An Israeli strike on Thursday killed three Lebanese soldiers in southern Lebanon, coinciding with a French-led conference aimed at gathering international support for Lebanon’s state forces, considered crucial to a diplomatic solution in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. According to the Lebanese army, the soldiers were killed while evacuating the wounded near the outskirts of Yater, a southern village close to the border region, which has been heavily targeted by Israel during its month-long offensive against Hezbollah.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the army for its efforts to contain Hezbollah but warned that it was “a fragile force.” He pledged to seek international help to strengthen Lebanon’s army and boost its capabilities. Hezbollah has a much larger arsenal, including air defenses, and is better funded than the army, which is badly stretched after five years of economic crisis.
The Lebanese caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, told the Paris conference that his government is planning to recruit more soldiers and potentially deploy up to 8,000 in a bid to enforce a UN Security Council resolution calling for the army to be deployed in south Lebanon. He also urged world powers to give financial backing.
Hezbollah has already launched several attacks on Israel, and the two sides are now engaged in an indirect standoff over Iran’s ballistic missiles, which are widely believed to be intended for use against Israel’s nuclear facilities. Israel has said it will retaliate against any attack but has not spelled out what measures it might take, including strikes against Iranian military bases and oil installations in the country’s coastal south.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government is tackling the humanitarian fallout of the war with Israel. Civil defense workers on Tuesday began searching through piles of concrete and twisted metal in the Beirut suburb of Burj Abi Haidar for survivors of the overnight Israeli strikes that ripped through the area, knocking down buildings and injuring dozens. Among the damaged apartments was one where a family of seven lived, including an 11-month-old baby and six children.
Earlier, Israeli jets hit the ancient Mediterranean port of Tyre with rockets and artillery, leaving a crater in the center of town and forcing residents to flee. The bombings came hours after Israel had issued evacuation warnings for the city, home to a 2,000-year-old Phoenician-era Hippodrome and an ornate Roman Necropolis. The strikes also hit the offices of a pro-Iranian TV station and other buildings.
A BBC producer who was close to the site of an Israeli airstrike in the south of the city reported hearing a loud bang before the building collapsed. Civil defense and rescuers were digging through the rubble with shovels while others were using their hands to search for survivors. Residents described a scene of panic, fear, and desperation. The city’s hospitals have been flooded with wounded civilians. The blasts also hit the nearby hospital of Al-Awda, which is a significant media outlet supporting Hezbollah and which has been accused of spreading anti-Israeli propaganda.