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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/02/israel-suffers-losses-in-ground-battles-in-lebanon-and-insists-on-escalating-to-regional-war/">peoplesdispatch.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israel suffers losses in ground battles in Lebanon and insists on escalating to regional war<br></h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Aseel Saleh</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">October 2, 2024 - <font size="1"><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/02/israel-suffers-losses-in-ground-battles-in-lebanon-and-insists-on-escalating-to-regional-war/">https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/02/israel-suffers-losses-in-ground-battles-in-lebanon-and-insists-on-escalating-to-regional-war/</a></font></div>
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<p>Israel has continued to launch airstrikes on areas of Southern Lebanon. Photo: Al Akhbar
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<p>At least <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/10/02/734431/Lebanon-Israel-aggression-Hezbollah-Hassan-Nasrallah">eight Israeli soldiers were killed</a>
and several others were injured during clashes with Hezbollah fighters
on Tuesday, October 1, and Wednesday, October 2, as part of Israel’s
cross-border ground incursion into southern Lebanon.</p>
<p>Speaking to journalists, Hezbollah Media Relations Officer <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RaegGIcAlakARtaqRKw6iSfrIo79NDtZi25Lt4e5i08/edit">Mohammad Afif</a>
confirmed on Wednesday that heavy losses have been inflicted among the
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) as they were trapped in Hezbollah’s
ambushes, while trying to infiltrate into Southern Lebanon. “Our forces
are fully prepared to engage with the enemy, and what happened in Maroun
al-Ras, Adaisseh, and Mesgav Am was just the beginning,” Afif said,
noting that Israel is imposing strict media blackout on the number of
casualties among its forces and the impact from missile attacks.</p>
<p>Hezbollah-run news network <i>Al Manar</i> also reported that the Lebanese resistance group destroyed three Israeli <i>Merkava </i>tanks
with guided missiles on Wednesday, as they were advancing toward the
town of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon. Whereas, Hezbollah air
defenses confronted an Israeli helicopter over the settlement of Beit
Hillel in northern Israel, forcing it to retreat and preventing other
helicopters from flying over the region.</p>
<p>As Israel decided to further expand the war with Gaza’s Lebanese
support front on the north, it remained apparently determined to
escalate with Iran and drag the region into a large-scale war. On
Wednesday, the IOF confirmed that several air force bases were damaged
in the retaliatory missile attack which Iran launched against Israel the
night before, with no personnel, combat equipment or aircrafts hit in
the attack.</p>
<p>The attack reportedly did not leave casualties among Israeli people,
and did not cause major damage to Israeli sites, yet IOF’s Chief of
staff Lieutenant general <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-acknowledges-some-iranian-missiles-hit-airbases-no-major-damage-caused/">Herzi Halevi</a>
stated on Wednesday that the Israeli military would respond to the
Iranian attack and that it has the capability to “reach and strike any
point in the Middle East”. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu described Iran’s attack as a “big mistake” and that Iran would
“pay for it”.</p>
<p>Israeli officials informed American news website <i>Axios</i> on Wednesday that Israel may respond to the Iranian attack within days and that the targets would be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/02/israel-iranian-oil-refineries-retaliatory-strikes">oil and gas production facilities</a>,
nuclear sites and air defense systems inside Iran. Media reports also
have predicted that Israel may carry out targeted assassinations of
Iranian officials as well.</p>
<p>With its insistence to respond to Iran’s attacks, Israel deliberately
ignored all international calls for deescalation and ceasefire, the
last of which was stated by the United Nations General Secretary <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/un-chief-condemns-broadening-of-middle-east-conflict-amid-iranian-attacks-against-israel/3348299">Antonio Guterres</a>
after Iran launched its attack on Israel. Guterres condemned the
escalation in the region in a brief statement that he wrote on his
account on<i> X</i> on Tuesday, October 1. “I condemn the broadening of
the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation”, Guterres
said. He also urged that the escalations “must stop,” and called for a
ceasefire.</p>
<p>Israeli Foreign Minister <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/fm-katz-declares-un-chief-guterres-persona-non-grata-in-israel-over-response-to-iran-attack/">Israel Katz</a>
reacted to the United Nations Secretary-General’s statement by
declaring him “persona non grata”, which means banning the United
Nations’ Chief from entering Israel. Katz said that he made this
decision because of Guterres’s statement “in which he <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/un-chief-condemns-broadening-mideast-conflict-without-mentioning-iran/">failed to mention Iran by name</a> and did not unequivocally condemn its grave aggression.”</p>
<p>Instead, Israel continued to attack civilians across the region on
Wednesday with a new aerial aggression on a residential building in <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/10/02/734437/Israel-attacks-residential-buildings-Damascus-Syria">Mazzeh</a>
neighborhood in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The aggression left at
least three people killed, and it took place one day after another
Israeli airstrike hit Mazzeh, killing six people. Israeli air and ground
attacks also continued to target different parts of Lebanon and Gaza on
Wednesday, killing dozens of people including women and children.</p>
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