Lebanon: new attack by Hezbollah on the Israeli border | The militia launched several rockets in response to the bombardment the day before.

Lebanese Hezbollah militia fired several rockets at Israeli positions on Friday near the border between the two countries in retaliation for the Israeli airstrikes launched the day before, and the UN, alarmed, called for an “immediate” ceasefire.

Shells, 122 mm, were directed against areas “close to the Israeli occupation positions in the Shebaa FarmsAt approximately 11:15 am local time, the Shiite formation reported in a statement. The action was a “response to Israeli airstrikes on open land in areas of Al Yarmak Yes Al Shauakir last Thursday night, ”the note said, referring to the first bombing carried out by Israel on Lebanese territory since the war it waged with Hezbollah in 2006.

The attacks constitute a significant escalation between the new Israeli government and the Shiite militia, very influential in Lebanon and supported by Iran, and they operate in a context of growing tensions between Israel and Iran in the Persian Gulf region. It is the third day of the attacks across the volatile border between Lebanon and Israel, although statements by Israeli authorities and aspects of Hezbollah’s bombing seem to indicate that both sides prefer to avoid a major conflict.

Israel said Thursday its airstrikes were in response to nine rockets fired from Lebanon, and the prime minister Naftali Bennett he quickly called a meeting with the country’s top defense officials. “We don’t want this to degenerate into all-out war, although of course we are prepared for it,” the lieutenant colonel said. Amnon Shefler, spokesperson for the Israeli Armed Forces. In a sign of the regional repercussions that a further escalation could have in the region, the Israeli defense minister warned on Thursday that his country was ready to attack Iran, which he holds responsible for financing and arming Hezbollah .

Meanwhile in Beirut, the acting Prime Minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab, called on the UN to put pressure on Israel to stop “violating Lebanese sovereignty” and return to calm in the common border area.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called it a “very dangerous situation” military escalation and called for an immediate ceasefire. “It is a very dangerous situation, with acts of escalation observed on both sides in recent days,” Finul warned in a statement. The UN mission commander, General Stefano Del Col, said he was in contact with the parties involved, calling for an early truce.

the sirens the warning of imminent bombardment sounds in the the Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee near the border with Lebanon this Friday morning. Hezbollah said in a statement it struck “open fields” near Israeli positions in the disputed area of ​​Shebaa Farms, with “dozens” of rockets, following the Israeli attack, including no casualties. has not been reported.

Shebaa Farms is an enclave where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet. Israel interprets this area as part of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in a war in 1967. Lebanon and Syria say the Shebaa farms belong to Lebanon, while the United Nations says that the area is part of Syria and that Damascus and Israel should negotiate their fate.

The escalation, on the other hand, comes at a delicate time in Lebanon, mired in multiple crises, including a devastating financial and economic crisis and a political stalemate that left the country without a government for a full year.

It is also a politically sensitive time in Israel, as the new ruling coalition tries to keep the peace under a fragile ceasefire that ended 11 days of hostilities with Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza last May.

Israel has long viewed Hezbollah as its most serious and immediate military threat. It is estimated that the group has more than 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of attacking anywhere in Israel. In recent years, Israel has expressed concern that the group is trying to import or develop an arsenal of precision-guided missiles. Since a war between the two sides in 2006, Israel had not attacked Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Lebanon.

In 2019 the tension between the parties increased when Shiite militias attacked Israeli military vehicle in response to two attacks on Islamic group in Syria and Lebanon. Next, Hezbollah vowed to respond to the deaths of two of its operatives in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus, also accusing Israel of a drone attack on the southern outskirts of Beirut, its main stronghold in the Lebanese capital. .