American is killed in Israeli blitz on Beirut as eight IDF soldiers who died in Hezbollah ambush in Lebanon are named
AN AMERICAN citizen has been killed in an Israeli strike on Lebanon.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad, from Dearborn, Michigan, had travelled to the terror hotbed to look after his elderly mother.
The dad-of-four, 56, died after being caught up in a blast in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Tuesday, Detroit News reports.
His family said he spent his final days near Nabatieh’s main hospital to help provide the elderly, disabled, injured and poor with food, mattresses and other comforts.
Kamel’s devastated daughter wrote on Instagram: “Even as he witnessed destruction from the missiles falling around him, his certainty in the importance of caring for community — in any and every capacity possible — remained at the forefront.
“I would ask him if he was scared and he repeatedly told me that we should not be scared because he is doing what he loves the most: helping others live in the land he loved the most.”
A White House spokesman confirmed Kamel’s death, describing it as a “tragedy”.
They said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad and our hearts go out to his family and friends.
“His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon.”
Kamel is among more than 1,000 civilians who have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the past two weeks.
It comes as Israel mourns the deaths of the first soldiers killed since its military launched a ground invasion of Lebanon earlier this week.
The focus of the operation is clearing out Hezbollah terror sites to halt rocket attacks which have driven 60,000 from homes in Northern Israel in the last 11 months, Israeli sources said.
But yesterday, fierce fighting erupted and at least eight Israel Defence Forces soldiers were killed.
Commandos are believed to have been ambushed as they attempted to clear a village infested with dug-in militia.
The blow was the first serious setback for Israeli forces attempting to push the terror group’s elite Radwan Forces north to create a weapons-free buffer zone.
Five soldiers from Israel’s crack “Egoz’ Unit” Commando Brigade were cut down in a ferocious gun battle north of the Israeli frontier and four were seriously wounded.
Those killed have been named as Cpt. Harel Etinger, 23, Sgt. First Class Noam Barzilay, 22, Sgt. First Class Or Mantzur, 21, Sgt. First Class Nazar Itkin, 21, and Captain Itai Ariel Giat.
Their leader, Captain Eitan Oster, 22, had earlier been announced as the first Israeli soldier to die after the launch of Operation Northern Arrows.
Two more commandos – Staff Sgt. Almken Terefe and Staff Sgt. Ido Broyer, both 21 – died in a separate clash in which a specialist spotter from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit was severely wounded.
And a combat medic from the 51st Battalion Golani Brigade was also severely injured during combat close to the border.
The IDF said last night: “All of the soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment. Their families have been notified.”
Fighting has intensified in southern Lebanon after Israel poured in thousands more soldiers towards the war zone on Wednesday.
Last night, Hezbollah claimed to have blasted three Israeli tanks with missiles as they advanced towards a Lebanese border village.
The Iran-backed terror group said it “destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced towards the village of Maroun al-Ras.”
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon.
“May God avenge them, and may their memories be a blessing.
“We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us.
“This will not happen because we will stand together, and with God’s help – we will win together.”
Israel has insisted the operation will be “limited and targeted raids” to demolish Hezbollah’s war machine near the border.
But there are fears escalations could drag the wider Middle East region into an all-out war, with Brits now evacuating Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s propaganda chief Mohammad Afif has warned its forces were “only in the first round” of a bloodbath battle.
Israel is now plotting a huge retaliation to Tuesday night’s unprecedented Iranian missile blitz.
A revenge strike is likely to hit Iranian oil plants and air defence systems, but could also include targeted assassinations.
Netanyahu vowed Iran “will pay for it” after warning it had made a “big mistake”.
I was sitting eating a pizza – moments later I was running for my life
by Nick Parker, Foreign Editor, in northern Israel
I’D just ordered a coffee in a roadside cafe on my way back from Israel’s northern war zone when the alert flashed up on my phone.
It read: “Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel. Please take cover as soon as possible.”
I was sitting in a pizza restaurant in a much-rocketed area north of the coastal port of Haifa when the warning pinged in my pocket.
Moments later I saw other diners picking up their phones as warnings reached them but was impressed by their stoicism as they carried on munching on their margaritas.
These were people who have endured daily rocket attacks from Hezbollah for nearly a year but even they began to shuffle in their seats as more warnings appeared on their mobile security apps.
This was clearly something much bigger than the daily Hezbollah barrage from the north.
And moments later we were jammed in the door as it was confirmed that more than a hundred Iranian ballistic missiles flying at 14 times the speed of sound were on their way.
This was confirmed to be only the first of several waves of attacks heading out way.
We ran across the road into a concrete shelter where English speakers told me to expect to be stuck there for some time as I tapped out my story using the glow of my laptop screen.
Then moments later the first booms split the air high above as Iron Dome interceptors engaged the incoming rockets.
I – probably very foolishly – took a sneak peek into the sky outside and watched trails of red rockets racing up to meet the missiles in a spectacular but potentially deadly firework display.
But scary spectaculars like this have become a way of life for the people of northern Israel – who clearly trust the boffins whose rocket wizardry had saved their lives yet again.
It remained unclear whether Iran’s terror masters had inflicted death or destruction as they attempted to decimate their hated enemy.
And this may be just the first of many terrifying tests for the people of Israel, their enemies and the millions caught in the crossfire as the threat of a catastrophic war looms.