Jerusalem, Nov 22 (EFE).- The Israel Defense Forces confirmed they had struck the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, as well as Dahyeh, a Beirut suburb controlled by Hezbollah, which has been heavily bombed over the past week.
“The Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah terrorist targets in Tyre, including command centers, intelligence infrastructure, weapons storage facilities, an observation post, and more infrastructure,” an IDF statement said.
The military said many of the targets hit corresponded to Hezbollah’s Aziz unit, which is responsible for “firing projectiles from south-west Lebanon into Israel and other activities.”
“The Tyre area is an important conflict zone for Hezbollah and Aziz, from where Hezbollah terrorists plan and carry out attacks against the State of Israel and its troops,” the statement read.
On Friday, Israel also confirmed the attack on Dahyeh, the target of intense bombardment over the past week, sometimes up to five or six times a day.
“Hezbollah systematically takes control of civilian areas throughout Lebanon and embeds its commanders and agents in civilian areas to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, endangering Lebanese civilians whom they use as human shields,” the military said.
There have been no reports of casualties in Tyre or Dahyeh, however, the deaths of five Lebanese paramedics were confirmed on Friday in separate locations in southern Lebanon.
Amos Hochstein, the United States mediator between Israel and Lebanon, continued his ceasefire efforts in Israel on Friday, meeting with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, current Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Thursday.
Before arriving in Israel on Thursday evening, Hochstein was in Beirut, where he held a two-hour meeting with the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, and said he had made “additional progress” on a draft agreement to seal peace between Israel and Lebanon.
More than a year of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah has claimed the lives of over 3,500 people in Lebanon, most of them since the IDF intensified its bombing campaign against the neighboring country on Sep. 23.
Israel estimates that about 2,500 of the casualties were militia of the Shiite group.
On the Israeli side, 78 people have died from attacks launched from Lebanon, including 47 civilians (six of whom were foreigners).
In addition, 46 soldiers and an investigator were killed in fighting in the southern part of Lebanon, where a ground invasion has been underway since Oct. 1. EFE
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