Israel continues attacks on Syria, Lebanon despite US push for diplomacy

Israeli artillery attacks, aerial raids and incursions proceed arsenic questions turn implicit US committedness to pressuring Israel to extremity strikes.

Israeli forces person carried retired artillery attacks and crushed raids successful confederate Syria, portion conducting aerial strikes and demolitions crossed confederate Lebanon, contempt diplomatic efforts to extremity the fighting.

In Syria, Israeli forces shelled a hilltop adjacent the municipality of Beit Jinn successful the occidental Damascus countryside precocious connected Wednesday, according to witnesses. Syria’s Alikhbariah TV reported separately that soldiers had besides raided and searched a location successful the colony of Taranja successful the Quneitra countryside.

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Al Jazeera’s Amr al-Halabi, reporting from Damascus, said the shelling of the strategical Bat al-Warda elevation adjacent Beit Jinn comes amid repeated Israeli attacks connected the municipality successful caller months.

These see an Israeli drone strike connected a conveyance successful the municipality connected Saturday. A crushed raid successful the municipality past twelvemonth killed astatine slightest 13 people, including children.

The latest strikes came days aft Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Asaad al-Shaibani met Israeli quality officials successful Jordan for talks mediated by the United States successful what Damascus described arsenic a bid to extremity the continued Israeli “attacks, arrests and targeting operations” wrong Syria.

Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes connected Syria since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad successful December 2024. It has besides deployed troops into a United Nations-patrolled buffer portion that for decades had separated Israeli and Syrian forces successful the occupied Golan Heights.

Tensions person further escalated aft Israel’s subject bombed a Syrian airbase adjacent the Turkish border, claiming that Turkiye had been seeking to found a subject beingness there. Both Damascus and Ankara contradict the allegations.

Marwan Kabalan, an expert astatine the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, said helium did not expect the Syria-Israel talks to output a breakthrough.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kabalan said, was “trying to escalate successful much than 1 place” up of the country’s wide predetermination successful October “in the anticipation that this volition construe into much votes, particularly among right-wing and far-right circles”.

In Lebanon, Israeli forces launched aerial attacks connected the municipality of al-Mansouri successful the Tyre territory precocious connected Wednesday, arsenic good arsenic connected the municipality of Sarbine successful the Bint Jbeil territory earlier successful the day, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

Israeli artillery occurrence besides deed Wadi Zibqin successful the Tyre district, portion aerial strikes deed the towns of Beit Lif and Yater, the NNA reported. Israeli forces besides continued to demolish spot crossed confederate Lebanon, including successful Hula successful the Marjayoun district, portion ample explosions were heard from the towns of Bayt al-Sayyad, Baraachit and Majdal Zoun.

Israeli drones were besides observed flying astatine debased altitude implicit the capital, Beirut, including implicit its confederate suburbs.

The strikes travel contempt a US-brokered model statement to extremity hostilities pursuing an escalation successful March, erstwhile Israel bombarded Lebanon successful effect to renewed attacks by Hezbollah. The equipped radical said its actions were a effect to the sidesplitting of Iran’s ultimate leader, Ali Khamenei, connected the archetypal time of the US-Israel warfare connected Iran, arsenic good arsenic to the near-daily Israeli violations of an earlier ceasefire.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health says the Israeli run has killed 4,350 radical and wounded 12,310 since March 2.

The continued strikes person renewed debate successful Beirut implicit the “framework” statement Lebanon signed with Israel successful June, which envisages a phased Israeli withdrawal successful speech for the deployment of the Lebanese service and the disarmament of equipped groups, a notation to Hezbollah.

President Joseph Aoun defended the negotiating way connected Wednesday, saying it remained the enactment that would spare Lebanon “the horrors of war”, contempt what helium called delays and obstacles.

Political expert Khaldoun Al-Sharif told Al Jazeera that Lebanon had met its commitments nether the archetypal ceasefire statement reached with Israel successful 2024. That statement ended hostilities triggered by Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza.

But Al-Sharif said Israel has continued strikes connected Lebanon and demolitions of Lebanese homes without immoderate consequences from the US.

“More than 10,000 violations, and they haven’t lifted a finger,” helium said, adding that it was Washington’s responsibility, not Hezbollah’s, to property Israel to standard back.