On Sunday, U.S. President Biden expressed that the United States is doing everything possible to prevent a larger-scale war in the Middle East. When asked about his concerns regarding the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, Biden told reporters, “Yes, I am worried.” Biden, speaking in his home state of Delaware, stated, “We will do everything we can to prevent a wider war from breaking out. We are still working towards this.”
Currently, tensions between Israel and Lebanon continue to escalate. On Friday, a 9-story apartment building in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, was hit by an airstrike, resulting in at least 45 fatalities, including 16 members of Hezbollah, with Ibrahim Aqil, commander of the “Radwan Forces,” among those killed. The United States State Department had offered a $7 million reward for Aqil.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad stated at a press conference that the attack also resulted in the deaths of 7 women and 3 children, with at least 68 injured, 15 of whom are still hospitalized. According to the Israeli military, prior to the attack on Friday, Hezbollah had launched approximately 140 rockets towards Israel, with most being intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Lebanon witnessed large-scale explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies, leading to 37 fatalities and thousands injured. While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosions, Israel neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, stated on Sunday that since Hamas launched attacks on October 7th, Hezbollah has fired over 8,000 rockets towards Israel. Danon mentioned that around 70,000 people in northern Israel have been “forced to flee their homes” and become refugees in their own land. “This war was not started by us, but we will protect our homes, land, and people,” he emphasized.
Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Herzi Halevi, announced on Sunday that the military is prepared to confront Hezbollah in the coming days and plans to take action in the “near future” to address the situation.