Hezbollah-Israel clash escalates along border, risking regional spillover

Israeli and Hezbollah forces engaged in extensive exchanges of fire early Sunday morning along the Israel-Lebanon border, marking a significant escalation in their longstanding conflict.

Hezbollah announced it had launched hundreds of missiles into Israel in retaliation for the killing of its commander, Fouad Shokor, in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last month. In response, Israel reported conducting numerous preemptive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah's rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

The intensification of hostilities raises the risk of a broader conflict involving regional and international actors, including the United States and Iran, and threatens to undermine ongoing ceasefire efforts in Gaza, where Israel has been engaged in a protracted conflict with Hamas for over 10 months.

During an emergency national security cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the destruction of thousands of Hezbollah rockets.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that around 100 Air Force fighter jets carried out preemptive strikes on Hezbollah rocket launchers. However, these attacks did not prevent Hezbollah from launching a large-scale assault on Israeli targets.

Hezbollah reported firing over 320 rockets and drones at northern Israel, while the IDF confirmed that about 210 rockets and 20 drones were launched from Lebanon, with some intercepted and others causing damage and injuries.

The Lebanon-based group also dismissed Israeli claims that the preemptive strikes disrupted its retaliation operations, claiming that the first round of its operations was "successful."

In Acre, a coastal city in northern Israel, a woman sustained light injuries from Hezbollah shrapnel, according to Magen David Adom, Israel's first aid service. Lebanese sources reported four militants killed and six others wounded in southern Lebanon due to Israeli raids.

Despite intense morning clashes, fighting has largely subsided since Sunday afternoon. However, Netanyahu warned that the Israeli airstrikes are "not the end of the story," adding that Israeli forces will "strike Hezbollah with surprising crushing blows."

After Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a 48-hour nationwide emergency. Educational activities and workplaces may continue if shelter is available, but outdoor gatherings are limited to 30 people, and indoor gatherings to 300. Beaches near the Lebanon border are closed.

Hezbollah-Israel clash escalates along border, risking regional spillover

Hezbollah-Israel clash escalates along border, risking regional spillover

Hezbollah-Israel clash escalates along border, risking regional spillover

Hezbollah-Israel clash escalates along border, risking regional spillover

The 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opened in Beijing on Friday morning with hotspots around the world and security cooperation taking the center stage.

The opening ceremony was attended by more than 600 official representatives from over 100 countries and international organizations, including nearly 300 heads of official delegations and officials from various countries. The forum is held with the theme of "Promoting Peace for a shared future".

China's Defense Minister Dong Jun attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. He first read out a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping to the forum. Then, he mentioned in his speech the current hot issues including the Ukrainian crisis and the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.

Dong said "there is no winner in a war and a conflict, and there is no way out if we just confront each other." He also stressed that promoting peace talks is the only way out, and the fundamental way out.

Two plenary sessions were held after the opening ceremony. At the first session, participants exchanged views on "security cooperation and prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region", and official representatives from Vietnam, Singapore, Pakistan, Fiji, Russia and Malaysia spoke at the meeting.

The theme of the second plenary session was "multipolarization and the direction of international order", and defense ministers or military generals from six countries including Cambodia, Tanzania, Cameroon and Iran delivered speeches.

The topics all focus on security hotspots. Participants include not only developing and developed countries, but also representatives, experts and scholars from the closely-watched countries such as the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.

In interviews, many participants said that the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is committed to promoting dialog, exchanges and cooperation among defense agencies, militaries and international organizations of various countries, and is playing an active role in promoting regional security and stability and maintaining world peace and development.

The ongoing Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which runs until Saturday, will also hold eight parallel group sessions, focusing on themes such as the correct way for China and the United States to get along, European security trends and Middle East peace vision. This year, a new session on outer space security has been set up for participants to jointly discuss issues on outer space security governance.

Initiated in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is a high-level security and defense forum in the Asia-Pacific with significant international influence.

11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opens with focus on hotspots, security cooperation