Hezbollah forces Israeli retreat from Labbouneh, launches rockets on Haifa | Saida fishing industry suffers impact of Israeli order to stay away from sea

Hezbollah stepped up its rocket attacks on Israel on Tuesday morning, launching its largest barrage of missiles to target Haifa since the start of the extensive Israeli assault in Lebanon earlier this month.

The group’s attack on Haifa and Tiberias in the early hours of Monday was the first to hit cities deep in Israeli territory since the 2006 war.

Tuesday’s attack saw Hezbollah launch over 100 rockets in two batches, targeting Haifa and several Israeli settlements, the group said. One woman was injured, and several buildings were damaged in the attack, according to Israeli media.

Rockets and artillery fire were also used on Tuesday to force the retreat of Israeli forces near Labbouneh, further west along the Lebanese border.

The group launched five missiles toward the headquarters of the Israeli intelligence Unit 8200, stationed near the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said some were intercepted and others fell in open areas.

The rocket attack directly followed a speech given by the vice secretary general of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, on Tuesday noon to commemorate the anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. It was Qassem’s second public appearance since the assassination of secretary general Hassan Nasrallah at the end of September.

“Al-Aqsa Flood is an extraordinary and exceptional event. It is the beginning of changing the face of the Middle East,” Qassem said, pointing out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed on more than one occasion his desire for a ‘new Middle East.’

He also highlighted Hezbollah’s role as a support front for Gaza since October 7 and eventual full involvement in the war, saying that the group has strained Israel’s capabilities for 11 months and expelled tens of thousands of settlers from northern Israel.

Qassem acknowledged that Hezbollah received painful blows, including the assassination of Nasrallah and several commanders in recent weeks, but stressed that it has overcome the blows and stated that new commanders were appointed at all levels. Regarding Nasrallah's successor, Qassem said he will be announced in due course, once he is elected in accordance with the group’s organizational mechanisms.

He also praised Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s efforts in aiming to achieve an Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire.

Ceasefire efforts appear dead in the water, however, with US officials cited in CNN confirming that the United States will not try to revive the ceasefire proposal it had put forward at the end of September with several countries, most notably France, in light of Israel’s rejection of it.

Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire before his assassination at the end of September, Berri stated.

The sources speaking to CNN noted that the US is now focused on restricting Israeli military operations against Lebanon and Iran instead of stopping them. They reported growing concerns among the administration of US President Joe Biden that the ground operation in Lebanon, which Israel says is limited, could turn into a broader and long-term conflict, acknowledging that US influence over Israeli officials is limited with regard to military operations.

For his part, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing yesterday that his country believes the Israeli ground operations in Lebanon remain limited so far, but that the US is “very cognizant of the many times in the past where Israel has gone in on what looked like limited operations and has stayed for months or for years.”

Miller also stressed that the US does not “want to see UNIFIL forces put in danger in any way.” The UN force in Lebanon had expressed its concern about the Israeli military establishing an operations base near one of its sites in southern Lebanon, days after UNIFIL rejected an Israeli request to evacuate the area.

Asked about an Israeli raid that targeted the vicinity of the Beirut Airport on Monday, Miller said that Washington told Tel Aviv it wants the airport and the roads leading to it to remain open. However, Lebanese Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh said today that international assurances that the airport will not be targeted do not amount to guarantees.

Meanwhile, Israel continued today its bombing campaign against Beirut’s southern suburb and the villages and towns of southern Lebanon.

Intensive airstrikes targeted Haret Hreik in the southern suburb on Tuesday morning, with Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee claiming that the military assassinated Hezbollah's Chief of Staff Suheil Hussein Husseini in an airstrike in Beirut.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli bombardment was intense in the southwest, with a missile striking near Hiram Hospital in the coastal Sur, as well as hitting the towns of Srifa, Arzoun, and Alma al-Shaab, and the outskirts of Naqoura and Dahra.

Adree, in another statement, also ordered Lebanese people, especially fishermen, to stay away from the Mediterranean coastline, particularly starting from the Awali River in the south.

The Israeli order stopped the fishing operation for about 2,000 fishermen in the area from Saida to Naqoura, passing through the villages of Sarfand and Adloun, and up to Sur. With that, the fishing profession joins many industrial, commercial, and agricultural activities halted since the beginning of the aggression on Lebanon.

Saida’s fish market witnessed today limited sales of the small quantities fishermen were able to catch before the Israeli order, according to a Mada Masr correspondent in the city. Fishing boats, as well as boats used for tourism, were docked in the port of Saida, their engines silent.

Mohamed al-Skafy, a member of the Saida Fishermen’s Syndicate, denounced the Israeli order, stressing to Mada Masr that Saida is safe and away from the fighting areas further south. “There are no missiles, no soldiers, nothing. The displaced are staying here,” Skafy said.

He explained that between 300 and 400 fishermen in Saida depend on the profession to provide for their families. “We are fishermen. The day we work, we eat. If we don’t work, we don’t eat,” he said.

Another syndicate member, Ali Bouji, told Mada Masr that a sense of solidarity has grown among the city’s residents, with some charity organizations supporting those who have lost their livelihoods, including fishermen. However, Bouji expressed surprise at the lack of interest or assistance from the Lebanese government, represented by the municipalities in each region.

The United Nations warned today of food shortages and the spread of diseases in Lebanon amid the Israeli aggression.

Director of the World Food Program in Lebanon Matthew Hollingworth said in a press briefing that there is “extraordinary concern for Lebanon's ability to continue to feed itself” after thousands of acres in southern Lebanon were burned or farmers were forced to abandon their lands.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization official in Lebanon Ian Clarke stressed in the same briefing that the country is facing a much higher risk of disease outbreaks, such as acute watery diarrhea, hepatitis A, and a number of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Clark explained that five hospitals have been closed so far, while four other hospitals are operating with limited efficiency.