South Lebanon’s Residents Leave Their Towns, Hezbollah Counts 58 Deaths among its Members

An Israeli helicopter flying in northern Israel near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (Reuters)
An Israeli helicopter flying in northern Israel near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (Reuters)
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South Lebanon’s Residents Leave Their Towns, Hezbollah Counts 58 Deaths among its Members

An Israeli helicopter flying in northern Israel near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (Reuters)
An Israeli helicopter flying in northern Israel near the Lebanese border on Saturday. (Reuters)

Bombing in South Lebanon intensified on Saturday, with the Israeli army announcing that it shelled “two terrorist cells” and a “control point” belonging to Hezbollah in response to attempts to launch strikes from Lebanon.

Israel conducted ten raids within one hour – the highest number of airstrikes since Oct. 8, the date of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Gaza war on the southern Lebanon front.

The sound of rockets was heard 40 kilometers from the border, while the video clips circulated on Lebanese social media platforms showed thick smoke following massive air strikes carried out by Israeli aircraft in various areas of the south.

Lebanese media reported that an Israeli spy balloon was targeted and shot down on the border. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel said that an “enemy spy balloon was targeted and shot down over the Miskav Am settlement.”

The channel added that Israeli air strikes targeted forest areas in Naqoura, Aita al-Shaab, Rmeish, Kfarhamam, and Kfarshouba. Israeli artillery also bombed the outskirts of the towns of Blida, Muhaibib, Mays al-Jabal, Hula, Markaba, and Wadi Hunine.

In a statement, the Israeli army said that in response to attempts by two terrorist cells to fire rockets from Lebanon towards Israeli territory, the Israeli army bombed the two cells and a Hezbollah observation point.

The Israeli army also indicated that it responded to the firing of mortar shells launched from Lebanon towards Israeli towns in “northern Israel,” which it said caused no casualties.

Hezbollah, in turn, announced the bombing of five sites, including Jal al-Alam, al-Jardah, Hadab al-Bustan, al-Malikiyah, and al-Mutulla, saying that its fighters “achieved direct hits there, in addition to destroying technical equipment.”

Hezbollah announced the killing of one of its members, bringing the number of people killed in the ongoing battle to 58.

The intensification of air strikes prompted dozens of families, who had returned to their homes last week, to leave their towns again, in anticipation of any further escalation.

Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that residents were concerned over the sudden escalation in air strikes, specifically after the speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, in which he said that the southern front was open to all possibilities.



Rubio Told Egypt about Need to Stop Hamas from Governing Gaza Again

Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Rubio Told Egypt about Need to Stop Hamas from Governing Gaza Again

Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday it was important to ensure Hamas can never govern Gaza again, the State Department said, with their call coming after President Donald Trump suggested Egypt and Jordan should take more Palestinians.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Trump on Saturday floated a plan to "clean out" Gaza, where Israel's war has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, in comments that echoed long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes.

The suggestion by Trump was not mentioned in the US State Department statement released on Tuesday after the call between Rubio and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Reuters said.

Jordan and Egypt had pushed back over the weekend after Trump's comments that they should take in Palestinians from Gaza. Asked if this was a temporary or long-term solution, Trump had said: "Could be either."

KEY QUOTES

"He (Rubio) also reinforced the importance of holding Hamas accountable," the State Department said after Tuesday's call.

"The Secretary reiterated the importance of close cooperation to advance post-conflict planning to ensure Hamas can never govern Gaza or threaten Israel again."

CONTEXT

Rubio held a call a day earlier with Jordan's King Abdullah and the US statement after that call, too, did not mention Trump's remarks on Palestinian displacement. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas group attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. The fighting has currently paused amid a fragile ceasefire.