BEIRUT, October 8. /TASS/. At least ten Lebanese firefighters have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country, Al Mayadeen reported.

According to the TV channel, the incident took place in the town of Baraachit when local firefighters arrived to deal with the aftermath of earlier attacks on the area.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.

On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against Hezbollah units in Lebanon, during which it is carrying out massive airstrikes against the movement’s military facilities. The stated goal is to create secure conditions in Israel’s northern border areas so that tens of thousands of residents can return there. In the early morning hours of October 1, the Israeli army announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas in southern Lebanon.