Destruction at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes that targeted the Haret Hreik neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on Nov. 25, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday as Lebanese state media reported intense fighting in the border area and Israel's military said around 250 projectiles were fired at its territory.
The heavy exchanges of fire came despite an immediate Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire call from top EU diplomat Josep Borrell while on a visit to Lebanon Sunday.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired around 250 projectiles into Israel during the day, one of the war's highest daily figures.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it launched 51 operations against Israeli territory and invading soldiers, marking the highest number of attacks in one day since the start of the attrition conflict initiated by the party in support of Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023.
On Sept. 24, there were 350 launches from Lebanon, according to the Israeli military.
That was the day after Israel escalated air strikes across Lebanon claiming against Hezbollah targets, transforming nearly a year of limited clashes into a full-blown war.
Some rockets fired on Sunday were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, but others caused damage to houses in central Israel, according to AFP images.
In Lebanon, a day after a wave of Israeli strikes that the health ministry said killed 84 people in one day, Israel again struck the capital's southern suburbs.
Deadly strikes also hit the heart of Beirut over the past week, with no prior evacuation announcement.
Israel has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, most of them since September.
On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.
Earlier this week, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was "within our grasp," and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.
In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of his ally Hezbollah.
"We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate cease-fire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said.
"Lebanon is on the brink of collapse," he warned.
Under Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war in Lebanon, Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers should be the only armed forces present in the southern border area.
The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon and respect its sovereignty without violating its air, sea and land, which it has consistently violated. The resolution also reiterated earlier calls for "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon."
Tel Aviv and Beirut's southern suburbs hit
On Sunday, Hezbollah said it launched attacks using missiles and drones directed at the Ashdod naval base in southern Israel, one its deepest targets so far, as well as military sites in the central Tel Aviv area.
The Israeli military did not comment on the specific claims, but it said earlier that air raid sirens had sounded in several areas, including in the Tel Aviv suburbs.
Medical agencies reported that at least 11 people were wounded in Israel.
The Palestine Red Crescent said 13 people were injured in the occupied West Bank by a falling interceptor missile.
AFP images from Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, showed several damaged and burned-out cars, and a house pockmarked by shrapnel. In nearby Rinatya, several houses were damaged.
The wave of projectiles followed four Israeli strikes in central Beirut in the past week, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.
Israeli strikes have also targeted the city's southern suburbs on a near-daily basis for the past two weeks but were briefly halted during U.S. envoy Hochstein's visit.
On Sunday, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported two waves of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, which were preceded by Israeli military warnings posted online.
A military statement late Sunday said the Air Force had struck "12 Hezbollah command centers," including from intelligence, missile and weapons smuggling units.
Ground battles raged in several areas of the border strip on Sunday, according to the NNA and Hezbollah, which said its fighters had destroyed six Israeli tanks and fired rockets at invading troops.
