Heavy fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon characterized the front on Saturday evening, with Hezbollah firing 130 missiles into Israel and Israel continuing to attack targets in Lebanon.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was currently bombing "terrorist targets" in the area of the capital Beirut, without giving any details. The information could not be independently verified, but explosions in the southern suburbs could be heard throughout the city, according to a dpa reporter.
The IDF had said that the Shiite militia had once again fired extensively on Israel. After sirens sounded after midnight in the area of the city of Kiriat Schmona in northern Israel, about 30 missiles were identified as having entered Israeli territory from Lebanon, the IDF said. Some missiles were intercepted, others fell in the area.
The IDF said it will continue to attack targets in Lebanon in an effort to weaken Hezbollah and drive it back from the border.
Israeli ground troops have destroyed further tunnels belonging to Hezbollah and weapons depots in southern Lebanon, the IDF said on Saturday, as the UN reported that hundreds of thousands had been forced to flee the fighting.
During underground combat operations, tunnel systems were detonated, which Hezbollah terrorists had used to approach the border with Israel, the army said.
The reports could not be independently verified.
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with missiles since the October 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and other extremist groups, out of "solidarity" with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed militia says.
The attacks will continue until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, Hezbollah has vowed.
The offensive in Lebanon prompted Iran to launch a barrage of missiles at Israel earlier this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will respond to the latest Iranian rocket attack.
"No country in the world would accept such an attack on its cities and citizens," Netanyahu said in an address on Saturday.
"Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself," the prime minister asserted.
Israel to continue fight against Hezbollah
The Israeli army's chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, once again called for decisive action against Hezbollah.
Israel fears calls for a ceasefire led by the United States and Germany would allow Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, to recover from the heavy blows it has suffered in recent days and weeks and regroup.
The Israeli government wants to drive the militia out of southern Lebanon so that the approximately 60,000 residents evacuated from northern Israel can return to their homes.
Fighting displaces hundreds of thousands
More than half a million people are now displaced in Lebanon, with 285,000 having left the country, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday.
The number of conflict-related deaths has reportedly increased by 200% in the past two weeks, with displaced people rising by 385%.
As of Thursday, at least 1,699 people have reportedly been killed and almost 10,000 injured in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah within a year, according to the OCHA, which cited the Lebanese Health Ministry.
According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 541,527 people were displaced in the country as of Thursday.
According to IOM reports, nearly 285,000 people have left the country since September 23, with about 40% of them being Lebanese.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered 185,000 arrivals in Syria, according to the OCHA. At least 4,000 Lebanese have reportedly also fled to Iraq.
Attacks continue in Gaza, Macron calls for halt to delivery of arms
Early on Saturday, the IDF said they hit a Hamas command centre in a former school building in central Gaza, in what it called another example of the Palestinian Islamist militia group's systematic misuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law.
Measures had been taken before the attack to reduce the risk to civilians, the IDF said.
The information could not be independently verified.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel in a radio interview on Saturday.
It is a priority to return to a political solution and to stop arms deliveries for the fighting in the Gaza Strip, Macron stated on the radio station France Inter. France will not supply any weapons, he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticized Macron's demand and described it as a "disgrace."
"Israel will win with or without you," he said, according to his office.
Macron expressed regret that despite all diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire, especially with Israel, nothing is progressing in the conflict.
"I think that we are not being heard, and I consider it a mistake, also for Israel's security," Macron emphasized. He said it is clearly visible in public opinion in France and, in an even more terrible way in the public opinion of the region. This, he said, fosters feelings of resentment and hatred.
France will continue to supply defence equipment to Israel, mainly for missile defence, the French television station BFMTV reported after the interview, citing the presidential palace.
On October 7, 2023, terrorists from Hamas and allied groups infiltrated Israel, brutally massacring some 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.
Since then, Israel has been conducting significant military operations in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest figures from the Hamas-run health authority there, which cannot be independently verified, more than 41,800 people have been killed.
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