Lebanese Minister: 9,000 Homes Damaged in Israeli Attacks

 Men inspect the damage to a building a day after an Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern village of Dibbin on March 6, 2024, amid escalating cross-border hostilities during the Israel-Hamas war. (AFP)
Men inspect the damage to a building a day after an Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern village of Dibbin on March 6, 2024, amid escalating cross-border hostilities during the Israel-Hamas war. (AFP)
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Lebanese Minister: 9,000 Homes Damaged in Israeli Attacks

 Men inspect the damage to a building a day after an Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern village of Dibbin on March 6, 2024, amid escalating cross-border hostilities during the Israel-Hamas war. (AFP)
Men inspect the damage to a building a day after an Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern village of Dibbin on March 6, 2024, amid escalating cross-border hostilities during the Israel-Hamas war. (AFP)

Hezbollah announced on Friday that the majority of its fighters killed in the latest conflict with Israel were born between 2004 and 2005.

The announcement confirms a recent report that showed that more than 63 percent of Hezbollah members killed in the conflict were aged between 26 and 40. The majority of them were killed in the third week of fighting, which erupted in October, and hail from the South.

The Information International consultancy firm said the war has killed 290 people in Lebanon since October, including 228 Hezbollah members.

Moreover, 117 Hezbollah members killed were aged between 20 and 35, or 51.4 percent of the casualties. Twenty-three casualties were aged between 20 and 25, or 9.2 percent, 47 between 26 and 30, 49 between 31 and 35 years of age, 48 between 36 and 40 years of age, 20 between 41 and 45 years of age, and 43 older than 45 years of age.

The Iran-backed party announced on Friday the death of three of its members in fighting against Israel. They all hailed from the southern town of Blida, which Israel has been heavily attacking in recent days, leaving several houses destroyed.

Speaking at the Buildings and Climate Global Forum in Paris, Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation Ali Hamiyeh revealed that hundreds of houses have been destroyed or partially destroyed in the Israeli attacks. Over 9,000 houses have been partially destroyed.

On the ground, Hezbollah announced that it had carried out several operations against Israel, targeting Israeli soldiers in the Rweisat al-Alam, al-Raheb, and al-Naqoura areas and vehicles in the Kfar Shouba region.

Israel meanwhile said its jets struck Hezbollah military command centers in the al-Mansouri and Bint Jbeil regions in the South.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported Israeli shelling that hit the region between Houla and Mays al-Jabal. Israeli jets struck and destroyed a house in the al-Mashaat area between al-Mansouri and Majdal Zoun.



Biden Says ‘Working’ to Get People Back to Homes on Israel-Lebanon Border

US President Joe Biden (C) meets with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden (C) meets with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Biden Says ‘Working’ to Get People Back to Homes on Israel-Lebanon Border

US President Joe Biden (C) meets with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden (C) meets with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2024. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden said Friday he was working to allow people to return to their homes on the Israeli-Lebanon border, in his first comments since a wave of explosions targeting the Hezbollah party sent tensions soaring.

Biden added that it was crucial to keep pushing for a Gaza ceasefire to underpin regional peace, despite a media report that his administration had given up hope of securing a truce before he leaves office in January.

Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting in the White House, Biden told reporters he wanted to "make sure that the people in northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to go back to their homes, to go back safely."

"And the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, our whole team are working with the intelligence community to try to get that done. We're going to keep at it until we get it done, but we've got a way to go," Biden said.

It was Biden's first reaction since the violence shifted dramatically from Gaza to Lebanon, with thousands of Hezbollah operatives' pagers and walkie-talkies exploding earlier this week.

The blasts -- which Hezbollah blamed on Israel -- killed 37 people including children and wounded thousands more. Israel has not commented on the explosions.

Months of near-daily border clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens in Israel, forcing thousands on both sides to flee their homes.

Biden also denied that a ceasefire to end Israel's war in Gaza following the Hamas October 7 attacks was unrealistic, following a Wall Street Journal report that officials believe it is now unlikely.

"If I ever said it's not realistic, we might as well leave. A lot of things don't look realistic until we get them done. We have to keep at it," Biden said.