Israeli Airstrikes Claim Lives of Lebanese Soldiers Amid Escalating Conflict
BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike killed two Lebanese soldiers and wounded three others on Friday, Lebanon’s military reported. This attack came just hours after Israeli troops fired on the headquarters of United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers for the second consecutive day.
The incidents involving both Lebanon’s official army—and its positioning amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants—and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon have raised alarm as Israel intensifies its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across the country and a ground invasion at the border.
On the ground in central Beirut, rescue workers were digging through the rubble of a collapsed building, searching for survivors after an Israeli airstrike killed at least 22 individuals and wounded dozens the night before.
Since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, in a show of support for Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli retaliatory airstrikes have resulted in over 2,229 Lebanese fatalities, which include Hezbollah fighters, civilians, and medical personnel, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Among these casualty figures, 60 people were killed and 168 others injured by airstrikes in just the past 24 hours, the ministry noted.
Hezbollah attacks have also claimed the lives of 29 civilians and 39 Israeli soldiers in northern Israel and southern Lebanon since late September, when Israel launched its ground invasion.
Israeli Airstrike on Lebanese Army Checkpoint
On Friday, the Lebanese army reported that an Israeli airstrike hit a building near a military checkpoint in southern Bint Jbeil province. No immediate comment was provided by the Israeli military.
Lebanon’s army has thus far avoided direct engagement in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Following the ground invasion that began on September 30, Lebanese troops withdrew approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) from observation posts along the border.
The only direct engagement between the two armies occurred on October 3, when Israeli tank fire struck a Lebanese army post in Bint Jbeil, resulting in the death of a soldier and prompting a return of fire from Lebanese forces.
Both Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers are stationed in southern Lebanon to uphold the U.N. resolution that ended the bloody monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
Peacekeepers Wounded in Israeli Strikes
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, reported that explosions impacted an observation tower at its headquarters in the southern town of Naqoura. One of the injured peacekeepers was hospitalized in the city of Tyre, while the other received medical attention on site.
Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry identified the injured as Sri Lankan nationals and condemned the attack. France, a contributor of troops to the international force, reported that one peacekeeper was in critical condition.
The Israeli military stated that soldiers responding to a perceived threat in southern Lebanon inadvertently hit a UNIFIL post, injuring two peacekeepers. An initial review indicated that the intended target of Israeli fire was located about 50 meters from the UNIFIL position.
Following an earlier incident on Friday in which an Israeli army bulldozer struck the perimeter of a separate UNIFIL position, the U.N. force sent reinforcements to the area. This report came one day after Israeli tank fire hit the same UNIFIL headquarters, injuring two Indonesian peacekeepers and drawing sharp international criticism.
The French foreign ministry accused Israel of deliberately targeting peacekeepers and summoned the Israeli ambassador to express its protest. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a call with his Israeli counterpart, emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of UNIFIL forces and urged Israel to “pivot from military operations to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible,” according to the Pentagon.
Israel has cautioned peacekeepers to distance themselves from areas where Hezbollah militants have launched rockets into northern Israel. As a result of Thursday’s attack, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix announced that 300 peacekeepers in frontline positions along the southern Lebanese border would be temporarily relocated to larger bases.
Lacroix stated that peacekeepers would refrain from conducting patrols due to ongoing attacks, yet would maintain their positions. UNIFIL, which comprises over 10,000 peacekeepers from various countries, was originally established to oversee Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon after its invasion in 1978. The mission was expanded post-2006 after the war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to patrol a buffer zone along the border.
Israel alleges that Hezbollah has established a militant presence along the border, violating U.N. Security Council resolutions that concluded the 2006 conflict.
Life in Beirut Affected by Ongoing Strikes
In Beirut’s central Burj Abi Haidar neighborhood, civil defense workers continued to search through debris from a three-story structure brought down by an Israeli air strike, noted as the deadliest assault on the city in recent warfare. Thursday’s strikes targeted two buildings in residential areas filled with displaced citizens fleeing previous bombardments.
One local resident, Ahmad al-Khatib, recounted difficulties after a blast injured his wife and daughter, stating, “The world suddenly turned upside down.” He described horrific moments as he pulled his child from the wreckage of their home. His wife is currently in intensive care following serious injuries sustained during the attack.
Reports suggest the strikes aimed to eliminate Wafiq Safa, a notable security figure associated with Hezbollah, though he was reportedly absent from the targeted structures at the time. The Israeli military has not commented on these claims.
Another resident, Mohammed Tarhani, expressed distress over the situation, saying, “Where is one supposed to go now?” after suffering damage during the air strikes. His family has been actively seeking shelter, uprooted from their home.
Hezbollah has broadened its rocket attacks deeper into populated areas within Israel, continuing its offensive on Friday. While many of these strikes have dislocated daily life for Israelis, most have not resulted in casualties.
However, an anti-tank missile launched from Lebanon tragically killed a farm worker from Thailand in northern Israel on Friday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the Lebanese public might face similar devastation as that experienced by Gaza residents unless they took action against Hezbollah.
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