Israel carried out heavy air raids south of Beirut on Thursday after days of relative calm [Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty]
Israeli strikes resumed in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday morning as evacuation orders were issued for areas in south Lebanon hours after US envoy Amos Hochstein left for Tel Aviv to continue pushing for a ceasefire deal.
At least three airstrikes hit the heavily populated Haret Hreik area in the early hours after threats were issued by the Israeli military, at a time when most people were asleep, as further strikes followed closer to noon.
Most residents of the capital’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, have already evacuated since Israel’s war on Lebanon dramatically escalated in September, after a year of cross-border hostilities with the Hezbollah.
The latest attack on Dahiyeh came after a few days of relative calm during Hochstein’s visit to Beirut, where he had met with Lebanese officials to iron out a ceasefire proposal that could potentially end the war.
He left Lebanon saying “positive” progress had been made, but some issues still needed resolving.
The US official reportedly met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar upon his arrival in Israel on Wednesday night and is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Israel’s Kan broadcaster said the main dispute in the negotiations revolves around which member states would be part of a committee overseeing the implementation of a ceasefire deal.
Hezbollah had reportedly refused to include Germany and the UK in this committee, which would already include France, the US, and one Arab state.
The deal would be in line with UN Resolution 1701, adopted after the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war but never fully enforced.
Another major issue that remains unresolved is Israel’s demand for the freedom to attack Lebanon whenever it perceives any violations. Lebanon has said this demand was impossible to accept as it would compromise the country’s sovereignty.
Citing an Israeli official, Israel’s Channel 14 said it was likely that no agreement with Lebanon would be announced during Hochstein’s current visit to Israel.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Wednesday that Israel cannot impose conditions for a truce in Lebanon, adding that his group sought a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression” and “the preservation of Lebanon’s sovereignty”.
In southern Lebanon at the forefront of the war, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for entire areas. It threatened civilians to leave Borj el-Shmali, Maashouq and Al-Hawsh, all suburbs of the coastal city of Tyre, where one building was also pinpointed.
Meanwhile, clashes raged between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces near the hilltop town of Khiam, which the Israeli army has tried to capture for weeks due to its strategic location near the border.
Khiam has come under intense shelling and airstrikes, which officials within Hezbollah’s circle say is due to Israel’s failure in capturing the town.
Israel began its ground invasion at the start of October and already has boots along the entire frontier. In recent days, its military has tried to push deeper into the south. The army said on Wednesday that three soldiers died in combat.
Across the border, sirens were heard in multiple northern Israeli settlements because of incoming projectiles fired by Hezbollah. They included the neighbouring settlements of Metula, Qiryat Shemona, Yuval, and Kfar Giladi, in the Galilee panhandle.
Earlier Thursday, sirens sounded between the coastal areas of Rosh HaNikra and Nahariya after a drone intercepted Israeli airspace.
