One of the deadliest attacks against emergency responders in Lebanon was the destruction, by an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, of a civil defense building in Douris, near Baalbek, killing 15 rescue workers, including Bilal Raad, the city’s civil defense chief.
The building belonged to Lebanon’s government-linked civil defense agency, which doesn’t provide Hezbollah-connected services. The Lebanese Health Ministry condemned the strike as “barbaric,” while the Israeli military remained silent on the issue.
On the same day, another Israeli airstrike hit a civil defense center in Arab Salim in the southern part of Lebanon’s Nabatieh region, killing six people, including five members of the paramedics according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
Since the Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalated in September 192 people, emergency and health workers are killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israel Airstrikes, Doubling Intensity,
International Mediation-Castling Its Stances Around Western Walls,
Israeli airstrikes have now increased, targeting Hezbollah-linked positions across Lebanon, including for the fourth consecutive day its southern suburbs of the capital city, Beirut, following evacuation orders from the Israeli Defense Forces. Hezbollah has been launching a daily assault from Lebanon into northern Israel but has reduced attacks recently.Meanwhile, US officials have presented the first formal plan for a cease-fire to Lebanese leaders. The Lebanese government says any truce must comply with the UN Resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 war. The resolution calls for the evacuation of Hezbollah guerrillas and arms from the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River and the redeployment of Lebanese Army troops in the region.
It demands the right to act in Lebanese territory once a violation is noticed, which is hardly likely to be approved by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asserted during the visit that there is a need for the implementation of Resolution 1701 “in its entirety” and stated that negotiations are ongoing.
Effects on Hezbollah
Analysts claim that despite the losses presumed from Israel’s aerial attacks, Hezbollah still has managed to reorganize, and this group resorted to attacking northern Israel, though again much less in intensity than in the first days of the conflict.
Regional Implications
The rising worsens the prospect of another round of destabilization in the region. In what seems like a sign that calm is in the air, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Iranian senior advisor Ali Larijani during a visit to Beirut that the country was committed to a ceasefire. According to some analysts, the aftermath of the negotiations currently in progress will be a determinant factor for balance of power in the region.
The situation does not appear to have even a near-term resolution in mind. Unfortuntely, civilians, emergency personnel, and parts of the country’s infrastructure will likely absorb much of the violence until things simmer down.