Israel Kills At Least 29 In Lebanon Strikes, Evacuation Orders Extend To Tyre

Israel’s strikes on Lebanon continued despite a “ceasefire,” with El País saying the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah extended evacuation orders to Tyre’s Christian neighborhood and caused at least 29 deaths since Monday night, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

“By Yusuf Alioglu / Anadolu The Israeli army said on Thursday that it conducted 84 varied attacks on Lebanon, killing 29 people and wounding 33 others, in an ongoing assault since March 2, despite the ceasefire”

Anadolu Ajansı

El País reported that Israeli troops concentrated much of their fire on Tyre, including “at least 13 fatalities and at least 40 wounded” there, and that the evacuation order obliges residents of Tyre and its surroundings to flee northward.

Anadolu Ajansı

El País also said the Arabic-language note from military spokesman Avichay Adraee demanded evacuation of Tyre’s Christian-majority neighborhood, warning that the Israeli army felt obliged to act against “its terrorist activities” in that area.

In a separate tally, Drop Site News said that “At least 3,666 people have been killed, and 11,321 wounded, in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2,” and added that “Over 29 people were killed, and 133 wounded, in Israeli strikes during the past 24 hours.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun denounced ongoing Israeli violations and urged the international community to pressure Israel to respect international law, with The Guardian’s account of the dispute over the ceasefire clause echoing that argument.

In the same dispute, the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said, “we must press Israel to respect the international laws and agreements and to stop targeting civilians, medics, civil defense, and the humanitarian health and relief agencies,” according to a statement from the presidency.

Drop Site News

The Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri described Aoun’s remarks as inaccurate, while Hezbollah rejected the clause as a “dangerous precedent” and demanded a clear stance to reject it, according to Al Jazeera net.

Al Jazeera net also reported that the United States through its embassy in Beirut urged a direct meeting between President Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide concrete assurances of Lebanon’s sovereignty, saying “the time for hesitation has ended.”

As Israel continued operations in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah announced it carried out 12 attacks in response to Israeli violations, with Al Jazeera net saying it confirmed strikes on four Merkava tanks, a Hammer vehicle, and a self-propelled gun.

“Israeli army bombs residential neighborhoods in Tyre, the largest city in southern Lebanon, and extends the evacuation order to its Christian neighborhood”

El País

Al Jazeera net reported that Hezbollah also announced it shot down an Israeli drone of Hermes 450 over Nabatieh, while the Israeli army acknowledged the death of a Golani Brigade soldier in al-Qantara and the injury of 15 others in separate attacks.

The Times of Israël said an Israeli soldier was killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in southern Lebanon, identifying the dead soldier as Sgt. Liran Ben Zion, 19, of the 9th Battalion, 401st Brigade, originally from Holon.

The Times of Israël further linked the fighting to a fire at the premises of Haifa’s main oil refinery during a simultaneous Hezbollah- and Iran-launched missile attack, and quoted a firefighter on public radio Kan saying the tanker truck “contained benzene, which is not dangerous,” while adding that it would take “several hours to extinguish the fire.”