Israel’s campaign of intensive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon continues. This Thursday, November 7, strongholds in the south of the country and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where an area close to Lebanon’s only international airport was affected, were targeted. In the town of Saida, one of these strikes injured four peacekeepers, whose patrol was passing through an area targeted by Israel.
Information to remember:
⇒ Peacekeepers injured in strike in Lebanon
⇒ Election of Donald Trump: France sees a “prospect” to stop the wars in Gaza and Lebanon
⇒ Israel carries out new strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
Lebanon: Blue Helmets injured in strike
An Israeli strike targeted a car at the entrance to the town of Saida in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to state media, and four peacekeepers whose patrol was passing through the area were injured, a correspondent noted of the AFP. The National Information Agency (official Ani) reported an “enemy strike on a car” at the entrance to Saida, the main city in southern Lebanon. The AFP correspondent saw four injured peacekeepers.
After the election of Donald Trump, France sees a “prospect” to stop the wars in Gaza and Lebanon
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared this Thursday in Jerusalem that he saw a “prospect” for stopping the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, after the victory of Donald Trump in the American presidential election. “I believe that a perspective has opened up to put an end to the tragedy in which Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region have been plunged since October 7,” he declared after his meeting with the minister. outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, citing “the very significant tactical successes obtained by Israel” including the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinouar, and the election of a “new American president” who has the “will to put an end to the endless wars in the Middle East.
A little earlier, the minister had said on his X account that he was coming to Israel “to continue a demanding dialogue on Lebanon and Gaza.” He had already visited Israel less than a month ago, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the bloody Hamas attack against southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Wearing the ribbon on the lapel of his jacket yellow, symbol of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, he previously met in Tel Aviv with relatives of two Franco-Israeli hostages, Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon. They are among 97 Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, 34 of whom are considered dead by the Israeli army.
This visit comes as relations between Israel and Paris have become significantly strained in recent weeks, after statements by President Emmanuel Macron calling for an end to sales of weapons used in Gaza or accusing Israel of “sowing barbarity”. “The dialogue has never been broken,” insisted Jean-Noël Barrot on France 2 on Tuesday.
Israel announces purchase of 25 “next generation” F-15 fighter jets from Boeing
The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Thursday the signing of an agreement with Boeing for the acquisition of 25 “new generation” F-15 fighter jets, financed by American military aid to Israel. The agreement, worth $5.2 billion, which includes an option for 25 other aircraft, provides for the fighter jets to be delivered in batches of four to six per year, starting in 2031, the ministry said. in a press release.
The new fighter jets, F-15IA, will be “equipped with cutting-edge weapons systems, including the integration of cutting-edge Israeli technologies,” the text specifies. “The modernized aircraft will feature greater range, greater payload capacity and better performance in various operational scenarios,” according to the statement. Since the start of the war with Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israel has concluded arms purchase agreements worth nearly $40 billion, said Eyal Zamir, Director General from the Ministry of Defense, cited in the press release.
Israel carries out new strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
The Israeli army carried out multiple airstrikes this Thursday on pro-Iranian Hezbollah strongholds, in southern Lebanon bordering Israel and in the southern suburbs of Beirut where an area close to the country’s only international airport was hit. . The nighttime strikes on the suburbs of the Lebanese capital were preceded by a call from the Israeli army for residents to evacuate.
The Israeli strike caused “minor damage” to buildings at Beirut international airport, “but not in the terminal”, an airport official who requested anonymity told AFP. The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamié, assured AFP that “planes take off and land” without problem.
The Israeli army is also continuing its strikes against Hezbollah in the south and east of Lebanon where it indicated having targeted dozens of targets and eliminated around “sixty terrorists” from the Shiite movement “in several strikes in Baalbeck (east). ) and north of the Litani River”, located about thirty km from the Israeli border. On Wednesday evening, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported a toll of 40 dead and 53 injured in Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon, particularly in Baalbeck.
Lebanon: a woman killed by an Israeli strike near Beirut
A woman was killed Thursday in an Israeli strike that targeted a car on a highway linking Beirut to the Bekaa plain and Syria, a Lebanese security source told AFP. The source, who requested anonymity, said a man who was in the vehicle was injured. According to the official National Information Agency (ANI), “an enemy drone targeted a car in Araya”, on the outskirts of Beirut, and the road was cut. An AFP photographer saw a charred car and another badly damaged on this highway which links Beirut to Damascus, through the Lebanese mountains and the eastern Bekaa plain.
This is the fourth time strikes have been carried out on the busy road in two weeks. On October 31, a car was targeted on the Araya road and its driver was killed. The day before, a Hezbollah van carrying weapons and ammunition was targeted in Kahalé, a village neighboring Araya. On October 24, two people were killed in a drone strike on the same road. In a statement, the municipalities of Araya and Kahalé, two Christian villages, had “denounced the use of international roads for the movement of armed men and weapons, which endangers innocent people.” They had asked the Lebanese army to take the necessary measures to put an end to it.