Israeli Shelling on Southern Lebanon Leaves One Injured

Smoke billows after an Israeli raid on the town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli raid on the town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
TT

Israeli Shelling on Southern Lebanon Leaves One Injured

Smoke billows after an Israeli raid on the town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli raid on the town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon. (AFP)

One person was injured on Thursday in Israeli shelling on southern Lebanon amid the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Israeli army positions in the Mount Hermon area came under missile attacks originating from Lebanese territory. The army confirmed that two anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel, with no reported casualties.

The "Islamic Resistance" released separate statements claiming responsibility for targeting surveillance equipment at the radar site in the Shebaa Farms, as well as Israeli positions in Ramta and Samaka.

In response to Israeli gunfire, the Lebanese Red Cross evacuated an injured individual from the town of Wazzani to the government hospital in Marjeyoun, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Additionally, Israel shot phosphorus shells over the southern Lebanese town of Al-Dhaira Al-Fawqa.

Israeli forces launched a morning offensive targeting Labbouneh and Alam mountains from positions near Mount Labbouneh. Israeli warplanes also carried out raids on the Al-Jabain and Tayr Harfa areas, targeting a commercial shop for the second time within days, with no reported injuries.

The Israeli army unleashed heavy artillery shells on the outskirts of several towns, including Naqoura, Mount Labbouneh, Alma al-Shaab, Tayr Harfa, Dhayra, Aita al-Shaab, Bayt Lif, and Rmeish. The attack caused severe damage to crops, olive and pine trees, and the water network.

Mohammad Nayef Hamoud, a Hezbollah member, was killed in an airstrike on a house in Bayt Lif.

Residents of the South continued to flee their homes to escape the unrest.

Latest figures from the International Migration Organizations and the Lebanese Ministry of Health revealed that over 83,000 residents in the south have evacuated their homes. A total of 151 people have been killed and 686 injured in the unrest.

In the Tyre district alone, 23,419 people have been officially registered as displaced, according to Bilal Qashmar, the media coordinator in the “Disaster Management Unit” of the Union of Tyre Municipalities.



Biden Warns Israel against Iran Oil Strikes as War Fears Mount

US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Biden Warns Israel against Iran Oil Strikes as War Fears Mount

US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden on Friday advised Israel against striking Iran's oil facilities, saying he was trying to rally the world to avoid the escalating prospect of all-out war in the Middle East.

But his predecessor Donald Trump, currently campaigning for another term in power, went so far as to suggest Israel should "hit" Iran's nuclear sites.

Making a surprise first appearance in the White House briefing room, Biden said that Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu "should remember" US support for Israel when deciding on next steps.

"If I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields," Biden told reporters, when asked about his comments a day earlier that Washington was discussing the possibility of such strikes with its ally.

Biden added that the Israelis "have not concluded how they're, what they're going to do" in retaliation for a huge ballistic missile attack by Iran on Israel on Tuesday.

The price of oil had jumped after Biden's remarks Thursday.

Any long-term rise could be damaging for US Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue.

Meanwhile Trump, campaigning in North Carolina, offered a far more provocative view of what he thinks a response to Iran should be, referencing a question posed to Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran's nuclear program.

"They asked him, 'what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran?' And he goes, 'As long as they don't hit the nuclear stuff.' That's the thing you want to hit, right?" Trump told a town hall style event in Fayetteville, near a major US military base.

Biden "got that one wrong," Trump said.

"When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later," Trump added.

Trump has spoken little about the recent escalation in tensions in the Middle East. But he issued a scathing statement this week, holding Biden and Harris responsible for the crisis.

- 'Wait to see' -

Biden's appearance at the famed briefing room podium was not announced in advance, taking reporters by surprise.

It comes at a tense time as he prepares to leave office with the Mideast situation boiling over and political criticism at home over his handling of a recent hurricane that struck the US southeast.

Biden said he was doing his best to avoid a full-scale conflagration in the Middle East, where Israel is bombing Lebanon in a bid to wipe out the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

"The main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world and our allies into participating... to tamp this down," he told reporters.

"But when you have (Iranian) proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Houthis (of Yemen)... it's a hard thing to determine."

Biden however had tough words for Netanyahu, with whom he has had rocky relations as he seeks to manage Israel's response following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

The Israeli premier has repeatedly ignored Biden's calls for restraint on Lebanon, and on Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

Biden deflected a question on whether he believed Netanyahu was hanging back on signing a Middle East peace deal in a bid to influence the US presidential election.

"No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none. And I think Bibi should remember that," Biden said.

"And whether he's trying to influence the election, I don't know, but I'm not counting on that."

Biden said he had still not spoken to Netanyahu since the Iranian attack, which involved some 200 missiles, but added their teams were in "constant contact."

"They're not going to make a decision immediately, and so we're going to wait to see when they want to talk," the US leader added.

Iran said its attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israel since shortly after the October 7, 2023 attacks.