New Israeli attacks on Lebanon. 700 deaths in less than a week

According to Al Jazeera, 700 people have died as a result of Israeli attacks on Lebanon since last Monday. The estimate is reported in the opening title of the online version of the Qatari television network.
The Tel Aviv government rejected the allies’ request for a 21-day ceasefire in e vowed to continue fighting Hezbollah militants “until victory”ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s eagerly awaited speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
The United States, France and other allies unveiled the proposed 21-day truce on Wednesday, after President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

But Israeli leader Netanyahu flatly rejected the ceasefire proposal on Thursday, ordering the military to continue “fighting with all strength.” The White House expressed frustration with the rejection, saying the proposal had required “a lot of attention and a lot of effort” diplomatically. “We wouldn’t have worked on it if we didn’t have reason to believe that the conversations we were having with the Israelis, in particular, were conducive to the objective,” Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. Macron then said it was “a mistake” for Netanyahu to refuse a ceasefire and that he will have to take “responsibility” for a regional escalation. Speaking in Canada, where he met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – who supported the motion – Macron stressed that the ceasefire plan had been prepared with Netanyahu himself.

The joint declaration for a ceasefire is based on the fact that the situation in Lebanon has become “intolerable” and “it is in no one’s interest” to continue the ongoing guerrilla warfare, “neither the people of Israel nor the Lebanese people”. The country’s national news agency reported that Israel also carried out air raids today, September 27, on several cities in southern Lebanon, causing numerous injuries. Since the start of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah last October, more than 1,500 people have been killed and the latest toll, as mentioned, brings the number of victims of Israeli attacks in Lebanon to more than 700 taking into account the period from last Monday to today. According to the International Organization for Migration, around 118,000 people have had to leave their homes due to fighting in Lebanon over the past week. Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced it has secured a new $8.7 billion aid package from the United States to support ongoing military efforts, underscoring Washington’s unwillingness to use its military aid as leverage for a ceasefire.

Hezbollah said in a statement that the latest attack south of Beirut killed another important figure of the group, Mohammed Srur, born in 1973, identified by Israeli troops as “the commander of the enemy air unit”. Lebanon’s health ministry said two people were killed in the attack and 15 injured, “including a woman in critical condition.”