Hezbollah's Missile and Drone Attacks on Israel; Bodies of Six Hamas Hostages Returned to Israel

Simultaneously with the reciprocal missile attacks between Hezbollah and Israel in the border region of southern Lebanon, the bodies of six Israeli hostages found in a tunnel in Gaza were transferred to this country for burial. Hezbollah announced early on Tuesday, August 30, that it had fired a 'wave' of rockets towards northern Israel in response to the previous day's attack by the Israeli army on the group's weapon storage. Israeli media reported on Tuesday morning about the continuous firing of rockets and the dispatch of multiple drones from southern Lebanon towards northern Israeli areas, leading to a state of emergency in many parts of this section of Israel. An Israeli army spokesperson stated that about 55 rockets hit the northern Galilee and Golan Heights in the early hours of Tuesday, with the army intercepting some of them, while others landed in open areas causing fires but no injuries. The spokesperson added that Israeli fighter jets targeted locations in Lebanon from where the attacks originated. Hezbollah claimed to have fired at 'Israeli army positions' in the Golan Heights, which is under Israeli control, but Israeli media reported that many farms and settlements in civilian areas were the center of Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday. The Israeli army attacked weapon storage and 'military structures' of Hezbollah in Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon on Monday evening after five of its soldiers were injured in a Hezbollah drone attack. A source in Lebanon also told AFP that the target bombed by Israel was a weapons depot. According to Israeli army radio, ongoing secondary explosions at the destroyed depot indicated the presence of weapons and ammunition at the site for a long time. Israeli military officials stated that since the beginning of the Gaza war, which has initiated a parallel battle in northern Israel to support the extremist group Hamas, Hezbollah had fired over five thousand rockets towards northern Israel by last week. Hamas and Hezbollah are recognized as terrorist organizations by the US and some other countries allied with Israel. Israel has an Iron Dome air defense system to counter short-range rockets, but has not yet found effective equipment against drones carrying explosives that fly below radar level. A significant portion of the damage to cities and settlements in northern Israel has been caused by drones that Israel has been unable to intercept and destroy. Since the killing of Fouad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander in a targeted Israeli army attack on July 30, reciprocal attacks between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have continued, but Hezbollah insists that its daily operations are not yet the extensive revenge promised by Hassan Nasrallah, the group's secretary-general. The number of Hezbollah casualties in the past ten and a half months has exceeded 450. Additionally, 128 civilians have been killed on the Lebanese side during this period. On the Israeli side, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed. Amid the ongoing crisis on Israel's northern border with southern Lebanon, the Israeli army announced on Tuesday the death of another hostage in Hamas's custody and returned his body along with the bodies of five other hostages found in a tunnel in Gaza for burial in Israel. Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the farms where several of its residents were killed in a surprise attack by the extremist group Hamas on October 7 last year, announced on Tuesday, August 30, that Abraham Mondar, a 79-year-old hostage, had died in captivity. According to Kibbutz Nir Oz, Mondar had been physically and psychologically tortured while in Hamas's custody. Mr. Mondar was kidnapped along with his wife, daughter, and 9-year-old grandson. His wife, daughter, and grandson were released about two months after the start of the Gaza war during a deal between Israel and the extremist group Hamas. Family members of Mr. Mondar stated that the army found his body in a Hamas tunnel and returned it to Israel. Shachar Mor, Mr. Mondar's niece, told Yedioth Ahronoth that this shocking news indicates a failure of Israel and the country's leadership, particularly Benjamin Netanyahu, in saving hostages alive, and that if an agreement for the release of hostages had continued in the first two months, he would still be alive. According to Israeli media, the army also returned the bodies of Nadav Popelwell, Yegav Buchstov, Haim Perry, and Yoram Musger, who were other Hamas hostages and whose deaths had been confirmed, along with Abraham Mondar's body on Monday evening. The name of the sixth deceased hostage, whose body was returned to Israel on Monday night, has not yet been disclosed to inform his family first. Yoram Musger and Haim Perry, both 80 years old, were among the oldest Israeli hostages in Hamas's custody, whose wives and several other family members were also killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack. The name of Mr. Musger, a founder of kibbutzim in southern Israel and a supporter of peace with Palestinians in Gaza, has been repeatedly mentioned in the families' campaign for hostages over the past 319 days. With the death of one hostage and Israel's recovery of his body and the bodies of five other deceased hostages, the number of Israeli hostages in Hamas's custody has decreased to 109. The announcement of Mr. Mondar's death and the return of his body along with five other deceased hostages from Gaza has severely worried the families of other Israeli hostages who still hope for the return of their loved ones alive, and they have called for the current agreement to finalize the end of the war and the release of hostages who may still be alive in discussions with Israeli media on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Monday night after a three-hour meeting with the US Secretary of State, who had traveled to Jerusalem, in a video that he insists on returning the maximum number of living hostages in the first phase of the agreement currently being negotiated. Antony Blinken said on Monday in Tel Aviv that he hopes this time the agreement will lead to the release of their loved ones for the families of several hostages who gathered to see him in front of his hotel. Mr. Blinken also said during a meeting with the President of Israel on Monday that the ongoing effort may be 'the last opportunity' to return the hostages.