Amid Israeli airstrikes, Lebanon awaits outcome of peace negotiations

Beirut: Lebanon is awaiting the conclusion of talks in Doha over a cease-fire in Gaza and the army's departure from its southern front. Negotiations have been hampered by Israel's reiterated threats of a full-scale war in Lebanon.

Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister of Jordan, and Badr Abdel Atty, the foreign minister of Egypt, issued dire warnings about the risks of the conflict spreading to Lebanon.

At their joint press appearance in Cairo with Safadi, Abdel Atty issued a warning of “the dangers of escalation that could destabilize Lebanon and lead the region into an all-out war.”

Safadi emphasized the importance of “preserving Lebanon, its security, stability, and preventing the war from spreading there.”

On Wednesday, there were still military actions going on in southern Lebanon. A house caught fire as a result of artillery firing in the Hunin outskirts and the town of Markaba. Hezbollah-affiliated firefighting teams from the Islamic Health Organisation were battling the fire when an Israeli warplane dropped a bomb nearby, wounding one person, Arab News reported.

Israeli aircraft attacked a vacant home in the town of Tair Harfa.

Later, Israeli Channel 14 said that “about 20 missiles were detected coming from Lebanon toward Upper Galilee. Sirens sounded in Dan Dafna HaGoshrim Snir and Sha’ar Yashuv in the Finger of the Galilee.”

Al-Manar TV channel, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that “fires broke out in the northern slopes of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights after missiles fell on the enemy’s artillery site in Zaoura

At dawn, Israeli airstrikes on the border village of Kafr Kila became more intense. Within an hour, five raids occurred.

The Israeli army announced that it targeted “two Hezbollah sites used by air defense systems in Jinta in the Lebanese interior and Baraachit in the south, without recording any casualties.”

There were civilian casualties from five Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday night near the village of Nabi Sheet in the Baalbek region.

Al-Arabiya TV channel reported that an Israeli security source said: “The Israeli army is ready for a ground operation on several fronts.”

The source said: “Israel has detected thousands of militia members affiliated with Iran on Syrian territory, and we expect difficult fighting days on the Lebanon and Syrian fronts.”

The source added: “Three additional teams of Israeli ground forces are ready in the Northern Command, and the Israeli General Staff is ready with the air and naval arms.”

Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, said in a statement: “The Israeli aggression would not have lasted nine months had America not supported it with everything at the military, media, cultural, and political levels, and international sponsorship and pressure on the UN Security Council.”

Qassem added: “Currently, there is talk about the possibility of an agreement, but if America continues to act in the same way, Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli premier) will not respond because he believes that the Americans are not applying enough pressure on him.”

He stated that if the Americans applied “real pressure,” Netanyahu would have to end the war. “Currently, they are making it easier for him to commit atrocities by killing children and women in Gaza. The Gaza experience is before us. The Israelis initially planned to destroy Gaza in three months, but it’s been nine months now and they haven’t succeeded. If they continue, they won’t succeed, and Israel shouldn’t expect the Palestinians to give up.”

Talking about “some major countries looking for a solution,” Qassem said: “The solution begins with a ceasefire, and any other option will not lead to a solution. Either the fighting continues or there is a ceasefire. As for us in Lebanon, if they stop in Gaza, we will stop, and if they continue, we will continue.”