on the region
Israel’s fight with Hezbollah affects more than just Israel and Hezbollah; both groups are strongly connected to other groups in the region. Some groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen are also part of a “axis of resistance” backed by Iran. Hezbollah is one of these groups. More and more, this alliance has been fighting militarily with Israel, which has made people more afraid that the conflict could grow into a bigger war in the area.
Hossein Salami, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, spoke out in support of Hezbollah on Thursday and warned Israel that any more violence would be met with a “crushing response.” The world was getting more and more worried that the conflict could spread to other countries in the area when this comment was made.
As long as Israel and Hezbollah are fighting each other militarily, there is a high chance that things will get worse. Since two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Israel on Thursday, things are likely to stay tense. There are more and more calls from around the world for calm and peaceful solutions, since neither side is showing any signs of giving up. The next meeting of the U.N. Security Council will be very important in deciding how the world will react to the rising situation.
In the next few days, it will be very important to use diplomacy to stop more violence. But since both sides are set in their ways, it might be hard to reach an agreement to stop fighting. The situation is still changing, and people from around the world are closely watching what happens.
