Israel and Hezbollah trade gunfire as the UN calls for an end to the hostilities

BEIRUT, LEBANON—A UN official demanded a halt to the “dangerous cycle of violence” as Hezbollah and Israel exchanged gunfire on Tuesday in response to Israeli bombings that day that killed several people in east Lebanon.

Since conflict broke out between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization headquartered in Gaza on October 7, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a supporter of Hamas, and the Israeli army have engaged in almost daily gunfire.

The first Israeli attacks in the region since hostilities started occurred on Monday, close to Baalbek in east Lebanon, and they went well beyond the typical border areas.

Hezbollah destroyed an Israeli drone, according to the Israeli army, and the organization then launched attacks against their air defenses.

Responding to the Baalbek attacks, Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that it had hit the “Meron air control base… with a large salvo of rockets from several launchers”.

Israeli fighter planes assaulted and destroyed “a military site” and “military infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah in response, according to Israeli military spokeswoman Avichay Adraee, who added the missiles did not inflict any injuries or damage to the installation.

Nearly 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the closest Israeli border, Baisariyeh was the target of one of the strikes.

A statement was released by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, who demanded “an immediate halt to this dangerous cycle of violence and return to a cessation of hostilities”.

Spokesman for the US State Department Mathew Miller said that Israel had informed the US that it intended to pursue “a diplomatic path” and that the US did “not want to see either side escalate the conflict”.

Hezbollah said later on Tuesday that it had retaliated against the same facility and many additional Israeli locations, including one that it had not attacked since hostilities began.

The Israeli military said that “approximately 20 launches were identified crossing from Lebanon… some of which were successfully intercepted” .

It further said that an anti-tank missile had been launched in Meron’s direction, missing its target. According to the statement, the army was “currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon”.

The Monday attacks in east Lebanon claimed the lives of two Hezbollah militants. The militia supported by Iran launched sixty rockets toward an Israeli position in the Golan Heights later that day.

A “concerning shift in the exchanges of fire” and “an expansion and intensification of strikes” have been reported in recent days by UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

“Recent events have the potential to put at risk a political solution to this conflict,” the military said in a statement, requesting “all parties involved to halt hostilities… and leave space to a political and diplomatic solution” .

According to an AFP count, since October, cross-border confrontations have claimed the lives of at least 284 individuals on the Lebanese side, mostly Hezbollah combatants but also 44 civilians.

The Israeli army reports that six civilians and ten soldiers have died on the Israeli side.