Hezbollah says it is firing dozens of rockets into Israel, Blinken returns to demand an end to the shooting By Reuters
By Maya Gebeily and Maayan Lubell
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hezbollah said it fired rockets at two bases near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv and a naval base west of Haifa on Tuesday morning, hours before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for another push. an impossible ceasefire.
Political efforts have so far failed to end the year-long war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and its conflict between the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel, which has intensified in recent weeks after a year of firestorms in most areas. The southern border of Lebanon.
After a heavy night of attacks on Israel in southern Lebanon and areas south of its capital Beirut, Hezbollah said it fired rockets at the Glilot area operated by Unit 8200 of the Israeli military intelligence unit, and at the Nirit area in the Tel Aviv area.
The group says it also fired rockets at a naval base outside the northern port city of Haifa.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israeli authorities said air sirens were sounded in areas south-east of Tel Aviv due to a single projectile detected crossing from Lebanon and falling in an open area. More alarms went off in Tel Aviv.
Blinken's trip to the region is the 11th since the attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which started the war in Gaza.
This comes as Israel is intensifying its military campaign against Iran-backed militants – Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Blinken will try to revive talks to end the war in Gaza and ease the conflict in Lebanon on a week-long trip to the Middle East that will include Jordan and Qatar.
In Israel, he will discuss Israel's retaliation for the October 1 attack on Iran, a State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Retaliation could disrupt oil markets and risk igniting a full-scale war between the archenemies.
Iran has written to the UN nuclear watchdog to complain about Israel's threats to attack its nuclear facilities, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a press conference in Kuwait during a regional visit, said Tehran does not seek war in the Middle East and has made efforts to reduce tensions but is prepared for any conflicts.
Israel has vowed to strike Iran in retaliation for a volley of Iranian missiles on October 1, sparking speculation that Iranian nuclear sites could be among the targets.
“We know that Israel does not follow any international law. We have our own defense equipment and our own nuclear infrastructure,” Araqchi said.
“Attacking nuclear facilities is a serious international crime, even threatening to attack nuclear facilities is an international crime and against international law,” Araqchi said.
The US official said that in meetings with Israel and Arab countries Blinken would emphasize the issues of “the next day”, especially security, governance and reconstruction. Having detailed plans for what happens when conflicts finally end are seen as prerequisites for reaching any lasting conflict resolution.
GET OUT HARD
Experts say Hamas and Israel remain deeply at loggerheads and are unlikely to make a significant deal before the November 5 US presidential election, which could affect US policy.
Last month, Israel killed the leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, while showing no signs of participating in its airstrikes.
The Biden administration has touted the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces last week as a way to end the war in Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the fighting will continue.
Sinwar was one of the suspected masterminds of the attacks on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people, and about 253 others were returned to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli statistics.
Israel's bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 42,500 Palestinians, and another 10,000 are believed to have died under the rubble, Gaza health authorities said.
YOU ARE SAYING THE UN DECISION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH
US Ambassador Amos Hochstein held talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday on terms to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hochstein said it was “not enough” for both sides to commit to UN resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and required southern Lebanon to be free of troops or weapons other than those of Hezbollah. Lebanon region.
He said that Hezbollah or Israel did not use the UN resolution sufficiently, and said that although it will be the basis for ending the existing hostilities, the US wants to decide what else needs to be done to ensure that it is used properly, accurately. and apparently”.
(This story has been reposted to correct an error in the title)
