According to Reuters news agency updated on October 17, this event marked the largest attack on a Lebanese government building since Israel began its air campaign.
Citing a statement from the Israeli military, Reuters reported that the Israeli military struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the city of Nabatieh as well as dozens of other targets in southern Lebanon. Among the targets destroyed was a tunnel network used by Hezbollah's Radwan Force in the center of the town of Mhaibib near the border with Israel.
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| Israeli attacks kill many people in Lebanon. Photo: AP |
The Israeli move was met with strong opposition from Lebanese officials, especially the attack on Nabatieh that killed 16 people, including Mayor Ahmed Kahil, and injured 50 others. At the time of the airstrike, Mayor Nabatieh was participating in a meeting to discuss efforts to provide aid to civilians.
Lebanese officials have accused the campaign against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of shifting to targeting the Lebanese state. Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel “deliberately attacked a city council meeting to discuss aid” for people displaced by its campaign.
Israeli warplanes also struck southern suburbs of Beirut on October 16 while two airstrikes near the city center killed 22 people and destroyed entire buildings in a densely populated neighborhood.
Commenting on the Israeli airstrike on Nabatieh, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Washington understands that Hezbollah operates from places including civilian homes and therefore supports limited airstrikes against Hezbollah.
“Obviously we don't want to see the whole village destroyed. We don't want to see people's homes destroyed ,” Mr. Miller said.
In recent weeks, Israel has assassinated several senior Hezbollah leaders and launched ground and air operations in Lebanon aimed at ensuring the safety of tens of thousands of Israelis forced to evacuate under Hezbollah fire.
Israeli military operations in Lebanon have killed at least 2,350 people in the past year, including hundreds of women and children, and displaced more than 1.2 million, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The United Nations says about 25% of the country's population is under evacuation orders.
Also on October 16, the United Nations Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that peacekeepers continued to record an Israeli tank firing at their watchtower near Kfar Kela, southern Lebanon. UNIFIL said that two cameras were destroyed and the tower was damaged.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on UNIFIL's statement. UNIFIL has repeatedly accused Israel of attacks, while Israel has denied the allegations. "The State of Israel attaches great importance to UNIFIL's activities and has no intention of causing harm to the organization or its personnel," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
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