BEIRUT: Hezbollah targeted Israeli forces near the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh with artillery shells and rockets on Wednesday, the group said in a statement, a day following Israel claimed it had killed two successors to Hezbollah’s slain chief.
Sirens also sounded in northern Israel on Wednesday, the Israeli army said, admitting that three Israeli troops were severely wounded on Tuesday and Wednesday during clashes in southern Lebanon. It said that Israel sent more ground forces into southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Tuesday that Israeli attacks had killed two successors to Hezbollah’s slain leader.
Biden- Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden is likely to hold a phone call on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about any plans to strike Iran, Axios reported late on Tuesday, quoting three American officials.
Reuters reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had canceled a Wednesday trip to the Pentagon as Israeli press reported Netanyahu wanted first to speak with US President Joe Biden. The Pentagon refused to say why Gallant canceled his trip, and referred media persons to Israel’s ministry of defense. Reuters reported that Offices for Netanyahu and Gallant also did not immediately respond over the matter.
On the other hand, US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday that there has been some progress on a Gaza truce agreement but it is “meaningless” unless an agreement is actually reached. She expressed these remarks during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She further said that they must have a truce and a hostage deal immediately.
Hezbollah-Israel Conflict
Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Hezbollah warned that it would intensify assaults on Israel, including the northern port city of Haifa, if it continues to attack Lebanon. “The Israeli enemy’s intensifying attack” mean that “Haifa and other areas will be targeted by our rockets just as much as Metula, Kiryat Shmona, and other” locations, the group further said.
Since Israel launched a wave of strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on September 23, the conflict has resulted in over 1,110 deaths and displaced more than a million people in Lebanon.
