Israeli air raids have hit the coastal city of Tire in southern Lebanon, several Lebanese media outlet reports have reported.
At least one person was killed with tires due to the strike, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. Another Israeli attack at Klaile, southeast of Tire, also injured four people, according to the ministry.
Saturday’s attack represents a major escalation by Israel. Tire is one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon.
Another strike was also reported in Jibkin southeast of the tire.
Israeli forces confirmed they were attacking what they said was a target for Hezbollah on Saturday’s second strike.
Earlier in the day, Lebanon Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his country risked being drawn into a “new war” as dozens of other Israeli airstrikes killed at least two people.
Salam warned that Israel’s “renewed military operations on the tropical border” would “sacrifice the Lebanese and the people of Lebanon.”
At least two people were killed and eight others were injured in the first Israeli air raid, according to a report by the Lebanese National News Agency. Three victims, including one of the murdered, said they were children, citing a government-run public health emergency business centre.
Israeli artillery and air forces attacked southern Lebanon after saying they had intercepted three rockets fired from the Lebanon district, about 6 km (4 miles) north of the shared border. Israel said it targeted a rocket launcher that it claimed to belong to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s denial
The Lebanese group has issued a statement denying involvement in a series of rocket attacks from southern Lebanon to northern Israel.
In that statement, Hezbollah accused Israel of creating an excuse to renew the air attack, and repeated its commitment to a ceasefire signed in November, which ended a year-long war between both sides.
After similar incidents in the past, Hezbollah normally remained silent and forced the person responsible to insist on attack. Saturday’s official denial highlights the difficult situation the group is in internal and external pressure.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah faces growing opposition from his political opponents, and is responsible for inciting a devastating Israeli attack on Gaza’s “support front” last year.
Defense Minister Michel Menassa said Lebanese forces have begun investigating the situation of the rocket fire. He also called on the states sponsoring the ceasefire to “prevent Israel’s enemies from continuing violations and attacks under flimsy and false pretexts.”
Long-term conflict
Saturday’s report was the first exchange as Israel abandoned another ceasefire in Palestinian group Hamas and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Lebanon denounced Israel for its long-term conflict after failing to withdraw from all Lebanese territory, as stipulated in the ceasefire.
Under the contract, the January deadline was set for Israel’s withdrawal, but Israel extended it until February 18th. Since then, Israeli soldiers remained in five locations within Lebanon, with their troops carrying out dozens of deadly strikes against the supposed Hezbollah targets.
On Saturday, Salam declared “All security and military measures must be taken to show that Lebanon will determine issues of war and peace.”
In another statement, Lebanon’s Joseph Own denounced the “attempt” to destabilise his country and rekindle violence as he called for action to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
Israel said the attack was “in response to rocket fires in Israel.”
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Israeli Defense Minister Katz had directed Israeli forces to “act forcefully against dozens of Lebanon’s terrorist targets.”
Netanyahu said Israel was “responsible for “everything happening within its territory.”
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Beirut, saying “there is a lot of concern that the situation will go out of control.”
“What we understand is that Lebanese officials are in consultation with a US-led committee that is monitoring the ceasefire to try to lift the tension,” she said.
The waves of the Gaza War
The conflict in Lebanon was the most deadly ripple of the Gaza War, purring across the border for months, killing some of Hezbollah’s top leaders and commanders, destroying many of its weapons and killing thousands of civilians.
Andrea Tennenti, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, also known as Unifil, told Al Jazeera that the situation was “very concerned.”
“We have been urging parties to use the greatest control,” Tenenti said, adding that there will be intense negotiations involving several stakeholders, including “what no one wants to see after a 16-month conflict in the region to prevent conflict and tension escalation.”
A Unifil spokesman also emphasized that the peacekeeping mission, which itself was attacked by Israeli forces during the recent war, intends to maintain its presence in South Lebanon.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Sultan Barakat, a political analyst at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha, said, ” [Israeli] The occupation continues… resistance continues. ”
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