Earlier this week, Israel announced that they’d begun their ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Early fighting was reported around the city of Khiam. That just continues to worsen, according to reports, and is starting to spread to other areas of the border region.
In addition to Khiam, locals in the border village of Ayta al-Shaab are reporting intense fighting there. Fighting in and around Khiam was still the center of the fighting, with Hezbollah dug into the city and clashes reported on the northern and eastern outskirts as Israel tried to force their way in.
Israel is relying mostly on artillery to try to gain advantage against the defending Hezbollah forces in the south, and has escalated airstrikes against the rest of Lebanon as well, inflicting growing numbers of civilian casualties.
968 people are now reported to have been killed in the Israeli attacks since March 2, including 116 children and 40 health care workers. Over a million have been displaced as Israel continues to order major cities emptied for the sake of their military operations.
Israel effectively has a standing order for everyone to evacuate from Lebanon areas south of the Litani River, though the ability to evacuate safely seems in substantial doubt as the IDF also says they intend to attack the bridges that span that river. Though that comes with an order to go even further north across the Zahrani River, that would only impact people who successfully get across the first river before Israel starts destroying the bridges.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested that Shi’ites wouldn’t be allowed to return to areas in southern Lebanon until Israel is satisfied that northern Israel is safe from all attacks. This is a violation of international law, of course, but puts the plans to destroy bridges leading to those areas in an even darker context.
White phosphorous munitions deployed over Khiam | Image from X
Those who have fled to northern Lebanon aren’t finding themselves much better off, with Israeli airstrikes targeting tent camps on the outskirts of Beirut, even as warplanes also attack residential areas of the capital city. Overnight, one such airstrike targeted a 15-storey residential building in central Beirut, killing six people and wounding dozens.
It’s not clear who was the intended target of this airstrike, or if there even was one. Mohammed Shari, the programs director of al-Manar TV, was among the slain, along with his wife. Other fatalities have yet to be identified.
