At least 39 people were killed and 68 others were wounded in deadly Israeli airstrikes on different parts of Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, on Wednesday, March 18.
The head of Al-Manar TV’s Political Programs Department, Hajj Mohammad Sherri, and his wife were among the fatalities, in what is believed to be a targeted assassination of a media professional. A number of Sherri’s family were also injured in the assault that struck their home in Beirut’s Zqaq Al-Blat area.
Wednesday’s onslaughts raised the number of people killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2 to 968, including 116 children and 77 women, according to the Lebanese Health Minister, Rakan Nasreddine.
Israel is expected to repeat Gaza’s scenario in Lebanon as its ground invasion faces Hezbollah’s firm resistance
For many, Israel’s impunity during its two-year genocidal aggression on Gaza foreshadows Tel Aviv’s intended plans in Lebanon.
This impunity was bolstered by the international community’s inability to deter Israel or even hold it accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity, not only after October 7, 2023, but also over the past eight decades.
Read more: The genocide continues in Gaza’s health system
“The past two and a half years in Gaza have provided ample evidence of what Israel, drunk on impunity, will do in Lebanon … This is not a time for empty condemnations, but for sanctions and arms embargos that will impede Israel’s ability to keep escalating its aggression,” Lebanese-American journalist Rania Khalek wrote on X.
Another reason to speculate that the Israeli scenario in Gaza would be repeated in Lebanon is the firm resistance which the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have faced in their ground clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in the last several days.
Israel historically escalated its aerial raids on densely populated civilian targets, whenever it failed to carry out ground operations in Gaza. The same strategy seems to have been implemented in Lebanon.
Read more: Israel levels 50 high-rise buildings in large-scale Gaza occupation campaign
Media reports surfaced on Wednesday indicating that Israeli troops have been engaged in intense ground clashes with Hezbollah fighters in strategic areas of southern Lebanon during the last several days, as the IOF attempts to push into border towns. While Israel has declared a limited ground operation, there is a looming possibility that it will expand.
Hezbollah launches Operation “Eaten Straw” against Israel
Although Netanyahu’s government unilaterally breached its ceasefire deal with Hezbollah over 15,400 times in the past 14 months, the Lebanese resistance group remained committed to the agreement prior to March 1, when it eventually launched its first retaliatory rocket attack on Israeli military sites.
As Israeli airstrikes continued to target civilian areas across Lebanon, Hezbollah announced the launch of operation “Eaten Straw” on Wednesday, March 11.
As part of the operation, Hezbollah launched hundreds of rocket and drone attacks on Israeli military facilities and illegal settlements in different parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The name of the operation symbolizes a Quranic narrative, connoting the divine intervention that does not allow aggressors to prevail over justice, despite their overwhelming military force.
Hamas previously used the same name for its battle in the confrontation of Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2014. This in turn reflects the ideological cohesion in the discourse among the movements affiliated with the Axis of Resistance.
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