Israeli strikes on Lebanon

At least 51 people were killed and more than 220 injured in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, Al Manar has reported, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israel's military is “preparing” a ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Times of Israel has reported, citing IDF Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi. The lieutenant general did not reveal when the operation was scheduled to commence, according to the report. The nation’s top commander also vowed a “very strong response” to a missile attack which Hezbollah launched against Tel Aviv earlier on Wednesday.

More than 90,500 people have been displaced in Lebanon amid the recent developments, the UN migration agency has said. Almost 40,000 of them have been placed in some 283 shelters, the International Organization for Migration reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have struck 60 different locations, mostly in Southern Lebanon, the Israeli military has said. According to the IDF, the targets were linked to Hezbollah’s intelligence network. West Jerusalem hasn’t commented on if there were any casualties linked to the airstrikes. Lebanon has not commented on the development either.

The Israel Defense Forces have announced the mobilization of two additional brigades to be deployed to the “northern sector.” Calling more reservists to arms will “allow the continuation of the fighting effort” against Hezbollah, potentially creating conditions for the return of civilians evacuated from the north of Israel, the military has said.

Israeli targeted assassinations of Hezbollah leaders will not bring the organization to its knees, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address to military veterans and activists on Wednesday. The strength of the militant movement backed by Tehran is “much stronger” than Israel imagines, he claimed.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan have pinned the blame for the escalation in Lebanon on Israel, accusing the Jewish state of pushing the Middle East towards an all-out war.

In a joint statement signed by the senior diplomats on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, they urged the UN Security Council to act in accordance with its mandate to maintain international peace, warning that the region would otherwise face “serious consequences.”

Pope Francis has said he is “pained” by the escalation of violence in Lebanon and the high toll it is taking.

”I hope that the international community makes every effort to stop this terrible escalation. It is unacceptable,” he said, as quoted by the Vatican press service.

Protests against Israeli military action in Lebanon and Gaza have taken place in major US cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC.

Hezbollah has confirmed that it fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv, saying the target was the Mossad headquarters. The statement said Israeli intelligence agency was responsible for targeted assassinations of Hezbollah leaders and the two deadly waves of explosions of portable devices in Lebanon last week.