BEIRUT: Lebanon said on Tuesday the death toll from Israeli bombardment a day earlier had risen to 558, including 50 children, in the deadliest day of violence since Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006.

“So far, the health ministry has recorded 558 deaths, including 50 children and 94 women,” Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said.

“This frankly negates the lies of the Israel which said it was targeting combat forces... The truth, unfortunately, is that the vast majority, if not all, of those killed in yesterday’s attacks were unarmed people in their homes,” he added.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Tuesday condemned Israel’s latest aerial strikes in Lebanon, decrying the attacks as a “grave violation” of international law.

Foreign Office condemns Tel Aviv’s attacks on Lebanon, decries attacks as a ‘grave violation’ of international law

A total of 1,835 people were wounded, Mr Abiad said, adding that they were receiving treatment in 54 hospitals. Four of the dead were rescuers from the Risala Scout association, which is affiliated with Hezbollah ally Amal. Several Hezbollah-affiliated groups operate health centres and emergency response operations in south Lebanon.

Sixteen emergency workers and firefighters were wounded, Abiad said, adding that the Bint Jbeil hospital near the Israeli border was hit on Tuesday.

Abiad also said the toll from an Israeli strike in south Beirut on Friday that killed the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil, had risen to 55, including seven children.

Hezbollah attacks Haifa with rockets, drones

Hezbollah said it launched rockets and drones at Israeli military sites near Haifa and two bases in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the south and the Bekaa.

People in Israel’s coastal city of Haifa were seen running for cover on Monday when air raid sirens sounded.

The powerful Lebanese group, which has been trading near-daily fire with Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza, said it was in a “new phase” of confrontation.

The Hezbollah’s Haifa attacks came after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut on Friday killed its elite Radwan Force commander, Ibrahim Aqil, and coordinated communications device blasts that Hezbollah blamed on Israel killed 39 people and wounded almost 3,000 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Arab states’ condemnation

Arab states strongly condemned Israel for the escalating hostilities with Hezbollah, which have intensified to levels unseen in nearly a year.

Israel claimed it killed a “large number” of Hezbollah members and supporters when it hit about 1,600 sites in southern and eastern Lebanon, including a “targeted strike” in Beirut in what the Israeli military called “Operation Northern Arrows”.

Hezbollah said Ali Karake, its third-in-command, was alive and had moved to safety after a source said the strike on the capital targeted him.

Global powers urged Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the brink of all-out war, as the violence shifted from Israel’s southern border with Gaza to its northern frontier with Lebanon.

France and Egypt called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene, while Iraq requested an urgent meeting of Arab states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the UN and world powers to deter Israel’s plan to destroy Lebanese villages and towns.

FO condemns Israel’s Lebanon strikes

The Foreign Office on Tuesday condemned Israel’s latest aerial strikes in Lebanon, decrying the attacks as a “grave violation” of international law and calling for immediate global action to hold Israel accountable.

“Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms Israel’s latest military aggression against Lebanon, massacring hundreds of civilians,” the statement said, referring to the more than 558 people killed in Israeli airstrikes, including 50 children and 94 women.

The FO characterised Israel’s actions as “a dangerous escalation that has further endangered peace and security in an already volatile region”, adding that it was a blatant breach of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law. Reaffirming its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Pakistan expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people, underscoring their right to live in peace and security. “We call upon the international community to take urgent steps to hold Israel to account for its alarming adventurism in the region and its acts of aggression and genocide,” the statement added.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024