By Laila Bassam and Humeyra Pamuk
BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early on Wednesday, Reuters witnesses said, hours after the US said it opposed the scope of Israel’s attack on the city amid a rising death toll and fears of a wider escalation involving Iran. .
Reuters witnesses heard an explosion and saw a cloud of smoke. This happened after an evacuation order was issued by the Israeli military for a building in the area.
Israel’s military evacuation order also affects more than a quarter of Lebanon, according to the UN refugee agency, two weeks after Israel began an offensive into the country’s south that it said was aimed at pushing back Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday that his contacts with US officials had resulted in “some kind of assurance” that Israel would stop attacks on Beirut and its southern suburbs.
The last time Beirut was hit by attacks was on October 10, when two attacks near the city center killed 22 people and brought down entire buildings in densely populated neighborhoods.
Lebanese security sources said at the time that Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa was targeted but that he survived. There was no comment from Israel.
Several Western countries have pushed for a ceasefire between the two neighbors, as well as in Gaza, although the United States says it continues to support Israel and is sending anti-missile systems and troops.
On Tuesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US had expressed concerns to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government regarding the recent attacks.
“When it comes to the scope and nature of the bombing campaign that we have seen in Beirut over the last few weeks, this is something that we made clear to the Israeli government that we are concerned about and oppose,” he told reporters. adopted a tougher tone than Washington has taken so far.
Israel has stepped up pressure on Hezbollah since it began its offensive into Lebanon after killing Hezbollah leaders and commanders, including veteran secretary general Hassan Nasrallah last month, in the biggest blow to the group in decades.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu told President Emmanuel Macron of France during a telephone conversation that he opposed a unilateral ceasefire and said he was “surprised” by Macron’s plans to hold a conference on Lebanon, according to Israeli readings.
“Reminder to the French President: It was not the UN decision that established the State of Israel but the victory achieved in the War of Independence…,” Netanyahu’s office said in a separate statement.
The Elysee Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The pair have previously clashed, including over Macron’s call to halt arms sales to Israel.
PAIN AND Ceasefire
While diplomatic efforts stalled, fighting continued.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had captured three members of Radwan Hezbollah’s elite force and they had been transferred to Israel for investigation. Hezbollah has not commented.
The group’s deputy head, Naim Qassem, said earlier on Tuesday that the Iran-backed group would inflict “pain” on Israel but he also called for a ceasefire.
“After the ceasefire, based on an indirect agreement, the settlers will return to the north and other steps will be taken,” Qassem said in a recorded speech.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which said its operation in Lebanon was aimed at securing the return of tens of thousands of citizens forced to flee their homes in northern Israel due to Hezbollah attacks.
Two drones were identified as crossing from Lebanon into Israel after sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee, the Israeli military said early Wednesday, adding that no injuries had been reported.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,350 people over the past year and left nearly 11,000 injured, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and more than 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
The number of victims does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but includes hundreds of women and children.
The figures underscore the huge price Lebanese are paying as Israel tries to destroy the Iran-backed militant group’s infrastructure in their conflict, which continued a year ago when the group began firing rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.
The main focus of Israel’s military operations in Lebanon is in the Bekaa Valley to the east, the outskirts of Beirut and to the south, where UN peacekeepers say Israeli fire has hit their bases several times and injured peacekeepers.
