Following the recent escalation between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed on Friday that the situation is extremely serious, urging everyone to cease fire immediately. It added that it had detected rocket launches from Lebanon and Israeli artillery responses. UNIFIL announced on Thursday that it was making urgent efforts to prevent a potential new escalation between Israel and Lebanon due to the latest round of cross-border shelling.
In a statement, its commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, communicated immediately with all parties after reports of the latest shelling on Wednesday, urging them to cease fire and exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation, especially on the anniversary of the Beirut port explosion.
Efforts Fail
However, these efforts have failed, as Israeli shelling resumed in several areas of southern Lebanon following the Hezbollah militia's launch of more than 15 rockets on Friday. Israeli aircraft also conducted sorties to target rocket launch sites in the south. Artillery was fired at the hills of "Kfarchouba" and "Al-Habariyeh" in the Arqoub region.
Renewed Escalation
For its part, Hezbollah acknowledged on Friday that it had launched over 15 rockets at Israel, claiming that this operation was in response to previous Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military responded to the rockets by shelling locations in southern Lebanon, announcing that it would not leave any attacks unpunished. Additionally, Lebanese media reported a movement of displacement among residents of some Lebanese border villages following the rocket launches toward Israel.
