2024-03-27 05:00:29
NNA – Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper wrote: The Israeli army recorded a new depth to its list of targets inside Lebanon, as it carried out an air strike in the Hermel region in northeastern Lebanon, for the first time, and targeted a small truck in the Jardiyya area, in a new escalation in geographical scope. Hours after Hezbollah launched missiles towards five Israeli military sites on the border with Lebanon.
Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that on Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli drone targeted a moving target in the Wadi Al-Nira area in northeastern Lebanon, explaining that the target was “a small truck that was burned as a result of the raid.”
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that “an Israeli raid targeted Wadi Fara, near the city of Hermel.” It also reported that explosions were heard in the vicinity of the city of Hermel, and clouds of smoke were observed.
A security source confirmed to Agence France-Presse that raids had taken place on an open, uninhabited area in which Hezbollah sites were spread, about 30 kilometers from the border with Syria. He pointed out that the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah imposed a security cordon on the area.
These raids are the first strikes targeting the Hermel area in the Bekaa Valley, and the most deep into Lebanese territory since the start of the bombing exchange between Hezbollah and the Hebrew state about six months ago. Wadi Faara is located in the Hermel barrens, connected to the east by the border area with Syria. It is a minimum distance of 130 kilometers from the southern Lebanese border with Israel, and about 20 kilometers from the Syrian border.
Border with Syria
Although this area is being subjected to air strikes for the first time, the area near it inside Syria is intermittently exposed to Israeli strikes, the most recent of which was last month when the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike targeting a civilian truck inside Syria in the border area with Lebanon, and resulted in the killing of two soldiers. From Hezbollah.
The Israeli army did not announce, until Tuesday evening, the strike, contrary to its custom when targeting the city of Baalbek, where it announced within less than an hour, and said that the raids were a response to Hezbollah’s drone bombing of areas in the Galilee or the Golan.
Tel Aviv says it is carrying out strikes in Syria to prevent Iranian weapons from reaching Hezbollah, and has repeatedly reiterated its assertion that it will not stop pursuing this effort, to prevent advanced weapons from reaching the party.
Hezbollah renewed its bombing of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, two weeks after a previous bombing, which prompted Israel to carry out strikes in Baalbek in response to that bombing. The party said, in a statement on Tuesday evening: “In response to the Zionist enemy’s attack that targeted the Bekaa Valley, the Islamic Resistance Mujahideen targeted, on Tuesday afternoon, the Yardun Barracks in the occupied Syrian Golan (the main command headquarters in times of war) by more than 50 Katyusha rockets.”
Southern operations
The pace of battles has escalated since last Saturday, and Hezbollah announced on Tuesday eight military operations it carried out against Israeli sites, including the bombing of Meron Air Base with guided missiles, “in response to the enemy’s attack on the town of Al-Suwairi, and in continuation of the response to the attack on the town of Al-Suwayri.” Baalbek,” he said in his statement.
The Israeli army confirmed the targeting, and its spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said that it “detected the firing of several shells from Lebanon towards the area of the air control unit in Meron, where there were no casualties or damage to the unit’s capabilities.”
The Israeli army said in a statement issued on Tuesday evening, “In response to the firing of missiles at Meron, the Israeli army attacked a military complex used by the air unit of the terrorist Hezbollah organization deep in Lebanon, which includes an airstrip and many of the organization’s military buildings.” He added, “During the day, additional terrorist targets of the organization were attacked in southern Lebanon.”
The party announced the targeting of an Israeli infantry force in the vicinity of Shtula with missile weapons. It also indicated the targeting of two buildings in the Avivim settlement used by Israeli soldiers. It also announced the implementation of two successive attacks on Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Pranit barracks, as well as an Israeli infantry force in Horsh Hanita. The Israeli media circulated video clips showing fire breaking out in a factory in Avivim.
Adraee pointed out that “three shells were fired from Lebanon towards the Avivim area, without causing casualties, as a fire broke out as a result of the shells falling, resulting in material damage.” He pointed out that fire brigades worked at the scene, while the army took care of attacking the sources of the fire inside Lebanon.
The most violent raids in two weeks
Tuesday marked the heaviest day of aerial bombardment in two weeks. Israeli warplanes carried out raids targeting the outskirts of Maroun al-Ras Park, followed by hostile artillery, phosphorus, and smoke bombardment on the outskirts of the towns of Maroun al-Ras and Aitaroun.
Israeli warplanes also carried out raids in Aita al-Shaab, Tayr Harfa, and Kafr Kila, which led to the destruction of houses consisting of several floors, and also led to the wiping out of residential squares, as happened in Tayr Harfa.
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