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00:00In Lebanon, Israeli strikes today have killed at least 22 people.
00:05Bombardments are focused in the south and the east of Lebanon, but have hit areas beyond
00:10Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.
00:14Let's start by listening to witnesses to strikes in the southern areas of Giyeh and Tayeh.
00:23This is a civilian facility specialising in fixing cars, just that.
00:29We came at night and we saw that the facility was struck.
00:33And Israel said it's a weapons depot.
00:36That's not true.
00:41We felt the strike and debris flying.
00:45The shrapnel fell on the house.
00:48We couldn't see because of the dust and destruction.
00:53Everything blew up.
00:54We don't know what we're going to do.
00:56Bombs were landing on either side of us, so we packed up our clothes.
00:59Our boss said it was an attack to scare us, but they were bombing to either side of us
01:02and started to hit us.
01:05Our situation isn't very good.
01:07The bombings are not normal for us.
01:10We're in a difficult place at the moment.
01:12It was challenging for us to reach this location because of the strikes from the Israelis.
01:19Let's cross live to Beirut now.
01:21Rawad Taha is our correspondent.
01:23He's with us on the programme.
01:24Rawad, as I mentioned, most of these strikes by Israel have focused on South Lebanon and
01:30East Lebanon.
01:31But there was one that hit an unusual area, very much not one we associate with Hezbollah.
01:38Tell us a bit more.
01:39Indeed, in particular, we saw a great wave of airstrikes north of Litany in southern
01:45Lebanon, especially around the areas of Nabal Tiyya.
01:49However, one particular airstrike to pinpoint, which you mentioned, is an airstrike which
01:52occurred in Mount Lebanon, in particular between the two districts of Kisirwein and Byblos,
01:58very close to the coastal area as well.
02:00We're seeing footage from that airstrike in particular.
02:04This area has been hit for the first time since the start of this attrition war.
02:10Also, during the 2006 war, we haven't seen a lot of airstrikes, except those which targeted
02:15back then infrastructure and other parts of the country.
02:18Now, what is interesting is apparently that this was a unique village of its kind.
02:24It's a village situated between Kisirwein and Byblos, but yet it is a Hezbollah stronghold.
02:29So apparently Israel was trying to assassinate a commander for Hezbollah.
02:35He is the head of Hezbollah's political wing when it comes to everything that is related
02:40to Mount Lebanon and northern Lebanon.
02:43That airstrike led to the death of at least two people from within the organisation.
02:48It is unclear if the commander for Hezbollah had been assassinated or not, along with a
02:55number of other injured people and some other casualties among civilians.
03:00Rawad, let's talk about some of the political reaction to what's happening in Lebanon.
03:06The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabir Berri, a very powerful figure in Lebanon,
03:12close to Hezbollah, has been speaking to the press about his efforts to reach out to the
03:17United States to try and curb the conflict.
03:22Tell us what he said and how significant you think it is.
03:27It is very significant for two factors.
03:28First, well, he's the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament.
03:31Second, and he's Hezbollah's main ally, and he leads also half or to a certain extent
03:38of the Shia stronghold as well.
03:41So this, he is a very powerful figure who can indeed sway and bridge the gap between
03:47all the different parties.
03:50We're looking at, also he has very good connections with the United States.
03:54So key messages from Speaker Berri were that he is making serious efforts with the international
03:59parties, including the United States, seeking de-escalation.
04:03He also noted that this effort should be fruitful, possibly within the next 24 hours, and that
04:09these 24 hours are crucial in determining how things would go.
04:14Berri also said that he has been doing intensive contacts and in full coordination with the
04:20caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is already in New York and meeting with other
04:25world leaders trying to secure some sort of a de-escalation.
04:28And he expressed hope for the success of his initiative, warning that the only alternative
04:33is war and more tragedies.
04:36He also highlighted the prior efforts for de-escalation by U.S. presidential envoy Amos
04:41Hochstein, that the current initiative that Berri is working on with different parties
04:46uses that initiative as a foundation for finding a solution to the current conflict.
04:52So it is a test for time.
04:54We're seeing both sides escalating.
04:57Israel is threatening with starting its ground operation campaign.
05:01Hezbollah is indicating that it is ready to fire more rockets and missiles into Tel Aviv
05:05and central Israel, such as we've seen during the early morning hours.
05:09Yet we're seeing some sort of political pressure coming from within Lebanon, from within the
05:14parliament, from within the caretaker government, in order to try to de-escalate the situation
05:19before it is really a fully-fledged war.
05:22Rawad Taha, live in Beirut.
05:23Thanks very much.