Four Hezbollah fighters die in attack in southern Lebanon
The Israeli air force is said to have carried out attacks on a border village in southern Lebanon. The local Hezbollah leader and three other fighters were killed, according to the pro-Iranian Shia militia. US Secretary of State Blinken travels to the region out of concern about an escalation of the fighting.
The pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon has announced the death of four of its fighters. According to information from Hezbollah-affiliated circles, the four militia members were killed on Thursday night in the southern Lebanese city of Nakura on the border with Israel. Among them was the local Hezbollah leader. According to the official Lebanese news agency Ani, the Israeli air force "carried out attacks on the center of Nakura, destroying a residential building and damaging surrounding houses".
Since the beginning of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip around three months ago, Hezbollah, which is allied with Hamas, has also been attacking Israel almost daily from southern Lebanon. The Israeli army is responding to the attacks with increased air strikes in Lebanon and Syria. So far, the fighting has been limited to the border areas in southern Lebanon.
However, following the killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in the Lebanese capital Beirut, there is growing international concern that the war could spread to Lebanon. According to a US government representative, Israel carried out the attack.
Nasrallah threatens: "Fight without restrictions"
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Wednesday against a war against Lebanon. "If the enemy thinks to wage war against Lebanon, we will fight without restraint, without rules, without borders and without restrictions," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
Al-Aruri was killed on Tuesday in a suburb of Beirut. According to a Lebanese security official informed about the preliminary investigation, the number two of Hamas and six other Hamas officials were killed with Israeli guided missiles, other sources spoke of an Israeli drone. Al-Aruri is said to have been an important Hamas military strategist and one of its leaders in the West Bank. Israel holds him responsible for planning numerous attacks.
Israel did not comment on the accusations. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari emphasized that Israel remains "focused on the fight against Hamas", but is at the same time "highly prepared for any scenario".
US Secretary of State Blinken travels to the region again
In view of the fear of an expansion of the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is once again travelling to the Middle East, according to information from Washington. Blinken will start his trip on Thursday evening and will visit Israel, among other places, according to government sources on Wednesday evening (local time).
There was initially no further information from Washington on the exact destinations of US Secretary of State Blinken's trip to the Middle East. However, the US chief diplomat had also visited several Arab countries on his trips in recent weeks.
This would be Blinken's fourth trip to the Middle East and his fifth visit to Israel since the attack on Israel by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on 7 October. Blinken also accompanied US President Joe Biden on a visit to Israel in mid-October.
USA rejects accusations
Before Blinken's new trip to the Middle East became known, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller had stated that no country had an "interest in escalation" in the region. Miller also countered statements from Iran that the USA could be involved in an attack in the southern Iranian city of Kerman. "Any suggestion to the contrary" was "ridiculous", said Miller. His government also had "no reason to believe" that Israel had anything to do with the incident.
On Wednesday, 84 people died in the bomb attack in Kerman near the grave of General Kassem Soleimani, who was killed by the USA in 2020, according to the health ministry in Tehran. A further 284 people were injured, according to Iranian state media.
One day after the devastating attack, Iran's emergency services have once again revised the death toll downwards. State media had initially given the death toll as 103 on Wednesday, but Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi then corrected it to 95 in the evening. Head of the rescue service Miadfar explained the confusion surrounding the number of victims with the devastating condition in which some of the bodies were found after the explosions.
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Source: www.ntv.de
