Israel, Hezbollah exchange heavy fire as Blinken pushes for peace

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM — Israeli strikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday and Hezbollah said it fired precision guided missiles for the first time at Israeli targets, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken toured the region, pushing for a halt to fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon.

The strikes on the edges of Beirut sent thick columns of flames shooting up into the night sky one after the other, shortly after an Israeli military spokesman issued evacuation warnings for the neighbourhood.

Another strike came with no warning hitting the nearby office of pro-Iran broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, the station said. It said the office had been empty since the conflict began. Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded.

Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement late on Wednesday that it had escalated its attacks on Israel, using “precision missiles” for the first time and launched new types of drones on Israeli targets, without offering further details.

It later said it had targeted an Israeli military factory on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Around the time of Hezbollah’s claim, air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and neighbouring cities.

The Israeli military said four projectiles were identified as having been fired from Lebanon, two were intercepted, one fell in an open area and one was identified as having fallen in the area. There was no immediate indication of any defence facility having been hit around Tel Aviv.

The intensifying exchanges of fire come as Washington makes a final major push for peace between Israel and Iran-backed groups Hezbollah and Hamas before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election that could alter U.S. policy.

Washington has called on Israel to do more to help Gazans, who have faced almost daily bombardments and the destruction of their homes by Israeli forces.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart that Washington had deep concerns about reports of strikes against the Lebanese armed forces. Austin also urged Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to make sure Israel takes steps to ensure the safety and security of the Lebanese armed forces and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, the Pentagon said.

Blinken, who has traveled to the Middle East regularly during the war, is making his first trip since Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, its most-wanted enemy, whose death Washington hopes can provide an impetus for peace.

But the conflict appeared to be spreading, with new strikes around midday on Wednesday on Tyre, a UNESCO-listed port city in south Lebanon, which also came after Israeli evacuation orders.

Tens of thousands of people have already fled Tyre as Israel steps up its campaign to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both close allies of its arch Middle East enemy Iran.