Israel Ramps Up Strikes on Hezbollah, Displacement in Lebanon Grows

Israel is preparing to launch further strikes against Hezbollah to ensure the safe return of 70,000 Israelis who were evacuated from border settlements nearly a year ago. This was confirmed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The conflict has already displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese residents, according to the government in Beirut.

Early this morning, Israel targeted the coastal town of Jiya, located 75 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Yesterday, an airstrike on a Beirut suburb killed Ibrahim Muhammad Qabisi, a Hezbollah commander overseeing the group's rocket units. The strike resulted in at least six deaths and 15 injuries, according to Israeli military reports.

Israel plans to ramp up military pressure on Hezbollah in the coming days to neutralize the threat posed by the group along its northern border, according to Assaf Orion, a reserve general in the Israeli army. Orion, now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, noted that while Hezbollah has launched limited attacks, its strategic long-range missiles have not yet been deployed. Israel, too, has only used part of its military capabilities so far.

The ongoing Israeli airstrikes have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese, with around 27,000 fleeing to the country's south and the Beqaa Valley in the east. Schools, universities, and kindergartens across Lebanon remain closed as the crisis escalates.