hezbollah in lebanon launched the "farthest attack" on israel. us media: it may have used medium-range ballistic missiles with "heavy warheads"
2024-09-26
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[global times special correspondent in egypt huang peizhao, global times special correspondent wang yi] "there is no easing, no diplomacy, only hezbollah in lebanon and the israeli army attacking each other." according to qatar's al jazeera tv on the 25th, hezbollah announced that the organization used a "khader 1" ballistic missile to attack the headquarters of the israeli intelligence and special service (mossad) in the suburbs of tel aviv, israel. the report said that this was the "farthest attack" launched by hezbollah against israel since the new round of palestinian-israeli conflict. according to the israeli military report, the missile was intercepted by the air defense system. at the same time, the israeli side announced that the country's army hit about 280 hezbollah targets on the 25th. this is the third consecutive day that israel has carried out large-scale air strikes on lebanon. the lebanese minister of public health said that at least 51 people were killed and 223 were injured that day. the sharp escalation of the israeli-lebanese conflict coincided with the annual meeting of the united nations general assembly. the us "politics news network" said that almost all leaders who spoke on the 24th called for an end to the gaza war and the intensifying israeli-lebanese fighting, and they also expressed disappointment with israel and the united states. however, the outside world has not seen any signs of cooling down tensions. "will international pressure work? are israel and hezbollah on the brink of a full-scale war? is the middle east on the brink of a full-scale war?" al jazeera asked a series of questions.
on the 25th local time, israeli security forces inspected a house hit by a rocket fired from lebanon. (visual china)
targeting mossad headquarters?
hezbollah in lebanon said that mossad was responsible for the assassination of hezbollah leaders and the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies on september 17 and 18. foreign media said that the ballistic missile attack on september 25 was hezbollah's revenge against mossad. hezbollah issued a statement on the same day saying that ibrahim al-kubaisi, a senior commander of the organization, was killed in an israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of beirut, the capital of lebanon, on september 24. a source in the lebanese security department revealed that the man was the commander of hezbollah's rocket missile force.
according to afp on the 25th, hezbollah in lebanon announced a ballistic missile attack for the first time in nearly a year since the outbreak of the new round of israeli-palestinian conflict. according to the israeli army, this is also the "first time in history" that hezbollah's missiles have reached the tel aviv area. the associated press said that the "khader" is a medium-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile. the washington think tank center for strategic and international studies said that it can carry an explosive payload of 800 kilograms.
according to the associated press, israeli military spokesman shoshani said that the missile launched by hezbollah on the 25th had a "heavy warhead", but he refused to confirm whether its model was the "kader" mentioned by hezbollah. shoshani also refuted the claim that the attack on that day was aimed at the mossad headquarters, saying that it was hezbollah's "psychological warfare."
cnn said that the attack launched by hezbollah on the 25th was "very rare". residents of tel aviv and the northern city of netanya woke up to the sound of sirens that morning. there are no reports of casualties or related losses. "the situation is difficult. we feel pressure and tension." fadlon, a 61-year-old tel aviv resident, told afp, "i don't think anyone in the world wants to live like this."
hamad, a 22-year-old lebanese student, told afp that she had been living in "fear" for the whole week. "we haven't slept for four or five days, and we don't know if we can wake up the next morning." the lebanese ministry of foreign affairs estimates that at least 500,000 lebanese people have been displaced.
lebanese foreign minister "disappointed" by biden's speech
international politicians have issued warnings about the situation in the middle east. according to afp, un secretary-general guterres said on the 24th that lebanon is on the "brink of crisis" and what is happening in the palestinian territories is a "never-ending nightmare." european council president michel said at an event of the un general assembly that israel should not impose "collective punishment" on civilians. the foreign ministers of jordan, iraq and egypt issued a joint statement on the 25th, condemning israel's "aggression" against lebanon and warning that it "is pushing the region towards a full-scale war."
the us "politico" said on the 24th that some leaders strongly condemned israel and the united states in the general debate of the un general assembly, although the united states was rarely mentioned directly. as the first national leader to speak, brazilian president lula said that "the right to self-defense has become the right to revenge." jordanian king abdullah ii emphasized israel's attack on un shelters and schools in gaza. he said: "since (october 7 last year), the gaza strip has suffered an unprecedented scale of terrorist attacks, which is unjustified." "politico" said that most un member states are obviously frustrated with the escalating violence in the middle east.
israeli officials were unimpressed by the international community's reaction. israeli defense minister galant said on social media, "the reality is that hezbollah has hijacked lebanon." in response to the jordanian king's critical remarks, israel's permanent representative to the united nations, danon, said that this would not be the "last" verbal attack on israel, and he called his country a "country of peace."
"lebanese foreign minister expressed disappointment with biden's speech at the un general assembly." cnn reported that lebanese foreign minister habib said at an event hosted by a us think tank on the 24th that biden's speech was "not strong enough" and "cannot solve the dilemma." cnn said that biden only briefly mentioned the expansion of the war in the middle east in his last un general assembly speech during his presidency.
the us axios website quoted sources as saying that on the 16th of this month, us presidential envoy hawks visited israel and told netanyahu not to launch a larger war against lebanon. elkindi, a senior researcher at the middle east institute, told al jazeera that the timing of hawks' visit to israel and what happened afterwards highlighted the israeli leader's repeated disregard for the actions the biden administration wants him to take. he said that on the palestinian-israeli issue, "from humanitarianism, diplomacy, morality, law to politics, every aspect of the us government's policy has failed."
“it’s not worth it for both sides”
"a diplomatic dead end between israel and lebanon." the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) said that israel's allies, led by the united states, do not want it to escalate the conflict with hezbollah. they insist that only diplomatic means can make the border between the two countries safe enough. but without a ceasefire agreement in gaza, diplomats are helpless. this is the most risky crisis since the new round of palestinian-israeli conflict.
the website of the us magazine foreign affairs recently published an article saying that previously, israel and hezbollah seemed to be able to control the risks. now both sides seem to be caught in a vortex of military escalation, but a full-scale war will not be worth the cost for them. the experience of the conflict between israel and hezbollah in 2006 and the reality that the destructiveness of today's war will be multiplied should provide more reasons for both sides to take a step back. in the past 11 months, hezbollah has suffered significant losses in combat power and leadership. after nearly a year of fighting in gaza, the israeli army is exhausted, ammunition stocks continue to be depleted, israel's economy is in trouble, and its international and regional status has also declined.
