[News] Israel escalates attacks on southern Lebanon, Hezbollah strikes back

[Anti-Imperialist News]

peoplesdispatch.org
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/02/21/israel-escalates-attacks-on-southern-lebanon-hezbollah-strikes-back/>
Israel escalates attacks on southern Lebanon, Hezbollah strikes back
Peoples Dispatch
February 21, 2024
------------------------------
[image: Israel-Hezbollah.jpg]

A Hezbollah fighter firing anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military target
near the Israel-Lebanon border. Photo: Hezbollah Military Media via Al
Mayadeen

On Wednesday, February 21 Israel launched fresh airstrikes at several
locations inside southern Lebanon targeting civilian areas. Similar
airstrikes were carried out on Monday and Tuesday as well. The attacks
provoked responses from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah claimed <https://english.almanar.com.lb/2050435> that it had
targeted military installations in northern Israel, including some in the
occupied Shebaa Farms. It claimed its missiles achieved their targets and
hit Israeli forces. There were no reports of casualties. According to
Israeli media, some of Hezbollah’s strikes reached as far south as the city
of Acre.

At least 14 people were wounded in an Israeli strike in Ghaziyeh on Monday.
A similar attack on Nabatiyeh last Wednesday had killed at least 10 people.
At least three Hezbollah fighters were also killed in yet another Israeli
attack on the same day.

Israeli strikes inside Lebanon since October 8 have killed over 270 people,
including Hezbollah fighters and civilians.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch large scale attacks inside
Lebanon, claiming a security threat from Hezbollah. It has demanded the
withdrawal of Hezbollah from southern Lebanon and has threatened to wage a
war otherwise.

During a visit
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-hezbollah-drone-crashed-in-town-near-acre-no-sirens-sound/>
to a military base in northern Israel on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant once again threatened widespread destruction, claiming his
country’s forces are capable of attacking any corner of Lebanon. He also
boasted of the capability of his country’s forces to operate freely in
Syria as well.

Israel has targeted different locations inside Syria since 2011. The
frequency of those attacks has also increased since the war in Gaza began.

On Wednesday, it launched a similar airstrike in Damascus killing at least
two civilians. According to *SANA* <https://sana.sy/en/?p=325784>, Israeli
missiles targeted a residential building in Kafr Sousa in the capital.
*Hezbollah’s resistance has popular support *

Israel’s brutal airstrikes targeting civilian areas in Lebanon and its
relentless war in Gaza, which has killed close to 30,000 Palestinians and
wounded nearly 70,000, have led to a consolidation of support in favor of
Hezbollah.

An opinion poll <https://al-akhbar.com/Palestine/376647> published by the
Consultative Center for Studies and Documentation on February 19 revealed
that around two-thirds of Lebanese people surveyed believed that Hezbollah
took into account the country’s national interest in its support for the
Palestinian people. Around the same number of people felt that the group’s
demonstration of strength would deter Israel. The poll is significant as it
surveyed people across sects, including those traditionally opposed to
Hezbollah.

Equally importantly, the poll showed that 90% of those surveyed believed
that US policies are responsible for the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon.

While Hezbollah has responded to Israeli attacks, it has stopped short of a
full-fledged escalation. Its chief Hasan Nasrallah has vowed a strong
response
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/02/14/israel-escalates-aggression-against-southern-lebanon/>
to threats from Israel. He has also reiterated his organization’s
solidarity with the Palestinian people and demanded the creation of an
independent Palestinian state.
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