Eight Killed as Israel Strikes Across Southern Lebanon

At least 11 wounded In attacks in the area

Strikes by Israeli forces continued to escalate on Friday and into Saturday, with towns in southern Lebanon experiencing heavy shelling and airstrikes targeting homes and buildings across the area. Eight were estimated to have been killed in the strikes.

Three members of the Amal Movement were killed on Friday night in an attack on their building in Marjayoun. A fourth member was reported wounded in the strike. The Amal Movement is the largest Shi’ite political party in Lebanon and is aligned with Hezbollah.

Strikes elsewhere in the south, including Ayta ash-Shaab and Qana, killed at least 5 Hezbollah members and wounded 10 others, mainly civilians. One member of the Lebanon military was among the wounded in Kfar Hamam.

Hezbollah was retaliating as well, hitting Warda, Blida, the Zarit barracks, among other sites throughout northern Israel. Damage and injuries from these strikes has not been reported as of yet.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah used his Quds Day speech to proclaim that the movement intends to retaliate further, both for Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and for the recent Israeli attack on the Iranian Embassy in Syria.

Israel remains on alert for the possibility of retaliation over the Iran Embassy, closing dozens of its embassies, trying to up security. Iran has also threatened its own retaliation in a time of its choosing.

The international community has tried to broker a ceasefire to prevent an Israeli offensive into Lebanon. But this effort doesn’t appear to be making much headway, and the Israeli Defense Ministry is instead focused on preparing the Israeli public for a full-scale war.

A truce In Lebanon would involve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and this is also being worked on by the international community, but so far to no avail. What does seem to be trending is further escalation of the conflict.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.