Rescue operations for 20 missing people begin in southern Lebanese town after Israeli withdrawal | Hezbollah fires 35 rockets on northern Israel | Six killed in bombardment of south, Beqaa

Search and rescue operations commenced on Sunday morning in Khiam for around 20 people believed to have been trapped in the south Lebanese town for at least five days in the middle of an offensive launched by Israeli forces.

Rescue agencies have been unable to approach the town around five kilometers north of the border with Israel over recent days due to heavy clashes in the area as Hezbollah fighters resist the Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon.

Two Lebanese security sources, one from the Internal Security Forces and the other from the Lebanese military, told Mada Masr that Israeli forces had withdrawn from Khiam on Saturday evening, saying that a heavily damaged Merkava tank was visible as they retreated.

Families of the 20 missing people had informed security agencies about them five days ago, but no one has been able to approach the area since, the sources said, adding that all of those missing were presumed dead.

Teams working for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Lebanese Red Cross, accompanied by UN peacekeeping forces, recovered five dead bodies from beneath the rubble, as of time of writing.

Sixteen more people were believed to be dead beneath a family house in the Wata Khiam neighborhood in the town’s east, which was targeted a week ago by the Israeli military. Originating from the border town of Wazzani and the town of Ain Arab further east, the two families worked as farmers and herders.

A Lebanese military source told Mada Masr that Israeli tanks had approached the town on October 30, with Hezbollah fighters announcing over the ensuing days that they had unleashed multiple counter-attacks against Israeli military “gatherings” at the southern outskirts of Khiam. 

The town witnessed artillery shelling and machine gun combing until Saturday evening, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

Until Saturday’s withdrawal, the crossfire prevented rescue and ambulance crews from reaching the location despite intensive efforts and numerous calls from concerned entities and global humanitarian organizations requesting the evacuation of the 20 residents believed to be there.

In the wake of the withdrawal, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed on Sunday that the 91st Division and air forces had killed two Hezbollah leaders in Khiam, naming Farouk Amin al-Eshi, who he said was the commander of Khiam complex, and Youssed Ahmed Noun, the commander of a Radwan Force division in the same town.

Other areas near the border were targeted on Sunday, with several Israeli airstrikes launched on the towns of Kounin, Ainata and Tayri in the Bint Jbeil district. Tayri was also subjected to artillery shelling by Israeli forces.

Airstrikes also targeted the Maaraka, Maroun, Yaroun, Homairy, Maaroub, Shabriha, Shaqraa, Harees, and Halousiya towns, as well as the industrial city neighborhood.

Flare bombs, meanwhile, were launched on Saturday evening in the skies of Aitaroun, Yarnoun and Maroun al-Ras further southeast.

On Sunday at dawn, Israeli forces opened heavy machine gun fire on towns along the border, including Aita al-Shaab, Ramya, Teir Harfa, and Qouzeh. Jabal al-Labouneh, on the outskirts of Naqoura town in the southwest, was also targeted with artillery shelling.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military launched another wave of hostilities on villages in the district of Sur in the southwest. Two people were killed in airstrikes on Jouaiyya town, while others were injured. Airstrikes were also launched on the vicinities of Bazouriya and Borj al-Shamali towns in Sur, as well as the Qana and Romadeya towns.

Israeli drones and combat aircraft hovered continuously over villages in Sur from Saturday through Sunday morning, firing flares over western and central villages, reaching as far as the outskirts of the Litani River and coastal areas.

The Israeli military had issued evacuation orders for residents of Sur last week, warning displaced people from returning to the southern Lebanese areas and intensifying its airstrikes on the district.

An airstrike on Haret Saida on Sunday morning killed three, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The hit was the third time Israel has targeted the neighborhood in the past week.

In central Beqaa on Saturday, an Israeli air raid on Hazrata in the heights of Zahle killed a child and injured 11 other individuals, according to Al-Jadeed. 

Hezbollah also launched 35 rockets on northern Israel on Sunday morning, including 10 on the western Galilee, according to Israeli reports, which added that while some were intercepted, others struck open ground. Out of the 25 other Hezbollah rockets fired on the Golan Heights, the Israeli military added that they all struck open areas.

As hopes for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon slowly fade, around 2,968 people were reported killed by Israel, and more than 13,319 others were injured since Israel began to bomb Lebanon in October 2023, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced Saturday evening.