Israel and Hezbollah clash fiercely across Lebanon border

Shortly after rocket sirens sounded across northern Israel, the Israeli military said “approximately 40 launches from Lebanon towards the Meron area in northern Israel were detected.” There were no reports of casualties or damage.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks on television. Photo: Reuters

Hezbollah said it had attacked a key Israeli observation post with 62 rockets as a “preliminary response” to the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon on Tuesday.

Tensions have been particularly high since Arouri was killed by a drone in a southern suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah - Hamas's Lebanese ally - in an attack widely blamed on Israel.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday Lebanon would face more Israeli operations if his group did not respond to the assassination.

The Israeli military said it responded to Saturday's rocket attack with a drone strike against "the terrorist group responsible for the launches in the Metula area."

Israeli warplanes and troops also struck a series of Hezbollah targets in the Ayta ash Shab, Yaroun and Ramyeh areas of southern Lebanon, hitting a launch pad, military sites and “terrorist infrastructure”.

The flare-up in fighting on the Israel-Lebanon border came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and senior European Union diplomat Josep Borrell launched a new diplomatic effort on Friday to prevent the Gaza war from spreading to Lebanon, the West Bank and the Red Sea.

Since the Gaza war began, Israel and Hezbollah have traded gunfire across the Lebanese border, while violence has been rife in the West Bank and Yemen's Houthi forces have repeatedly attacked shipping lanes on the Red Sea.

Mr Blinken held talks on Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and was also scheduled to meet with President Tayyip Erdogan. Türkiye, which does not consider Hamas a terrorist group, has offered to mediate in the war.

During his week-long regional tour, Mr. Blinken will also visit Israel, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, CNBC)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hezbollah-tra-dua-vu-pho-thu-linh-hamas-bi-giet-giao-tranh-du-doi-o-bien-gioi-israel--lebanon-post280008.html