On Wednesday, Hezbollah fighters fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel in what they said was retaliation for an overnight Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.
The militant attack got here as pro-Palestinian protesters increased pressure on the federal government of neighboring Jordan to chop ties with Israel. It also got here after the United States said a previously canceled meeting with the Israeli delegation in Washington to debate a planned offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah could be postponed.
For months, Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group based in Lebanon, has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces across the border, and on Wednesday the Israeli military said its forces had targeted a “significant terrorist operative” near the town of al-Habbariyeh in southern Lebanon.
Ministry of Health of Lebanon, which said Israeli attack hit an emergency room and killed seven paramedics, calling it “unacceptable”.
Hezbollah’s response was swift: an Israeli government spokesman said that 30 rockets had been fired at Israel. The strikes included, amongst others: direct hit According to Israeli authorities, regarding a constructing in the town of Kiryat Shmona, where a 25-year-old person died.
According to reports by the Associated Press and Reuters, the exchange of fireplace occurred after three consecutive days of protests against the Israeli bombing of Gaza, which took place near the Israeli embassy within the Jordanian capital, Amman. Much of the anger was directed on the Jordanian government.
Jordan has maintained a key regional alliance with Israel, despite the fact that Jordanian leaders have change into increasingly critical of Israel for the reason that start of the Gaza war. The conflict has forced tens of 1000’s of individuals to flee their homes in Gaza. There are over 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, a population barely larger than Gaza’s.
“Betrayal!” protesters chanted. Some carried Palestinian flags, in response to the footage.
Video captured by news agencies on Tuesday evening showed security forces clashing with a crowd near the embassy. Security forces dispersed the group and arrested demonstrators.
Like its close ally Hamas, which began the war with a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah is backed by Iran. And since October, it has fired rockets into northern Israel almost each day. The Israeli military often responded with attacks on Hezbollah-linked targets in Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s attacks to date have been large enough to display solidarity with Hamas, but in addition measured enough to avoid triggering a full-fledged war with Israel.
In Gaza, the Israeli Air Force continues to strike the territory while Hamas fighters proceed to attack Israeli soldiers – one other indication that a brand new UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire has didn’t take hold.
Hamas said on Wednesday it hit a soldier with sniper fire in the realm of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. A day earlier, it said it had targeted two Israeli tanks within the Khan Younis area and an armored personnel carrier and a soldier on a north-south coastal road.
Israel openly condemned the Security Council resolution that called for a halt to fighting for the remaining weeks of Ramadan, which might result in a “sustained and lasting” ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages held by militants in Gaza.
The United States, which had vetoed three attempts to approve a ceasefire resolution within the Council, abstained on Monday, allowing the resolution to be adopted. A US resolution calling for a ceasefire as a part of an agreement to release hostages held in Gaza was vetoed last week by Russia and China.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once more expressed anger on the United States’ decision not to dam the UN resolution during a gathering in Jerusalem on Wednesday with Senator Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida.
The decision, Netanyahu said, allows “Hamas to take a hard line and believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from releasing the hostages and destroying Hamas.”
After the UN vote, Netanyahu canceled a gathering between a high-level Israeli delegation and American officials in Washington regarding the planned Rafah offensive. President Biden requested a gathering to debate alternatives to a ground offensive on the town.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her every day news conference: “The prime minister’s office has stated that they want to postpone this meeting so that we can talk about operations in Rafah. We are happy about it. We will work with their teams to ensure this happens.
Ms Jean-Pierre added: “We will set this date in the coming days.”
There was no immediate confirmation from Netanyahu’s office, which had previously denied news reports about the postponed talks.
Three Palestinian human rights groups said Wednesday that Israeli bombing had intensified over the past 72 hours in the city, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have taken refuge, and that dozens of people had been killed.
Some of the strikes described by the groups took place after the adoption of the Security Council resolution, and several others took place before its approval.
Isabella Kershner, Ravan Sheikh Ahmad AND Zach Montague reporting submitted,
