Israeli Escalation Kills Lebanese Soldier, Hezbollah Missiles Target Kiryat Shmona

An Israeli raid on a site in South Lebanon between the towns of Rmeish and Ramiya (AFP)
An Israeli raid on a site in South Lebanon between the towns of Rmeish and Ramiya (AFP)
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Israeli Escalation Kills Lebanese Soldier, Hezbollah Missiles Target Kiryat Shmona

An Israeli raid on a site in South Lebanon between the towns of Rmeish and Ramiya (AFP)
An Israeli raid on a site in South Lebanon between the towns of Rmeish and Ramiya (AFP)

A Lebanese soldier was killed and three others were wounded on Tuesday in an Israeli shelling that targeted one of their bases in the South, the Lebanese Army announced.

In a statement, the Army Command said that “a military base in the Nabi Oweida-Adaisseh area was attacked by the Israeli enemy, which caused the death of a soldier and the injury of three others.”

The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army escalated violently on Tuesday, reaching its peak in the evening when Kiryat Shmona was targeted with missiles.

Shelling and strikes began early on Tuesday, as Hezbollah carried out four military operations until noon, targeting the Shebaa Farms in the eastern sector. Israel said that it shot down a drone near Margaliot on the northern border with Lebanon, while the Israeli media announced the closure of several roads in the Upper Galilee to traffic.

In a statement, the Israeli army said that it attacked Hezbollah positions in response to the cross-border attack. It stated that fighter jets “bombed Hezbollah launch sites, terrorist infrastructure, and a military complex”, in response to “launching operations from Lebanon into Israel” on Monday.

The statement added that Israel responded to rocket fire against Zarit by striking “the sources of fire,” noting that it also “struck a few other locations in Lebanese territory” to eliminate unspecified threats.

In the evening, the Israeli media announced that sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona, Margaliot and Manara in northern Israel, and said that the Israeli army had closed several road axes in the Upper Galilee region in northern Kiryat Shmona.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah announced a series of operations against Israeli positions and concentrations of Israeli soldiers on the border, including the Ruwais al-Asi and Tayhat Triangle sites opposite the town of Mays al-Jabal, the Zabdin Barracks located in the Shebaa Farms, and Al-Bayad site opposite to the Lebanese town of Blida.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.