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Hezbollah Pressures Israel with Drone Assaults, ‘Burkan’ Missiles

Snapshot from a video of a site targeted by Israel, reportedly belonging to Hezbollah (Reuters)
Snapshot from a video of a site targeted by Israel, reportedly belonging to Hezbollah (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Pressures Israel with Drone Assaults, ‘Burkan’ Missiles

Snapshot from a video of a site targeted by Israel, reportedly belonging to Hezbollah (Reuters)
Snapshot from a video of a site targeted by Israel, reportedly belonging to Hezbollah (Reuters)

Hezbollah has targeted Israeli military gatherings west of Kiryat Shmona using attack drones, artillery, and military positions with ‘Burkan’ missiles.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes intensified in southern Lebanon, reaching, for the first time, a church in the district of Bint Jbeil.
The Israeli bombardment did not subside throughout the day.
“The Israeli army hit the Saint George Church in the town of Yaroun, southern Lebanon, near the border,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
“Several areas in southern Lebanon came under Israeli fire from tanks, fighter jets and helicopters, including an attack on the home of Lebanese lawmaker, Qabalan Qabalan, who is a close ally to Hezbollah, the group that has been trading cross-border attacks with Israel since Hamas’s 7 October attacks on southern Israel,” the NNA added.
Video footage depicted significant damage to the house, indicating it was hit by two shells.
Furthermore, other news agencies highlighted Israeli direct shelling on the town of Markaba and the outskirts of towns around Hula and Horsa, situated between Deir Mimas and Kfar Kila.
In a statement, Hezbollah announced that the number of casualties in the Israeli settlements adjacent to the borders has reached 1,523 since the escalation began on Oct. 8.
The party issued separate statements indicating that its fighters targeted concentration centers and the deployment of Israeli soldiers west of Kiryat Shmona.
They did so through three drone attacks on one occasion and artillery shelling on another, resulting in direct casualties.
Additionally, they targeted an infantry gathering near the Dahiyra site and another assembly point in the Triangle of Tayhat with rockets and artillery, causing injuries.
Furthermore, Hezbollah fighters targeted an Israeli infantry force on the Karnitina hill near the Hadeb Yaron site.
Several military sites became the focus of Hezbollah fighters, some of which were reportedly struck by Burkan missiles.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.