BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed, and 12 others were injured in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday, according to Lebanese security sources.
Israeli warplanes carried out more than 10 airstrikes since Monday morning, targeting several areas in the southern suburbs of the capital, including Haret Hreik and Bir Abed. The strikes also targeted branches of the al-Qard al-Hassan financial institution in the Dahie area, following Israeli threats to attack the organization.
On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that Israel's ongoing attacks on Lebanon "will not achieve their objectives," stressing that Beirut remains committed to the ceasefire arrangements declared in November 2024.
He also affirmed Lebanon's readiness to resume negotiations and discuss the necessary security points to stop the escalation, noting that he conveyed this position to several countries working to end the Israeli attacks.
Lebanon's Hezbollah on Monday congratulated Iran on the election of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as the third leader of the Islamic Republic, succeeding the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In a statement, Hezbollah said Ali Khamenei had led Iran for decades with what it described as "wise leadership" that preserved the course of the Islamic Revolution and strengthened the country's independence in the face of global powers.
Also on Monday, the Israeli military said that "dozens" of Hezbollah rocket and missile launchers were destroyed in a series of airstrikes over the past few days.
"The launchers that were struck were located south of the Litani River," the military said, adding that they were used to fire projectiles toward Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers was killed during combat with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.
Or Demry, 20, was a soldier with the Combat Engineering Corps in the 91st Division. He was killed in a Hezbollah attack on Sunday, in fighting that also killed another Israeli soldier, whose death was announced on Sunday.
The two are the first Israeli soldiers killed since the beginning of the regional conflict on Feb. 28, in addition to at least 11 civilians killed in Israel by Iranian missiles, according to official Israeli figures.
On March 2, Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, 2024, prompting the government to ban its security and military activities, limiting it to political work and obligating it to hand over its weapons.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched what it described as an "offensive military campaign" against Hezbollah, carrying out intense airstrikes on multiple Lebanese areas and border ground incursions, accompanied by warnings for residents to evacuate areas south of the Litani River and Beirut's southern suburbs. ■
