Israel launches heavy airstrikes on northern Lebanon ahead of ceasefire

(Dan Tri) - Israel has for the first time carried out airstrikes on three border crossings in northern Lebanon with Syria, right before the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.

Smoke rises from fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Marjayoun, near the Israeli border on October 28 (Photo: Reuters).

The airstrikes took place late on November 26, shortly after US President Joe Biden announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would take effect at 4:00 a.m. on November 27 (local time).

It is unclear whether roads in northern Lebanon were cut off by Israeli airstrikes, according to Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamieh. Israeli attacks on eastern Lebanon's border crossings in recent weeks have blocked roads into Syria.

The Syrian Red Crescent said one volunteer was killed and another wounded in "an attack on the Al-Dabousyeh and Al-Arida crossings... while they were carrying out a humanitarian mission to rescue the wounded in the early morning of November 27".

The attack damaged several ambulances and work points, the Syrian Red Crescent Society added in a statement.

Syrian state television reported that 18 people were injured, some in critical condition, in the Israeli attack on the Arida border crossing. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, while casualties were also reported in a separate Israeli airstrike on the border crossing between Dabousieh and Lebanon.

The Israeli military has not commented on the incident. It has previously said the targets were Iranian-linked sites in Syria as part of a broader campaign to curb the influence of Iran and its ally Hezbollah in the region.

In another development, late on November 26, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had attacked a weapons storage facility of an Iran-linked militia in Syria, in response to a US military strike in the country on November 25.

Bao Cham

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/israel-khong-kich-du-doi-mien-bac-li-bang-ngay-truoc-lenh-ngung-ban-20241127112515722.htm