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Al Jazeera's correspondent said that sirens sounded several times in the Israeli towns of Shlomi and Hanita in the Western Galilee, after rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Beirut to discuss reducing the escalation.

The reporter added that sirens sounded in the towns of Gorn and Gornot in the Western Galilee.

In turn, Israeli Channel 12 said that 10 missiles were launched from Lebanon towards the town of Shlomi in the Western Galilee, and that the army responded by bombing the launch sites.

On the other hand, Hezbollah announced that it had carried out two attacks against Israeli military sites and settlements off the Lebanese border.

The party said that it bombed the Israeli settlements of Gorn and Shlomi in the Western Galilee with missile and artillery weapons, in response to the Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, especially the Naqoura massacre and the attack on the town of Tair Harfa and its medical teams, according to the party’s statement.

Hezbollah also targeted with artillery the headquarters of the newly created Liman Battalion in the Western Galilee.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the border since the outbreak of the war waged by the Israeli occupation on the Gaza Strip, in the largest escalation between the two sides since the month-long fighting between them in 2006.

Targeting the ambulance

Yesterday evening, Wednesday, 9 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon, bringing the death toll to 16 within 24 hours, in the most violent wave of Israeli military escalation against Lebanon.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli warplanes launched raids on the towns of Naqoura and Tayr Harfa in the Tyre district, killing 9 people, according to the official Lebanese News Agency.

According to the Anadolu correspondent, the dead were 3 civilians, including 2 paramedics, 4 members of Hezbollah and 2 members of the Amal Movement.

Yesterday morning, Wednesday, the Israeli occupation army killed 7 paramedics and wounded others in a raid that targeted a center for the Islamic Medical Association (affiliated with the Islamic University) in the town of Al-Habbariyeh, southern Lebanon.

The association confirmed, in a statement, that this targeting represents “a heinous crime by all standards, and a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions, and we hold the implementing party fully responsible,” calling on the Lebanese authorities to “take the necessary measures to pursue Israel.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati received Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the government palace in Beirut (Anatolia)

Italian initiative

Politically, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati received, on Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is visiting Beirut to discuss reducing the escalation in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese Prime Minister's Media Office said in a statement that Mikati held talks with Meloni at the government palace, at the beginning of her indefinite visit to the country.

According to the Prime Minister’s statement, the meeting touched on Security Council resolutions related to the region and Lebanon.

Mikati renewed his country's commitment to fully implementing all its international resolutions, especially Resolution 1701.

On August 11, 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution No. 1701, which called for a complete cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, and called for the creation of an area between the Blue Line (separating Lebanon and Israel) and the Litani River in southern Lebanon that would be free of any militants. Military equipment and weapons, except for those belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces and the United Nations UNIFIL forces.

Mikati also stressed that Israel must commit to fully implementing the resolution and stopping its attacks on Lebanon’s sovereignty on land, at sea and in the air.

During her first official visit to Lebanon, Meloni is scheduled to inspect the Italian battalion operating within the peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to the same source.

Earlier Wednesday, the Italian Nova news agency reported that Meloni, who is making an official visit to Lebanon for the first time, reaffirmed her country's commitment to supporting Lebanon's stability.

Meloni also stressed the need to avoid the risk of escalation along the border with Israel, and will in particular express its support for any initiative aimed at immediate calm, according to the agency.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies