Israel carried out two deadly airstrikes against southern Lebanon today, part of an ongoing escalation that has led to an ever-growing number of strikes and fatalities in the border area. Today’s strikes left two killed and at least seven wounded.
The larger strike was in the town of Doueir, in the Nabatieh District. The attack killed one person and wounded seven. The attack was on a car at an intersection, but it was in the town’s commercial district, and a number of shops and apartments in the area were damaged in the attack.
The second strike targeted a motorcycle in the border village of Ayta al-Shaab, killing one and reportedly resulting in additional injuries in the area. Neither victim nor the other casualties were identified yet by Lebanese Health Ministry officials.
There were reports, however, pushed by the Israeli military’s sources, that the Doueir slain was a “Hezbollah commander,” which is in keeping with claims, offered without evidence, that virtually everybody they kill is someone of import. They did not address the Aita al-Shaab strike yet, saying they were “looking into it.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated calls for negotiations with Israel, saying that war “leads us nowhere.” At the same time, it remains unclear that Israel is actually open to negotiations, as they’ve previously told US officials they were rejecting the proposal.
At issue was reportedly that the negotiations would involve Israel committing to stopping attacks on Lebanon and eventually withdrawing ground troops from Lebanese soil. Israel, notably, agreed to both of those things in last year’s ceasefire, but never actually did either. Apparently they were loathe to make another empty commitment that the US almost certainly wouldn’t hold them to at any rate.
The US is pressing Lebanon to agree to negotiations, though all indications are that Lebanon is more than willing to hold talks, and the Israeli suggestions that further escalation is meant to pressure Lebanon into negotiations seems an empty pretext, when such talks are already on offer.
