UN Official Says Israel Strikes Lebanon-Syria Border Crossing

 People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Official Says Israel Strikes Lebanon-Syria Border Crossing

 People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said an Israeli air strike hit "humanitarian structures" Saturday at a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria that was previously hit last month.

The crossing, known as Jousieh on the Syrian side, became a key escape route for those fleeing the Israel-Hezbollah war after the main border crossing between the two countries was hit.

But it was put out of service late last month when an Israeli strike created a large crater that blocked vehicle traffic.

"A new Israeli air strike hit the border post of Jousieh, where many Lebanese and Syrians cross from Lebanon to Syria," Grandi said on social media platform X.

"Humanitarian structures were also struck," he said, adding that "even fleeing and taking care of those who flee are becoming difficult and dangerous as the war continues to spread."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said two Israeli strikes hit the Jousieh crossing on Saturday.

The raid came after the main crossing between Beirut and Damascus, known as Masnaa on the Lebanese side, was forced to close by an Israel strike on October 4.

There are six official crossings between Lebanon and Syria, although there are many unofficial routes across the porous border.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of transporting weapons to Lebanon from Syria through the crossings.



Israel Says it Eliminated Commander in Hezbollah's Radwan Force

People take part in the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
People take part in the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Israel Says it Eliminated Commander in Hezbollah's Radwan Force

People take part in the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
People take part in the funeral procession of Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The Israeli military eliminated the commander in the Hezbollah Radwan force's anti-tank missile unit Riad Rida Ghazzawi in the al-Sultaniyah village in southern Lebanon, it said in a statement on Monday.
Late in September, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with an air strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the biggest blow to Hezbollah in decades.
Despite growing pressure from the United States and others in the international community for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, intensified Israeli strikes against the Hezbollah militant group are expanding beyond Lebanon’s border areas. Israel is also fighting a seemingly endless war against Hamas in northern Gaza.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted last year, at least 2,900 people have been killed and more than 13,150 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reports. Health authorities say that a quarter of those killed were women and children.