BEIRUT: Fears of an escalation in major fighting in southern Lebanon grew on Friday after separate Israeli attacks killed two Hezbollah members and two Hamas members.
One of the Hamas members, Samer al-Hajji, a security officer at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, was killed when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by a missile fired from an Israeli drone. The incident occurred in Sidon, 44 km from Beirut, the first town to be targeted.
An earlier attack in Nakurah killed two Hezbollah members.
Hostilities continued on Friday, with the Lebanese government, which also includes Hezbollah, welcoming a joint statement from the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
The statement stressed “the need to immediately end the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, achieve a ceasefire and reach an agreement to release hostages and detainees.”
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Many airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon out of fear of an escalation in the Middle East.
It also urged the two conflicting parties to “restart urgent discussions to overcome remaining obstacles to reaching the desired agreement”.
“The contents of the tripartite statement embody Lebanon's vision to ease tensions in the region and avoid a full-scale regional war, with an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as a fundamental first step and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2735, led by US President Joe Biden,” the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said.
He stressed the need to “put maximum pressure on Israel to force it to come to the negotiating table and implement UN Security Council Resolution 2735 without delay.”
The Lebanese statement follows a statement from Israel's Broadcasting Authority saying “residents of villages along the Lebanese border should remain in safe areas until further notice.”
Also on Friday, Israeli drones flew over the border towns of Yahun, Kunine and Bint Jbeil and used loudspeakers to broadcast provocative messages in Arabic against Hezbollah and its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, prompting armed men to fire machine guns.
The Cypriot government has declared it is “ready to help evacuate European citizens from Lebanon”.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut reiterated in a statement Friday that “anyone wishing to leave Lebanon is encouraged to book any available airfare, even if that flight is not departing immediately or does not follow the route of their first choice.”
“American citizens who choose not to leave Lebanon are advised to prepare emergency plans for emergencies and to be prepared for a long-term evacuation,” it said.
Fearing an escalation in the Middle East, many airlines, including Air Algeria and Air India, have suspended flights to Lebanon.
Royal Jordanian Airlines has resumed flights to Beirut after suspending them on July 29.
Britain has advised British airlines “not to enter Lebanese airspace from 8 August to 4 November” due to “potential aviation risks from military activity”.
As hostilities enter their 11th month, with Israel continuing to violate Lebanese airspace and losing the ability to penetrate landline and mobile phone lines and internet networks, further Israeli assassinations of Hezbollah field leaders have been reported.
Hezbollah said 30-year-old Mehdi Mahmoud Kaibani from Haruf and 27-year-old Hadi Jihad Dib from Baflye, southern Lebanon, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nakurah on Friday morning.
Israel targeted a house in Aita Al-Shaab and Hanaouay on Thursday night and Friday morning. The house was empty, but five civilians in a nearby house were wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adriai said Israel's targets were “Hezbollah headquarters in Hanauai and Aita al-Shaab's infrastructure.”
According to Lebanese security sources, Hezbollah responded to specific Israeli attacks with a series of attacks limited to “Israeli military, strategic and logistical sites” and avoided targeting civilians.
Israel Army Radio reported “several attacks on the (Kyryat Shmona) settlement,” adding that “the final salvo included 10 rockets fired from Lebanon toward the settlement.”
Israeli media reported that five explosions were heard and that a missile had landed in Kiryat Shmona.
Hezbollah said it responded to the Israeli attack on Hanauai by bombing the 769th Brigade headquarters at the Kiryat Shmona barracks with Katyusha rockets. It also targeted “a concentration of Israeli soldiers with missile weapons near Metula.”
In response to the Nakurah attack, Hezbollah launched a precision drone swarm at the headquarters of the Coastal Battalion, part of the newly created Western Brigade in Liman, “targeting positions and concentrations of officers and soldiers.”
“The target was hit accurately and there were confirmed casualties,” the group said.
Hezbollah attacked “the Al-Sammaqa site in the Kfarchouba Hills of occupied Lebanon” and “buildings used by soldiers in the Manara settlement” with rocket weapons.
Israeli airstrikes struck the village of Talus in the Marjeyoun region, while artillery fire was also fired at the town.
