Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired fresh barrage of rockets into Israel on Tuesday, even as Israel deployed more troops into southern Lebanon and pushed deeper into Northern Gaza as part of its renewed offensive on two fronts.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 180 rockets that were aimed south of the Haifa port city in northern Israel. The government warned citizens to limit outdoor activities and closed more schools across the border, news agency AP reported.
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Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's acting leader said the group's military capabilities were intact despite weeks of Israeli strikes targeting the group's “military sites”. He also claimed that Israeli forces have not been able to advance into southern Lebanon since launching a ground incursion into Lebanon last week.
Kassem, in a video message, said Hezbollah will name a new leader to succeed longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, “but the circumstances are difficult because of the war.”
Shortly after Kassem’s speech, Hezbollah issued a statement saying it would "not abandon our support and backing for our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip". The statement aimed to clear reports that misinterpreted Kasseem's speech as the group's willingness to agree to a cease-fire in Lebanon without a cease-fire in Gaza. Hezbollah has maintained that the two fronts are linked.
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Israel strikes Syria
{{/usCountry}}Shortly after Kassem’s speech, Hezbollah issued a statement saying it would "not abandon our support and backing for our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip". The statement aimed to clear reports that misinterpreted Kasseem's speech as the group's willingness to agree to a cease-fire in Lebanon without a cease-fire in Gaza. Hezbollah has maintained that the two fronts are linked.
Also read | Israeli strikes on Gaza, Lebanon mourned by Arab Americans
Israel strikes Syria
{{/usCountry}}Seven civilians, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday that targeted a building allegedly used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
The Syrian Defence Ministry said the strike hit a residential and commercial building that housed several embassies and a security headquarters.
The Syrian foreign ministry condemned "in the strongest terms this brutal crime against defenceless civilians" calling for "immediate measures" to stop Israel from dragging the region "into a confrontation that will have disastrous consequences".
Netanyahu warns Lebanon of destruction like Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned Lebanon that it could face destruction "like Gaza". In a video message addressed to the people of Lebanon, he asked its citizens to “free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end”.
"You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering as we see in Gaza," Netanyahu said.