Israeli Strikes Kill 31 In Southern Lebanon As Israel Expands Ground Operations

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed 31 people and wounded 40 others, the Lebanese health ministry said, with 14 killed in Burj al-Shamali near Tyre, five in Kawthariyat al-Riz, four in Habbush, six in Maarakeh and two in Salaa.

“Breaking News Lebanese Health Ministry: 31 dead and 40 injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon”

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The Israeli military said it was expanding its ground operations and that troops had begun operating beyond the Israel-announced "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon, which runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory.

Al-Jazeera Net

Hezbollah said its fighters confronted Israeli troops trying to advance into a town that overlooks Nabatieh city, and the group claimed responsibility for a series of drone and rocket fires on Israeli forces in the town.

In eastern Lebanon, the health ministry said “yesterday’s Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child,” and rescuers were still clearing the rubble.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The (Israeli army) is operating with substantial forces on the ground and securing strategically dominant positions,” and he added that “We are reinforcing the security buffer zone in order to protect the communities of northern Israel,” as the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for at least 50 southern and eastern towns and villages on Tuesday.

In Nabatieh, an AFP correspondent reported airstrikes after an unprecedented warning on the city and saw plumes of smoke rising from various locations within it, while Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said one strike hit the vicinity of a public hospital, causing “significant damage to the hospital’s departments”.

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Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters repelled an Israeli force early Tuesday that had moved toward Zawtar al-Sharqiyah after airstrikes and heavy artillery fire, and the group claimed responsibility for drone and rocket fires on Israeli forces in the town.

The Israeli army said it “intercepted several explosive drones launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization toward Israeli territory,” and UN secretary general spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday that on Monday UN peacekeepers in Lebanon detected “91 airspace violations” and Unifil reported “399 firing incidents” attributed to the (Israeli army) and “11 trajectories” attributed to Hezbollah.

The Litani River Authority warned that “any direct or indirect targeting of the Qaraoun Dam or its facilities could lead to catastrophic risks for residents, infrastructure, and vital installations in the areas downstream,” and it called on authorities to “make the necessary contacts and take the necessary actions at the international and diplomatic levels to protect the Qaraoun Dam… from any attacks”.

Lebanon’s civil defence said one of its rescuers succumbed to his wounds after a double-tap strike on the town of Qaraoun, near the dam, as he was tending to a man hit by a previous attack.

In addition to the dam-area strikes, the health ministry said a strike on Srifa in the south killed a rescuer and wounded two others from the Risala Scouts association, linked to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, raising the rescuer death toll in the war to 121.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had bombed more than 100 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon overnight, while the Iran-backed movement claimed drone attacks on an Israeli army barracks in northern Israel on Tuesday.