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- Gallant threatens ‘open war’ against Lebanon, warns troops to prepare for ‘hot summer’
BEIRUT: Hezbollah launched several attacks on Israeli military targets across Lebanon’s border on Thursday after four of its members were killed in Israeli strikes, security sources said.
Israeli drones on Thursday had struck a car in Bafliyeh, Tyre — 99 km from Beirut — that was transporting Hezbollah members.
The group announced the death of two of its members, followed by a third who died from severe injuries.
Although Bafliyeh is located south of the Litani Line, it has never been targeted over the past seven months, making the attack a violation of the rules of engagement.
The town is located in a vital area, close to Tyre and surrounded by villages where UNIFIL forces operate.
A security source said that four Israeli drones hovered over several towns in the vicinity of Tyre and chased a car on the Bafliyeh-Arzoun road.
The drones then fired several missiles at the vehicle, destroying it.
Lebanon’s civil defense rescue force said that its members extinguished a fire inside a car that Israeli drones had struck.
It said that the bodies of the victims were pulled out of the car by the rescue force and transferred to hospital.
Hezbollah announced the death of Ali Ahmad Hamza, born in 1958, from Debaal, southern Lebanon, as well as Ahmad Hassan Maatouk, born in 1989, from the Lebanese southern village of Sir Al-Gharbiyeh.
It later confirmed the death of Hussein Ahmad Hamdan from Burj Al-Barajneh, located in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hezbollah responded to the assassination by striking Israeli military sites, including destroying “technical systems” developed in the Israeli Ramia outpost.
It also struck a new command center in the Natur settlement with artillery as well as a “group of soldiers in the Al-Jerdah site, killing and injuring them.”
The escalation on the southern Lebanese front coincided with further Israeli threats of open war against Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “We will achieve our goals in the north and south. We will paralyze Hamas, destroy Hezbollah and achieve security.”
Hezbollah struck Israeli military sites and settlements in the north with dozens of missiles on Wednesday evening after Gallant visited his army’s positions in the north.
Gallant addressed the reserve forces of the 91st Division (affiliated with the Northern Command and responsible for the front with Lebanon, from Ras Naqoura to Mount Hermon) at the Branit Barracks.
The minister warned troops to be “prepared for a hot summer.”
Gallant said that Tel Aviv “is determined to return the residents of the northern areas that were evacuated amid the ongoing border confrontations with Hezbollah.”
He added that “the mission is not accomplished” in the area.
According to Israeli media, Hezbollah missiles “targeted the headquarters of the 91st Division” shortly after Gallant left.
According to an Israeli statement, Gallant, during his visit, was briefed on “operations to adapt operational activities in confronting Hezbollah forces.”
Hezbollah said in a statement that its members targeted the headquarters of the 91st Division in the Branit Barracks “with a heavy-caliber Burkan missile, causing a direct hit.”
Israeli shelling and airstrikes on the border area on Wednesday night led to the killing of five members of Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad movement.
Hezbollah mourned Hassan Mohammed Ismail (born in 1993) from Kfarkela in the south and Mustafa Ali Issa (born in 1988) from Dlafy in western Bekaa.
Also on Thursday, the Lebanese branch of the Al-Quds Brigades — the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement — mourned Mahmoud Mohammed Balawni, Ahmed Mohammed Halawa and Mohammed Hussein Joud from the Martyr Ali Al-Aswad Brigade — Syrian Square.
Israeli threats emerged after Lebanon received warnings from European sources about the potential for escalation in southern Lebanon over the coming months.
A political observer said that several Lebanese officials who visited Paris had conveyed warning messages regarding the situation.
In Beirut, the parliamentary foreign affairs committee listened to a report from Human Rights Watch on documented Israeli attacks on civilians in Lebanon.
MP Fadi Alame spoke of “war crimes committed, especially the deliberate shelling of journalists and the martyrdom of some, the use of white phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon and the resulting damages, and the type of weapons used to kill paramedics.”
He said: “The government submitted a report through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting the international court to conduct necessary investigations into violations and war crimes, and the foreign affairs committee is coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the effectiveness and speed of action.
“This is Lebanon’s right to demand (compensation) for the damage incurred.”