Israel and Hezbollah trade deadly blows despite ceasefire talks

By Crispian Balmer and Tom Perry

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah traded deadly blows on Thursday as their war continued despite signs of progress in U.S. ceasefire efforts, with airstrikes hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs and rockets flying into northern Israel.

US mediator Amos Hochstein was in Israel for talks with Israeli officials to try to secure a ceasefire, which he said was “within our reach” during a visit to Beirut earlier this week.

The diplomacy marks the most serious attempt yet to end the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah, part of a regional spillover from the Gaza war that broke out more than a year ago.

In southern Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike killed three people in the village of Chaaitiyeh, about 10 km (6 miles) from the border, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

In Israel, a 30-year-old man was killed when shrapnel from a rocket hit a playground in the northern city of Nahariya, Israel’s MDA medical service said.

“The Israeli government does not protect my security, my residents or the residents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to live in such a situation,” Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelly told public broadcaster Kan.

The Israeli military said about 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Nahariya. “Most of the projectiles have been intercepted and the fallen projectiles have been identified,” the military said in a statement.

Channel 12 said three missiles hit the coastal city.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV station, citing its correspondent, confirmed the launch of rockets at Nahariya and the surrounding area.

Airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, controlled by Hezbollah, rocked the capital, sending up thick clouds of debris.

The Israeli military issued a statement regarding X before the attacks, warning residents that it was near Hezbollah targets against which it would soon take action. Residents have largely fled the area since Israel went on the offensive in September.

White House representative Hochstein left for Israel after declaring progress during two days of talks in Lebanon with officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is backed to negotiate by Iran-backed Hezbollah. Speaking before leaving Beirut, Hochstein said he would go to Israel to try to strike a deal, if possible.

The diplomacy aims to end a conflict that has caused massive devastation in Lebanon since Israel began its offensive, launching airstrikes across large parts of the country and sending in troops.

Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera showed thick smoke rising from the southern Lebanese town of Khiyam, about 6 km (4 miles) from the border, a focal point of ground fighting between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops.

Israel says its aim is to ensure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from its north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Hezbollah, which has suffered major blows since Israel began its offensive in September, continued to fire rockets into Israel, attacking Tel Aviv this week. Its fighters are fighting Israeli troops on the ground in the south.

The death toll as of October 2023 stands at 3,558 people killed in Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry says, most of them killed during the Israeli offensive in September. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry said on Tuesday that 14 deaths had been reported.

Hezbollah strikes have killed more than 100 people in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They include more than 70 soldiers killed in strikes in northern Israel and the Golan Heights and fighting in southern Lebanon, according to Israel.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in Jerusalem, Additional reporting by Clauda Tanios and Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by William Maclean)