Over the past 24 hours, a new wave of violence has hit the Middle East, particularly Lebanon and Gaza. The night of October 6, 2024, was marked by massive Israeli bombardments, hitting residential areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. The strikes come amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, but also in the Gaza Strip, where continued Israeli bombardment is causing an increasing number of civilian casualties. This article looks back at the main events of the night, with an analysis of the regional and international implications.
A night of heavy bombing in Beirut
On Saturday night, the Israeli air force launched more than 30 airstrikes on neighborhoods in the southern suburbs of Beirut, including Burj al-Barajneh, Ghobeiry, Haret Hreik, and the area around Beirut International Airport. Initial reports point to numerous buildings being hit, including civilian and media infrastructure, such as the studios of the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar channel.
Columns of smoke were still rising early this morning over these neighborhoods, as rescue teams try to intervene despite the persistence of shelling and the risks related to explosions of undetonated ammunition. Residents of the affected areas describe a night of hell, with successive explosions that shook buildings, shattering windows and causing fires in several buildings.
At around 3 a.m., the strikes intensified around Choueifat and Haret Hreik, two strategic neighborhoods for Hezbollah. Residential buildings were severely damaged, and major fires broke out in the area. Access to relief remains difficult, with roads partially blocked and areas still under threat of further strikes. The Lebanese authorities have not yet published an official death toll, but local media report several civilian deaths and injuries.
A return of the air war in South Lebanon
In parallel with the strikes on Beirut, southern Lebanon was also heavily bombed by Israeli aircraft and heavy artillery. The villages of Kafr Kila, Burj al-Muluk, and Aita al-Shaab came under continuous strikes throughout the night. These areas, close to the border with Israel, are regularly used by Hezbollah to launch rockets towards northern Israel.
Overnight, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several rocket attacks in response to the Israeli attacks, including targeting the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. According to Israeli sources, 30 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, causing warning sirens to activate and residents to be evacuated to air-raid shelters.
The Israeli army responded with airstrikes targeting suspected Hezbollah positions in the villages of Tebnin, Ma’roub, and Deir Siryan. Clashes have also resumed on the ground, particularly in the Blida region, where Israeli forces have tried to enter Lebanese territory. These incursions were repelled by artillery fire from Hezbollah, according to the Shiite organization’s media.
Escalation in the Gaza Strip: Endless Carnage
At the same time, the Gaza Strip continues to be bombarded with an intensity rarely seen since the beginning of the conflict. In the past 48 hours, more than 50 strikes have been carried out by the Israeli air force, mainly in northern Gaza, around the towns of Jabalia and Beit Lahia. Civilian infrastructure, including mosques and hospitals, was targeted, killing and injuring dozens.
One of the deadliest incidents of the night took place in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where an Israeli missile hit a mosque housing internally displaced people. The provisional toll is 21 dead, mainly women and children, and several dozen injured. The Gaza government is calling on the international community to intervene to end what it describes as a « campaign of genocide » carried out by Israel with the tacit support of the United States.
The spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist movement in power in Gaza, denounced the Israeli strikes as war crimes, especially after the destruction of several mosques and schools where hundreds of civilians had taken refuge. According to Gaza’s health authorities, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli military operation, dubbed the « Sword of David », and thousands more injured.
Regional and international consequences
This further escalation of tensions between Israel, Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in Gaza is likely to have repercussions far beyond the borders of the Middle East. Iran, the main supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas, is directly involved in this crisis. According to U.S. sources quoted by the New York Times, General Esmail Ghaani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, traveled to Beirut last week to meet with Hezbollah leaders and plan ongoing military operations.
Iran’s growing involvement in this conflict raises the question of a possible escalation on a regional or even global scale. Israel has already warned repeatedly that it will not hesitate to strike Iranian targets, both in Syria and in Iran itself, if attacks on its territory continue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that « Iran has already fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel » and that his country « will respond forcefully to these aggressions. »
For its part, the United States has called for a de-escalation of the conflict, but continues to provide military and logistical support to Israel. France, through President Emmanuel Macron, denounced Israeli strikes on civilian targets in Lebanon and Gaza, while calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. However, these calls for peace seem to be inaudible for the moment, as tensions are high and both sides are determined to continue their operations.
Lebanon in crisis: the spectre of a new civil war?
For Lebanon, this new outbreak of violence comes as the country is going through one of the most serious economic crises in its modern history. Since the beginning of hostilities, tens of thousands of Lebanese have fled to safer areas in the north or tried to cross the Syrian border. Border areas, including the Bekaa, are saturated with refugees, exacerbating an already widespread humanitarian crisis in the country, which hosts more than a million Syrian refugees.
Politically, the Lebanese government is paralyzed by internal wrangling, while Hezbollah, considered a state within a state, dictates the country’s foreign and security policy. More and more Lebanese fear that their country will descend into civil war again, as was the case from 1975 to 1990. Sectarian divisions are indeed exacerbated by the current tensions, with Christians, Sunnis and Druze increasingly openly criticizing Hezbollah’s role in the conflict with Israel.
