Israel escalated its military operations across the Middle East on Sunday, launching airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen and intensifying its assault on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. These developments come just days after the killing of Hezbollah’s long-serving leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, which has further strained the region’s already fragile stability.
The Israeli military confirmed that it had targeted the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen, a major stronghold of the Houthi movement, which has launched missile attacks on Israel in recent days. Israel justified the strikes as a defensive measure against Houthi actions that threaten its security, particularly in disrupting shipping through the Red Sea.
The Houthis, a Shiite group backed by Iran, have been involved in a civil war in Yemen and have increasingly extended their influence regionally. Yemen’s Houthi-controlled health ministry reported four fatalities and 29 injuries as a result of the strikes. Israel’s defense establishment warned that further military action against the Houthis would follow if the missile launches continued.
Meanwhile, the situation in Lebanon has reached a critical point, with Israel intensifying its two-week bombardment of Hezbollah targets. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that at least 105 people were killed on Sunday alone, with heavy casualties in the southern region of Ain Deleb and the northeastern city of Baalbek-Hermel. The death toll included 14 medics who were killed in recent airstrikes.
Israel’s Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, emphasized the need to sustain the military pressure on Hezbollah, vowing that the offensive would continue. Israeli drones and fighter jets could be heard over Beirut throughout the day as airstrikes targeted Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. Both Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in an escalating tit-for-tat conflict, trading rocket fire across their shared border.
The death of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader of 32 years, in an Israeli airstrike two days earlier, has shaken the group’s leadership. Nasrallah was a key figure in Iran’s network of allies throughout the region, and his assassination is seen as a major blow to Hezbollah’s operations. However, the group immediately responded with fresh rocket attacks on northern Israel, and Tehran has vowed that Nasrallah’s death will be avenged.
In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed hope that the conflict could avoid turning into a full-scale regional war. “It has to be,” Biden stated when asked if war could be avoided. The U.S. has bolstered its military presence in the region to prevent further destabilization but continues to push for diplomatic solutions.
U.S. Senator Mark Kelly confirmed that the bomb used to kill Nasrallah was an American-made 2,000-pound guided weapon. Meanwhile, Iran has requested a U.N. Security Council meeting to address Israel’s recent actions, including the killing of a senior Revolutionary Guard officer who was present with Nasrallah at the time of the strike.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry disclosed that over 1,000 people have been killed in the past two weeks, with more than 6,000 wounded. The ongoing conflict has displaced nearly a fifth of the country’s population, pushing a million people from their homes.
In Beirut, displaced families have taken refuge in public spaces like Zaitunay Bay, a once-thriving district of restaurants and cafes. Families, clutching the few belongings they could carry, have made temporary shelters on the waterfront. Despite the devastation, many Lebanese remain defiant.
“You won’t be able to destroy us, however much you bomb, however much you displace people – we will stay here. This is our country,” said Francoise Azori, a resident of Beirut.
The U.N. World Food Programme has initiated an emergency aid operation to provide essential food supplies to those impacted by the conflict, while Saudi Arabia and France have begun dispatching medical aid to Lebanon.
Israel’s military confirmed that it intercepted eight projectiles launched from Lebanon and one from the Red Sea, likely fired by Houthi forces. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel would continue to strike targets across the region, stating, “No place is too far” for Israeli military action.
In Yemen, Israeli aircraft targeted power plants and key infrastructure, including the Ras Issa and Hodeidah ports, which Israel claims are used by the Houthis under Iran’s direction. These strikes mark a sharp escalation of the conflict beyond the borders of Israel and Lebanon.
Within Lebanon, Hezbollah’s powerful military presence has long been a divisive issue. While its supporters view the group as a critical force defending Lebanon against Israeli aggression, its critics argue that Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into unwinnable conflicts and weakened the country’s sovereignty.
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, reflected on the somber impact of Nasrallah’s death, stating that it had “opened a wound in the heart of the Lebanese people.” Despite his previous criticisms of Hezbollah, Rai acknowledged the deep divisions and challenges Lebanon faces in the wake of the escalating conflict.
As the region braces for further escalations, the prospects for peace appear increasingly distant. For now, both Israel and its adversaries are locked in a dangerous standoff with no clear end in sight.
