Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has initiated counterattacks on Israel in response to the expansionist force’s aggression in the region.    

As inflammatory commentary from Israel continues to burgeon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramped up his nation’s violent expansionist rhetoric on Monday by threatening to inflict Lebanon with the same scale of destruction as has been seen in Gaza.

The latest impact report published on Sunday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that since October 7, relentless Israeli bombardment has obliterated Gaza’s infrastructure. 

At least 60% of homes in the enclave have either been destroyed or sustained damage. A further 370 educational facilities have also been destroyed by Israel, as well as 122 mosques, three churches and 23 hospitals.

The UN OCHA impact report added that 53 of Gaza’s health centres have been rendered out of service amid the horrific humanitarian crisis induced by Israel.

Aside from the destruction of infrastructure, Palestine’s Health Ministry said that Israel’s indiscriminate expansionism has killed at least 23,210 Palestinians and injured 59,167.

In defiance of international humanitarian laws, Netanyahu’s regional ground offensive campaign inciteful rhetoric persists unrelentingly.

Referencing the occupation’s army escalating tensions in Lebanon, during a briefing with soldiers in the illegal Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel, Netanyahu said, “Hezbollah made a serious mistake about us in 2006 and is doing so again now. It thinks that we are weak as a spiderweb, and now sees what kind of spider we are.

“We have given Hezbollah an example of what happened to its friends in the south,” he added, referencing the carnage his country has wreaked on Gaza since October 7.

On Monday, news emerged of an Israeli drone strike killing senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Hassan Al Tawil in southern Lebanon.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency outlet, this has triggered reprisals from the Hezbollah resistance.

“In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in Gaza, and as a reinforcement to their courageous and honorable resistance, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance targeted the Al-Malkieh site at 9:30 am on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, using appropriate weapons, resulting in a direct hit,” the resistance said in a statement, NNA reported.

Hezbollah added that further counterattacks on Israel will be in direct response to the killings of Al Tawil and the January 3 assassination of Hamas senior leader, Saleh Al Arouri, Al Jazeera reported.

As part of a regional diplomatic mission, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday. He is set to meet with Israel’s divided war cabinet. 

His tour of the Middle East to discuss the worsening situation in Gaza comes as observers cast doubt over his visit being merely performative.

Despite Blinken calling upon Israel to de-escalate hostilities and prevent the region from plummeting into war, the UN’s Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the current situation in the Levantine country as a “particularly challenging moment,” with Israeli aggression showing no let-up. 

On Monday, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN’s Undersecretary-General for Peace Operations, arrived in Lebanon.

Lacroix’s visit will be to discuss with the senior Lebanese leaders, members of its armed forces and UNIFIL peacekeepers the humanitarian crisis unfolding.