“No country in the world would accept such an attack on its cities and citizens,” Netanyahu said in a speech. “Israel has a duty and a right to defend itself.” The country will respond to Iran’s attacks. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing the army, that the response would be “significant.”
The army is “preparing for a significant attack in Iran following a missile attack from Tehran this week,” the newspaper said. The army does not rule out “the possibility that Iran will fire rockets into Israeli territory again after an Israeli attack”.
APA/AFP/Anwar Amro
Buildings were destroyed in Beirut
Israel has not assured the government of US President Joe Biden that a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is off the table, a senior US State Department official told the US TV channel CNN. Biden spoke out against such an attack. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was conflicted: “His answer should have been: Focus on the nuclear facilities first and worry about the rest later.”
A threat from Hezbollah is not off the table
Iran attacked Israel with about 200 rockets on Tuesday evening, most of which were intercepted, according to Israeli intelligence. Israel threatened Iran with retaliation after the rocket attack. According to Iran, the attack was in response, among other things, to the killing of pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia leader Hassan Nasrallah at an Israeli airstrip in Beirut.
debate
The Middle East: How to prevent further escalation?
In his speech, Netanyahu also said that “a large part” of the rocket arsenal of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia had been destroyed by the Israeli army in its attacks on the neighboring country. However, the threat has not been completely eliminated yet.
According to Netanyahu, Hezbollah was planning an even bigger massacre in the north of Israel than the one committed by the terrorist organization Hamas in the south of the country about a year ago. However, Israel killed the Hezbollah commanders who decided to do this.
Macron’s arms embargo sharply criticized
“As Israel fights against the barbaric forces led by Iran, all civilized countries should stand firmly with Israel,” Netanyahu said. While Western leaders have called for an arms embargo against Israel, Iran is not imposing such an embargo against Hezbollah or the Houthi militia in Yemen. “This axis of terror stands together.”
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, called for a halt to arms sales to Israel. Netanyahu strongly condemned this. He emphasized that Israel is currently defending itself in various ways. The country will continue to fight for world peace and security until the battle is won.
Joint attacks continue
Meanwhile, the shootout between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continued. The militia fired about 130 missiles towards Israel, the Israeli military said. There were no initial reports of casualties or damage. The Israeli army again carried out heavy air strikes in southern Beirut. Four “very violent” attacks were carried out in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
Ground troops also destroyed other militia tunnels and weapons depots. Israel’s army chief, Herzi Halevi, announced further decisive action against Hezbollah. “We must continue to pressure Hezbollah and inflict more continuous damage on the enemy, without concessions and without relief for the organization,” the Israeli chief of staff said, according to the army.
AP/Bilal Hussein
Many people are on the run
Evacuations ordered in the Gaza Strip
The Israeli army has already asked residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut to leave some residential areas there. This was necessary for “your own safety,” the call said. The Lebanese refugees should not return to their homes either. Israeli attacks on villages in Lebanon would continue.
For the first time in several weeks, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of areas in the Gaza Strip. The order, published on X Saturday, applies to areas near the Nezarim Corridor in the middle of the Palestinian territory. Israeli forces were preparing to use “massive force” against fighters from the Palestinian military organization in these areas, he said.
Half a million people on the run
According to the UN, the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is worsening. More than half a million people are now displaced in the Mediterranean and 285,000 have left the country, the UN Office for Emergency Relief (OCHA) said. The number of conflict-related deaths has increased by 200 percent in the past two weeks, and the number of displaced deaths by 385 percent. According to the UN Migration Agency (IOM), more than half a million people (541,527) were displaced in the country on Thursday.