Hezbollah-Israel exchanges continue despite cooling of tension

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Israel launched attacks on at least five locations in south Lebanon overnight on Thursday, as its conflict with Hezbollah continues even after tension seemingly cooled.

Israel's military pounded areas near and within the villages of Tayr Hafa, Yaroun, Naqoura, Yarine and Majdal Zoun, while Hezbollah also struck parts of northern Israel late at night.

The attacks came after Hezbollah finally launched, last Sunday, its retaliation for an attack on Beirut last month that killed Fouad Shukr, a top commander in the group.

It launched more than 300 missiles at least 11 Israeli military sites, Hezbollah's largest assault yet since October. Israel for its part claimed it had launched pre-emptive strikes on Hezbollah sites.

The region had been on tenterhooks awaiting Hezbollah's retaliation for the killing of Mr Shukr – alongside several civilians – and Israel's response.

While it may have been Hezbollah's largest attack yet, the relatively restrained response – at least compared with what was potentially predicted – and Israel's ability to claim it had launched pre-emptive strikes have actually served to cool tension for the moment.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Lebanon could “breathe and relax,” while the country's flight schedule returned to normal.

The fighting, which broke out on October 8, in parallel to Israel's war on Gaza, has seemingly returned to its retaliatory cross-border exchanges.

Israel attacked a lorry north of the city of Baalbek this week in the Bekka Valley, far away from the border area. The lorry was reportedly carrying Hezbollah weapons, although the driver was not killed.

It also assassinated three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group alongside a Hezbollah member while they were travelling in Syria, near the Lebanese border, along a motorway that links Beirut and Damascus.

The cross-border violence since October has killed about 605 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.

More than 100,000 people have been displaced from south Lebanon while tens of thousands have left northern Israel.

The attacks come as ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Gaza continue to stutter.

Israel's Defence Minister said ensuring “the safe return of northern communities to their homes” was crucial.

Hezbollah said it would not end its attacks on Israel until the latter halted its brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where more than 40,500 Palestinians have been killed.

The killing of Mr Shukr came only hours before Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, in an attack widely blamed on Israel. Iran has yet to respond to the killing but has threatened to do so.

Retired Israeli Brig Gen Amir Avivi claimed Iran had held back in its response because they “really want to see a ceasefire and Israel withdrawing” from Gaza and “that they understand that maybe there is one last chance to save Hamas”.

“And then they have to take in account that there is a whole coalition ready to deal with the shooting, and there is a big chance that the shooting will be ineffective – following that, this time, Israel is not going just to shoot one missile on a radar. Israel is going to retaliate and hit Iran very hard, possibly oil production, possibly their nuclear plants,” he said.

But the retired general cautioned that, overall, Iran was not very deterred. “I think they feel strong, and they feel that the US is not fully backing Israel. So, this emboldens them.”

An Iraqi diplomatic source said “the Israeli recklessness led by Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and the insistence on the continuation of the war and the cruel military machine against the Palestinians in Gaza, and the lack of hearing of international advice will make the pro-Iranian factions in both Syria, Lebanon and Iraq also insist on responding, and the result is negative for everyone.”