BEIRUT, (PIC)
Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue to intensify, with rising casualties, expanding cross-border confrontations, amid growing international concern over the risk of a wider regional war linked to the ongoing military escalation in the region.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that at least 1,268 people have been martyred and 3,750 injured since Israeli attacks began on March 2. The toll includes women and children, underscoring the widening humanitarian impact.
Israeli strikes have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, accompanied by limited ground incursions in the south.
On Wednesday, at least seven people were martyred and around 30 injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Jnah area of Beirut. The attack followed overnight strikes that killed five others and wounded more than 20, highlighting the rapid pace of escalation.
The Israeli military claimed responsibility for assassinating Hajj Youssef Ismail al-Hashem, described as a senior Hezbollah commander overseeing operations in southern Lebanon. It said he had decades of experience coordinating rocket and drone attacks and rebuilding the group’s capabilities.
In response, Hezbollah has intensified its operations, launching waves of rockets and drones at Israeli military and industrial targets. Israeli estimates suggest the group is firing roughly 100 rockets daily.
Hezbollah said it carried out coordinated strikes targeting sites including military facilities and industrial locations such as Yodfat, along with the Mahanayim base. It also reported direct clashes with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, including a strike on an armored vehicle using a guided missile.
The group further announced a large-scale attack involving more than 40 rockets and drones launched within a single hour toward areas in northern Israel, including Haifa and the Galilee. Additional overnight barrages of around 50 projectiles were described as part of its “Khaybar 2” operations.
The Israeli military said it had not anticipated some of the attacks and claimed its ground operations were pushing Hezbollah forces northward. It also stated that approximately 2,500 targets had been struck in Lebanon and around 900 Hezbollah fighters killed.
In a rare acknowledgment, the military confirmed that an officer and three soldiers from the Nahal Brigade were killed during clashes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, marking one of its deadliest incidents on that front since the escalation began.
Israeli forces have continued issuing evacuation warnings for towns south of the Zahrani River, while airstrikes persist across multiple regions of Lebanon.
Amid the escalating violence, the United Nations has firmly rejected any unilateral Israeli moves to establish buffer zones inside Lebanon, warning that such steps would violate Lebanese sovereignty and risk further destabilizing the region.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said the organization’s position is “clear and firm” in calling for an immediate end to the war and adherence to the UN Charter, which prohibits aggression between states.
The UN also warned that continued escalation could have severe global economic consequences, estimating potential regional losses between 3.5 percent and 6 percent of GDP and pushing up to four million people into poverty.
It further cautioned about disruptions to global food security due to supply chain breakdowns, reduced fertilizer exports, and rising fuel prices, which could trigger inflation and food shortages in the coming months.
Regarding Lebanon, the UN stressed that Israel has no right to violate Lebanese sovereignty or create buffer zones, calling instead for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and respect for the Blue Line.
The organization said that stabilizing Lebanon requires empowering the Lebanese government as the sole authority over weapons within its territory, adding that the return of more than 1.1 million displaced people depends on an immediate ceasefire.
The UN also emphasized the need to protect UNIFIL peacekeeping forces under international law, following the recent killing of three Indonesian peacekeepers, with investigations still ongoing.
Guterres is leading intensified diplomatic efforts through his envoy Jean Arnault to engage multiple countries in an attempt to contain the crisis and prevent the region from sliding into a broader, uncontrollable conflict.
The ongoing confrontation reflects a rapidly expanding regional crisis, with mounting human, economic, and geopolitical costs as the violence continues.
