Hezbollah claims destroying nearly 100 Israeli Merkava tanks

Lebanon at real risk of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’: UN

BEIRUT:  Nearly a month into the Middle East war, Lebanon is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis that now risks teetering over into a catastrophe, the United Nations refugee agency warned Friday.

Since March 2, more than a million people — one in five residents — have been forced to flee their homes, said the UNHCR.

With the numbers continuing to rise, “it is really a deepening humanitarian crisis that we here on the ground are seeing in Lebanon,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the agency’s representative in the country.

Meanwhile,  Hezbollah has claimed a series of large-scale attacks targeting Israeli military positions, including multiple Merkava tanks, across southern Lebanon and areas along the northern Israeli border over a 48-hour period.

According to the Lebanese group, at least 21 Merkava tanks were hit on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, the group reported additional strikes on around 20 more tanks, bringing the total number of claimed hits since March 2 to at least 73. Reports cited by affiliated sources suggest the figure may be higher.

Hezbollah’s armed wing, often referred to as the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, said its latest operations targeted Israeli armour across multiple locations. In the southern Lebanese town of Debel, three tanks were reportedly struck with guided missiles. In Al-Qantara, attacks targeted armoured units near several local landmarks, with additional strikes carried out using drones.

Further operations were reported in Taybeh, where nearly a dozen tanks were allegedly hit, and in Deir Siryan, where multiple tanks were struck in and around the area. The group indicated that attacks were ongoing at the time of its latest statement.

Independent verification of the scale of damage and casualties remains limited.

The Israeli military said that two soldiers were killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon amid ongoing clashes with Hezbollah along the ⁠border.

This brings to four the number of Israeli soldiers killed there, after the military said two were killed on March 8.

Some military commentators have described the intensity of the reported attacks as reminiscent of the 2006 Lebanon War, during which Hezbollah fighters used anti-tank weapons extensively against Israeli armour.

Analysts also say the economic asymmetry between the systems involved. Anti-tank guided missiles, often costing significantly less, are being used against tanks valued at several million dollars each and requiring substantial time to manufacture.

The reported escalation follows months of cross-border exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, amid ongoing tensions in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah stated that its recent operations came after what it described as prolonged restraint, while accusing Israel of continued strikes in the region. On Wednesday alone, the group claimed to have conducted dozens of operations targeting Israeli military sites using missiles and drones, marking one of the most intense days of activity in the current phase of the conflict. Monitoring Desk