The Israel-Gaza war has taken an alarming turn as a new front opens up in Lebanon. Air raid sirens wailed across Tel Aviv on Tuesday after the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia claimed to have fired rockets at the Israeli city’s suburbs. The attack marks a significant escalation in the two-week old conflict that has already claimed hundreds of lives in Gaza.
According to the Israeli military, around 20 rockets were launched from Lebanon, with 5 heading toward central Israel and 15 toward the north. Many of the projectiles were intercepted, but police reported debris from the interceptors falling in the Tel Aviv area. So far, there have been no reports of injuries from the attack.
US Rushes to Intervene as Crisis Deepens
The rocket barrage came just hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to arrive in Israel on a hastily arranged diplomatic mission. Blinken’s visit, his eleventh to the region since hostilities broke out on October 7, 2023, aims to jumpstart ceasefire talks and address the widening scope of the conflict.
In addition to meeting with Israeli leaders, Blinken is expected to hold discussions with other regional partners on securing a diplomatic resolution to the fighting with Hezbollah. The top US diplomat will also continue conversations with the Israelis about their anticipated response to Iran’s missile attack last week.
Israel Ramps Up Strikes on Lebanon
Monday night saw Israel unleash a barrage of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs for the second consecutive night. More than a dozen strikes pounded the area, with one flattening a nine-story building housing a branch of the Hezbollah-linked Al-Qard Al-Hasan financial institution.
Israel alleges that the institution uses customer deposits to finance attacks against the Jewish state and has vowed to carry out more strikes against its branches. At least 15 Al-Qard Al-Hasan outlets across Lebanon were targeted in the raids.
Israel’s military spokesperson claimed that a bunker containing “millions of dollars in gold and cash” was located directly under the Sahel hospital in Beirut, serving as a central financial facility for Hezbollah. The hospital’s director denied the allegations, inviting authorities and media to inspect the site.
Gaza Death Toll Mounts, UN Warns of Humanitarian Crisis
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Reports emerged of dozens of Palestinians, including children, killed in Israeli attacks in the northern part of the enclave. At least 10 people died when an Israeli strike hit a U.N.-run school in Jabalia that was serving as a shelter for displaced civilians.
The U.N. has warned that virtually no aid is reaching the besieged Jabalia refugee camp, where the Israeli offensive has trapped thousands. The heads of the World Food Programme and UNICEF have privately appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help alleviate the suffering of countless civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
- Up to 1,000 women and children in need of medical care will be evacuated from Gaza to Europe in the coming days, according to the World Health Organization.
- The U.S. has deployed its advanced THAAD anti-missile system to Israel to bolster the country’s air defenses.
Leaked Intelligence Fuels Tensions
Compounding the volatile situation, the White House expressed deep concern over the leak of classified U.S. intelligence documents detailing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike against Iran. While no additional documents appear to have been compromised, the breach has strained U.S.-Israel relations at a critical juncture.
Iran, for its part, has warned that the U.S. would bear “full responsibility” if Israel launches an attack, calling President Biden’s remarks on the matter “profoundly alarming and provocative.”
As the violence threatens to spiral out of control, all eyes are on Secretary Blinken’s diplomatic efforts to pull the region back from the brink. With tensions at a boiling point and civilian casualties mounting, the stakes could not be higher. The question remains: can a ceasefire be brokered before the conflict engulfs the entire Middle East?
