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Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday, after Hezbollah launched a long-range projectile toward Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah said it launched a ballistic missile toward the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency. Millions of people in Tel Aviv received warnings and fled to bomb shelters, though Israel says it ultimately intercepted the missile.
The exchange comes one day after Israel killed Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Qubaisi in an airstrike in Beirut. Qubaisi was a top commander in Hezbollah’s missile and rocket force.
Thick smoke rises above the southern suburbs of Beirut after an Israel strike this week. The strike on Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon’s capital Beirut reportedly killed at least eight people and wounded dozens of others, with a source close to the movement saying a top military leader was dead.
Qubaisi’s death came amid a two-day bombing campaign from Israel, which they say targeted Hezbollah cells and weapons caches. Lebanese officials say the attack killed at least 560 people.
Israel has now conducted five targeted airstrikes in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut since the start of the Israel-Hamas War. Three of those targeted airstrikes have come in the last five days.
On Friday, IDF officials said another airstrike in Beirut killed Ibrahim Aqil, who headed Hezbollah’s operations and was commander of its Radwan Force.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on the village of Khiam, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The U.S. announced an additional deployment of American troops to the Middle East on Monday. The U.S. already had 40,000 troops in the region.
“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region. But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during an off-camera gaggle Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem. (OHAD ZWIGENBERG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a message to the people of Lebanon, saying Hezbollah is using them as “human shields,” and urging them to get out of harm’s way.
“Israel’s war is not with you. It’s with Hezbollah. For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garages,” Netanyahu said. “Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens. To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out those weapons.”
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