Israel-Iran war: IDF eliminates Hezbollah member in Syria; US warns ‘avoid Gaza-like military action in Lebanon’

Iran-Israel war: The United States has urged its ally Israel to avoid Gaza-like military action in Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it could face “destruction” like the Palestinian territory.

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1. Israel's military announced on Wednesday that they eliminated a Hezbollah member, Adham Jahout, a member of Hezbollah’s “Golan Terrorist Network” in the area of Quneitra in Syria. He was reportedly passing intelligence about Israel concerning the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Reuters has reported.

2. The military on Thursday added that it had eliminated two Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon, and its fighter jets attacked ammunition depots in the Beirut area and ammunition depots and other military infrastructures in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. 

3. On the other hand, Syrian state TV said early on Thursday that Israel had carried out airstrikes targeting an industrial site in the Syrian city of Homs and a military site in the countryside near the city of Hama, causing “some material damage”. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli aircraft carried out a strike targeting the road linking Syria and Lebanon in the Quseir region on the Syrian side of the border on Thursday. 

4. The comments from the US for Israel came after a phone call between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, their first in seven weeks. The White House said Biden told Netanyahu to “minimise harm” to civilians in Lebanon, particularly in “densely populated areas of Beirut”. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza.” 

5. Analysts suggest that Israel is likely to retaliate against Iran's October 1 attack by focusing on Iranian military facilities, particularly those involved in the production of ballistic missiles similar to those used in the assault. There may also be efforts to target Iranian air defence systems and missile launch sites, as reported by Reuters.

6. Citing a war monitor, AFP reported that an Israeli strike hit a road linking Syria and Lebanon on Thursday as Israel tried to cut off supply routes of the Lebanese resistant group, Hezbollah.

7. Israel has increased its strikes on Syria since it upped its air raids on what it said were targets of Hezbollah in Lebanon more than two weeks ago, notably killing the leader of the Lebanese group. 

8. Lebanon's Ambassador to India, Rabie Narsh, on Wednesday, said that Israel has been using very advanced weapons and technology, including banned ammunition like white phosphorus, as reported by PTI.

9. "The casualties are very heavy, with more than 2,100 innocent souls perished and many injured. Also, we have more than 2.2 million displaced. The humanitarian situation is very dire,” said Narsh.

10. Israel's bombardment of Lebanon has killed more than 2,100 people, most of them in the last few weeks, and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to the Lebanese government. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the Gaza health ministry says. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced, and much of the enclave has been laid to waste.

(With inputs from agencies)