The Israeli army said on Wednesday (1st) it had carried out two separate attacks against a senior Hezbollah commander and another important member of the Iran-aligned group in the Beirut region, but did not identify them or say whether they were killed. A loud explosion was heard following an attack in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital this morning.
Lebanese state news agency NNA reported one in the Khaldeh area south of Beirut, killing two people and injuring three others. A second attack targeted vehicles in the Jnah area of Beirut, in which the Health Ministry said at least five people were killed and 21 injured.
On Tuesday (31), Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that “all houses in villages close to the border in Lebanon will be destroyed, following the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza, to permanently remove threats to the northern population.” Israel intends to establish a security zone in southern Lebanon and maintain control of the entire area up to the Litani River after the end of the conflict with Hezbollah.
What is happening in the Middle East?
The United States and Israel are in . The conflict began on February 28, when a coordinated attack between the two countries killed the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran.
Several high-ranking officials of the Iranian regime were also killed. In addition, the US claims to have destroyed dozens of the country’s ships, as well as air defense systems, planes and other military targets.
In retaliation, the ayatollah regime carried out attacks against several countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Oman. Iranian officials say they are targeting only U.S. and Israeli interests in those nations.
More than 1,750 civilians have died in Iran since the start of the war, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The White House, in turn, recorded at least 13 deaths of American soldiers in direct relation to the Iranian attacks.
The conflict also expanded to Lebanon. Hezbollah, an armed group supported by Iran, in retaliation for the death of Ali Khamenei. As a result, Israel has carried out aerial offensives against what it says are Hezbollah targets in the neighboring country. Hundreds of people have died on Lebanese territory since then.
With the death of much of its leadership, an Iranian council elected a new supreme leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei. Experts point out that he will not make structural changes and represents continuity of repression.
Donald Trump showed dissatisfaction with this choice, classifying it as a “big mistake”. He had said that he would need to be involved in the process and said that Mojtaba would be “unacceptable” to Iran’s leadership.
