The Israeli army once again carried out air strikes on entire Lebanon on Monday. Explosions occurred across the country and at least 12 people were killed. While Israeli leaders appear to be moving closer to a ceasefire through talks with the Hezbollah terrorist group. Israeli attacks hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas believed to be Hezbollah strongholds. He issued orders to evacuate the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The attack came as officials indicated they were close to an agreement on a ceasefire, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet ready to discuss the proposal. At least 12 people were killed in the airstrike. Israeli airstrikes devastated Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israel has issued an evacuation warning
The explosions damaged buildings and scattered broken glass and debris on nearby streets. There were no casualties as many residents fled the targeted areas. Some of the attacks occurred near central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel has issued evacuation warnings, including Tire and Nabatieh provinces. Israeli airstrikes also struck the northeastern Baalbek-Harmel area without warning.
More than 3,700 people have died in Lebanon
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Monday at least 12 people were killed in an attack in Tire province, bringing the death toll in Lebanon to more than 3,700 since Israel’s offensive two months ago. Many of those killed since the war between Israel and Hezbollah began were civilians, and health officials said some of the bodies recovered were so badly damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities.
12 lakh people displaced
Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon’s health ministry says 1.2 million people have been displaced by the war. The new round of airstrikes came just weeks after Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, encountering fierce resistance in a narrow strip of land near the border.
Hezbollah fired rocket at Israel
The army has previously exchanged cross-border attacks with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israel the day after the war in Gaza began in US-led ceasefire talks last year. The country’s deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of escalating the bombings to pressure Lebanon into making concessions in indirect ceasefire talks with Hezbollah.
Israel and Hezbollah close to agreement!
Elias Boussab, an associate of the militant group, said on Monday that the pressure has increased as we are approaching a time that is crucial to reach a ceasefire. Hopes for a ceasefire increase Israeli officials on Monday expressed similar optimism about the prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country’s ambassador to Washington, told Israeli Army Radio earlier in the day that several issues remained to be finalized. Although any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah are close to an agreement.
Netanyahu’s security cabinet today
Israeli officials have said the two sides are close to an agreement that would include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters from Israeli territory. But many sticking points still remain. Two Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s security cabinet had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, but they added it was unclear whether the cabinet would vote to approve the deal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal discussions.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Monday he expected the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah to be phased and discussed by the leaders on Monday or Tuesday. Still, he cautioned, it won’t happen overnight. After earlier hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, US officials warned that talks were still a long way off and said last-minute obstacles could arise that would either delay the agreement or destroy it.
Call for two-month ceasefire
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday that nothing is done until everything is done. A proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire, during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along its border south of the Litani River.
Hezbollah is violating the terms
The withdrawal will also be accompanied by an influx of thousands of Lebanese Army troops to patrol the border alongside existing UN peacekeeping forces, who had been largely sidelined in the war. Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel was seeking the right to attack Lebanon if it believed Hezbollah was violating the terms. The Lebanese government has said that such a system would authorize a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
War escalated after Hamas attack
The ceasefire could be a step towards ending the region-wide war that escalated after Hamas-led militants launched attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people . Most of them were civilians and another 250 people were kidnapped. The lack of a ceasefire has emerged as a political liability for Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, especially as 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes in the north of the country after more than a year of cross-border violence.
Hezbollah’s rockets have reached Tel Aviv, located in the south of Israel. At least 75 people have been killed in the attack, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers were killed in a ground attack in Lebanon. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.
war between israel and iran
The ceasefire between Israel and Iran’s strongest armed proxy, Hezbollah, is expected to largely calm regional tensions, which have raised fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Iran. It is unclear what impact the ceasefire will have on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ended, but it abandoned this condition.