Two Killed in Lebanon as Israel, Hezbollah Resume Fire

A view shows a house that was damaged during Israeli shelling in recent weeks prior to a truce taking hold between Hamas and Israel that has informally extended to southern Lebanon, in Mhaibib village, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 28, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows a house that was damaged during Israeli shelling in recent weeks prior to a truce taking hold between Hamas and Israel that has informally extended to southern Lebanon, in Mhaibib village, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 28, 2023. (Reuters)
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Two Killed in Lebanon as Israel, Hezbollah Resume Fire

A view shows a house that was damaged during Israeli shelling in recent weeks prior to a truce taking hold between Hamas and Israel that has informally extended to southern Lebanon, in Mhaibib village, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 28, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows a house that was damaged during Israeli shelling in recent weeks prior to a truce taking hold between Hamas and Israel that has informally extended to southern Lebanon, in Mhaibib village, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 28, 2023. (Reuters)

Israeli shelling killed two people in south Lebanon on Friday, a Lebanese official said, as the collapse of a truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas prompted a resumption of hostilities at the frontier.

The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, said it had carried out several attacks on Israeli military positions at the border in support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where a weeklong pause in the fighting ended early on Friday.

The Israeli army said its artillery struck sources of fire from Lebanon and air defenses had intercepted two launches. The army also said it struck a "terrorist cell". Sirens warning of possible incoming rockets sounded in several towns in northern Israel, sending residents running for shelter.

Israeli shelling killed a woman and her 35-year-old son in the Lebanese border town of Houla, Shakeeb Koteich, the head of the town's municipal council, told Reuters, saying both were civilians.

"A shell landed near the house, and then a second one hit the house," Koteich said by telephone.

Following the eruption of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7, Hezbollah mounted near daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions at the frontier while Israel waged air and artillery strikes in south Lebanon.

It has been the worst fighting since a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, part of an Iran-backed alliance that also includes Hamas. About 100 people in Lebanon have been killed during the hostilities, 80 of them Hezbollah fighters. Tens of thousands of people have fled both sides of the border.

Hezbollah released statements claiming five attacks on Israeli military positions at the border, describing these as "in support of our steadfast Palestinian people ... and its valiant and honorable resistance".

Lebanon-based militants from Hamas and the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad have also mounted attacks from Lebanese territory.

"Hezbollah has linked what happens at the border with what happens in Gaza," said Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of Lebanon's Annahar newspaper.

"All the while the war in Gaza continues Lebanon will remain threatened by the danger of a major escalation."

Senior Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah earlier said the group was vigilant and ready after the Hamas-Israel truce ended.

"In Lebanon, we are concerned in facing this challenge, being vigilant, and always ready to confront any possibility and any danger that may arise in our country," he said.

"No one thinks that Lebanon has been spared from this Zionist targeting or that what is happening in Gaza cannot affect the situation in Lebanon," he said.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.