The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, their latest round of warfare in four decades of on-off conflict, has been waged in parallel with Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas since the Iran-backed Palestinian group’s attack on Israel last October 7.
Israel’s stated goal is to make its northern areas safe from Hezbollah rocket fire and allow thousands of displaced residents to return, but its strikes have also had a devastating impact on civilians in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed and 6,000 wounded in the past two weeks, without saying how many were civilians. The government said a million people – a fifth of the population – had fled their homes.
The Health Ministry said 14 medics had been killed in airstrikes over the past two days.
In Beirut, some displaced families spent the night on the benches at Zaitunay Bay, a string of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront. On Sunday morning, families with nothing more than a duffle bag of clothes had rolled out mats to sleep on and made tea for themselves.
A man walks on rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday.Credit: AP
“You won’t be able to destroy us, whatever you do, however much you bomb, however much you displace people – we will stay here. We won’t leave. This is our country and we’re staying,” said Francoise Azori, a Beirut resident jogging through the area.
On Sunday Israel’s military said the air force had struck dozens of targets including launchers and weapons stores while its navy said it had intercepted eight projectiles coming from the direction of Lebanon and one from the Red Sea.
More blasts rocked Beirut and drones could be heard flying over all parts of the Lebanese capital overnight and throughout the day on Sunday.
Israeli airstrikes have killed a string of the group’s other most senior commanders. On Sunday, Israel said it had killed Nabil Kaouk, a prominent Hezbollah leader. Hezbollah confirmed his death.
High-ranking Hezbollah leader Nabil Kaouk was killed.Credit: AP
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was moved to a secure location in Iran after Nasrallah’s killing, sources told Reuters.
Hezbollah’s arsenal has long been a point of contention in Lebanon, a country with a history of civil conflict. Hezbollah’s Lebanese critics say the group has unilaterally pulled the country into conflicts and undermined the state.
However, Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said Nasrallah’s killing had “opened a wound in the heart of the Lebanese”. Rai has previously voiced criticism of the Shi’ite Islamist Hezbollah, accusing it of dragging Lebanon into regional conflicts.
