Israel conducts multiple airstrikes on Lebanon

Israel has continued to hit Lebanon with airstrikes, claiming all of its targets are legitimate Hezbollah facilities and militants, with Thursday seeing the latest round of attacks.

Several large airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs in the early hours of the day, including a site adjacent to Lebanon’s only international airport.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) had earlier issued an evacuation notice for the site, saying that there were Hezbollah facilities in the location, but did not provide more details. Locals say there were no such facilities in the area.

“These are people’s private properties. May God help the people. It’s just harm for the sake of harm,” said Hassan Jaafil, a resident.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from these strikes, and the airport was not directly targeted. The national air carrier, Middle East Airlines, has continued to operate commercial flights.

Later in the day, an Israeli drone strike hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and injuring seven others, including UN peacekeepers.

According to the Lebanese army, the wounded were three Lebanese soldiers and four Malaysian UN peacekeepers who were driving through the area. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

Another drone strike early Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut killing one woman, according to local media.

UNESCO heritage sites at risk

On the same day, some 100 members of Lebanon’s parliament sent an “urgent message” to UNESCO, calling for the protection of the country’s heritage sites.

The announcement by the legislators came after Israel’s air force recently struck areas close to archaeological sites in different parts of Lebanon, including the northeastern city of Baalbek and the southern port city of Tyre.

“During the destructive war on Lebanon, Israel committed serious atrocities and violations of human rights,” said legislator Najat Saliba in the message which was directed to UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay. She read the statement, signed by more than 100 legislators, in the parliament building in Beirut in the presence of some of her colleagues.

Saliba urged Azoulay to protect historic sites in Lebanon, especially in Baalbek, Tyre and other “valuable areas that are facing major danger because of the increasing atrocities.”

On Wednesday, a local official said an Israeli airstrike landed “dangerously close” to Baalbek’s UNESCO-listed Roman ruins, a revered heritage site with some of the largest and best-preserved Roman temples outside of Rome.

In recent weeks, Israel’s air force carried out airstrikes close to the Tyre Hippodrome, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

France sees Trump as a possible solution

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said conditions are “ripe for progress in the coming weeks towards a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East” during his visit to Jerusalem. Here, Barrot met with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz.

Speaking at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Barrot pointed out that the election of Donald Trump as US president can help drive a peaceful solution. “He (Trump) has never made a secret of his desire to put an end to the endless wars in the Middle East,” said Barrot.

Barrot also urged for an agreement that “will allow the release of all the hostages, bring about a ceasefire and allow the entry of substantial humanitarian aid into Gaza and to prepare for the day after.”

“The Palestinian question is not going to disappear, regardless of which American administration is in charge,” he added.

Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023, at least 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,500 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.