National Mourning in Lebanon on Thursday: 254 Martyrs and Over a Thousand Injured, Killing of an Israeli Soldier and Injuries to Others

SadaNews - 254 people were martyred and more than 1,129 were injured on Wednesday due to massacres committed by the occupation following intense airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the city of Tyre, and other towns in the south, as well as in the Beqaa region in eastern Lebanon. Additionally, one member of the occupation army was killed and five others, including an officer, were injured on Tuesday.

Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, announced Thursday as a national day of mourning for the victims of the unprecedented Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the start of the war.

The Prime Minister's office stated that Salam declared Thursday a "national day of mourning for the martyrs and wounded of the Israeli attacks, which have targeted hundreds of innocent and defenseless civilians. He also announced the closure of government administrations, public institutions, and municipalities on this day, and the lowering of flags."

According to the statement, Salam continues "his communications with Arab brothers and international officials to mobilize all of Lebanon's political and diplomatic capacities to stop the Israeli killing machine."

The Israeli army announced the death of one of its soldiers and injuries to five others during battles in southern Lebanon, while Israeli army radio confirmed that the soldier was killed during an armed clash with Hezbollah elements in southern Lebanon.

It stated that "the 13th Combat Battalion, part of the Special Operations Command, monitored several (elements) in the area where they were operating" in southern Lebanon, adding that "a firefight erupted at the site, resulting in the soldier’s death, and a combat officer suffering serious injuries, in addition to four other Israeli soldiers sustaining varying degrees of injuries."

Hezbollah affirmed on Wednesday its right to "respond" to Israel following a series of bloody airstrikes it carried out on Lebanon.

Israeli media reported that the target of the attack on the Khyyat Hill area was the personal secretary and nephew of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naeem Qassem.

For its part, the Lebanese authorities confirmed the intensification of state efforts to ensure Lebanon is included in a ceasefire, emphasizing that the decision of war and use of legitimate force is restricted to state institutions. At the same time, the government is intensifying diplomatic and political communications to stop the ongoing Israeli airstrikes, which have targeted densely populated residential areas, resulting in hundreds of martyrs and injuries.

The Israeli army announced that it has carried out its largest attack in Lebanon since the start of the war, stating it targeted about "100 military headquarters and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah across Beirut, the Beqaa, and the south." It claimed that its airstrikes targeted "intelligence headquarters and central bodies used by Hezbollah elements to direct and plan operations against the army and Israel, as well as infrastructure for his fire systems and navy responsible for launching rockets towards army forces on land and sea and towards Israeli territories, along with assets belonging to the Radwan Unit and the Air Unit (127) in Hezbollah, which are among its elite units."