Two Palestinians were killed, and others were injured, on Friday, as a result of Israeli artillery shelling in the southern Gaza Strip.
The independent Palestinian news agency Shehab reported, “Two martyrs and more than 10 wounded, most of them children, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, as a result of occupation artillery shelling that targeted the vicinity of Al-Qastal Towers, east of Deir Al-Balah.”
More than a year after the ceasefire that ended major combat operations in Gaza, the entire population of the Strip, numbering more than two million Palestinians, lives in about a third of the area of the small enclave, most of them in temporary tents and demolished buildings.
On Thursday, Doctors Without Borders condemned an Israeli air strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed 6 people, according to the German News Agency.
The organization said it was “shocked and extremely angry” by the attack that occurred during the night, and resulted in the injury of 52 others.
She continued: “It is unconscionable for patients and medical staff to be killed and injured again inside a hospital, which is a place where lives should be saved, not lost.”
Doctors Without Borders said that Nasser Medical Hospital had been subjected to at least 6 air strikes, repeated ground incursions, artillery shelling and gunfire since October 2023.
She added: “Hospitals must remain safe places, where patients can receive treatment, and medical staff can save lives without fear for their lives.”
Israeli forces continue bombings in Zawtar al-Sharqiya, near the Litani River, in conjunction with the bombing of southern towns on various axes, which raises questions about the goals of targeting villages that suffered widespread destruction, and the relationship of the operations to the Israeli deployment sites. Military interpretations of these operations vary between the possibility of destroying facilities that can be used after withdrawal, and the discovery of tunnels and underground structures, while the repeated artillery shelling is linked to precautionary measures to protect the positions of Israeli forces from possible attacks.
These developments come amid the continued establishment of military sites and the construction of new roads inside Lebanese territory, according to data announced by the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and in light of the faltering implementation of the framework agreement and continuing questions about the borders of the Israeli security zone and the future of the withdrawal from the south.
Bombardment on several axes
On Friday, the Israeli bombing targeted Majdal Zoun and the houses of Al-Siyad in the Tyre district, and Beni Hayyan and Taloussa in the Marjayoun district, in conjunction with a sweep with machine guns. Fire was fired towards the road leading to Al-Mansouri, after the outskirts of Mays Al-Jabal, Atarun and Wadi Al-Saluki were bombed from the Shaqra side shortly after midnight.
Israeli drones flew over Beirut at low altitude, and over the Bekaa Valley, reaching Baalbek and its villages. This was preceded, on Thursday, by raids and bombings that included Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Kafr Benit, Qantara, Kunine, and the vicinity of Wadi al-Hujair and Saluki. In Mifidoun, 3 drones exploded, two of which were on the roofs of two houses, while two sound bombs were thrown near farmers in Kfar Shuba.
Destroy what can be used after withdrawal
Retired Brigadier General Dr. Hisham Jaber considered that the bombings in Zawtar, and the continued targeting of villages, fall within the destruction of facilities and infrastructure that could be used militarily in the future, without excluding Israeli accounts connected to the Litani River.
Jaber said, in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, that “the villages adjacent to the border were almost completely destroyed, and now the destruction operations have moved inland,” explaining that “the bombings are not limited to the destruction of buildings, but rather include changing the infrastructure and overturning the land, to the point that villages had their homes, facilities, and cemeteries damaged.” He asked: “Why does Israel overturn the land and change the infrastructure?”, suggesting that the Israeli message is that “if it is necessary to withdraw, the withdrawal will not be without destroying everything that can be destroyed.” Saying that “Israel, before withdrawing, used to destroy what it could destroy.”
He explained that “the so-called Zawtar River is actually the Litani River, which passes in the valley below the eastern Zawtar.” He linked eastern and western Zawtar with the heights overlooking Nabatieh, explaining that “if Israel wanted to control Nabatieh from the side of Zawtar, it would take only 10 minutes for its tanks to reach Al-Ruwais Hill overlooking the city,” while their deployment in the Ali Al-Taher heights enhances its ability to impose fire control. He believed that “Israel does not need to occupy the city of Nabatieh as long as it can control it militarily.”
He wondered: “Why is Israel still bombing Beni Hayyan?” Why does it return from time to time to bombing Kafr Kila with artillery?”, suggesting the destruction of facilities that Hezbollah fighters might use in the event of a withdrawal. He placed the Litani bombings and the targeting of what remained in Mansouri within this interpretation, pointing to the strategic importance of Kafr Tibnit.
Underground facilities and precautionary bombing
The military expert, retired Brigadier General Saeed Qazah, suggested that the Zawtar bombings were linked to the search for structures used by Hezbollah. He told Asharq Al-Awsat, “These explosions come within the same context, and the Israelis may have discovered new tunnels in the Zawtar area and are working to blow them up,” explaining that “the tunnels do not necessarily mean long underground corridors, but rather they may be operating rooms, laboratories, shelters, or any other underground facilities that are being destroyed to prevent their further use.”
Despite the possibility of establishing Israeli fortifications, he considered that “this is not a sufficient reason to carry out explosions of this scale, as fortifications can be constructed without the need for large explosions,” suggesting that they are linked to “the destruction of the underground infrastructure,” and a continuation of operations that began with the entry of Israeli forces into the region, and not an announcement of a new military phase.
Qazah distinguished between bombing facilities inside the areas where Israeli forces are located and artillery shelling of towns opposite their locations, explaining that “there are villages like Kafr Tibnit and Al-Mansouri that are located opposite their centers of presence, or in contact with Israeli centers.” He said that artillery is used “when any movement of fighters or any suspicious movement is suspected, as a precaution against attacks that may occur day or night, without the necessity of an actual attack.”
He explained that this logic is linked to the positions of the Israeli forces near Shaqif Castle and Ali Al-Taher Hill. In the western sector, forces from the Majdal Zoun area sometimes advance towards Al-Mansouri to carry out bombings and then retreat, while Al-Siyad’s houses are located near Shamaa and Majdal Zoun. He said, “The bombing occurs when there is suspicion of any movement that could pose a threat to the soldiers present there.” As for Bani Hayyan and Taloussa, they meet the axes of Markaba, Hula, and Rab Thilaine, and Mifdoun is located near Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Kafr Benit.
Qazah stressed that “these areas that are being bombed are areas facing the Israeli deployment centers,” and that the goal, according to his assessment, is “to deter any operation that Hezbollah could carry out against the Israeli forces present in the south,” stressing that repeated bombing does not prove that actual attacks occurred.
