AGI – Following the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut last week, Israel has suffered another hard blow in southern Lebanon, fatal shot at a Hezbollah military commander. It's about Wissam Hassan Tawi, high exponent of Rawdan forcea special unit of the pro-Iranian Shiite movement: The car in which he was traveling was hit in the village of Majdal Selm, about 6 km from the border.
No statement from Israel, but it is what it is Confirmation from Hassan Nasrallah's group has arrived. Photos circulated showing Tawi with the leader of Hezbollah and with the leader of Iran's Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad four years ago. An “excellent” sacrifice that further escalates tensions on the border between the two countries, while the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken visits the Middle East againHe again warned of the danger of the conflict expanding and warned against it “Metastasis” risk for the entire region.
At a meeting with troops stationed on the northern border, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that he would do everything “to restore security in the north” and allow residents on the border with Lebanon to return home. “Of course we don't prefer a big campaign, but that won't stop us. We gave them an example of what was happening to their friends in the south. That will happen here in the north,” he added.
Similar words were used by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who warned in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Israel could “replicate in Beirut” what “is happening in Gaza.” Although the Jewish state does not want to expand the conflict against Hezbollah to southern Lebanon, “80,000 people must be able to return to their homes in safety,” and if other means – especially diplomatic ones – fail, “we are therefore prepared to sacrifice ourselves “,” he said. explained.
The day was marked by back and forth on the border between Israel and Lebanon: anti-tank missiles were fired from the Land of the Cedars towards Har Dov in the north of the Jewish state, where a soldier was slightly injured. The same fate befell a civilian in Shtula in the western Galilee, while in Kiryat Shmona there were no casualties, only damage to infrastructure and a car. Israeli forces responded with airstrikes that hit the launch site and other targets in southern Lebanon.
From Beirut, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reiterated that Lebanon is ready to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, according to which Hezbollah troops will not be stationed south of the Litani River, but that the Lebanese army will control the entire country up to the border Israel and Hezbollah will be disarmed. At the same time, Israel must equally implement the resolution, “completely withdraw from all Lebanese territories and stop violations on land, sea and air.”
In this context, what is worrying in Israel is what happened last Saturday when Hezbollah claimed to have hit an Israeli Air Force radar facility on Mount Meron with an anti-tank missile. Israel did not provide details but acknowledged Sunday that the attack caused damage to the facility, which serves as a military air control unit in the northern region. The responsible party would be a laser-guided Kornet-EM missile with a range of up to 10 km and low altitude, capable of “penetrating” the Iron Dome defense system.
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