Israel attacked Lebanon today after firing two new anti-tank missiles at military posts in its territory, further escalating tensions along the common border and marking the eighth consecutive day of exchanges in the fire.
“After the initial report of anti-tank missiles being fired towards an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military post along the Lebanese border, IDF soldiers are currently responding to artillery fire in the direction of the launch,”, the military spokesman reported, detailing that its troops also bombed the military target of the Shiite militia, Hezbollah.
Shortly after that, after activating the alarms in the border area, the Israeli Army reported the launch of nine rockets from Lebanon. Four of them were hit in open areas, and the remaining five were intercepted by air defense systems.
In response to these shots, the source added, Israel bombed the area where the launches came from. These incidents follow other exchanges of fire on Sunday, where the Israeli Army recorded a total of six launches of anti-tank missiles against its territory.
This morning, a missile launched by Hezbollah against the Israeli border town of Shtula caused one death and three injuries. Shortly after, several launches took place, targeting an Israeli military post and a group of soldiers operating along the border.
“The mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance attacked a Merkava tank in the Raheb post (northern Israel) with guided missiles, which led to a direct hit and its occupants were killed or injured,” the political movement announced today and armed Lebanese in a statement.
After launching the first of these missiles, Israel declared a 4-kilometer-wide strip along the common border a closed zone. In this area, a military spokesman said civilian access is prohibited, and its residents have limited movement. The Israeli Army also ordered that all civilians living in an area up to 2 kilometers from the border must stay near protected areas.
Last week, the forces of Israel and Hezbollah engaged in cross-border attacks across the divide between the two countries, an area where there were actions claimed by Palestinian factions to be in Lebanese territory. These episodes left a total of at least four dead in Israel and at least 12 in Lebanon, including three civilians, four members of Hezbollah, and five members of Palestinian militias.
Iran’s warning
For its part, Iran insisted on Sunday that it was not a mere “bystander” to the crimes committed in Gaza by Israel, its main enemy, and warned again of the possibility of the conflict spreading throughout the region. “It is not possible that Iran remains a spectator of the situation,” said the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hosein Amir Abdolahian, in an interview with the Qatari network Al Jazeera.
The head of the Iranian diplomacy thus summed up his country’s position at the end of a regional tour that took him to Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Qatar to discuss the war in Palestine, which began after a sudden attack by Hamas, which caused 1,400 deaths. Abdolahian warned in Doha that the possibility of opening other war fronts “increases every hour” if the aggressions in Gaza do not stop and reiterated that “all scenarios are on the table.”
And he assured that if the conflict expands in the region, “the United States will also suffer many losses.” A message that Abdolahian repeated in one way or another in Baghdad, Beirut, Damascus, and Doha as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise (2,329 so far) and the exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon intensifies.
During this tour, Abdolahian held meetings with his regional allies and leaders of groups belonging to the so-called Axis of Resistance, an alliance led by Iran and composed of militant organizations in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, like Hezbollah.
In a meeting with the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, Abdolahian warned that “no one can guarantee control of the situation and that the conflict will not expand.” At the same time, the Iranian minister congratulated Doha, the head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Ismail Haniya, for Palestinian “victories.”
“Support for the Palestinian cause is a religious, humanitarian, and moral duty,” said Abdolahian, who assured that Tehran will continue its attempts to stop Israel’s war crimes.
A day earlier, he warned in Beirut that members of the so-called Axis of Resistance have their “trigger fingers ready to shoot” and will act at the “opportunity” moment if crimes against Israel continue. in Gaza.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel are bitter enemies; they pose an existential threat to each other, compete for regional hegemony, and continue a secret war with cyberattacks, assassinations, and sabotage.
In this “shadow” conflict and to expand its influence in the region, Tehran supports groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Palestinian movement Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
