The daily barrage of rockets and drones launched from southern Lebanon, to which Israel responds by hitting Hezbollah sites, raises many fears that the Middle Eastern front could set the country of cedars ablaze.

US President Joe Biden, who is well aware of this scenario, has once again instructed his regional envoy Amos Hochstein to hold talks starting Monday to avoid an escalation . This is just as Hasan Nasrallah's Shiite movement is letting Israel know from Beirut that an all-out war would greatly increase the number of displaced people from the north of the country and would certainly not allow the hundreds of thousands of evacuees who have had to leave their cities to return home.

The warning from the number two of the Pro-Iran Movement party Naim Qassem came on the eve of the Israeli security cabinet meeting that is expected to approve and add the "return of northern residents to their homes" to the objectives of the war: a topic that enters for the first time in Israel's declared military goals. A few hours before Qassem spoke, two drones fired by militiamen of the Party of God struck an area of the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona.

At least 55 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into the Upper Galilee this morning, some of which were intercepted, the Israeli army (IDF) said, while others fell in open areas, causing several fires. The IDF responded with air strikes that hit two buildings in Blida, southern Lebanon . On the Strip front, according to reports released by the Hamas-run Civil Defense, an Israeli air strike hit a house in Gaza City where displaced Palestinians were taking refuge, killing 11 people, including women and children, during the night between Friday and Saturday.

The IDF instead claims that fighter jets hit with precision missiles two buildings used by Hamas terrorists in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City: the former Shuhada al-Zeitounle school was used to manufacture weapons and as a command center to attack Israeli troops. The army denied that the raid targeted a fuel depot in the area, near the Dar al-Arqam school. During the day, two rockets were fired from the north of the Strip toward Ashkelon, one was shot down, while the second fell into the sea. Following the launches, the IDF called on Palestinians to evacuate Beit Lahiya.

The army also announced that in recent days, troops from the 162nd division have killed more than 100 armed men in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, in southern Gaza. In short, after 344 days of war, military operations continue without any breakthrough. Just as the plan for the release of hostages and the truce in Gaza seems to be languishing on the diplomatic table. However, while on Tuesday the United States was busy following the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Qatari Prime Minister Al Thani flew to Paris to continue work on the agreement.

In the French capital, he met with World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, Benny Gantz and the families of the hostages. Qatar's commitment continued on Wednesday when al Thani met with Hamas negotiators, pushing them to accept a deal proposal that the United States is considering presenting despite the difficulties. Turkey, which is not an official mediator, is also playing its part in the behind-the-scenes work to unblock the impasse in the Middle East. On Friday, the head of Turkish intelligence met with senior Hamas officials in Ankara, apparently under American pressure, to try to convince Yahya Sinwar's organization to show willingness to accept the plan.

(Online Union)

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