By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Lebanon plunged into darkness Saturday as the last operational power plant shut down following a deadly Israeli strike that prompted Hezbollah to launch a salvo of rockets at northern Israel.
The skirmishes overshadowed peace talks, though U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Israel on Saturday today as intense diplomacy continued, focused on a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of remaining hostages.
Iran was due to delay any retaliation against Israel for killing a Hamas leader in Tehran this month, U.S. sources said.
Yet there seemed little time Saturday for a hoped-for breakthrough in talks between Israeli negotiators and international mediators as officials said an Israeli strike on Hezbollah targets killed at least 10 Syrian nationals.
The strike on Wadi al-Kfour in Nabatieh province was among the deadliest in Lebanon since the Hezbollah group and Israeli military started trading fire on October 8, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel and sparked the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in Nabatieh overnight, along with other Hezbollah structures in south Lebanon.
DARK NIGHT
The South Lebanon Water Establishment said that shutting down power plants would negatively affect its ability to pump sufficient water into the area.
With the Zahrani power plant, the last and only plant still providing electricity in Lebanon, offline, the country faces a dark night.
However, Hezbollah has said it would not stop its attacks, which became clear Saturday when the Iran-backed group fired dozens of projectiles.
The IDF identified about 55 projectiles crossing from Lebanon, some of which reportedly fell in open areas in Israel’s Upper Galilee region.
No injuries were reported, but multiple fires were ignited, and authorities worked to extinguish them. A projectile fired earlier Saturday injured two soldiers, officials said.
The attack came days after the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claimed the death toll surpassed 40,000 Palestinians in the 10-month-old war without differentiating between combatants and civilians.
CEASEFIRE TALKS
Saturday’s clashes also came hours after officials from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar ended two days of cease-fire talks with a message of hope that a deal could be reached.
A joint statement from the mediators said a proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas was presented, and they expected to work out details on how to implement the possible deal next week in Cairo.
However, Hezbollah, a close ally of Hamas, has shown no inclination to end the fighting.
Hezbollah shares anger that Israel apparently killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
He died by a guided missile that tracked his cell phone, his son Abdussalam Haniyeh told Saudi Arabia state media Al Arabiya from Doha, Qatar.
Haniyeh died in the strike in Tehran, Iran, on July 31 after an explosive device was planted in his room months before he was killed, Israeli and U.S. sources said.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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